DTC & ABS Failure!

alik01 · 02-10-2010, 03:01 AM

Hey guys,

Just got into the car after work and the warning lights for ABS and DTC failure came on. No idea what's happened. It was fine in the morning and I went for a drive during work time too.

So I am now in TIMYOYO mode full time! Really hope it doesn't rain too hard, it's going to be fun driving till it get's sorted.

Only thing I've done recently was take out the run flats. The car hasn't been driven for a few days since I was in Melbourne.

Any ideas on what might have happened? Will ring BMW tomorrow to get it looked at.

Thanks in advance!

alik01 · 02-10-2010, 03:34 AM

Also, the indicators won't turn themselves off after a turn. I have also lost hill start assist!

Could it be an easy fix software flash or do you think it's an actual physical fault?

Only thing I can think of is, the dealer might have not correctly sealed the windscreen they replaced recently and water leaked into the underdash delicates?

WOPALX · 02-10-2010, 03:55 AM

I had pretty much the same errors recently after scraping down a driveway. Wound up dissapearing after a day or so + car did not record any errors.

Quote:

Originally Posted by alik01

Hey guys,

Just got into the car after work and the warning lights for ABS and DTC failure came on. No idea what's happened. It was fine in the morning and I went for a drive during work time too.

So I am now in TIMYOYO mode full time! Really hope it doesn't rain too hard, it's going to be fun driving till it get's sorted.

Only thing I've done recently was take out the run flats. The car hasn't been driven for a few days since I was in Melbourne.

Any ideas on what might have happened? Will ring BMW tomorrow to get it looked at.

Thanks in advance!

sparoz · 02-10-2010, 04:07 AM

Just be careful - may be it's the optical sensor on the steering. At least that would be one of the known problems for all BMWs. I think X5mad had that, and my 120d had that as well.

As the sensor is a crucial component in calculating the yaw rate - you loose everything.

sparoz · 02-10-2010, 04:08 AM

Also demand for a car! If they need to get parts - they won't let you drive the car back out which it's driven in.

alik01 · 02-10-2010, 05:01 AM

Thanks for the reply WOPALX & Sparoz.

Was a feeling good after reading th first reply but Sparoz, you have me worried a bit.

Sparoz, on your 120d, did the same symptoms show up or did it present differently?

My main concern is, if the cause of the issue is a leak in the windscreen seal, how do I prove it. There is only one dealer in Darwin and their reputation suggests that they would not willingly fault. So just a bit worried about where I stand with this, since the car is out of warranty as well.

micha3l · 02-10-2010, 05:10 AM

That happened on my 318i. Hope you are in warranty or have a fat wallet

Could be a pressure sensor in the ABS unit, the steering angle sensor, a wheel speed sensor and the list goes on.

Depending on the dealer, sometimes they dont even know, so just through a dart at a dart board and fix the one they hit! The dealer on mine just get replacing things until it was fixed costing me evey time. But if you have better dealer service hopefully they will get it first time!

They let me drive the car after I told them though, warned me that it was dangerous bla bla bla but the car felt normal, drove around like that for about a month, just didnt push it hard.

Got rid of it before it came back, and thats how I got my 135i

alik01 · 02-10-2010, 05:30 AM

Micha3l, you just freaked me out a bit, as it just
came out of warranty. I suppose all I can do is wait and see.

Sparoz, with the optical sensor, on the way from work, I gave it a little squirt, just to see if it was actually in TIMYOYO, and the steering responded perfectly!

amk2912 · 02-10-2010, 08:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sparoz

Just be careful - may be it's the optical sensor on the steering. At least that would be one of the known problems for all BMWs. I think X5mad had that, and my 120d had that as well.

As the sensor is a crucial component in calculating the yaw rate - you loose everything.

I agree. I lost DSC on the X5 and the cause was a failed steering wheel angle sensor. Problem resolved when the sensor was replaced.

