E9x M3 quirks and intermittent issues

Rat3d ///M · 06-03-2015, 10:39 AM

One thing I have noticed in my 8 months of owning my M3, is that there is no shortage of typical intermittent issues, or quirks if you will, i.e. a symptom of a potential problem that will appear all of a sudden, and disappear just as suddenly. So far, in my 8 months of ownership, here is what I have experienced:

1. Erratic idle/stalling issue at random times (usually after filling up). I do know the cause of this issue, but haven't gotten around to fixing it, and it has been quite some time since it has happened, so I am not too concerned

2. iDrive screen has gone red when I started the vehicle, and after turning the vehicle off, and restarting a couple times, has gone back to normal. This happened just once

3. There was one time a couple months ago where I stopped at the store and came out 10 mins later to an M3 that wouldn't start. Starter continued to crank for 5 seconds until I pressed the start button to stop the engine from turning over, and then tried it again, and it started just fine. Never had that happen more than just that one time

4. A month or so ago my driver side front door was failing to unlock with the rest of the vehicle. All other doors unlocked just fine, but nothing except opening the door by the inside door handle caused the driver door to unlock. I tried to start, then restart the car a few times on my way home, and it still did it. I drove home, pulled in the garage, turned the car off, then back on, and it was fine. Never happened again.

5. Just recently (still not sure if this is a little intermittent issue that will fix itself, or if there is actually something wrong) my iPod no longer plays through the iDrive. This happened yesterday. I never use CD's, and rarely if ever use the radio. 99% of the time I use my iPod connected to the USB port in the center console and just leave it plugged in, unless I use my iPod for PT, in which case I unplug it, then immediately plug it back in after getting back in my car. It will let me navigate the menu, but when I click a song to play it, it just says "Info" and nothing pops up on the submenu on the right. No audio, time stamp stays at 0:00. Song never plays. Then after a minute or so, it will back out of the iPod menu and go back to the "Media" menu and show that the iPod is unchecked, i.e. not activated. I tried a different iPod cable, same thing. I have not yet tried a different iPod. That is my next step.

So what say M3F? Anyone ever have any similar, intermittent issues or quirks with your M3? Anything happen that I didn't cover?

If anyone has any input on the last one, I am a bit annoyed. I don't speak German, and German radio sucks anyway, and AFN is a joke. I can't deal without my iPod.

david1504 · 06-03-2015, 10:48 AM

Last week when I started the car it showed 'no warning tones' and the speaks didn't work at all, no sound whatsoever, but after I got back home and started it up later everything is fine, happened only once

Rat3d ///M · 06-03-2015, 11:55 AM

#5 just became an "intermittent issue". Went outside after resetting my iPod and with a different iPod to try and see if my second iPod works. Tried that first, and it worked fine. Tried the one that was giving me issues, and it worked again. Not sure if it is because I reset it or if it was just an issue with the car that fixed itself.

jaco · 06-03-2015, 02:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by david1504

Last week when I started the car it showed 'no warning tones' and the speaks didn't work at all, no sound whatsoever, but after I got back home and started it up later everything is fine, happened only once

I've had this happen before when my previous BMW's, the issue seems to be German.

Peertwelve · 06-03-2015, 04:42 PM

I had some of the same electrical glitches after installing a pair of cheap BMS angel eye bulbs in my E90. I had gauge needles shivering, drivers door would not lock, and what seemed like power surges in the interior lights. Someone told me to put the OEM angel eyes back in and everything returned to normal. I was surprised that something so simple could cause that. Have you 'upgraded' anything electrical lately?

Beemdog · 06-03-2015, 04:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peertwelve

I had some of the same electrical glitches after installing a pair of cheap BMS angel eye bulbs in my E90. I had gauge needles shivering, drivers door would not lock, and what seemed like power surges in the interior lights. Someone told me to put the OEM angel eyes back in and everything returned to normal. I was surprised that something so simple could cause that. Have you 'upgraded' anything electrical lately?

