Z4M rough idle, loss of power, stuttering & sounds like a diesel VIDEO

arobyte · 08-19-2012, 01:31 PM

Had my z4m sitting for about 5 months and in starting it and charging the battery, it ran fine for about 10 mins. It idled fine and suddenly started jerking. The idle was very rough and there was a rattling sound. The rattling I later discovered was the transmission as they can be clunky on the Z4M. But the rough idle and huge loss of power and stuttering of the exhaust I don't know. Have drained the fuel and replaced with new*clean fuel and same thing. On revving, there is a stuttering sound from the exhaust. There is no real*audible hissing that might suggest a vacuum leak. I had read the codes and it said misfire on multiple cylinders.

Upon more research, I'm leaning towards bad coils but will 1 or 2 coils cause all cylinders to misfire?

Beedub · 08-19-2012, 03:00 PM

i winced as you revved that sick engine :-(

sounds like a bad coil....

inTgr8r · 08-19-2012, 03:06 PM

^this

arobyte · 08-19-2012, 05:15 PM

I know the revving would cringe a lot of people. But to get the most info out there wanted to show both idle and higher revs.

Car has 60k kms and unless bmw change coils as regular maintenance, I don't remember ever changing any.

Thanks.
Up for more suggestions.

zimmer · 08-19-2012, 05:21 PM

i had the same problem it cost 700 dollars, what they did was replaced the breather valve its simple to do the part is 150 dollars it right at the top of engine they hit me for 3 hours labor which was bull shit

arobyte · 08-19-2012, 06:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zimmer

i had the same problem it cost 700 dollars, what they did was replaced the breather valve its simple to do the part is 150 dollars it right at the top of engine they hit me for 3 hours labor which was bull shit

So it could be that too then.

Will one dead coil cause such a rough idle?

Kgolf31 · 08-19-2012, 07:29 PM

Blown Coil.

What do you think the car would do when 5 out of 6 cylinders are firing?

Weight distribution gets thrown off...yada yada yada.

If you knew you were low on oil would you rev the engine? Probably not. The same is here, don't rev it.

zimmer · 08-19-2012, 09:17 PM

There are rude people on this site, do your self a favor and have the dealer look at it have it towed and fixed by pros. it could be a cheap fix or a expensive fix just be prepared with your wallet. Thats the price we pay for these animalistic cars

zimmer · 08-19-2012, 09:18 PM

anither thing mabey your valves need to be adjusted and thats about 3000 dollars at BMW

elerner61 · 08-19-2012, 09:40 PM

I've been thinking, since coils are pretty cheap at about $30 each and pretty easy to install, why no replace all of them at about the 35K miles mark? Having one go "not on my schedule" would be a pain in the ass whenever it happened.

What does the general consensus think? Why would this be a bad idea?

chickdr · 08-19-2012, 10:04 PM

Not at all. I have seen posts about folks who carry a spare coil just in case it happens out on the road.

Mueller944s2 · 08-19-2012, 10:32 PM

Ours was firing on 5, just a rough idle. Did you put stable in the gas? If you didn't you may have nasty gas in there, even if you drained it. On my Porsche the other day I had a rough idle and it kept dying. I would try to rev it and it wouldnt go then all of a sudden surge upward. I held the rpms up and eventually whatever was in there blew through. There's my two cents

arobyte · 08-19-2012, 11:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zimmer

There are rude people on this site, do your self a favor and have the dealer look at it have it towed and fixed by pros. it could be a cheap fix or a expensive fix just be prepared with your wallet. Thats the price we pay for these animalistic cars

Thanks for your advice. I wish it were that simple. The car is in west Africa now where getting a dealer is hard and trIal and error expensive. So I'd rather have as much info as possible before going in to see one.

chickdr · 08-20-2012, 06:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by arobyte

Thanks for your advice. I wish it were that simple. The car is in west Africa now where getting a dealer is hard and trIal and error expensive. So I'd rather have as much info as possible before going in to see one.

Wow- I would not want to have a car like this in that region of the world!

inTgr8r · 08-20-2012, 08:08 AM

buy a code reader to help diagnose the issue.
could save you a lot of guessing & they aren't expensive.

arobyte · 08-20-2012, 09:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chickdr

Wow- I would not want to have a car like this in that region of the world!

This region of the world is not what you might think. There are a lot more than what national geographic shows.

arobyte · 08-20-2012, 09:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by inTgr8r

buy a code reader to help diagnose the issue.
could save you a lot of guessing & they aren't expensive.

I'll buy one. The car had just been so trouble free I got comfortable I guess.

chickdr · 08-21-2012, 11:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by arobyte

This region of the world is not what you might think. There are a lot more than what national geographic shows.

Based on your previous post it doesn't sound comparable to US or Canadian standards....

arobyte · 08-21-2012, 03:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chickdr

Based on your previous post it doesn't sound comparable to US or Canadian standards....

That'll be a discussion for a different thread.

Mechanic said it's three of the six coils that went bad.
Will swap them out and update.

Caddyshk · 08-21-2012, 05:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zimmer

anither thing mabey your valves need to be adjusted and thats about 3000 dollars at BMW

thekurgan · 08-21-2012, 06:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zimmer

anither thing mabey your valves need to be adjusted and thats about 3000 dollars at BMW

You're killin' me ovah here ...

Caddyshk · 08-21-2012, 07:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zimmer

There are rude people on this site, do your self a favor and have the dealer look at it have it towed and fixed by pros. it could be a cheap fix or a expensive fix just be prepared with your wallet. Thats the price we pay for these animalistic cars

Some here will take offense to this...