BTW..as of today the f**king window motor in the drivers door of the X5 is playing up...just can't bloody win with this E53!!! Window winds down OK but takes forever to go up.

Jeef Beef · 02-10-2010, 08:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by amk2912

I agree. I lost DSC on the X5 and the cause was a failed steering wheel angle sensor. Problem resolved when the sensor was replaced.

BTW..as of today the f**king window motor in the drivers door of the X5 is playing up...just can't bloody win with this E53!!! Window winds down OK but takes forever to go up.

Time for the 2011 LCI X5 I think

alik01, did you give your car a restart after all the warnings showed up? I remember my mum's X3 did the same thing a while back in a carpark - no DSC, ABS or hillhold. Turned the car off, sat it for about 5 minutes before turning it back on.

Everything back to normal. No codes when we took it in to service either.

alik01 · 02-10-2010, 08:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by amk2912

I agree. I lost DSC on the X5 and the cause was a failed steering wheel angle sensor. Problem resolved when the sensor was replaced.

BTW..as of today the f**king window motor in the drivers door of the X5 is playing up...just can't bloody win with this E53!!! Window winds down OK but takes forever to go up.

amk2912, really hoping it's something easily diagnosable, really don't want to be making multiple trips to the dealer here. How much is the cost to replace one of these things?

Feel your pain with the E53, I can't seem to win with this either, when one issue gets sorted, another one just artfully crops up! Still love it though!

amk2912 · 02-10-2010, 05:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alik01

amk2912, really hoping it's something easily diagnosable, really don't want to be making multiple trips to the dealer here. How much is the cost to replace one of these things?

Feel your pain with the E53, I can't seem to win with this either, when one issue gets sorted, another one just artfully crops up! Still love it though!

The dodgy steering angle sensor was easy to diagnose and easy for them to change over. BMW covered the part and I paid for the labour which was about $170 - an hour, I guess. With this new window problem happening I am getting seriously pee'd off. I was holding out for the twin-turbo 4.4 V8 E70 which has just been announced but I'm considering a whole brand change. I'd love to get a RR Sport but am worried about the legendary British reliability.

alik01 · 02-10-2010, 06:12 PM

Amk2912, That's some consolation then, hope it's that and hope it get sorted soon.
It's at the tyre shop now, getting the wheels repainted after they damaged it putting on the new tyres! Have it booked in at BMW for diagnostics and 50k
service tomorrow, hope it all gets sorted. Have a lot more respect for it while driving now, since it's all in my hands!

Read about the new V8 as well, things sound good
and it's supposed to have new tranny as well, and they are claimig a few gains, so should be good. Have you heard of many issues with the E70, my mum's
gave no trouble at all while we had it, she was really happy with it.

My uncle has a RR Sport In Dubai and he loves it to bits, never had any trouble
at all - so might be one of the lucky ones. I thought the reliability had greatly improved in recent years, not sure how it is under Tata now.

micha3l · 02-10-2010, 06:24 PM

Hope it gets sorted for you easily! Mine ended up being the Steering Angle sensor, so seems pretty common. Was $1,200 including labour with me having to pay for the part. Seems to be quire common though, so maybe with it just coming out of warranty they will be willing to cover it. (Mine was just over 5 years old when all they had was a 2 year warranty)

No matter how many problems these cars can have, I keep coming back for more!

alik01 · 02-10-2010, 06:36 PM

Thanks micha3l. Hope it's something like that and they sort it out so I can have my baby back. Doubt they will do any warranty goodwill as it was purchased from Motorline BMW in Brisbane, but I'll talk to BMW and see what they say.

Your right about the coming back for more, the enthusiast really is an idiot, but I'll
happily wear this idiot grin!

kizzorama · 02-10-2010, 06:53 PM

This exact thing happened to my e90 325i a few years ago. The dealer mechanics said it was faulty software. When they tried to upgrade the software it apparently wouldnt upload. The computer (?) then malfunctioned and needed to be replaced. They had my car for a week while the new part arrived and had run out of courtesy vehicles.

alik01 · 02-10-2010, 07:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeef Beef

Time for the 2011 LCI X5 I think

alik01, did you give your car a restart after all the warnings showed up? I remember my mum's X3 did the same thing a while back in a carpark - no DSC, ABS or hillhold. Turned the car off, sat it for about 5 minutes before turning it back on.