Rather than control everything with hard-wired relays, these days a digital CAN bus (like LAN for your car) controls many of the electrical functions all over the car. Lights being one of them. If the non-OEM device is hooked up to the CAN bus and is not properly designed, it can create digital glitches and noise on the CAN bus, disturbing virtually anything else on that communications bus and resulting in all kinds of havoc as you observed.

ijnoj09 · 06-03-2015, 04:51 PM

this happens to me sometimes as well but only with my ipod classic. never have a problem with my ipod nano or iphone.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ||||||||||

5. Just recently (still not sure if this is a little intermittent issue that will fix itself, or if there is actually something wrong) my iPod no longer plays through the iDrive. This happened yesterday. I never use CD's, and rarely if ever use the radio. 99% of the time I use my iPod connected to the USB port in the center console and just leave it plugged in, unless I use my iPod for PT, in which case I unplug it, then immediately plug it back in after getting back in my car. It will let me navigate the menu, but when I click a song to play it, it just says "Info" and nothing pops up on the submenu on the right. No audio, time stamp stays at 0:00. Song never plays. Then after a minute or so, it will back out of the iPod menu and go back to the "Media" menu and show that the iPod is unchecked, i.e. not activated. I tried a different iPod cable, same thing. I have not yet tried a different iPod. That is my next step.

uisim · 06-05-2015, 03:46 PM

Had a restraint malfunction once when it was very cold so I attributed that to a weak battery. Another dbc/dsc failure light when I adjusted the steering column height when moving in reverse. Both went away and never came back.( fingers crossed). Also my dome light turns off if I leave it on for too long with the car running... with all the digital electronics in this car I figure some glitches occur. Yours are a bit more severe but if it happens all the time that's when I would take it to a good shop that works on these cars. But sometimes you'd have to wait till its always going on so that a shop can replicate it. You don't want it to come to the classic "well... let's replace _____(insert component here) and see it it fixes the problem" scenario.

flynscot · 12-11-2015, 10:17 AM

Just had #1 happen. Filled up a usual place, drove 1 mile and stopped at a light. Engine surged +/- 500 rpm for no apparent reason. Drove away from the light and stopped at work a few miles away and no surge. ????

kb9uwu · 12-11-2015, 11:18 AM

in my 2 years of e90 M3 ownership, I've become a beast at resetting codes *while* driving

BLuRRYM3 · 12-11-2015, 12:31 PM

Mine is CEL comes on for excessive exhaust if I just do short drives. But once I do a 20+ mile drive, CEL goes away. I guess it's just her complaining that I don't take her anywhere fun anymore.

I just bought Akra delete, X pipe, and exhaust; so that problem is going away.

FISH22 · 12-11-2015, 07:25 PM

This is definitely a quirky car. I have actually experienced the cranking like you described, just a couple months ago. Ran in to a store for a drink, 5 minutes later came back to start it, and it just cranked until I hit the start button again. Was very strange, and has only done it that one time since I've owned it.

I have also experienced the idle issues after filling up. Seems to be very common in these cars. I notice that it's much worse after completely topping off the tank. If I let it idle for a couple minutes at a light immediately after filling up, the idle bounces around a couple times, and it has actually died on me. I have seen that a couple times. ('11 E90 w/37k miles).

And I would have to agree with the iPod issues as well. I have experienced a few times where the car doesn't even connect to my phone (I have an old iPhone 4S).

joneffingvo · 12-11-2015, 09:34 PM

Have you guys checked/replaced your car battery? As strange as it sounds after i got my ESS VT2-625 supercharger installed i noticed the car idled weird and would die out sometimes at cold start i also noticed my iDrive would take longer to boot up. Then one day my battery finally died and i got a brand new one + programmed by BMW and voila all those problems were gone! Car idles and runs smooth as butter and iDrive is super snappy when firing up the car.