08-19-2012, 01:31 PM	#1
arobyte New Member 5 Rep 23 Posts Drives: 2006 BMW Z4 M Roadster Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Ontario, Canada iTrader: (0)	Z4M rough idle, loss of power, stuttering & sounds like a diesel VIDEO Had my z4m sitting for about 5 months and in starting it and charging the battery, it ran fine for about 10 mins. It idled fine and suddenly started jerking. The idle was very rough and there was a rattling sound. The rattling I later discovered was the transmission as they can be clunky on the Z4M. But the rough idle and huge loss of power and stuttering of the exhaust I don't know. Have drained the fuel and replaced with newclean fuel and same thing. On revving, there is a stuttering sound from the exhaust. There is no realaudible hissing that might suggest a vacuum leak. I had read the codes and it said misfire on multiple cylinders. Upon more research, I'm leaning towards bad coils but will 1 or 2 coils cause all cylinders to misfire?
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08-19-2012, 03:00 PM	#2
Beedub Major General 430 Rep 5,329 Posts Drives: 2007 Z4 M roadster vt2-500 Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: UK iTrader: (0)	i winced as you revved that sick engine :-( sounds like a bad coil.... __________________ Z4MR VT2 - Clubsport build. Multi award winning Detailing \| Wrap \| PPF specialists UK based - www.topwrapz.com
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08-19-2012, 03:06 PM	#3
inTgr8r Lieutenant General 2452 Rep 11,667 Posts Drives: M2 Comp Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Toronto iTrader: (10)	^this __________________ '21 M2C Hockenheim Silver '18 718 Cayman S Lava Orange (sold) '13 E92 M3 Santorini Blue (sold) '07 Z4 M Coupe Alpine White (sold)
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08-19-2012, 05:15 PM	#4
arobyte New Member 5 Rep 23 Posts Drives: 2006 BMW Z4 M Roadster Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Ontario, Canada iTrader: (0)	I know the revving would cringe a lot of people. But to get the most info out there wanted to show both idle and higher revs. Car has 60k kms and unless bmw change coils as regular maintenance, I don't remember ever changing any. Thanks. Up for more suggestions.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

08-19-2012, 05:21 PM	#5
zimmer Second Lieutenant 43 Rep 240 Posts Drives: 2007 Z4MC Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: NY iTrader: (0) Garage List 2007 BMW Z4 M [2.00]	rough idle i had the same problem it cost 700 dollars, what they did was replaced the breather valve its simple to do the part is 150 dollars it right at the top of engine they hit me for 3 hours labor which was bull shit
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08-19-2012, 07:29 PM	#7
Kgolf31 Brigadier General 464 Rep 4,531 Posts Drives: 2007 Z4MC, 2012 128i Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Ohio iTrader: (4)	Blown Coil. What do you think the car would do when 5 out of 6 cylinders are firing? Weight distribution gets thrown off...yada yada yada. If you knew you were low on oil would you rev the engine? Probably not. The same is here, don't rev it.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

08-19-2012, 09:17 PM	#8
zimmer Second Lieutenant 43 Rep 240 Posts Drives: 2007 Z4MC Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: NY iTrader: (0) Garage List 2007 BMW Z4 M [2.00]	There are rude people on this site, do your self a favor and have the dealer look at it have it towed and fixed by pros. it could be a cheap fix or a expensive fix just be prepared with your wallet. Thats the price we pay for these animalistic cars
	Appreciate 0 Quote

08-19-2012, 09:18 PM	#9
zimmer Second Lieutenant 43 Rep 240 Posts Drives: 2007 Z4MC Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: NY iTrader: (0) Garage List 2007 BMW Z4 M [2.00]	anither thing mabey your valves need to be adjusted and thats about 3000 dollars at BMW
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08-19-2012, 09:40 PM	#10
elerner61 Major 159 Rep 1,108 Posts Drives: '07 Z4M Roadster Join Date: May 2011 Location: Mount Kisco, NY iTrader: (0)	I've been thinking, since coils are pretty cheap at about $30 each and pretty easy to install, why no replace all of them at about the 35K miles mark? Having one go "not on my schedule" would be a pain in the ass whenever it happened. What does the general consensus think? Why would this be a bad idea?
	Appreciate 0 Quote

08-19-2012, 10:04 PM	#11
chickdr Colonel 149 Rep 2,005 Posts Drives: 2006 M Roadster Join Date: May 2009 Location: Buford, GA iTrader: (0)	Not at all. I have seen posts about folks who carry a spare coil just in case it happens out on the road.
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08-19-2012, 10:32 PM	#12
Mueller944s2 Private 6 Rep 98 Posts Drives: '90 Porsche 941, Z4 Roadster Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: New Orleans, Louisiana iTrader: (0)	Ours was firing on 5, just a rough idle. Did you put stable in the gas? If you didn't you may have nasty gas in there, even if you drained it. On my Porsche the other day I had a rough idle and it kept dying. I would try to rev it and it wouldnt go then all of a sudden surge upward. I held the rpms up and eventually whatever was in there blew through. There's my two cents
	Appreciate 0 Quote

08-20-2012, 08:08 AM	#15
inTgr8r Lieutenant General 2452 Rep 11,667 Posts Drives: M2 Comp Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Toronto iTrader: (10)	buy a code reader to help diagnose the issue. could save you a lot of guessing & they aren't expensive. __________________ '21 M2C Hockenheim Silver '18 718 Cayman S Lava Orange (sold) '13 E92 M3 Santorini Blue (sold) '07 Z4 M Coupe Alpine White (sold)
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