My 2008 550i 4.8 liter V8 engine hesitates and shutters when cold. When you first put the car in gear to go forward you can feel the engine hesitate or miss for the first mile or two until the engine warms up. Car has just over 52,000 miles. I did not have this issue when the car was newer. Niello BMW Shop Forman confirmed my compliant and said this was the normal warm up procedure for this engine, he found no engine codes. All okay at this time. This is unacceptable, this car did not have this issue for the first 40,000+ miles. Has any other owner experienced this problem and if so how did you fix it or do you still have it. Is there a BMW Tech Bullentin concerning this issue? Is this BMW's answer or just the Shop Forman answer? For Fuel I use Chevron Supreme and last September the Dealer replaced the Spark Plugs just before we drove this car from California to Texas. The trip to Texas and back went very smooth and we used Chevron Supreme all the way there and back. I have another BMW a 98 M3 with 110,000 miles and it does not hesitate or shutter or miss when cold. I know and understand that when an engine is cold it lacks full power until it warms up. What I am talking about is with the engine under very little load when cold (in 60 degree weather) it hesitates or misses for the first mile or two. Once it has warmed up it runs fine. I did not have this issue for the first 40,000+ miles however I am suppose to accept it now? I it seem to me that may be the engine mapping needs to be changed and/or the engine idle checked out. Before fuel injection we would say the automaic choke needed adjusting to increase (more rich) the fuel to air mixture until the engine warmed up. This 550I does have the sport package with the 19" M Wheels, Exhaust, Suspension, Paddle shifters, however I do not think any engine mods are part of this package. Everything is as shipped from the factory. And my wife drives it most of the time in and around Sacramento, CA and sometimes to the Bay Area and she is not a sprited driver, I would say moderate driver. Any helpful suggestions from anybody would be appreicated. And is BMW USA or in Germany aware of this (common) problem with this engine? Will a Dinian Chip cure this problem? Thank-you in advance for any light or repairs you can offer to remedy this issue.
vanos It is probably the vanos tuning being near the point of needing an adjustment... You may have to specifically ask (and pay) for a tune-up to clear this issue. The question is whether or not it bothers you enough to pay for this or to just accept that you will need to let it warm up a bit before you drive it. You can also have a remote start installed and it will already be warm when you get to it. (you also might have to open the garage door first assuming you park it inside.) I don't know which approach will be less expensive or fit your preferences. Rough running in the first few miles/minutes is typical...I always took it easy on my 4.4l v8 in my 750i until it was warm. Generally it was out of cold start mode in about a mile, and fully warmed up in a couple more... a bit more if it is below freezing. Chuck
Interesting. I have essentially the same car, a 2008 E60 550i, sport package, & steptronic auto. I have just under 23,000 miles on it. I've struggled with dealership(s) trying to get the nagging electronic issues fixed on this car. The cold start nonsense is just one of those things they cannot put their finger on & are unwilling or unable to resolve. I've had all the software updated multiple times. I've changed gas brands. I've run fuel injector cleaner/fuel conditioner through the car on multiple occasions. The dealer tells me that nothing is wrong - no codes retained by the computer. BMWNA said that as long as the dealer says the car is fine, they believe them. A totally worthless conversation. I spoke to the BMW Service Manager at the dealership from where I bought the car new, and he told me that the 2008 V8's don't run well on the current fuel available because of the amount of ethanol being put in all of our gasoline these days. Here's my short list of issues: The dealer couldn't fix the delay in the throttle response, but the Sprint Booster did. The dealer cannot make the radio hold onto presets longer than a week, but I can live with that. The dealer cannot keep the paired bluetooth phone data from resetting every week or so, but I can live with that. The dealer cannot seem to make the pdc system stay functional longer than a few months, but as long as I'm covered by warranty, so is the repair to that system. I had a 2000 528i that was a great car when compared to my 2008 550i - and the E39 was not a super-reliable car either. The most recent roundel has an interesting letter to the editor regarding the cold weather driveability issues on the E60 550i. While it is nice to know that we're not alone in our pain, it sure would be nice if BMW would figure this out & issue a fix. Chuck, I hear what your saying - that rough running for the first few miles is typical of this motor/ECU combo. Why should we have to accept that? We all paid a pretty nice dollar for our cars... John
