My Bmw Won't Start!

[indiasfinest]

My BMW recently stopped starting. At first, the car would not respond electronically in any way. I had to use the key inside the remote to open the door. Then, I called BMW assist and they had a man come and try to jump it. He managed to get the lights and electronics to come on, but when I tried to start the engine, it sputtered like crazy and then just died. The speedometer read "Parking Break Fault" and something about lack of power. It sounded horrible when I tried to start it, it would rev up and and down, and then eventually just die. I just left the car there for now and will be calling BMW as soon as possible. Any ideas as to what exactly is wrong? I'm leaning heavily toward a battery issue but the speedo read parking break and insuffiecent power problems, the first one raises more concern. Has anyone had any incidents like this with 05' 745s?

[djspawn00]

My BMW recently stopped starting. At first, the car would not respond electronically in any way. I had to use the key inside the remote to open the door. Then, I called BMW assist and they had a man come and try to jump it. He managed to get the lights and electronics to come on, but when I tried to start the engine, it sputtered like crazy and then just died. The speedometer read "Parking Break Fault" and something about lack of power. It sounded horrible when I tried to start it, it would rev up and and down, and then eventually just die. I just left the car there for now and will be calling BMW as soon as possible. Any ideas as to what exactly is wrong? I'm leaning heavily toward a battery issue but the speedo read parking break and insuffiecent power problems, the first one raises more concern. Has anyone had any incidents like this with 05' 745s?

I have no idea what the problem is... but its sounds expensive... goodluck.

[indiasfinest]

Never in my life have I recieved such a boost of confidence haha. I have a warranty for another year or 30,000 miles so hopefully it should be covered.

[djspawn00]

lol, I honestly had the same problem with my cadillac catera... I just figured timing belt went and chewed up the engine or something but I had no idea why the battery issue occured... I hope its not the same for you, but if it is thank god for the warranty.

[indiasfinest]

Fingers crossed, my dad is out of the country right now, (I'm only 16) and my mom is not very knowledgeable about cars so I have to deal with the dealership and everything. Hopefully it's just a battery issue

[indiasfinest]

This is what a BMW tech said at bimmerfest forums.

yes! the man is right,low voltage can cause multiple issues and poor running characteristics.imagine all the systems demanding 12 volts and over to operate and the power management cannot keep up with the demand because there isn't enough voltage received and the battery SoH (state of health) and SoC (state of charge) is past the critical "stage".be prepared with what needs to be done prior to getting a new battery,this vehicle is unlike any other.they would need to carry out what is called "energy diagnosis" and determine what caused the battery to die.there are numerous possibilities and one of them may be caused by YOU and they put it nicely by classifying it as driver profile.

here is an entry from an s.i.b. :

If one of the causes shown below is displayed in "Most Likely Cause", this is not considered a factory defect and a warranty claim should not be submitted, even though a diagnostic code is generated at the end of the test plan.

Lights/hazard warning lamps left on for too long

Terminal R/15 left on for too long

Unfavorable driving profile (e.g., extremely short distances)

Vehicle parked for too long

whatever the final result may be,most likely cause is excessive closed circuit current or excessive draw and there may be a module that shows up as the "sleep preventer".this test plan is neccessary for claiming parts and labor for a warranty claim and they will review the data from the diagnostic tester used to carry out the energy diagnosis.every key stroke and test plans can be seen and reviewed.this goes for every repairs on these new generation of BMW's making it harder for "us" to perform the diagnosis,perform the neccessary repair,and return your vehicle in a timely manner because BIG BROTHER is watching and as technicians CYA (cover your a$$) seems to be the new code of ethics.we do not want to be blamed for any claims denied because of lack of tests and documents,this usually gets the big boss mad and the tech would be under his radar.these PROTOCOLS may seem ridiculous to owners like yourself.imagine our frustration when it takes an hour to properly perform all the tests and another hour to finish the repair because we need to register the battery replacement and clear all the faults (and the job only pays a little over half an hour).the power module can keep data of SoC up to 5 days ago (before battery died),how often the vehicle is being driven including the distance,percentages of SoC the vehicle is often at (if at 75 percent for 15,000 hrs. or so its a daily driver).do a search,you may find another one of my post.you are now prepared,good luck with your vehicle.i hope everything goes smoothly and they (dealership) don't give you a hard time.

