[WgSo]

Experiencing shaking/vibration that only last for a short period of time, about a second, when I accelerate under specific scenario. The vibration and shaking is akin to driving over the grated floors on the shoulder the highway, the entire car shakes. There's absolutely no code being thrown either. Nothing happens if I'm coasting, accelerate hard/fast, in sports mode, or WOT, only happens with gradual acceleration. It occurs mostly between 20-60MPH and 1600-2300RPM, within a 200-300RPM range depending on speed.

This has been happening since I had my AA headers installed.... Not sure if there's any correlation there though. Doubt it's a misfire because of no code and I popped my coil and plugs out. No oil and they're clean. Both coils and plugs was replaced about 6K miles ago. No air leaks either, according to my tech..... Doesn't feel like the car loses power when it vibrate or shake either, as RPM continues to climb and the car does not slow down or stall. It even shook my intake boot off.

My car is a N52 128i Automatic, and here's the mod list:

• StageFP Tune
• Active Autowerke Headers
• 3 Stage Intake Manifold
• MILVS
• Rev Motoring Intake Boot

Going to try replacing engine and transmission mount this weekend and if I have time, transmission fluid as well. These are some of the quick fixes I can find scouring the internet. Though, other people's symptoms are similar, but not the same as mine. Finger crossed on it working.

Honestly, been pulling my hair out trying to figure out what the issue is, especially with the lack of code. In the case the above does not resolve my issue, any other suggestions?

P.S. Gonna be cross-posting this to garner more attention, hope no one mind.

[POBEP]

I have nearly identical symptoms on my N52K engine.

At the moment, my best guess is that fuel regulator needs to be replaced.

Check the fuel rail pressure

[WgSo]

Originally Posted by POBEP

I have nearly identical symptoms on my N52K engine.

At the moment, my best guess is that fuel regulator needs to be replaced.

Check the fuel rail pressure

Think I can give that a look if I exhaust all options. Why would the fuel regulator cause such violent shaking? Since it's electronic, wouldn't it throw a code? When checking, what should I look for and what are the sign that shows it is bad?

[charlie_m]

Maybe check your flex plate (guibo) for cracking?

[WgSo]

Is it safe to jack the engine up by the oil pan for replacing engine mounts?

According to these two videos, it's done that way:

Originally Posted by charlie_m

Maybe check your flex plate (guibo) for cracking?

Thanks for the idea, definitely a spot I plan on checking later.

[POBEP]

Originally Posted by WgSo

Think I can give that a look if I exhaust all options. Why would the fuel regulator cause such violent shaking? Since it's electronic, wouldn't it throw a code? When checking, what should I look for and what are the sign that shows it is bad?

I have no codes. In my case "shaking" is more in the form of the fuel starvation. It is pretty nasty at times.

I can reproduce the issue by coasting for 10-15 seconds down to 1,300rpm followed by applying light-to-medium load while keeping in the same gear. It shakes between 1,400 and 1,800rpm and then drives fine when goes above the 2,000rpm.

Similar starvation happens with AC is on, warm/hot engine, transmission in D and waiting at the stop light for more than 1 minute.

Another sign is that it takes long time for engine to start after being parked for 3-5 days. If I let the ignition ON for 10s before starting it fires up instantly.

You can check fuel rail pressure on the fuel rail. There is an nipple for fuel pressure gauge tool. It should keep pressure for some time after you turn off the engine.

[rjahl]

Originally Posted by POBEP

I have no codes. In my case "shaking" is more in the form of the fuel starvation. It is pretty nasty at times.

I can reproduce the issue by coasting for 10-15 seconds down to 1,300rpm followed by applying light-to-medium load while keeping in the same gear. It shakes between 1,400 and 1,800rpm and then drives fine when goes above the 2,000rpm.

Similar starvation happens with AC is on, warm/hot engine, transmission in D and waiting at the stop light for more than 1 minute.

Another sign is that it takes long time for engine to start after being parked for 3-5 days. If I let the ignition ON for 10s before starting it fires up instantly.

You can check fuel rail pressure on the fuel rail. There is an nipple for fuel pressure gauge tool. It should keep pressure for some time after you turn off the engine.