Fatbillybob · 12-11-2015, 10:25 PM

I still have trouble with brake pad sensors. I can't turn the dash brake fault light even if I hard wire the brake sensor wires together.

Seattle M3 · 12-12-2015, 12:26 AM

When the wipers are on and you are stopped at a red light you can feel the movement of the wipers through the brake pedal. I have had 3-E90 M3's and they have all done this.

p-lethal · 12-12-2015, 06:51 AM

once i go from blue tooth to usb back to blue tooth all hell breaks loose and i need to reconnect my iphone.

Elwolfe · 12-12-2015, 09:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ||||||||||

5. Just recently (still not sure if this is a little intermittent issue that will fix itself, or if there is actually something wrong) my iPod no longer plays through the iDrive. This happened yesterday. I never use CD's, and rarely if ever use the radio. 99% of the time I use my iPod connected to the USB port in the center console and just leave it plugged in, unless I use my iPod for PT, in which case I unplug it, then immediately plug it back in after getting back in my car. It will let me navigate the menu, but when I click a song to play it, it just says "Info" and nothing pops up on the submenu on the right. No audio, time stamp stays at 0:00. Song never plays. Then after a minute or so, it will back out of the iPod menu and go back to the "Media" menu and show that the iPod is unchecked, i.e. not activated. I tried a different iPod cable, same thing. I have not yet tried a different iPod. That is my next step.

I have owned my 2013 E93 for less than a month now, and this is my only irritation so far. I plug my iPhone (5S, AT&T version) into the USB port next to the AUX port in the center console and it will do one of three things..

1. Works fine, cover art displays etc...
2. Plays music, but no play list, song info or cover art.
3. Says "not connected".

I've tried plugging it in after engine start, with the car on but prior to ignition and while it's completely turned off and there doesn't appear to be any correlation.

I'm going to take it in for an oil change in about 500 miles, so I'll ask the dealership to take a look at it. I'll report back with the results...

Would love to know if anyone has had and fixed this issue. Sooooo frustrating. Other than this, she works like a peach. (Knocking on wood so as not to jinx myself

)

OzCraig · 12-12-2015, 05:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seattle M3

When the wipers are on and you are stopped at a red light you can feel the movement of the wipers through the brake pedal. I have had 3-E90 M3's and they have all done this.

It may sound crazy but I wonder if this is linked to the car 'pad wiping' in wet weather to improve emergency braking. I would imagine it is linked the the wipers as a trigger.

redpriest · 12-13-2015, 10:47 AM

Come to the car and the comfort access doesn't work, in fact, trying to open the door sets off the car alarm AND opens the door... while the door is still locked.

Place the key in the slot, alarm doesn't shut off. After fumbling around for about 2 minutes, car alarm shuts off, comfort access works again, and door stays locked when locked. Clock and trip mileage is reset though. Bizzare. Battery doesn't seem to be dying.

Has happened to me twice in two years, both incidents spread many months apart.

BGR · 12-13-2015, 11:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elwolfe

Quote:

Originally Posted by ||||||||||

5. Just recently (still not sure if this is a little intermittent issue that will fix itself, or if there is actually something wrong) my iPod no longer plays through the iDrive. This happened yesterday. I never use CD's, and rarely if ever use the radio. 99% of the time I use my iPod connected to the USB port in the center console and just leave it plugged in, unless I use my iPod for PT, in which case I unplug it, then immediately plug it back in after getting back in my car. It will let me navigate the menu, but when I click a song to play it, it just says "Info" and nothing pops up on the submenu on the right. No audio, time stamp stays at 0:00. Song never plays. Then after a minute or so, it will back out of the iPod menu and go back to the "Media" menu and show that the iPod is unchecked, i.e. not activated. I tried a different iPod cable, same thing. I have not yet tried a different iPod. That is my next step.

I have owned my 2013 E93 for less than a month now, and this is my only irritation so far. I plug my iPhone (5S, AT&T version) into the USB port next to the AUX port in the center console and it will do one of three things..

