[matamua]

I recently joined the forums in anticipation of buying an 07 335i e93. I was pretty excited about the car. I found it with 60k on the clock with excellent records. Had the turbos replaced by BMW under warranty at 38k because the wastegate was stuck. OEM HPFP, index 12 injectors done within the last 6mo, all recalls addressed and new Michelin runflats. Two owner, non-smoker, clean carfax, and well optioned in a color combination I like. A few scratches here and there, but nothing atrocious. I got for $8500 and felt like I made out like a bandit.

I flew up yesterday afternoon with my son in tow. We got to LGA where the owner met us and the first thing he said was "I've got some bad news." When coming to get us, he hit a pothole and the Brake/ABS/DTC lights went nuts. CCC was also showing a message that braking was reduced and while it could still be driven, needed to head to the dealer sooner rather than later. I didn't have anything with me other than a cheap OBD2. I hooked that up and got nothing.

I suggested we drive it for a bit and see how things went. Within a few miles, the Brake/ABS/DTC lights went off spontaneously. I did a quick search on the forums and guessed it was a steering angle sensor issue https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=673470 .

The bigger problem at that point was coming from the 20k old turbos. I stomped on the gas on the freeway and the computer cut me off at the knees halfway through the boost, and it sounded like the wastegate was stuck open at the end. With the pretty new OEM turbos, I found it unlikely that something was horribly wrong. The guy seemed honest and quite ill that things weren't as perfect as advertised. I suggested we visit his local indy shop and get some codes read as my scanner couldn't see anything (shocker).

When we go there around 4pm, they hooked up the scanner, pulled an "ABS pump failure" code (don't know what it was) and "boost control module" codes. I asked him to clear them and drove it a bit more. Brakes were fine. Turbos were still sad. Same issue getting cut off halfway through the boost and then going into limp mode with the half engine light and CCC reduced power message. I was fairly convinced this was just a vacuum leak.

We headed back to the indy, read the codes again and got a 30ff/30fc. He said he felt the ABS pump needed to be replaced and needed some diagnostic workup of the turbos and a leak test. No one around to do it, even if I gave them a couple hundred extra (because I was planning on driving home the next day, was worth it to me). Given the recency of turbo replacement by the dealer, we hopped back in the car with codes cleared and headed up to Mamaroneck BMW.

I told the service advisor what was up and he gave me the standard "could be anything, those codes mean nothing" spiel. Kinda blew me off initially. I explained the situation a bit more and asked real nice if there was anything he could do, now 445p on a Friday. I knew I was pushing it. He went and talked to the shop guys and got it in.

Sure enough, steering angle sensor was the culprit of the ABS situation. All within spec and nothing wrong with the brakes. Also, the pothole was apparently bad enough to knock the charge pipe loose without causing any damage to the bottom of the car. Pretty crazy. Hooked that back up and voila, no codes. Owner paid the dealer the $162 for diagnostics/reattaching the charge pipe. I slipped the SA $20 for hooking me up and we drove off. Car runs beautifully.

Moral of the story: NYC potholes are evil, trust your gut, and the dealer is not always bad.

Next up is swapping out the wheel for one with some paddles . Pretty much the only option I wanted that it didn't come with.