Everything back to normal. No codes when we took it in to service either.

Jeef Beef, sorry I didn't see your post. I gave it a restart, while I looked up the codes in the book. I also left it over night and tried this morning and same thing.

Kizzorama, that's bad news, hope warranty had you covered for everything. I was thinking software issues as well, hopefully they don't fry my computer as well as that would end up costing me a small fortune out of warranty!

555 · 02-10-2010, 10:43 PM

Software reset on mine fixed the same issue...

alik01 · 02-11-2010, 04:38 AM

555, really hoping it's something software related and fixed with an update, but I have a feeling it's something a bit worse! Also, I spoke to the Service Manager at work, who used to be at BMW. He said it's sounds like a CZL failure, some compound switch thing. He was really busy and I didn't want to pester him too much, will ask him again when he's drunk this weekend!

Just as an update, checked the car into the Goodyear tyre shop to get the wheels repaired, they said a day, which apparently means overnight in their books, so won't be getting the car till tomorrow evening. Had to call BMW and re-schedule for Monday.

So I get to have the car for the weekend in TIMYOYO (I love that term!) and there's storm clouds brewing!

Will keep you gents informed on the developments!

Caduceus · 02-11-2010, 05:35 AM

I had this fixed on my 135 only a week ago.

Exact same symptoms:

1) Failure lights as described,
2) Indicators fail to self cancel,
3) Hill start assist failure,
4) TIMYOYO mode active

At first it was intermittent and would often clear by itself the next time I started the car. It would normally recur again the next time I wound a bit of lock on the steering at slow speed - pulling into the driveway at work was typical.

It was fixed under warranty. And they gave me a brand new 135 convertible with all the fruit and just 90 km on the odometer as a loan car. I almost choked when the service advisor asked me if a brand new 135 vert was suitable for a loan car......Good work Westside.

alik01 · 02-11-2010, 06:56 AM

Caduceas, brand new vert as a loaner is pretty sweet dealer, your SA must love you!

The problem seems to be exactly the same except mine just came on and never left! Do you know what the issue was in the end on yours?

Caduceus · 02-12-2010, 04:46 AM

Sorry, I should have stated in the body of the reply (it was in the title).

It was the optical sensor in the steering column that tells the computer what position the steering wheel is in.

Looks like a few of the other guys have had the same thing too.

