Can anyone help me. I have no clue about cars really. I just bought a 2005 BMW X5 30i e53 and it ran fine for 3 days… accept the battery light was on… well day 3 it died on the hwy just went dead wouldn’t start. Flash forward I had to replace the altinator well then the battery light went off now the check engine light is on… I’ve taken it 6 places and Noone can help me with what is wrong. The last shop told me it’s saying 2 cylinders are misfiring and it’s showing a manufacturers code 94… he says he cant find any info on what that code means, there isn’t a bmw dealer around here, closest is 3 hours away!! I have no idea what he means by it read a manufacturer code 94 do you?? I just want to be able to drive this car I just bought, please someone help me out…this last shop who gave me this information is the closes I’ve gotten to it, no one around me is familiar with this vehicle. It drove fine when I first purchased it like I said for 3 days, once I replaced the altinator which apparently was under warranty from the previous owner replacing it, then the CE light came and it didn’t start misfiring until then. It does have alot of miles 220000 but it was fine and I know the cylinders need replaced but I need some one to help me understand what he means by the code or even if you know what the code means so I can just get my new to me suv fixed… I’m at a loss here… it’s my only vehicle…I’m desperate and I’m tired of spending money with no answers.
You really need to take it to a shop.Try to find some recommendations from people you know.
I’ve taken it to 6 shops now. No one around here seems to have any idea what the issue is accept it’s got 2 codes 1 for misfiring and the other they can’t seem to even figure it out. They have all told me the same thing either and I don’t know or they can’t find that code in thier systems. The only BMW dealer is hours away, I don’t even know if I could get it that far,
That line alone says this vehicle is not fine by any means. You have purchased a vehicle that will be expensive from now until you get rid of it. You might call the BMW dealer and ask what 94 means.
Well I actually just heard back from someone saying code 94 is meaningless and that they need a specific bmw code scanner which I have one and told these people to use but I’m assuming they did not. I know it has many miles but it really did run well. Until the altinator went out. I dont.mind fixing it, but It has to pass emissions to be legal here. So I have to fix this issue now. Which is why I’m asking. Like I said I don’t mind needing to fix this or that, I just need to get to the issue.
I have never owned, worked on, or even driven a BMW, however this is a 2005 vehicle, and should be able to display standard OBD II codes with a standard code reader. I assume it is displaying codes for one or more cylinders misfiring, and I suspect that the problem is poor compression on one or more cylinders. This could be anything from a leaking head gasket to bent/burned/poorly sealing valves, to worn cylinder walls. Unless you are planning to DIY, this will be way more expensive than it’s worth…
Well that’s disappointing… 
Im having it looked at once more by my last local shop to see if they can figure it out. The previous owner said he kept up with maintenance and explain he traveled in it to Colorado twice which are why the miles are high. I really felt like it was a decent buy plenty of room for my kids, all wheel drive for the snowy days, ext. I’m hoping someone can help me and hopefully I won’t end up throwing more into it then what I bought it for. It drove well and I figured it would be reliable. I appreciate everyones answers and help!
Connect your scan tool to the vehicle and read the fault codes, tell us what fault codes are displayed.
That explains why it was time for the previous owner to sell the vehicle.
Yes, we’ll I didn’t realize at the time where he lived emissions aren’t a thing there which is an unfortunate mistake on my behalf. I go and pick it up tomorrow and I’ll post the codes or reading.
I don’t see any reference to a code 94, or P0094. As posted above, w/a check engine light on there is at least one code stored in the computer memory. That code will provide an important clue as to whats going on. Its possible it’s a minor problem and all that has to be done is turn the check engine light off, again done w/the scan tool. With a modern car like that you wont be able to make much progress until you have access to a scan tool that will read the codes. No BMW experience here, so don’t know’ if you need something special to read diagnostic codes. But I’d expect it shouldn’t be overly difficult or require any exotic scan tools.
BMWs can be a little challenging to maintain and repair, but it isn’t magic. I presume this is a 3 L V6. No big deal. This engine ha all the same parts as most any car has, not at all dissimilar to a Corolla in design. I expect you’ll get a p0300 code, which is misfires on all cylinders. Easy enough to start the diagnosis once you get the code.
Good thing to keep in mind. Don’t buy a car that a dealer is 3 hours away and it has a check engine light on.
Yosemite
Well the engine light wasn’t on when I bought it… and I didn’t think there’d be such issues trying to get it fixed
Is this meant to say this was an EBAY type purchase ?
You made a mistake as we all do but from now on I would say do not buy any used European luxury vehicle.
BMW = Bring Money With.
Yosemite
No it wasn’t Ebay, where I live in my county we have to have immisuons, but he lives about 45 minutes away in a different county where for some reason it’s isn’t must there which I didn’t know. I had no clue that it wasn’t a thing in his county. I test drI’ve it was fine no misfiring only the battery light. Unless he wiped the codes it’s reading now the only issue seemed to be the battery light and the fact the Miles were high but my last car had tins of miles and it was fine until I creamed deer in it sadly
Only if he drove it around the world to GET to Colorado 7- 8 times. The Earth is just under 25,000 miles around. This thing has 220,000 miles, it is worn out and will be a huge money pit from this point on.
As mentioned above, we need the standard and BMW-specific codes to make some guesses. However, if six local shops couldn’t figure it out, then it sounds like it needs to go to the dealer, no matter how far away it is.
So, you need to replace the engine?
+1
I was told they can replace the misfiring issue without needing a new engine
Unfortunately I believe it will end up needing that long drive to the dealership, with the information I’ve gathered thus far and like you said 6 different shops don’t know what to do. Ultimately it’s looking that way, I do live in quite the hick town lol which I love but Noone around here knows much about foreign vehicles which was another overlook on my part. I figured car shops knew everything about all vehicles but obviously not the case around here there all about American and Chinese vehicles…