Sound expensive? Do you think it will be covered under warranty?

[smooth1]

Depends on what is causing the low voltage. You could just have an alternator going bad. That does explain alot of the symptoms you have listed.

[indiasfinest]

A member suggested another problem regarding the auto-brake feature on a different forum.

do the 745 models also have an electrically-operated push-button parking brake instead of a normal hand-operated rachet brake? If that's the case, then it could well be that the brake is stuck. So the engine is actually starting but it's trying to pull against the brake and stalling. That could explain why it's telling you there's not enough power on the speedo (as opposed to a battery warning light) and why the engine is revving up and down as it tries to build up enough inertia to move the weight of the car.

If this is the case, I really hope i did not do any damage to the car as i tried to turn it on. I did not try turning it on more than two or three times. Again, the car was in park, so wouldn't starting the car be equivalent to just revving the car in park? Does the brake have anything to do with it?

Thanks Guys,

[SW03ES]

Sounds like a warranty problem. Call BMW roadside, have them tow it in, and let them worry about it.

DO NOT WAIVER from your positon that this is a 2 year old BMW under warranty that is not starting due to a cause other than the battery. If it was the battery it would have jumped.

If this were Lexus they'd cover it no problem, but I don't know about BMW.

[smooth1]

Yeah, the brake won'tt have anything to do with a car that's in park. The engine should rev normally as you are in neutral. But I am not all that familiar with BMW persay. I know they have alot of quirkey engineering. There could be a safe mode the engine is in due to the brake warining. Even if the brake is say just hung up, and it has thrown a cel, the engine may be in a protection mode until the cel and the problem are resolved.

[SW03ES]

Thats why I don't have a BMW lol

[indiasfinest]

haha i knew i would get crap for having a BMW, i will contact them ASAP, i didn't want it sitting in storage over the weekend so i decided to call them Monday. Hopefully everything will be allright

[nc211]

Let's see..... engine sputter, engine failure, won't start....BMW.....Hmmm. sounds like text book issue with the rear passenger side reading lightbulb..... Hahha... I couldn't resist man!

Honestly, sounds like a bad coil pack to me, which BMW is pretty famous for, especially in their 3 series.

[indiasfinest]

I can finally sleep at night since its at the BMW of Dallas now. I contacted my "representative" and left him a message inquiring when I will get the car back and such. I will keep you guys posted.

Thanks,

Jay

[indiasfinest]

Update:

BMW called an said it is "an onboard computer problem" and they are replacing the computer. For now we have a loaner.

Will keep you guys posted as I get more info. I knew from the start this was not a battery problem

[LdyLex]

My BMW recently stopped starting. At first, the car would not respond electronically in any way. I had to use the key inside the remote to open the door. Then, I called BMW assist and they had a man come and try to jump it. He managed to get the lights and electronics to come on, but when I tried to start the engine, it sputtered like crazy and then just died. The speedometer read "Parking Break Fault" and something about lack of power. It sounded horrible when I tried to start it, it would rev up and and down, and then eventually just die. I just left the car there for now and will be calling BMW as soon as possible. Any ideas as to what exactly is wrong? I'm leaning heavily toward a battery issue but the speedo read parking break and insuffiecent power problems, the first one raises more concern. Has anyone had any incidents like this with 05' 745s?

you could have a bad power module , cas . when you have a battery issue the system will not send power to non engine / trans related modules . inorder to use the maximum battery source to keep you mobile

[DaveyBoy]

I have a BMW 745Li (2004) and just experienced the same problem as you this morning, Parking Break Fault. Car will not start.

Did you figure out what the problem is with the car and how to fix it? At first, there was no power, now I was able to get the lights and electronics working in the vehicle. But when I try to start, I just hear a clicking sound and lights in the dash board.