BMW ZHP Stalled Last Night, Help?

lupinsea · 07-20-2010, 04:20 PM

Hey guys.

Odd happening with the ZHP last night I'd like to ask you about. The car stalled out on me as if it was low on fuel or something and wouldn't restart. I was running with the low fuel light but it had "just" come on and the on-board computer was still showing 50 miles until empty. In theory I had plenty of gas to get home (12 miles from when the low fuel light came on) and it's a drive I've made under similar fuel circumstances many many many times before without issue.

About an hour later when I the tow truck driver was unloading my car at the mechanic's parking lot, he fired it up and drove it into a park spot. Granted, he only drove it about 15 ft. But when it had stalled out on me I tried for a couple minutes to restart the car with no luck.

Thoughts?

Oh, and the full story:

Yesterday afternoon on my way home my ZHP flat out died on the freeway. Just as soon as passed the point of no return for the freeway on-ramp the engine bogged down a bit but after 10-15 seconds the revs picked back up and it seemed fine, though it spooked me and I was trying to get it to the next exit (a bit far off on the express lanes). About 1/2 mile from the exit the engine started bogging down again, then flat out died. I couldn't get it restarted after a couple minutes of trying and rush hour traffic quickly backed up behind me. I had been stranded in the dead center of the lane. Not that there were any shoulders to pull off on in that particular stretch of road. For about 5 minutes I was "that guy" to stalls in the middle of the road blocking traffic during rush hour. Another motorist in a Nissan Xterra pulled in front of me and offered to tow my car to the nearest shoulder (which he did, super helpful) which also happened to have a WA State Patrol Officer there. The officer called AAA for me (since I had forgotten my cell phone at home that morning, of course). Then he let me use his personal cell to call my wife to let her know she'd have to cancel her evening appointment because I'd be late getting home.

The AAA guy showed up and when he asked for my AAA card, of course it wasn't in my wallet (I have no clue where it is an need to get a replacement). Fortunately he called in my driver's licensee and confirmed I had a AAA account for a free tow service, the proceeded to load up the ZHP and haul it down to our local mechanic in Kenmore. Once there I asked if he could help get the car into an actual parking spot. When it was lowered off the flat bed ramp he fired up the car and drove it backwards about 10 ft or so.

I left it there over night not knowing exactly what was up with it so I could talk to the mechanic this morning.

This morning rolls around and I head down with my Jeep and a spare 5 gal. jug of premium gasoline. After a brief talk with the mechanic he suggest I fill it up with the gas and drive it around the local neighborhood streets and see if it stalls out again. So I do this and for the next 20-30 minutes of hard driving bombing around back roads the car is running perfectly fine, as if nothing was wrong with it. Talked to the mechanic after the drive and he said he'd be happy to look at but I could also keep driving it to replicate the occurance to help pinpoint the problem.

I've decided to drive the Jeep for the next few days and then take the ZHP out in the evenings when there is no traffic to block up and see if the ZHP stalls out like that again.

Do you guys have any clue as to what was up?

Was it simply out of gas even though the guage / on-board computer was showing I had another 50 miles of range?

I've never run out of gas before. Not a big deal if this is simply what it was, I just need to remember that I can't trust the on-board computer if that's the case. But is there a chance this could be something else?

rumatt · 07-20-2010, 04:30 PM

The only thing I have to offer is that I had a somewhat related experience once, then never happened again.

Also, my car sometimes now stalls at red lights after I've been driving it for a while. I suspect it's just the idle logic though. It starts right up again.

hfh330i · 07-20-2010, 04:41 PM

No idiot lights or anything? Just before I turned mine in at the end of its lease the vanos failed, it stalled and lost power. It started up, but ran rough, go it home (a couple of blocks). Started up fine the next day and drove it to the dealer. Replaced either the vanos system or the seals. Not sure which. I did have a check engine light though when the stall happened.

TD · 07-20-2010, 04:49 PM

If there were no idiot lights, considering your description of what happened, I would guess you ran out of gas.

I ran out of gas once and I also had a fuel pump fail once and the dying process each time closely matched what you described. No idiot lights when I ran out of gas but a big CEL when the fuel pump failed (this was on the Saab).

The fuel light usually comes on with 47 miles to go. I would suspect a faulty fuel gauge. You could try running it down to that fuel level again and, with a can of gas in the trunk, drive around neighborhood streets with shoulders to see if it repeats. Granted running our of gas isn't good for your car. But it's a lot cheaper than a mechanics diagnosis given this seems like a hard to diagnose problem.

FC · 07-20-2010, 04:56 PM

No real help here, but I will tell my remotely similar story re: fuel cut-off/out of gas feel.

