04 330 sputtering when accelerating - BMW Forum

Shafeboyrd · 12-21-2009, 12:06 PM

I purchased a 2004 330ci a few weeks back. The vehicle has about 22K miles, and was garage kept. After about a week of some-what aggresive driving, the check engine light went on just after downshifting into 4th gear at about 80 miles per hour to make a pass. The RPMS were somewhere around 3.5k - 4k. At the exact time the car began to sputter. The sputerring went away once the RPMS were over 4k. The vehicle had 94 octane in it as well.

I took the car to BMW for a diagnostic check. They said I have a valve gasket leak and #3 coil had oil on it. #3 was misfiring. I had a BMW certified mechanic (My Dad's friend) fix the gasket. That evening I was on the highway and tested it out. The Check engine light came back on, and the car sputtered again. The sputtering is very obvious when I was using the cruise control to accelerate. Maybe the slower rate of acceleration amplified the sputtering.

I called the Mechanic today and he said it might be that one of the coils have an issue because of being drenched in oil for God knows how long.

Any thoughts on this? I appreciate the help!

FCPGroton · 12-22-2009, 07:47 AM

I would think the misfiring would continue after the 4K mark. If it is not a coil, the only other thing I would think it could be is the HPFP.

Shafeboyrd · 12-22-2009, 08:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FCPGroton

I would think the misfiring would continue after the 4K mark. If it is not a coil, the only other thing I would think it could be is the HPFP.

The feeling of sputtering definitly goes away at a higher RPM. It might still be misfiring but I dont feel it.

What does HPFP stand for?

Thanks for your help!

FCPGroton · 12-22-2009, 05:24 PM

HPFP stands for High Pressure Fuel Pump. It is a known issue on the E36 and E46. I believe they extended the warranty on it just because of all the issue with the pump.

Shafeboyrd · 12-23-2009, 07:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FCPGroton

HPFP stands for High Pressure Fuel Pump. It is a known issue on the E36 and E46. I believe they extended the warranty on it just because of all the issue with the pump.

Oh, wow- I'll look into that. However, we pulled the codes yesterday and it was showing an o2 sensor this time. My mechanic said the o2 sensor could create some sputtering. He also suggsted that we just wait a week or so to see if the sputtering goes away- apparently when he changed out the gasket there was a small amount of oil that had stayed in the chamber where the spark plug sits (?). Dont know if I repeated that correctly.

I guess I'll see what happens over the next few days, but I will mention it to him about the fuel pump.

Thanks again and Happy Holidays!!!