tprindle

Cold Start - Engine runs rough, significant misfire, no power, until it reaches operating temperature which usually takes about 10 miles.

I?ve looked through the forum and noted many are having similar problems, but only found one plausible resolution ? an SIB 11 02 05 that talked about replacing valve lifters/arms. This applies to older vehicles.

My car is 535i July/August ?08 build. Location Atlanta Ga. Mileage 39,000.

Every morning and evening (if the outside temps are cold) the engine runs very rough, shaking the car and occasionally stalls when initially in reverse. It takes about ten miles of driving on surface streets before the engine smoothes out. After that the engine performs perfectly.

I?ve had the car into the dealer 4 times. The dealer in Atlanta indicated it is the gasoline and told me about only using top tier fuels. I?ve been using shell and lately chevron. I?ve also added the chevron techron additive as suggested by the dealer. No improvement in the cold start/rough engine problem.

When I was in Connecticut I took the car to a dealer there. They replaced the high pressure fuel pump and 2 oxygen sensors. Still had the problem.

I am scheduled to take the car back to the Atlanta dealer 2/11. I plan to ask them to have the mechanic drive the car home so he can experience the problem first hand in the morning. I know something is wrong with the engine and I?m worried that I?ll be out of warranty soon without it being fixed.

I can?t imagine that this problem exists in many 535i or the dealer would know how to fix it. I do know that last winter my car did not have this problem. I also believe it is not a gasoline issue ? otherwise I would be among many concerned owners.

It seems like others on this forum have had this problem, but I can?t find any definitive fix that I could steer the dealer towards. Any ideas would certainly be appreciated. If you?d like to talk then call me 404-759-8627. Thanks - Ted

ADD

I know this will sound crazy, but have you tried drygas?

I'm sure the temp difference between GA and CT is dramatic.

Although I never had as much of a problem as you describe, it fixed my issues. Search my posts, to see if it is similar.

FWIW, you drive between Atlanta and CT? Why? I thought I drove alot with 13,000 on an August delivery. You blow that out of the water.

tprindle

I just put in Chevron's Tecron additive - waiting to see if it makes a difference. I will do a second treatment before making any conclusion.

Miles on the car - the BMW is such a pleasure to drive - better than anything I've owned before. The trips to Ct from Atlanta is to see grand kids - we enjoy the time in the car - listen to a book on CD. It takes 16 hours but it is much better than the hassle you get at the airport and considerably cheaper. Door to door via Delta ends up taking 7 to 10 hours plus being exposed to the .... TSA and the non-customer service of today's commercial airlines. No wonder they can't make a profit. I used to own a single engine airplane and the door to door trip was 6 hours. Private plane travel is the best, but now days very expensive. We also make several trips to Florida where the drive time is about 4 hours - commercial air travel is out of the question for these trips.

ADD

Techron won't do anything for water/condensation in the gas.

I did the techron route first and it didn't do anything.

Try the HEET drygas, fuel system cleaner in the RED bottle. Pour it in at half a tank and fill up.

Cleared it up almost instantaneously.

I hear ya about the airlines. I have a conference each year in VA, and we usually drive. Anything that I can get to within 6 hours in a car, I'll drive. Time doesn't add up to fly that distance.

GL