Mine does this for a few seconds on a cold start.
Always clears up after about 200 yards.
Been like this for 18 months.
Changed NOX sensor and spark plugs - made no difference
Been told it may be an injector.

 

Yes I’m not expecting the plugs to cure it but they need doing anyway.

Interesting that you’re has been like it for that long. So it hasn’t got any worse then? My fear is that if left alone it could do more damage to other components.

At the moment I am thinking it’ll need new injectors which is obviously very costly. But it is what it is and at least I’m in a fortunate position where the car is paid for and I can afford the work. I’ll pick it up later and see what they say. Hopefully they can give me a print out of the codes which I’ll post up on here.

 

Got the car back and they have diagnosed 3 faulty injectors across the 2 banks. So it goes in a week on Wednesday for 6 injectors and NOX sensor. Cost is eye watering but I’m really hoping that will sort it for a few years.

 

Why would faulty injectors only cause a misfire when it's cold and not warm?

I also have a cold start misfire though I its been suggested that the exhaust valves aren't closing properly.

 

Not got any worse since, hope yours goes ok

 

Well that’s the car all done and seems to be running well.

Cost was £2.3k in total which was a bit gut wrenching but I think it was the right thing to do. If I’d had the car a few years I may just have moved it on but as it is I would rather keep it a while so hopefully things will go well for a bit. Fingers crossed.

 

Glad it's all sorted.

What was included in the £2.3k if you don't mind me asking, please? I know x6 injectors and NOX sensor but was there anything else?

 

It was diagnostics, 6 spark plugs, 6 injectors, NOX sensor, labour and of course VAT.

Even if I could’ve done it myself there wouldn’t be much saving. The entire labour cost was £185. All the rest is for genuine BMW parts and the injectors were actuall a fiver cheaper each than I was quoted by Cotswold BMW. I guess I could have bought them cheaper on eBay but at that money it’s not worth the risk. At least these have a 2 year guarantee.

 

Phil, the garage (jsprestige in Tamworth) agreed that it was best to change them all if possible. Obviously not everyone can or is willing to fork out at that price but they see this issue all the time and if you just change the faulty injectors then the pressure it puts on the other old ones will cause them to fail. They often get the same cars coming back over and over again. People move them on rather than fix them then the new owner comes back with the same problem!

I would highly recommend these guys, they are all BMW owners and enthusiasts and seem very knowledgeable.

 

This thread should be a sticky as caution to any wannabe 6 pot BMW owners.
Would bring tears to most owners if landed with a £2300 bill soon after purchase.

 

Fair comment. I would always advise getting a warranty to cover the first year or two of ownership...

 

I thought about buying a warranty last year but decided against it because they are very expensive. I took a chance but turns out that was a mistake. Given that there are plenty of used cars out there whose owners have disposed of them because of this it does seem like a good idea to get it covered.

In 29 years of motoring I’ve never had a bill for more than £500 until now. Whether I’ll have another BMW will depend on what happens over the next couple of years. It’s got some making up to do!

 

The injectors leak fuel overnight which gets onto the spark plugs, so when you start it up it runs rough until the fuel burns off after which it’s fine. That’s my understanding anyway.

Your car is 2002 so not direct injection, it won’t be injectors.

 

Oh well that can't be my issue based on how much worse it is in the winter , thanks

 

If anyone is facing this, these are best way to diagnose:

- Do you have a sooty exhaust
- Do you have rough idle on cold start
- Has you car developed misfire codes and CEL cold on Cold start only
- you probably also have NOX errors
- you will have misfire codes etc

Hers what you do:

- Let the car sit over night
- Pul the plugs, if you can smell fuel and the plug looks wet (not oil but petrol) then you have identified a leaky injector

As per the above change all 6 injectors to revision 11, also make sure you replace the decoupling rings
- At the moment Merlin Diesel Systems are the cheapest they will do 150£ per injector on Make me an offer
- You can buy the decoupling rings from Harry Fairborn or Cotswold deliver in set of 6 for £42
- You will want 6 spark plugs, at the moment AutoDoc seem to be the cheapest at circa 6.50ea
- Depending in the age/condition of you coils you may want to change , there was a BMW recall in 2012 so you may be able to get a free set.