1. Works fine, cover art displays etc...
2. Plays music, but no play list, song info or cover art.
3. Says "not connected".

I've tried plugging it in after engine start, with the car on but prior to ignition and while it's completely turned off and there doesn't appear to be any correlation.

I'm going to take it in for an oil change in about 500 miles, so I'll ask the dealership to take a look at it. I'll report back with the results...

Would love to know if anyone has had and fixed this issue. Sooooo frustrating. Other than this, she works like a peach. (Knocking on wood so as not to jinx myself

)

I wonder if it has to do with it connecting via Bluetooth instead of USB.

Sometimes for Bluetooth audio for me, I have to turn the BT off then back on for my phone then deselect it in iDrive to get it back.

Elwolfe · 12-14-2015, 04:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BGR

I wonder if it has to do with it connecting via Bluetooth instead of USB.

Sometimes for Bluetooth audio for me, I have to turn the BT off then back on for my phone then deselect it in iDrive to get it back.

Tested this today by removing my phone from the bluetooth list all together. Still said not connected....

Ugh.

crypticc · 12-14-2015, 04:44 PM

On my 335 I once was able to run the car without the key in the ignition. I'd accidentally pressed the starter when I meant to eject the fob, then while it was starting I ejected the key as I originally intended.
The car continued to start and run with the key in my hand. I didn't go for a full drive just in case but moved around in the parking space for a bit

I don't have any of the issues above except the dodgy idle on a full tank and a cic reboot and black screen of death once fixed under warranty. but could you have battery issues as these cars are sensitive?