02-10-2010, 03:01 AM	#1
alik01 Lieutenant Colonel 51 Rep 1,792 Posts Drives: Slowly & Responsibly Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Darwin, Australia iTrader: (0)	DTC & ABS Failure! Hey guys, Just got into the car after work and the warning lights for ABS and DTC failure came on. No idea what's happened. It was fine in the morning and I went for a drive during work time too. So I am now in TIMYOYO mode full time! Really hope it doesn't rain too hard, it's going to be fun driving till it get's sorted. Only thing I've done recently was take out the run flats. The car hasn't been driven for a few days since I was in Melbourne. Any ideas on what might have happened? Will ring BMW tomorrow to get it looked at. Thanks in advance!
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02-10-2010, 03:34 AM	#2
alik01 Lieutenant Colonel 51 Rep 1,792 Posts Drives: Slowly & Responsibly Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Darwin, Australia iTrader: (0)	Also, the indicators won't turn themselves off after a turn. I have also lost hill start assist! Could it be an easy fix software flash or do you think it's an actual physical fault? Only thing I can think of is, the dealer might have not correctly sealed the windscreen they replaced recently and water leaked into the underdash delicates?
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02-10-2010, 04:07 AM	#4
sparoz Brigadier General 192 Rep 4,848 Posts Drives: VO 1///M; Macan Turbo Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Sunshine Coast iTrader: (0)	Just be careful - may be it's the optical sensor on the steering. At least that would be one of the known problems for all BMWs. I think X5mad had that, and my 120d had that as well. As the sensor is a crucial component in calculating the yaw rate - you loose everything. __________________ Macan S Diesel - Carrera White Macan Turbo - White 1///M - Valencia Orange
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02-10-2010, 04:08 AM	#5
sparoz Brigadier General 192 Rep 4,848 Posts Drives: VO 1///M; Macan Turbo Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Sunshine Coast iTrader: (0)	Also demand for a car! If they need to get parts - they won't let you drive the car back out which it's driven in. __________________ Macan S Diesel - Carrera White Macan Turbo - White 1///M - Valencia Orange
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02-10-2010, 05:01 AM	#6
alik01 Lieutenant Colonel 51 Rep 1,792 Posts Drives: Slowly & Responsibly Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Darwin, Australia iTrader: (0)	Thanks for the reply WOPALX & Sparoz. Was a feeling good after reading th first reply but Sparoz, you have me worried a bit. Sparoz, on your 120d, did the same symptoms show up or did it present differently? My main concern is, if the cause of the issue is a leak in the windscreen seal, how do I prove it. There is only one dealer in Darwin and their reputation suggests that they would not willingly fault. So just a bit worried about where I stand with this, since the car is out of warranty as well.
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02-10-2010, 05:10 AM	#7
micha3l Lieutenant 26 Rep 513 Posts Drives: 2011 BMW M3 Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Brisbane, Australia iTrader: (0)	That happened on my 318i. Hope you are in warranty or have a fat wallet Could be a pressure sensor in the ABS unit, the steering angle sensor, a wheel speed sensor and the list goes on. Depending on the dealer, sometimes they dont even know, so just through a dart at a dart board and fix the one they hit! The dealer on mine just get replacing things until it was fixed costing me evey time. But if you have better dealer service hopefully they will get it first time! They let me drive the car after I told them though, warned me that it was dangerous bla bla bla but the car felt normal, drove around like that for about a month, just didnt push it hard. Got rid of it before it came back, and thats how I got my 135i Last edited by micha3l; 02-10-2010 at 05:23 AM.. Reason: spelling
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02-10-2010, 05:30 AM	#8
alik01 Lieutenant Colonel 51 Rep 1,792 Posts Drives: Slowly & Responsibly Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Darwin, Australia iTrader: (0)	Micha3l, you just freaked me out a bit, as it just came out of warranty. I suppose all I can do is wait and see. Sparoz, with the optical sensor, on the way from work, I gave it a little squirt, just to see if it was actually in TIMYOYO, and the steering responded perfectly!
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02-10-2010, 06:12 PM	#13
alik01 Lieutenant Colonel 51 Rep 1,792 Posts Drives: Slowly & Responsibly Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Darwin, Australia iTrader: (0)	Amk2912, That's some consolation then, hope it's that and hope it get sorted soon. It's at the tyre shop now, getting the wheels repainted after they damaged it putting on the new tyres! Have it booked in at BMW for diagnostics and 50k service tomorrow, hope it all gets sorted. Have a lot more respect for it while driving now, since it's all in my hands! Read about the new V8 as well, things sound good and it's supposed to have new tranny as well, and they are claimig a few gains, so should be good. Have you heard of many issues with the E70, my mum's gave no trouble at all while we had it, she was really happy with it. My uncle has a RR Sport In Dubai and he loves it to bits, never had any trouble at all - so might be one of the lucky ones. I thought the reliability had greatly improved in recent years, not sure how it is under Tata now.