To install the injectors I'd recommend buying a 14mm Common rail diesel special tool - about £8 for the "Mercedes" one on amazon (they are generic) and this will allow you to torque the lines rather than half ass it... Remember to grease the lines
You will also need a 12mm thin wall spark plug spanner 3/8" with an articulating head, Laser is cheapest on Amazon at £8
Here is the TIS: https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/...r-manuals/13-fuel-preparation-control/13-53-fuel-injector-nozzles-lines/4N5n5Ly
Additionally you need to code the injectors and clear the adaptations : https://bimmerprofs.com/not-encode-injectors/

For the Nox Element you have 4 options;

Checking to see if your car runs stratified: https://bimmerprofs.com/n43n53-operation-modes-check/


1. New BMW Nox sensor about £400
2. Replacement NOX probe 8 from the NOX shop £160 https://www.nox-sensor.shop/shop/nox-sensor-8-adrig-m20-s2-pkw/#cc-m-product-6697701859
3. Bimmerproffs NOXEM emulated about £320, great if you car has 80K miles as works regardless of the ageing of NOX CAT
4. Remap of 325i or 330I with NOX coded out £250, Maptech and ProMap, if you have a 325I this will make a big performance gain i.e. 265BHP and 45NM increase Map-tech | Lincolnshire's remapping specialist


Personally I'd recommend option 4, I used Maptech..

 

Great write up Will, thanks for that.

I had seen those eBay injectors from Merlin listed at £155 each. Also a NOX sensor for £350. All in all it is possible to get all the parts needed for around £1600 and if I had been doing it myself this would’ve been a good option. Unfortunately I have no mechanical knowledge, no tools and no garage to work in. I did find instructions for DIY online but it just made no sense to me and the thought of putting £1600 of parts in with the possibility of screwing it up put me off somewhat! Also, having it done professionally with parts direct from BMW does at least mean that I can go back to them if something isn’t right. The parts are guaranteed for 2 years which I doubt the eBay ones are. And when I come to sell I have receipts for all the work done which may help to sell it for decent money.

I did think I’d protected myself by buying a late model car with low mileage. Seems that this can happen to any of them so if I were to do it again I would probably spend less money in the first place on a slightly older car.

 

I've heard a lot of conflicting info on re-mapping a 325i N53.
Some say 5-7 BHP max, others offer 47BHP but then when challenged with a rolling road confirmation back down and say the information on their website was wrong?
Can you definitely confirm such a remap with out changing the inlet manifold?

 

Remapped N53 325i Completely standard on a Dyno Dynamics rolling road.

These dynos usually measure less (5-10%) than others like Dynojet or Dynocom

 

I’m pretty sure trying to remap a normally aspirated car is a waste of time. If the 325i isn’t quick enough then I guess it would’ve been better to buy a 330i in the first place. Performance of the standard 325i is more than enough for me.

Despite all this, I do still really like the car. Had a long run in it today and everything feels just as it should. The sound from that engine always puts a smile on my face.

 

I would agree with this if this wasn't about the N53 engine.

Essentially it is the same engine as the 330i, obviously there is no three stage intake manifold, more restrictive exhaust but the rest is pretty much the same.

The performance drop is mainly in the map. 325i map only allows around 70% maximum throttle compared to the 330i.

I have my car remapped and it made a huge difference.

I am a design engineer in the automotive industry, so needed evidence, not just a feel.

My car made 253 Bhp and 325 Nm on a "heartbreaker" dyno dynamics rolling road. (Completely independent company from the one who did the remap.)

I wouldn't call this a waste of time.

 

Hi, I've recently joined this hoping to find a solution to this strange cracklings noise (sounds like sparks) on my BMW 1 series.
Took the car to the garage.. they said it didn't show any fault once connected to the machine but it could be the spark plugs and a case of misfire. The mechanic said that it was not the coil that needed replacing as it wasn't showing fault on the machine. Had all the spark plugs changed yet I can still hear this strange crackling noise on the drivers side.
Also the car begins to judder when the speed is increased and you go into higher gears.
Does anybody have any suggestions? The mechanics dont seem to be of much use.

 

Welcome to the forum mate.

You should post in the introduction section to say hello and tell us a bit about yourself and your car. Then if you post your problem in the 1 series section you should be able to get more help and advice. Don’t forget to include details of the exact model and engine you have.

