BMW = Burning My Wallet
That’s true so far… I wish I knew before hand. If all else fails and it needs more work than what it’s worth after all I’ll trade it in for something easier to handle if I must since I need a vehicle and lately nit having one is a real pain in the neck to get from here to there.
Misfiring in and of itself would not require replacement of the engine, but “replacing the cylinders” would entail engine replacement. Years ago, some engines had cylinder “jugs” that could be replaced within the engine block, but modern engines are cast as one unit.
Are you sure that you were told that the cylinders would need to be replaced?
I think that you may have misheard or misunderstood what you were told.
WHY did you purchase a car where you saw the battery light remained on at idle . . . ?!
That alone should have been a red flag
You should have just walked away
To be brutally honest, I think the seller took advantage of you and convinced you that the vehicle was in far better shape than it actually was. I think the seller knew he was passing off his problems on to somebody else
as for all the shops not knowing what that mystery code is . . . it makes me question exactly what kind of equipment they’re using. It sounds as if they’re not set up to diagnose european vehicles. I say that because bmw software is often part of the european software package, which costs extra for some scanners. But there are also aftermarket pro-level scanners which are geared specifically towards european cars.
I’m thinking there aren’t too many european new car dealers in your area . . . and maybe even very few european cars on the road, new or used . . . thus the local independent shops see no reason to invest in being able to diagnose them . . . correct?
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As I recall some folks posting here w/BMW’s who are diy’ers said they use a scan tool that somehow works with their cell phone. I don’t see the need to drive 3 hours to a dealership until you’ve obtained the BMW compatible scan tool and at least read out the diagnostic codes. Try searching this forum for some of those BMW scan tool posts, click the icon upper right that looks like a magnifying glass. A compatible scan tool capable of reading engine misfire shouldn’t be overly expensive, especially if it works w/you cell phone providing the keyboard input and display output.
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