Good Evening All,

Great site and i think im going to need help on this one!

I have a BMW 316i - 2003

I have lost all my power - I've had the Camshaft Sensor changed and it didnt do it, i've been 2 x "BMW" garages and neither seems to know what to do.

I have now been told the Catalyic Convertor is OK, Head Gasket is OK .

The next guy i've been to told me it could be Camshaft ?????

Then the last guy told me Air Flow mamagment System ??

To be honest im so lost with this, starting to pay money out and getting nowhere fast.

Please can anyone help??

Thanks from a sad BMW owner

Have the BMW garages put it on Diagnostic machine?

what exactly do you mean lost all your power?

yes they have and its comes up with Camshaft Sensor & nothing else

The loss of power is if i put my foot doen i go nowhere fast - i have to do it steady to get anywhere if feels as if something is blocked

I have now been told this is the Cam Chain - Once the speed is up at around 60MPH it drives fine.

please someone help

chalkie26 wrote: last guy i just been to ha charged me £55.00 and said - Cam chain has slipped ?? told me £1500 for new engine !

Go back and ask for your money back!  Also report him to trading standards for giving false information.

There is no way a timing chain could have slipped.  If that had happened your engine would not start let alone run and loose power.

Sounds like to me that you need a sensor somewhere changing.

You do not have a mechnical fault with the camshaft nor the timing chain nor the drive system.  It will be somethng electrical which need a proper diagnostic check done by someone who knows what they are doing.  Have you been to a BMW dealer? 

If all else fails with an electrical fault that needs a diagnostic check, go to BMW otherwise you will just spend money guessing at what is wrong.

Hi Andrew - Thanks for the reply - The most honest information i have heard in a while!

Do you think i can unplug the MAF Sensor and see if that works?

Yes but that will throw up your engine management light and might make the car difficult to start.

It's worth trying as it won't cost you anything.  Don't spend any cash on getting bits changed until you have had a proper reliable diagnostic check done at preferably BMW.

I had an engine fault in my E60, local garage could not diagnose it properly nor could an independant diagnostic specialist but BMW sorted it with minimum of fuss.

I unplugged this and the engine sounded better - had no power but it idled better. Now i have plugged it back in it seem worse?!

Do you think this is my problem?

I'm not sure on that one, mibbie someone else can offer an opinion?

A MAF sensor would be expensive to replace if it wasn't the right bit.  It wants a proper diagnostic check.  A BMW dealer would charge one hours labour for a diagnostic check (albiet at a reduced rate as your car is over 4 years old) and if you got them to fix it the cost of this is then lost to some extent thru the labour for fitting the part and the price of the part.

Hi, I recently bought a 02 316i which suffered sudden and random power loss across the range. Twice at cruising speed, the car slowed down and 'died' and several other times it occurred at safer speeds. Each time it failed to start for several minutes afterwards and usually power delivery was very sporadic for a spell when it eventually got going. Though it was still under warranty, the private dealer suggested several possible reasons for this malfunctioin, including dodgy fuel and air flow meter fault. I returned the car to this dealer and he replaced the crankshaft sensor. Two weeks and 500 miles later, the problem is sorted. Hope you get to the bottom of your issue