Drivetrain Malfunction Help

G20Owens · 07-17-2023, 11:36 AM

Hey guys,

Need some help to diagnose this problem.
A couple of weeks ago I was low on gas, should've stopped immediately to get more but was in a rush so I figured I would stop on the way to where I was headed. As I merged onto the highway I hit the gas to get in front of a car & the car sputtered and gave me a drive train malfunction message. The car then went into safety mode and was at reduced performance because of it. I was still able to drive it to where I had to be. I refilled the tank with 91 & added some stabilizer incase any moisture had built up in the tank because it was low. The car then wouldn't crank over, it would try for 3-4 seconds, start and then immediately choke out and die. When it did turn over it would sputter at idle and was noticeably shaky..

From my research this pointed to two issues, spark plugs or fuel pump.

I replaced the spark plugs with OEM's and the car was noticeably more efficient in the initial crank to turn over but would still sputter at idle and would die 4/5 times when I tried to start the car. My neighbor brought me over his code reader which showed care was getting either too much air or not enough gas. So that lead me to the fuel pump, maybe something had either clogged it or it malfunctioned due to being low. It was giving some indication that maybe the car wasn't getting enough fuel or too much air, and was causing a misfire. I replaced the low pressure fuel pump thinking this would fix the problem. (with Genuine OEM part that came off a 2020 G20 with 20k miles). After replacing the low pressure fuel pump (located in the gas tank) the car will now start and idle fine, but will still enter safety mode once it starts and shows error message for drivetrain. When I rev up to 2-3000 rpm it doesn't give me any issues but as I let off the gas, it will sputter out, drop below 1000rpm and die. I'm going to have my neighbor check what code its giving now, and I've been told the ignition coil(s) may have malfunctioned. Just want more opinion before I finally budge and take it in. Would really like to avoid a $1000 fix if possible and something that I can do myself relatively easily.

THANKS EVERYONE IN ADVANCE!!!

07-17-2023, 11:36 AM	#1
G20Owens New Member 2 Rep 10 Posts Drives: BMW G20 Join Date: Jul 2023 Location: Tampa, FL iTrader: (0)	Drivetrain Malfunction Help Hey guys, Need some help to diagnose this problem. A couple of weeks ago I was low on gas, should've stopped immediately to get more but was in a rush so I figured I would stop on the way to where I was headed. As I merged onto the highway I hit the gas to get in front of a car & the car sputtered and gave me a drive train malfunction message. The car then went into safety mode and was at reduced performance because of it. I was still able to drive it to where I had to be. I refilled the tank with 91 & added some stabilizer incase any moisture had built up in the tank because it was low. The car then wouldn't crank over, it would try for 3-4 seconds, start and then immediately choke out and die. When it did turn over it would sputter at idle and was noticeably shaky.. From my research this pointed to two issues, spark plugs or fuel pump. I replaced the spark plugs with OEM's and the car was noticeably more efficient in the initial crank to turn over but would still sputter at idle and would die 4/5 times when I tried to start the car. My neighbor brought me over his code reader which showed care was getting either too much air or not enough gas. So that lead me to the fuel pump, maybe something had either clogged it or it malfunctioned due to being low. It was giving some indication that maybe the car wasn't getting enough fuel or too much air, and was causing a misfire. I replaced the low pressure fuel pump thinking this would fix the problem. (with Genuine OEM part that came off a 2020 G20 with 20k miles). After replacing the low pressure fuel pump (located in the gas tank) the car will now start and idle fine, but will still enter safety mode once it starts and shows error message for drivetrain. When I rev up to 2-3000 rpm it doesn't give me any issues but as I let off the gas, it will sputter out, drop below 1000rpm and die. I'm going to have my neighbor check what code its giving now, and I've been told the ignition coil(s) may have malfunctioned. Just want more opinion before I finally budge and take it in. Would really like to avoid a $1000 fix if possible and something that I can do myself relatively easily. THANKS EVERYONE IN ADVANCE!!!
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