I'd be very surprised if you engine ran so lean that it misfired without a fuel trim warning.

If it clears out after 2000 RPM or so , that's even more evidence that the problem is not fuel starvation or a low pressure fuel issue.

INPA is a great debugging tool on these motors. It's your BEST friend. If you can't replicate the problem while parked, you can log the issue with Test-o or Bimmergeeks software.

Sounds more like a coil problem ,but logs will tell for sure.

[kg4kdn]

I'm having the exact same issue on my 11' 328i N52k with the gm trans. I tried the "Instant Shudder Fix" additive and it didn't seem to help at all. I saw one video where someone replaced a wheel speed sensor to resolve a shudder, but there was very little info in that video and the poster hasn't replied.

[rjahl]

Originally Posted by kg4kdn

I'm having the exact same issue on my 11' 328i N52k with the gm trans. I tried the "Instant Shudder Fix" additive and it didn't seem to help at all. I saw one video where someone replaced a wheel speed sensor to resolve a shudder, but there was very little info in that video and the poster hasn't replied.

Have you guys looked at your Gebo and drive shaft bearing?

My Gebo failed around 9 years old and the replacement failed within a year. I've learned a few hard seasons about replacement parts.

[Donethat]

I just went through this, for me it was at 1800-2000 rpms while giving light throttle, it felt like I was going over very light speed strips for one to two seconds. Otherwise it shifted perfectly. Car was at 115k (GM trans) and never had any transmission problems or services.

A fellow member/neighbor e92William identified it and After reading a bmw bulletin, there was no doubt it was transmission shudder.

Last week I drained almost 5 quarts of fluid from pan. It was not very dark or have any smell of being burnt. I Replaced fluid with Valvoline Maxlife dextron 6 and a 2-3 oz shudder fix additive from ($10)Napa. Adding fluid and final top off was done with a small hand pump underneath while car running to bring the fluid up to correct operating level. It ended up taking more than drained out, requiring 6 quarts.
I’m not sure how much the fluid previously not being up to the correct level had affected or contributed to the issue. I do know that I had a code mentioning at about 110k about trans fluid required service. It’s a standard code that comes up at that particular miles from what I’ve read.

Since this DIY I happily have had no shudder.

[tylerhart_21]

My car has the same problem with it. I got the N52N and the ZF trans according to RealOEM. If the center bearing or the Gebo is messing up then pressing the gas more than 20% when hot you will feel it vibrate badly. I have not seen what would be really could be causing it. People say the torque convertor, change the trans fluid or the vanos is messed up. I am not sure what could be the problem with mine. The same problem happened when I brake boosted when going 20mph and shifting down makes the problem stop. The shifts are fine so I was not thinking it could be a trans problem. I was thinking about changing the trans fluid when I do my oil change later this year. But we will have to see what could be the problem. Any thoughts?

[WgSo]

Replaced both engine and transmission mount, and changed my transmission fluid. That did not resolved my issue. My first test drive after replacing all the above mentioned parts, it seemed like the shaking went away, but with the following day when I did a longer drive, it came back. The drive was about 120 miles split into two 60 miles session with a 2 hour break in between. The symptom was definitely not as bad as it was before changing out the part, it doesn't violently shake anymore. It became a light shuddering, would say about 90% of the shaking intensity has been removed and it doesn't happen in lower speed anymore. Mainly happen between 40-60MPH and less frequent. Though, I do noticed that the shaking intensity did increased a bit more towards the latter half of my second 60 mile driving session. Hoping it doesn't progressively get worse or get back to what it was like before the part changes.

Definitely checking on my driveshaft next. Logically speaking, I can't see how a drive shaft issue is related to my problem. If there really is an issue with the drive shaft such as a bearing problem of crack giubo, shouldn't the shaking/vibration be constant? Where as mine only happen a very specific rpm range, speed, and gear combination and only lasting for a split second.

Originally Posted by Donethat

I just went through this, for me it was at 1800-2000 rpms while giving light throttle, it felt like I was going over very light speed strips for one to two seconds. Otherwise it shifted perfectly. Car was at 115k (GM trans) and never had any transmission problems or services.