06-03-2015, 10:39 AM	#1
Rat3d ///M 997.1TT 1004 Rep 1,672 Posts Drives: 2007 Porsche 911 Turbo Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Germany iTrader: (1)	E9x M3 quirks and intermittent issues One thing I have noticed in my 8 months of owning my M3, is that there is no shortage of typical intermittent issues, or quirks if you will, i.e. a symptom of a potential problem that will appear all of a sudden, and disappear just as suddenly. So far, in my 8 months of ownership, here is what I have experienced: 1. Erratic idle/stalling issue at random times (usually after filling up). I do know the cause of this issue, but haven't gotten around to fixing it, and it has been quite some time since it has happened, so I am not too concerned 2. iDrive screen has gone red when I started the vehicle, and after turning the vehicle off, and restarting a couple times, has gone back to normal. This happened just once 3. There was one time a couple months ago where I stopped at the store and came out 10 mins later to an M3 that wouldn't start. Starter continued to crank for 5 seconds until I pressed the start button to stop the engine from turning over, and then tried it again, and it started just fine. Never had that happen more than just that one time 4. A month or so ago my driver side front door was failing to unlock with the rest of the vehicle. All other doors unlocked just fine, but nothing except opening the door by the inside door handle caused the driver door to unlock. I tried to start, then restart the car a few times on my way home, and it still did it. I drove home, pulled in the garage, turned the car off, then back on, and it was fine. Never happened again. 5. Just recently (still not sure if this is a little intermittent issue that will fix itself, or if there is actually something wrong) my iPod no longer plays through the iDrive. This happened yesterday. I never use CD's, and rarely if ever use the radio. 99% of the time I use my iPod connected to the USB port in the center console and just leave it plugged in, unless I use my iPod for PT, in which case I unplug it, then immediately plug it back in after getting back in my car. It will let me navigate the menu, but when I click a song to play it, it just says "Info" and nothing pops up on the submenu on the right. No audio, time stamp stays at 0:00. Song never plays. Then after a minute or so, it will back out of the iPod menu and go back to the "Media" menu and show that the iPod is unchecked, i.e. not activated. I tried a different iPod cable, same thing. I have not yet tried a different iPod. That is my next step. So what say M3F? Anyone ever have any similar, intermittent issues or quirks with your M3? Anything happen that I didn't cover? If anyone has any input on the last one, I am a bit annoyed. I don't speak German, and German radio sucks anyway, and AFN is a joke. I can't deal without my iPod.
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06-03-2015, 10:48 AM	#2
david1504 Private 17 Rep 94 Posts Drives: 2011 SG ZCP m3 Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: GA iTrader: (0)	Last week when I started the car it showed 'no warning tones' and the speaks didn't work at all, no sound whatsoever, but after I got back home and started it up later everything is fine, happened only once
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06-03-2015, 11:55 AM	#3
Rat3d ///M 997.1TT 1004 Rep 1,672 Posts Drives: 2007 Porsche 911 Turbo Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Germany iTrader: (1)	#5 just became an "intermittent issue". Went outside after resetting my iPod and with a different iPod to try and see if my second iPod works. Tried that first, and it worked fine. Tried the one that was giving me issues, and it worked again. Not sure if it is because I reset it or if it was just an issue with the car that fixed itself.
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06-03-2015, 04:42 PM	#5
Peertwelve Captain 781 Rep 914 Posts Drives: Silverstone E92 M3 Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Seattle iTrader: (2) Garage List 2008 BMW M3 [3.00]	electrical gremlins I had some of the same electrical glitches after installing a pair of cheap BMS angel eye bulbs in my E90. I had gauge needles shivering, drivers door would not lock, and what seemed like power surges in the interior lights. Someone told me to put the OEM angel eyes back in and everything returned to normal. I was surprised that something so simple could cause that. Have you 'upgraded' anything electrical lately? __________________ 2008 SSII E92 M3 \| LCI CIC, Apps, Tails\| MPE \| BBS Ch-R 1990 325i Sold- 2011 335i Sedan \| 6MT \| Wavetrac \| Eibach Pro \| CDV delete \| Cobb \| BSW Sudden death - 1970 BMW 2002
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06-05-2015, 03:46 PM	#8
uisim Private First Class 31 Rep 132 Posts Drives: E92 m3 Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: Chicago iTrader: (0)	Had a restraint malfunction once when it was very cold so I attributed that to a weak battery. Another dbc/dsc failure light when I adjusted the steering column height when moving in reverse. Both went away and never came back.( fingers crossed). Also my dome light turns off if I leave it on for too long with the car running... with all the digital electronics in this car I figure some glitches occur. Yours are a bit more severe but if it happens all the time that's when I would take it to a good shop that works on these cars. But sometimes you'd have to wait till its always going on so that a shop can replicate it. You don't want it to come to the classic "well... let's replace _____(insert component here) and see it it fixes the problem" scenario.
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12-11-2015, 10:17 AM	#9
