Drivetrain Malfunction on 2014 X5 50i

[boosted43]

So last night I'm on the way home, driving on the highway at about 65mph when the dreaded drivetrain malfunction light comes on. When I accelerate the vehicle starts vibrating or when I first turn the car on the car feels like it's shaking as well. Car has 63k miles with a stage 1 dinan piggyback and a muffled delete. I'm gonna take it to get diagnosed this morning but wanted to see what everyone here thought.

I should mention that the car hasn't had plugs changed since I've owned it the last 20k miles and that's what I'm leaning towards being the cause of this.

[Rotzy]

Originally Posted by kabawi91

So last night I'm on the way home, driving on the highway at about 65mph when the dreaded drivetrain malfunction light comes on. When I accelerate the vehicle starts vibrating or when I first turn the car on the car feels like it's shaking as well. Car has 63k miles with a stage 1 dinan piggyback and a muffled delete. I'm gonna take it to get diagnosed this morning but wanted to see what everyone here thought.

I should mention that the car hasn't had plugs changed since I've owned it the last 20k miles and that's what I'm leaning towards being the cause of this.

With a tune, plugs are a likely candidate. But, a Drivetrain Malfunction message can be caused by almost anything. The only way to know what caused it is to read the codes. Any OBD code reader will work or stop by an auto parts store. Many will read codes for free.

[AnotherM3]

Originally Posted by kabawi91

So last night I'm on the way home, driving on the highway at about 65mph when the dreaded drivetrain malfunction light comes on. When I accelerate the vehicle starts vibrating or when I first turn the car on the car feels like it's shaking as well. Car has 63k miles with a stage 1 dinan piggyback and a muffled delete. I'm gonna take it to get diagnosed this morning but wanted to see what everyone here thought.

I should mention that the car hasn't had plugs changed since I've owned it the last 20k miles and that's what I'm leaning towards being the cause of this.

Happened to me. It turned out to be my high pressure fuel pump which they fixed under CPO.

[V8LIFE]

My guess would be plugs or coils. It's time to change those, along with "lifetime fluid"

[DuSh]

Congrats! You now have a full member status in n63tu club!

So my money is on coil or plugs. Very common with tuned (doesn't matter piggyback or flash) n63tu cars. People get them often and most of time it goes away on a restart. In any case you need a code reader to really know what code it got. Basically consider that drive train malfunction error - as a more fancy check engine light.

[boosted43]

Originally Posted by DuSh

Congrats! You now have a full member status in n63tu club!

So my money is on coil or plugs. Very common with tuned (doesn't matter piggyback or flash) n63tu cars. People get them often and most of time it goes away on a restart. In any case you need a code reader to really know what code it got. Basically consider that drive train malfunction error - as a more fancy check engine light.

It's not my first drivetrain malfunction on a bmw, but is on this platform. I pulled the codes this morning and the codes were for

P0308 - Cylinder 8 Misfire
P0304 - Cylinder 4 Misfire
P0301 - Cylinder 1 Misfire
P0300 - Multiple Cylinder Misfire

DuSh that meme is hilarious.

[CT335xi]

Originally Posted by kabawi91

It's not my first drivetrain malfunction on a bmw, but is on this platform. I pulled the codes this morning and the codes were for

P0308 - Cylinder 8 Misfire
P0304 - Cylinder 4 Misfire
P0301 - Cylinder 1 Misfire
P0300 - Multiple Cylinder Misfire

DuSh that meme is hilarious.

Haven’t had this issue yet on my 50i but on my 335/ n54 platform that is definitely a sign of compromised plugs and or coils , just swap all at once.

[9mmkungfu]

Yep, what CT335xi said. Plugs and/or coils. Consider yourself lucky

[sj22]

Guaranteed to be some coils and plugs. Replace all plugs and get coils inspected. I had two coils with carbon buildup.

[boosted43]

Dealer wanted almost 1K to replace the spark plugs. I checked with a couple other places as well and they were around 800 bucks. I think I want to take on this myself and replace the plugs. Can I use the X5M plugs on mine? If I remember correctly I think Maverik259 used the X5M ones on his. I've never replaced spark plugs but from everything I've seen it didn't look too difficult. What would you guys rate the difficulty on a scale of 1-10?

[9mmkungfu]

Originally Posted by kabawi91

Dealer wanted almost 1K to replace the spark plugs. I checked with a couple other places as well and they were around 800 bucks. I think I want to take on this myself and replace the plugs. Can I use the X5M plugs on mine? If I remember correctly I think Maverik259 used the X5M ones on his. I've never replaced spark plugs but from everything I've seen it didn't look too difficult. What would you guys rate the difficulty on a scale of 1-10?

Not difficult.

There are a couple of threads on this:

https://f15.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1501503

https://f15.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1505161

[bmwx5er]

Check out yourmechanic.com, under $500 for spark plug replacement or $270 for just labor (no warranty if you supply parts). I’ve used them & recommended them for a few of my friends with good success. Depends on the mechanic assigned, be sure to read up on the reviews once the mechanic is assigned.

[Maverik259]

Originally Posted by kabawi91

Dealer wanted almost 1K to replace the spark plugs. I checked with a couple other places as well and they were around 800 bucks. I think I want to take on this myself and replace the plugs. Can I use the X5M plugs on mine? If I remember correctly I think Maverik259 used the X5M ones on his. I've never replaced spark plugs but from everything I've seen it didn't look too difficult. What would you guys rate the difficulty on a scale of 1-10?

I'd say a 3.5/10 in difficulty as long as you have the tools I put in my DIY thread. And yes I used X5M cuz they were cheapest. But now idk if they are still the cheapest.

[Jscotti350]

Originally Posted by AnotherM3

Happened to me. It turned out to be my high pressure fuel pump which they fixed under CPO.

I’m about to do my HPFP tomorrow. What symptoms did you have and did they all go away after a new pump? I’m getting 3 passenger side misfires and low fuel pressure