Hi guys, I'm hoping someone can help shed some light on the problem my car is currently having:
My E60 has 146,000 km's on the clock and I've had this problem for a while now (at least a year) and it was always very subdued but it seems to be getting worse now. I do have a custom GPS tracking unit fitted but this problem started long before that, apart from that I have no other custom modifications made to the car.
Here is what happens:
While the car is cold everything seems fine, but after I've driven for +/- 15 km's the car usually starts to behave strange. The problem especially seems to happen when I've parked for a couple of minutes and then start driving again. While driving it will basically produce a dip in power every 3-5 seconds (the dip lasting for less than a second). The 3-5 seconds in-between power dips are mostly very consistent (I can count the seconds) other times not so but the problem occurs whether I am keeping the throttle steady (lets say 2000 RPM's) or whether I am accelerating.
I checked the rev counter whether the RPM's also dropped when the power loss occurs but it seems to be steady (or perhaps the RPM's drops so little or regains itself too quickly for the analogue rev counter to show).
I took the car to BMW (Forsdicks Tyger Valley) and they said that the problem might be due to a faulty Mass Air Flow sensor (MAF) but they are charging a huge amount to replace it and I first want to learn more before I give them or anyone else the go-ahead to replace the sensor for me. I've read that one can clean the sensor with a specialised spray (I got a product with a CRC logo on it which everyone seems to recommend) but I'll need to buy a hard to find external star socket set to remove the sensor first.
What are you're guys thoughts on the issue? I realise that it may be many things causing this problem but the more info I have the better decisions I can make in the near future so any input would be greatly appreciated!
My E60 has 146,000 km's on the clock and I've had this problem for a while now (at least a year) and it was always very subdued but it seems to be getting worse now. I do have a custom GPS tracking unit fitted but this problem started long before that, apart from that I have no other custom modifications made to the car.
Here is what happens:
While the car is cold everything seems fine, but after I've driven for +/- 15 km's the car usually starts to behave strange. The problem especially seems to happen when I've parked for a couple of minutes and then start driving again. While driving it will basically produce a dip in power every 3-5 seconds (the dip lasting for less than a second). The 3-5 seconds in-between power dips are mostly very consistent (I can count the seconds) other times not so but the problem occurs whether I am keeping the throttle steady (lets say 2000 RPM's) or whether I am accelerating.
I checked the rev counter whether the RPM's also dropped when the power loss occurs but it seems to be steady (or perhaps the RPM's drops so little or regains itself too quickly for the analogue rev counter to show).
I took the car to BMW (Forsdicks Tyger Valley) and they said that the problem might be due to a faulty Mass Air Flow sensor (MAF) but they are charging a huge amount to replace it and I first want to learn more before I give them or anyone else the go-ahead to replace the sensor for me. I've read that one can clean the sensor with a specialised spray (I got a product with a CRC logo on it which everyone seems to recommend) but I'll need to buy a hard to find external star socket set to remove the sensor first.
What are you're guys thoughts on the issue? I realise that it may be many things causing this problem but the more info I have the better decisions I can make in the near future so any input would be greatly appreciated!