A very quick search on crackling noises shows up a couple of things. Main one is crackling from the audio system and speakers but I’m guessing it’s not that. Some suspension issues can sound like sparks or crackling. If it’s a diesel then the EGR can be at fault which may account for the hesitation under acceleration. Or as said, coil packs. It sounds like you might need a better garage like an independent BMW specialist really. If your guys are just going by whatever codes show up then it could be difficult to diagnose.

Good luck

 

Sounds like a coil pack is on its way out rather than gone completely.
Either buy a new coil pack and keep swapping until it stops or leave it long enough and it will throw a warning light and therefore a code, you can then sort it.

 

Who did the re-map for you?

 

Promap - Birstall

 

Deleted

.

 

I don’t think I’ll bother. It’ll only end up going bang and costing me a few more grand!

 

Sure, if you are not finding it weird from a 3.0 litre engine making only 217 Bhp.

A 2.0 Honda engine makes more.

 

Birstall isn't far from me, will give them a call.

 

My car just started throwing engine misfire on cylinder 2 and rough running error codes so I think it's time have the injectors changed.
The car is a 2011 330i N53 running index 08 injectors.

I have the policy with warranty wise so I'm hoping to have it done at their cost.

 

My car just started throwing engine misfire on cylinder 2 and rough running error codes so I think it's time have the injectors changed.
The car is a 2011 330i N53 running index 08 injectors.

I have the warranty so I'm hoping to have it done at their cost.

Just an update.

Car went in for a diagnostics and as expected - all 6 injectors should be replaced.

However it is only ADVISED to replace all injectors in case 1 or more fails. For that reason warranty company authorised the replacement of only one injector.
So I had one injector replaced and as expected - no improvement. Next day the car had engine management light on along with lumpy idle and misfire codes (on the same cylinder as before!).

Car went back into garage and they swapped coils around to see if the misfire code would follow but no luck. Same misfire code for the same cylinder.
Drove the car for a week and it was absolutely rubbish so I had to book it in again.

Surprisingly after a week of driving the car fixed itself. No misfire codes, the idle is stable every single time and no more vibration/shaking on cold start ups.
Exhaust tips are still shiny after 2 weeks of driving!

 

I’ll be interested to see how you get on with the warranty wise policy and if they will cover the cost.

I do regret not having any cover myself. However, my past experience of car warranties has been poor and most just aren’t worth the paper they are written on. I would guess that if you have a misfire on cylinder 2 due to a faulty injector then they will only agree to change that one rather than all six. I chose to replace all mine because I had read that that is really the only way to fix this problem.

As for the power output, it’s fine. The E92 isn’t really a sports car, it’s more of a gentleman’s carriage. There’s more than enough power for most people. The Honda 2.0 in the type r makes 197bhp which is great, it’s a good engine and I like it a lot. I came from a long line of Jap cars including a Celica T sport which had 190bhp (supposedly) from its 1.8 unit. It was a lot of fun and I did actually consider a type r before buying the BMW but I’m getting a bit too old for all that screaming 9000rpm stuff.

Funny thing is that on the Celica forum there were no end of posts from people wanting to extract more power from that engine without throwing big money at it. I’ve just never really understood it all. If you want a faster car then just get one. That way you don’t have to bother with the insurance and maintenance issues and the fact that you won’t be able to sell it because it’s been modified.

 

I’ll be interested to see how you get on with the warranty wise policy and if they will cover the cost.

I do regret not having any cover myself. However, my past experience of car warranties has been poor and most just aren’t worth the paper they are written on. I would guess that if you have a misfire on cylinder 2 due to a faulty injector then they will only agree to change that one rather than all six. I chose to replace all mine because I had read that that is really the only way to fix this problem.

There is no way they are going to replace all 6 injectors, I don't even know if they will do one but let's see what happens.

Car is booked in for Wednesday with specialist and they will run everything through the warranty wise to keep them in loop.

In my opinion it is definitely a faulty injector(s).
Car is shaking on cold start-up, lumpy idle and black exhaust tips after 4 days of driving.

 

I’m not going to argue as I don’t have much technical knowledge.

I’m happy with my 217bhp. Power is not the be all and end all, you could just as easily say that the N53 does well as a 3.0 straight 6 to have lower emissions and better fuel economy than that Honda 2.0

Mind you, I never had a repair bill for over £2k with my Honda Civic! That alone will probably put me off BMW in the future unless the car proves faultlessly reliable over the next few years. At the moment I feel that I’m pretty much done with expensive, performance cars. My next motor may even be a small hatch with less than half the power.