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02-10-2010, 06:24 PM	#14
micha3l Lieutenant 26 Rep 513 Posts Drives: 2011 BMW M3 Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Brisbane, Australia iTrader: (0)	Hope it gets sorted for you easily! Mine ended up being the Steering Angle sensor, so seems pretty common. Was $1,200 including labour with me having to pay for the part. Seems to be quire common though, so maybe with it just coming out of warranty they will be willing to cover it. (Mine was just over 5 years old when all they had was a 2 year warranty) No matter how many problems these cars can have, I keep coming back for more!
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02-10-2010, 06:36 PM	#15
alik01 Lieutenant Colonel 51 Rep 1,792 Posts Drives: Slowly & Responsibly Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Darwin, Australia iTrader: (0)	Thanks micha3l. Hope it's something like that and they sort it out so I can have my baby back. Doubt they will do any warranty goodwill as it was purchased from Motorline BMW in Brisbane, but I'll talk to BMW and see what they say. Your right about the coming back for more, the enthusiast really is an idiot, but I'll happily wear this idiot grin!
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02-10-2010, 06:53 PM	#16
kizzorama Enlisted Member 3 Rep 32 Posts Drives: 135i Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Sydney iTrader: (0)	This exact thing happened to my e90 325i a few years ago. The dealer mechanics said it was faulty software. When they tried to upgrade the software it apparently wouldnt upload. The computer (?) then malfunctioned and needed to be replaced. They had my car for a week while the new part arrived and had run out of courtesy vehicles.
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02-10-2010, 10:43 PM	#18
555 Doing it for TV! 10 Rep 182 Posts Drives: 2015 M3 Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Melbourne iTrader: (0)	Software reset on mine fixed the same issue...
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02-11-2010, 04:38 AM	#19
alik01 Lieutenant Colonel 51 Rep 1,792 Posts Drives: Slowly & Responsibly Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Darwin, Australia iTrader: (0)	555, really hoping it's something software related and fixed with an update, but I have a feeling it's something a bit worse! Also, I spoke to the Service Manager at work, who used to be at BMW. He said it's sounds like a CZL failure, some compound switch thing. He was really busy and I didn't want to pester him too much, will ask him again when he's drunk this weekend! Just as an update, checked the car into the Goodyear tyre shop to get the wheels repaired, they said a day, which apparently means overnight in their books, so won't be getting the car till tomorrow evening. Had to call BMW and re-schedule for Monday. So I get to have the car for the weekend in TIMYOYO (I love that term!) and there's storm clouds brewing! Will keep you gents informed on the developments!
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02-11-2010, 05:35 AM	#20
Caduceus First Lieutenant 342 Rep 396 Posts Drives: 2008 135 (sold), 2017 M2 Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Australia iTrader: (0)	It's the steering wheel position sensor I had this fixed on my 135 only a week ago. Exact same symptoms: 1) Failure lights as described, 2) Indicators fail to self cancel, 3) Hill start assist failure, 4) TIMYOYO mode active At first it was intermittent and would often clear by itself the next time I started the car. It would normally recur again the next time I wound a bit of lock on the steering at slow speed - pulling into the driveway at work was typical. It was fixed under warranty. And they gave me a brand new 135 convertible with all the fruit and just 90 km on the odometer as a loan car. I almost choked when the service advisor asked me if a brand new 135 vert was suitable for a loan car......Good work Westside.
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02-11-2010, 06:56 AM	#21
alik01 Lieutenant Colonel 51 Rep 1,792 Posts Drives: Slowly & Responsibly Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Darwin, Australia iTrader: (0)	Caduceas, brand new vert as a loaner is pretty sweet dealer, your SA must love you! The problem seems to be exactly the same except mine just came on and never left! Do you know what the issue was in the end on yours?
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02-12-2010, 04:46 AM	#22
Caduceus First Lieutenant 342 Rep 396 Posts Drives: 2008 135 (sold), 2017 M2 Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Australia iTrader: (0)	What was wrong Sorry, I should have stated in the body of the reply (it was in the title). It was the optical sensor in the steering column that tells the computer what position the steering wheel is in. Looks like a few of the other guys have had the same thing too.
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