My car had the runing out of fuel symptom at every cold start for about half a second when I put it in 1st and hit the gas from having had backed out of the garage (whihc it always did with no issues).

I basically just got tired of bitching to the dealer about it. I left it overnight, wrote painfully detailed instructions on exactly what to do to replicate it. After 3 attempts they managed to replicate it but told me they had no idea what was wrong and everything else looked ok. So after that I gave up and assumed it was one of those ZHP idiosincracies.

My gut feel always told me it was fuel related - filter, pump, injectors, etc. But truth be told, it never manifested itself adversely, so I just lived with it. Well, except it would stall if I hit the right amount of gas when going to first - but that was merely a nuisance.

I assume your car got the coil recall done?

hfh330i · 07-20-2010, 09:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FC

No real help here, but I will tell my remotely similar story re: fuel cut-off/out of gas feel.

My car had the runing out of fuel symptom at every cold start for about half a second when I put it in 1st and hit the gas from having had backed out of the garage (whihc it always did with no issues).

I basically just got tired of bitching to the dealer about it. I left it overnight, wrote painfully detailed instructions on exactly what to do to replicate it. After 3 attempts they managed to replicate it but told me they had no idea what was wrong and everything else looked ok. So after that I gave up and assumed it was one of those ZHP idiosincracies.

My gut feel always told me it was fuel related - filter, pump, injectors, etc. But truth be told, it never manifested itself adversely, so I just lived with it. Well, except it would stall if I hit the right amount of gas when going to first - but that was merely a nuisance.

I assume your car got the coil recall done?

Ahhh memories...I loved that car.

ff · 07-21-2010, 09:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rumatt

Also, my car sometimes now stalls at red lights after I've been driving it for a while. I suspect it's just the idle logic though. It starts right up again.

[sarcasm]The ZHP that I owned never stalled. Not even once. So I apologize that I can't be of any help here.[/sarcasm]

I had it at the dealer 4 times, and they could never figure out what was wrong. They reflashed the computer, and that helped for a week or two. Then right back to the same behavior.

FC · 07-21-2010, 10:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hfh330i

Ahhh memories...I loved that car.

Me too. And my car is for sale.

equ · 07-21-2010, 10:20 AM

Neither of my zhp's had this. On any "regular" car, that would likely be a pump (and they go around 100k) but who knows with bmw's?

*Plaz* · 07-21-2010, 10:23 AM

My brain has stalled several times in the last week or so.

I'm not sure if there was one or not, but an idiot light illuminating on my forehead would have been more than appropriate.

07-20-2010, 04:20 PM	#1
lupinsea Jeeped Join Date: Sep 2005 Carmudgeonly Ride: Modified Jeep Tj and '07 Miata Location: Seattle Posts: 10,214	BMW ZHP Stalled Last Night, Help? Hey guys. Odd happening with the ZHP last night I'd like to ask you about. The car stalled out on me as if it was low on fuel or something and wouldn't restart. I was running with the low fuel light but it had "just" come on and the on-board computer was still showing 50 miles until empty. In theory I had plenty of gas to get home (12 miles from when the low fuel light came on) and it's a drive I've made under similar fuel circumstances many many many times before without issue. About an hour later when I the tow truck driver was unloading my car at the mechanic's parking lot, he fired it up and drove it into a park spot. Granted, he only drove it about 15 ft. But when it had stalled out on me I tried for a couple minutes to restart the car with no luck. Thoughts? Oh, and the full story: Yesterday afternoon on my way home my ZHP flat out died on the freeway. Just as soon as passed the point of no return for the freeway on-ramp the engine bogged down a bit but after 10-15 seconds the revs picked back up and it seemed fine, though it spooked me and I was trying to get it to the next exit (a bit far off on the express lanes). About 1/2 mile from the exit the engine started bogging down again, then flat out died. I couldn't get it restarted after a couple minutes of trying and rush hour traffic quickly backed up behind me. I had been stranded in the dead center of the lane. Not that there were any shoulders to pull off on in that particular stretch of road. For about 5 minutes I was "that guy" to stalls in the middle of the road blocking traffic during rush hour. Another motorist in a Nissan Xterra pulled in front of me and offered to tow my car to the nearest shoulder (which he did, super helpful) which also happened to have a WA State Patrol Officer there. The officer called AAA for me (since I had forgotten my cell phone at home that morning, of course). Then he let me use his personal cell to call my wife to let her know she'd have to cancel her evening appointment because I'd be late getting home. The AAA guy showed up and when he asked for my AAA card, of course it wasn't in my wallet (I have no clue where it is an need to get a replacement). Fortunately he called in my driver's licensee and confirmed I had a AAA account for a free tow service, the proceeded to load up the ZHP and haul it down to our local mechanic in Kenmore. Once there I asked if he could help get the car into an actual parking spot. When it was lowered off the flat bed ramp he fired up the car and drove it backwards about 10 ft or so. I left it there over night not knowing exactly what was up with it so I could talk to the mechanic this morning. This morning rolls around and I head down with my Jeep and a spare 5 gal. jug of premium gasoline. After a brief talk with the mechanic he suggest I fill it up with the gas and drive it around the local neighborhood streets and see if it stalls out again. So I do this and for the next 20-30 minutes of hard driving bombing around back roads the car is running perfectly fine, as if nothing was wrong with it. Talked to the mechanic after the drive and he said he'd be happy to look at but I could also keep driving it to replicate the occurance to help pinpoint the problem. I've decided to drive the Jeep for the next few days and then take the ZHP out in the evenings when there is no traffic to block up and see if the ZHP stalls out like that again. Do you guys have any clue as to what was up? Was it simply out of gas even though the guage / on-board computer was showing I had another 50 miles of range? I've never run out of gas before. Not a big deal if this is simply what it was, I just need to remember that I can't trust the on-board computer if that's the case. But is there a chance this could be something else? __________________ . My website "Jeep is the only true American sports car" - Enzo Ferrari Or something to that effect.