A fellow member/neighbor e92William identified it and After reading a bmw bulletin, there was no doubt it was transmission shudder.

Last week I drained almost 5 quarts of fluid from pan. It was not very dark or have any smell of being burnt. I Replaced fluid with Valvoline Maxlife dextron 6 and a 2-3 oz shudder fix additive from ($10)Napa. Adding fluid and final top off was done with a small hand pump underneath while car running to bring the fluid up to correct operating level. It ended up taking more than drained out, requiring 6 quarts.
I’m not sure how much the fluid previously not being up to the correct level had affected or contributed to the issue. I do know that I had a code mentioning at about 110k about trans fluid required service. It’s a standard code that comes up at that particular miles from what I’ve read.

Since this DIY I happily have had no shudder.

That's exactly my issue! Sadly all the part changes didn't resolve anything. Seeing how your guide shows that some mileage is required for the symptoms to go away, I'm hoping a bit more driving will get rid of it. How much did you have to drive before your shuddering goes away? How did you reset your Transmission adapation?

[Donethat]

That's exactly my issue! Sadly all the part changes didn't resolve anything. Seeing how your guide shows that some mileage is required for the symptoms to go away, I'm hoping a bit more driving will get rid of it. How much did you have to drive before your shuddering goes away? How did you reset your Transmission adapation?[/QUOTE]

I never reset the adaptations. It did not shudder after doing the service.
I do believe setting the level correctly and the additive combined, made the difference.
Like the bulletin says you should see immediate improvements.

[WgSo]

Originally Posted by Donethat

I never reset the adaptations. It did not shudder after doing the service.
I do believe setting the level correctly and the additive combined, made the difference.
Like the bulletin says you should see immediate improvements.

What do you mean by setting the level correctly? Did you use ISTA to do this? As the part number on the flow chart doesn't seem to be available anymore, will you link me to the additive you used?

I didn't add any additive, but I did see some improvement. The car is not shaking anymore, just a light shudder now, but not sure how much of the improvement was due to the new engine and transmission mount.

[WgSo]

Just want to report back, almost forgot about it, that my issue was resolved with a transmission fluid change! Do want to mention that it will take a couple of hundred miles of driving after the fluid change for it to go away, more than the 30-40 mile mentioned in the above flow chart. You'll noticed that the shuddering/shaking will be a lot less and infrequent right after the fluid change compare to prior. In my case I can no longer replicate it as it happens randomly. It will slowly happen less and less as you rack up mileage to the point where it won't happen anymore. Hopefully this information can help anyone that may be experiencing the exact issue I had.

[tylerhart_21]

A few days ago, I lifted the car to make sure the center bearing was not flipped. From my angle it was pointing towards the car. (Note: Couldn't take a better look, since the exhaust was hot and had limited time to work on the car) But another key thing I noticed recently, was it vibrating when it was cold (not passing 160f on the oil temp). When it's cold it's not that noticeable but you can tell there is something there. But when it gets warmer and under load (1.5k-2.5k) it's more apparent. I will try to see if I can catch the noise on video.

[TitanLH8]

Thank you Donethat and WgSo for insight and feedback on this shuttering issue. It's been driving me nuts trying to figure out what it is but I guess a transmission fluid change is next in line to try to resolve the problem. Fingers crossed I get the same result!

[carscatscoffee15]

Originally Posted by WgSo

Just want to report back, almost forgot about it, that my issue was resolved with a transmission fluid change! Do want to mention that it will take a couple of hundred miles of driving after the fluid change for it to go away, more than the 30-40 mile mentioned in the above flow chart. You'll noticed that the shuddering/shaking will be a lot less and infrequent right after the fluid change compare to prior. In my case I can no longer replicate it as it happens randomly. It will slowly happen less and less as you rack up mileage to the point where it won't happen anymore. Hopefully this information can help anyone that may be experiencing the exact issue I had.

That's great. I plan to do this service soon even though I don't have the issue. What was the milage at when it was done? Did you source the parts? There's a kit on FCP Euro for this service. How many liters of transmission fluid were used?

[TitanLH8]

I performed a transmission fluid change along with the transmission filter last Sept and haven't felt this shudder issue since!