Bmw Error Codes

Long-term 730d leaves us stranded

I have a friend who’s now convinced that she needs to see her priest, thanks to our long-term BMW 730d.

Not that I can blame her; she was having quite the week. On the Monday she got stuck on some deserted residential road and had to have her Polo towed. Five grand, a new clutch plate and a service later, and the Polo’s back in Sandton traffic.

But while the Polo’s innards were getting examined, my dear friend was forced to hire a car to get around. Only to be rear ended in the rain, by a rather large SUV, which simply chose not to stop at an intersection. Did I mention that said SUV driver had no insurance?

So, being a good friend, I thought a visit would be a good idea, followed by a little drive around Lenz, my old stomping ground, in our grand dame 730d. Until I tried to start it up again after a stop at a fuel station, that is.

I thought my pupils were dilating when a little warning triangle came up on the instrument cluster, accompanied by a exclamation marked message saying “Next press of button starts engine”.

Well, not quite.

Next press of (start) button was a wheezy cough from the starter motor, the kind you get when the battery’s kaput and doesn’t have enough charge to turn the starter. Needless to say, said friend was not exactly impressed – sense of humour failure was more like it, and I was left speed dialing BMW on call for assistance.

Now as luck would have it, Jay, the operator at the call centre in Midrand, lives in Lenz – not far from where the 730d had given up the ghost actually. Which was good news as by now it was around 9.30pm on a Sunday night, and the last thing I needed was to explain how to get to where I was.

And, to be honest, the on-call service from then on was top notch. A technician from Roodepoort (Lenz has just about every car dealership, including Tata, but not BMW) arrived on a motorbike about half-an-hour later, but his jump-start equipment showed that the battery was fine.

So we debated possible causes. He suggested that perhaps the key lost its coding, but then it wouldn’t have allowed the car to go all the way to the starting stage. Dirty diesel perhaps? Unlikely as I’d already gone through half a tank since the last top up.

BMW REPAIR MANUAL – BMW ERROR ENGINE CODE LIST

1. The Check Engine light tells you the computer found a problem with your vehicle’s running condition.

2. If the vehicle is driving OK, a Check Engine light is not a reason to pull over. But get the problem fixed soon.

3. In testing areas, you will fail your emissions test if the Check Engine light is on.

4. Fuel economy generally suffers when the Check Engine light is on.

5. An extended warranty covers emissions-related components that can trigger the Check Engine light. More information is at: epa.gov/obd/warranties.htm.

6. When the Check Engine light is on, one or more “trouble code(s)” are stored in the computer.

7. You can read and erase trouble codes using inexpensive code-reader tools from auto-parts stores; the tools are very easy to use.

8. The problems identified by the codes are frequently easy to fix (such as a loose gas cap), but some are complex, requiring professional diagnosis.

9. A trouble code indicates a circuit where the problem was identified, not necessarily the component itself. Diagnosis is often necessary.

10. The Haynes OBD-II Techbook (Book #10206) is your source for late-model code information. If you have a 1995 or earlier model, get Book #10205. Both books can be found in the Techbook section of this site.

101 Performance Projects for Your BMW 3

BMW 5-series, service manual : 525i, 530i, 535i, 540i, including Touring 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995

Imported cars, light trucks & vans service & repair, 1989

BMW 3-series, service manual, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990 : 318i, 325, 325e(es), 325i(is), and 325i convertible

BMW Z3 roadster, service manual : 4-cylinder and 6-cylinder engines, 1996, 1997, 1998