07-20-2010, 04:41 PM	#3
hfh330i Jaded Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 308	No idiot lights or anything? Just before I turned mine in at the end of its lease the vanos failed, it stalled and lost power. It started up, but ran rough, go it home (a couple of blocks). Started up fine the next day and drove it to the dealer. Replaced either the vanos system or the seals. Not sure which. I did have a check engine light though when the stall happened. __________________ 2013 M3

07-21-2010, 10:23 AM	#10
Plaz ••••••• Join Date: Oct 2003 Carmudgeonly Ride: '11 1M Location: Churzee Posts: 17,741	My brain has stalled several times in the last week or so. I'm not sure if there was one or not, but an idiot light illuminating on my forehead would have been more than appropriate. __________________ 2011 1M

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Getting naked last night...	Roadstergal	Technical Superiority	6	05-01-2005 10:37 PM
Saw a 997 last night	ZBB	Car Talk	13	07-24-2004 10:50 AM

07-20-2010, 04:30 PM	#2
rumatt Mugwump Join Date: Oct 2003 Carmudgeonly Ride: E46 330i, Chevy Colorado, Tesla Model 3 Location: NY Posts: 17,475	The only thing I have to offer is that I had a somewhat related experience once, then never happened again. Also, my car sometimes now stalls at red lights after I've been driving it for a while. I suspect it's just the idle logic though. It starts right up again.

07-20-2010, 04:49 PM	#4
TD Founder emeritus Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Maryland Posts: 21,007	If there were no idiot lights, considering your description of what happened, I would guess you ran out of gas. I ran out of gas once and I also had a fuel pump fail once and the dying process each time closely matched what you described. No idiot lights when I ran out of gas but a big CEL when the fuel pump failed (this was on the Saab). The fuel light usually comes on with 47 miles to go. I would suspect a faulty fuel gauge. You could try running it down to that fuel level again and, with a can of gas in the trunk, drive around neighborhood streets with shoulders to see if it repeats. Granted running our of gas isn't good for your car. But it's a lot cheaper than a mechanics diagnosis given this seems like a hard to diagnose problem.

07-20-2010, 04:56 PM	#5
FC Solving problems Join Date: Oct 2003 Carmudgeonly Ride: M5 / 718 GTS / Cooper S / GTI / LR4 Location: Metro Boston Posts: 25,248	No real help here, but I will tell my remotely similar story re: fuel cut-off/out of gas feel. My car had the runing out of fuel symptom at every cold start for about half a second when I put it in 1st and hit the gas from having had backed out of the garage (whihc it always did with no issues). I basically just got tired of bitching to the dealer about it. I left it overnight, wrote painfully detailed instructions on exactly what to do to replicate it. After 3 attempts they managed to replicate it but told me they had no idea what was wrong and everything else looked ok. So after that I gave up and assumed it was one of those ZHP idiosincracies. My gut feel always told me it was fuel related - filter, pump, injectors, etc. But truth be told, it never manifested itself adversely, so I just lived with it. Well, except it would stall if I hit the right amount of gas when going to first - but that was merely a nuisance. I assume your car got the coil recall done?

07-21-2010, 10:20 AM	#9
equ Alphanumeric Join Date: Aug 2005 Carmudgeonly Ride: 981S, 340i Posts: 9,583	Neither of my zhp's had this. On any "regular" car, that would likely be a pump (and they go around 100k) but who knows with bmw's?