Problems After Car Storage

I had my 2003 E46 325i in storage for the last 8 months and now I am having so many problems.

The car battery was dead for a long time and I knew I needed brakes so I just did the brakes, rotors, sensors etc, charged the battery and started the car.

Right away the car is idling rough and seems like their is a vacuum problem because when I press on the brake pedal the RPM's change and the idle changes. This seems to stabilize after awhile and I did add some fuel injector cleaner to the 1/4 tank of gas that's in the tank.

The real killer is that the check engine light is on and the Transmission is now in emergency mode.

I tried to drive it to an auto zone to get the codes checked but after 2 blocks I turned around because of how terrible the car drove due to the transmission.

I disconnected the battery and let it sit for 30 min and then started it again but it was the same, so now I am stuck and not sure what my next step is. I am researching ordering a scanner but I am also wondering if this has anything to do with the loss of voltage to the tranny computer.

Any advice or help would be appreciated.

Does anyone know if the battery going dead and/or the battery being bad would cause the emergency mode on the transmission?

Wow I'm surprised at the lack of feedback... I guess tomorrow will be a day at the mechanic

at work. Post up when i get home..

so are you using the dead battery or a new battery?

Since I started the thread this is my status:

1) I have 1/16 of a tank of gas in the car and I added a fuel dryer and a bottle of gumout AIO
2) I went to an Autozone and bought a H8-DLG battery and replaced the old one
3) I took apart the air filter and MAF and bought a new can of MAF cleaner and cleaned everything and looked for vacuum leaks but couldn't find any
4) I bought an ELM-327 scanner and used Torque and another app to scan codes and reset them; P0102, P0171 and P0174 were there, cleared them all and P0102 keeps coming back, service engine soon light pops on and transmission light never goes out
5) Cleared the codes again and took car for a slow ride, 5 to 10 MPH and occasionally dropped her into neutral and revved the engine to 5000 to 6000 RPM with no problems and generally felt good except for the tranny issue
6) P0102 code came back, service engine soon light back on and tranny light never went out

No idea what to do next and may bring to mechanic in the morning since I am stumped

Sent you a PM. (Quick Diagnoses. Bad MAF) Hit me up for testing and etc...

I am HEAVILY re-cleaning the MAF this morning before I order a new one but I thought I would add this:

Little bit of extra info based on this mornings observations:

Every time I start the car when I press the brake peddle the RPM's surge higher and in essence are erratic. After the car is warm this seems to only happen for 1 or two peddle depressions but when it's cold it happens for at least 5 or so times when I press it.

I just did the brakes before all of this and I didn't bleed them yet so I am wondering if this is some kind of vacuum or pressure problem or I just need to bleed the brakes and it's a coincidence.

EDIT: I just used the rest of the MAF cleaner to try it one more time and this MAF looks like it just came off the shelf I even took the filter box out to take as hard a look as possible at hoses etc to check for cracks etc and saw nothing... put everything back together and nothing has changed... time for a new MAF I guess

I ordered a new MAF from oembimmerparts

Put new gas in the car....

Hi, I just want to chime in. I found this post through google. I have a 2003 Z4 with a M54 eng with almost the same problem. After sitting for several months I put in a new battery, changed the oil, oil filter and air filter. The car ran fine for about 25 miles and then slowly began to run rough and shudder on acceleration. Subsequently the SES light came on with a P0102 code. I found a crack in the intake boot and temporarily sealed it but that didn't help. I cleaned the MAF, no help either and just got a hold of a used MAF today. The SES light is gone after a reset but the P0102 code keeps coming back. It runs a little better but not like it should. Still shuddering on acceleration. My initial thoughts are to check again for another vacuum leak but all along I've been thinking bad gas like maybe moisture from condensation got in to the fuel. Just my 2 cents for now and I'll keep checking back to see how you make out. BTW I never got any transmission problems. What is the transmission emergency mode ?

Let us know on the new maf....

I have also had and still have problems after my car also sat for 7 months, after having extensive work done on the engine (i miss-shifted and bent valves) - so when it started up it ran like a bag of sh*t, misfiring, going into limp mode, having to restart, and then going into limp mode again under load whatever. Pain in the ass it was, mechanics didn't have a clue (they even took the head off a second time to replace ALL valves after only replacing a few the first time round) so i paid the £1100 for rebuild and left it at that (which actually isnt a bad price for new head gasket and ALL new valves). Its taken me OVER a year to get close to a better running car. Ive changed many parts unnecessaily. Codes i'm STILL getting are p0171 and p0174. There's also another one for oxgen sensor bank 1. A new fuel filter has improved things, full tank of gas, redex, and a new maf has helped but its a cheap ebay maf, and im not keen on paying £250 plus for something i dont know will cure it. Im now chasing vacuum leaks. Dipstick O-ring is leaking. Too many things to check and go over. Will be resetting DME and adaptation values as well. Im curious how many others have had problems with their car after its been parked for over 6 months. Apparantly lots can go wrong in this situation after reading up...

That's the the 1st thing I am doing next... I will put another bottle of Gumout AIO and fill the take 1/4. I will clear the ECU codes and see if that helps

Originally Posted by jared_wiesner

Put new gas in the car....

The transmission Emergency mode forces the transmission into 3rd gear so the tranny doesn't shift right at all. If you look at the dash pic I posted it's the gear with the exclamation and the P next to it.

Originally Posted by macsnjets

BTW I never got any transmission problems. What is the transmission emergency mode ?

The MAF is scheduled for delivery on Tuesday and I have decided to build a DIY smoke tester this weekend from some videos I watched on YouTube. I want to really make sure I have no vacuum leaks anywhere and I will check that before the MAF arrives

No more additives. Just plan gas...

Had this problem when I first bought my 2004 325xi. The tranny light is deff your torque converter which you can send out and have done which is way cheaper than buying a new one. For the other issues id start with changing my plugs and cleaning out the icv. When you take the plugs out pay attention to any excess oil and if the coils are overheating(they will be brown in color above the boot).

Hope this helps!

My smoker is built and I will check the car with it later today... I will post, results and some pics and info later

I spoke with 3 BMW mechanics and they all agreed that a bad MAF would cause the tranny problem and since I have consistent P0102 codes that I should replace the MAF.

My plugs are new just before putting the car in the garage and my coils are fine

Thanks for the advice and I will report back soon, hopefully with good news about the MAF

Originally Posted by countdown

Had this problem when I first bought my 2004 325xi. The tranny light is deff your torque converter which you can send out and have done which is way cheaper than buying a new one. For the other issues id start with changing my plugs and cleaning out the icv. When you take the plugs out pay attention to any excess oil and if the coils are overheating(they will be brown in color above the boot).

Hope this helps!

MAF will not just go bad with storage sitting. Intake boot is known to crack over time just by sitting.

When storing a car for long period of time, it is good idea to disconnect the battery