flynscot Private First Class 102 Rep 103 Posts Drives: E46/E90/F80 (sold) F82 now Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Maryland iTrader: (0)	Just had #1 happen. Filled up a usual place, drove 1 mile and stopped at a light. Engine surged +/- 500 rpm for no apparent reason. Drove away from the light and stopped at work a few miles away and no surge. ????
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12-11-2015, 11:18 AM	#10
kb9uwu Supreme Czar 309 Rep 779 Posts Drives: AW E90 M3 6MT (GONE) Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Central Illinois iTrader: (0)	in my 2 years of e90 M3 ownership, I've become a beast at resetting codes while driving
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12-11-2015, 12:31 PM	#11
BLuRRYM3 Private First Class 29 Rep 130 Posts Drives: Jerez Black e92 M3 Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: SoCal iTrader: (0)	Mine is CEL comes on for excessive exhaust if I just do short drives. But once I do a 20+ mile drive, CEL goes away. I guess it's just her complaining that I don't take her anywhere fun anymore. I just bought Akra delete, X pipe, and exhaust; so that problem is going away.
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12-11-2015, 07:25 PM	#12
FISH22 Colonel 5403 Rep 2,030 Posts Drives: G80 M3 Competition Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Chesapeake, VA iTrader: (1) Garage List 2021 BMW M3C [10.00] 2011 BMW M3 [10.00]	This is definitely a quirky car. I have actually experienced the cranking like you described, just a couple months ago. Ran in to a store for a drink, 5 minutes later came back to start it, and it just cranked until I hit the start button again. Was very strange, and has only done it that one time since I've owned it. I have also experienced the idle issues after filling up. Seems to be very common in these cars. I notice that it's much worse after completely topping off the tank. If I let it idle for a couple minutes at a light immediately after filling up, the idle bounces around a couple times, and it has actually died on me. I have seen that a couple times. ('11 E90 w/37k miles). And I would have to agree with the iPod issues as well. I have experienced a few times where the car doesn't even connect to my phone (I have an old iPhone 4S).
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12-11-2015, 09:34 PM	#13
joneffingvo Second Lieutenant 70 Rep 294 Posts Drives: 12 C63 AMG Coupe Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Tempe, AZ iTrader: (0)	Have you guys checked/replaced your car battery? As strange as it sounds after i got my ESS VT2-625 supercharger installed i noticed the car idled weird and would die out sometimes at cold start i also noticed my iDrive would take longer to boot up. Then one day my battery finally died and i got a brand new one + programmed by BMW and voila all those problems were gone! Car idles and runs smooth as butter and iDrive is super snappy when firing up the car. __________________ gone but not forgotten
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12-11-2015, 10:25 PM	#14
Fatbillybob New Member 0 Rep 8 Posts Drives: e90 Join Date: Dec 2015 Location: tuscon iTrader: (0)	I still have trouble with brake pad sensors. I can't turn the dash brake fault light even if I hard wire the brake sensor wires together.
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12-12-2015, 12:26 AM	#15
Seattle M3 Private First Class 30 Rep 178 Posts Drives: 2011 E90 M3 Comp Pack Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Seattle, Wa iTrader: (1)	When the wipers are on and you are stopped at a red light you can feel the movement of the wipers through the brake pedal. I have had 3-E90 M3's and they have all done this.
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12-12-2015, 06:51 AM	#16
p-lethal Second Lieutenant 38 Rep 260 Posts Drives: 2011 BMW M3 Le Mans Blue Join Date: Sep 2015 Location: ***** iTrader: (0)	once i go from blue tooth to usb back to blue tooth all hell breaks loose and i need to reconnect my iphone.
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12-13-2015, 10:47 AM	#19
redpriest Colonel 2147 Rep 2,527 Posts Drives: 2011 M3/Porsche 992 GT3RS Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Bay Area, CA iTrader: (0) Garage List 2024 Porsche 911 GT3RS [0.00] 2021 Porsche 718 Sp ... [0.00] 2021 Mazda Miata MX-5 [0.00] 2006 BMW M3 [0.00] 2011 BMW M3 [10.00]	Come to the car and the comfort access doesn't work, in fact, trying to open the door sets off the car alarm AND opens the door... while the door is still locked. Place the key in the slot, alarm doesn't shut off. After fumbling around for about 2 minutes, car alarm shuts off, comfort access works again, and door stays locked when locked. Clock and trip mileage is reset though. Bizzare. Battery doesn't seem to be dying. Has happened to me twice in two years, both incidents spread many months apart.
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12-14-2015, 04:44 PM	#22
crypticc Captain 73 Rep 963 Posts Drives: e92 M3 DCT + Comp Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: London, UK iTrader: (0)	On my 335 I once was able to run the car without the key in the ignition. I'd accidentally pressed the starter when I meant to eject the fob, then while it was starting I ejected the key as I originally intended. The car continued to start and run with the key in my hand. I didn't go for a full drive just in case but moved around in the parking space for a bit I don't have any of the issues above except the dodgy idle on a full tank and a cic reboot and black screen of death once fixed under warranty. but could you have battery issues as these cars are sensitive?
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