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2018 BMW 328i Check Engine Light

A blinking light indicates that the problem is critical and if not taken care of immediately may result in major damage to the automobile. If the check engine light in your 2018 BMW 328i starts blinking, that means that the problem needs speedy attention and your BMW should be brought in immediately. This blinking light usually indicates a exacting engine misfire allowing unused fuel to be jettisoned into the exhaust system. There it can expeditiously increase the temperature of the catalytic converter to a point where damage is viable, requiring an expensive repair. Some owners ask if spark plugs cause the check engine light to flash? This can exactly be the cause. A bad, departed or dirty spark plug can cause the engine to misfire. If the problem is ignored or you continue to drive, this can spread to the spark plug wires, catalytic converter, or ignition coils which can lead to a very expensive repair. If your check engine light is flashing, please contact our team of automotive specialists at Richmond BMW urgently by calling 8042074692.

What Does the Check Engine Light Mean?

One of the most mostly misunderstood lights or indicators in your 2018 BMW 328i is the check engine light. The check engine light is part of the onboard diagnostics system, and displays in a few different ways. It can say "Check Engine", it can be a symbol of an engine, it can even be a combination of both. This light illuminates in either an amber or red color and is part of the diagnostics system found on your automobile. Onboard computers increasingly have controlled and monitored automobile performance since the 80s and do a alter of things for your 2018 BMW 328i. Some of these include controlling engine speed, ignition timing, shifting automatic transmissions and implementing stability control, just to name a few. With that being said, the check engine light can mean a assortment of roomy things. It can be as authentic as your gas cap being loose or as critical as engine knocking. If your check engine light is on in your 2018 BMW 328i, contact Richmond BMW. Our BMW service department can help you find out what code is turning your check engine light on or probe why your check engine light is flashing. Contact Richmond BMW today!

What could cause the check engine light to come on in a 2018 BMW 328i?

When your check engine light comes on, this could be as plain as tightening or replacing your gas cap. Likewise, the check engine light could also be a warning of a hazardous problem that could cause hazardous damage to your engine and come with a primary repair bill. Depending on your make and model, the check engine light will illuminate or blink. A steady glow generally means something less hazardous but a blinking check engine light indicates that your vehicle’s engine is in hazardous trouble and service is crucial hastily. If your check engine light is blinking in your 2018 BMW 328i, we tremendously advocate not to drive the vehicle and schedule BMW service today. Below is a list of the most known reasons your check engine light can come on:

  • New Spark Plugs or Plug Wires are crucial for your 2018 BMW 328i. The spark plugs are the part of your engine that ignites the air/fuel variety in the combustion chamber of your vehicle. This explosion is what moves the pistons and makes the engine run. The spark plug wires transport the spark from the ignition coil to the spark plugs. If your spark plugs or spark plug wires are bad or old, you will experience poor performance and reduced power. In some extreme cases, your engine will have trouble starting or continuing to run. Worn spark plugs and plug wires can cause clogged catalytic converter or damage to ignition coils and O2 sensors, best to more expensive repairs.
  • Your catalytic converter is bad or going bad. The catalytic converter is a part of your 2018 BMW 328i’s exhaust system. The catalytic converter's work is to turn the carbon monoxide created by the combustion process into carbon dioxide. A damaged catalytic converter is regularly caused by neglected maintenance, which is why Richmond BMW offers a complimentary multi-point inspection with every BMW service. If you have an issue with your catalytic converter and don't get it repaired, your 2018 BMW 328i will not pass an emissions test, show a lack of engine performance and will negatively affect your fuel economy. Your vehicle may run at a higher temperature, too, which can cause extra problems from overheating.
  • One of the most accepted and frequent cause is that your 2018 BMW 328i gas cap is loose, damaged or missing. The gas cap for your 2018 BMW 328i serves multiple purposes. It prevents gas fumes from being released when you aren't driving, it seals the fuel system and helps maintain pressure within the fuel tank. What happens if you have a bad fuel cap? If your gas cap is old or has a ruptured seal, you can lose fuel through evaporation which will result in more trips to the pump. Luckily, to replace a gas cap isn't expensive. If your check engine light turns on immediately after you put gas in your 2018 BMW 328i, first thing you should check is to make sure the cap isn’t loose — or that it's still on your car’s roof or at the fuel pump.
  • Your O2 Sensor (Oxygen Sensor) needs to be replaced. The Oxygen sensor, known as the O2 sensor, measures the ditch of oxygen in your exhaust system. If there is excess oxygen in your exhaust system, fuel burns faster and your vehicle will be less sane when it comes to fuel economy. So what happens if I don’t replace your O2 sensor? A faulty sensor can not only affect your miles per gallon, but it can cause damage to your catalytic converter and your 2018 BMW 328i's spark plugs. The O2 sensor sends data to the vehicle’s onboard computer to embrace the right variety of air and fuel that enters the cylinders in your engine. A bad O2 sensor can also cause a vehicle to fail an emissions test.
  • Issues with any aftermarket items. An aftermarket alarm, exhaust or extra item can wreak havoc on your 2018 BMW 328i if it’s not installed properly. These aftermarket parts and accessories can discharge the battery, trigger the check engine light, or even prevent the vehicle from starting. If these issues sound cognizant, bring your 328i to BMW and have our team of certified technicians ensure that your aftermarket items were installed correctly and aren't causing any issue. Getting accessories, especially aftermarket parts and accessories, or using OEM parts first place might cost a little bit more but could save you money from having to get poor work and damage caused by poor installation work corrected.
  • The battery is low or dead. The battery in your 2018 BMW 328i is every critical. Without a vehicle battery, your vehicle won’t start, light up the road ahead, play the radio or charge your phone. Today’s vehicle batteries last much longer than they did assorted decades ago, and they don't surely require maintenance. The price of a new one depends on the type of BMW you drive, but check our current service coupons and specials.
  • Your 2018 BMW 328i has a vacuum leak. Every BMW 328i has a vacuum system that performs a roomy variety of functions. The vacuum system also helps lower harmful emissions by routing the fumes as gasoline evaporates through the engine. If you notice that your RPM is high in idle or randomly surges, a vacuum leak could be the cause. Over time, vacuum hoses can arid out and crack, especially if they’re exposed to important heat or extreme cold.
  • Your mass airflow sensor (known as MAF) needs to be replaced. The mass airflow sensor in your BMW 328i is what determines how much fuel is crucial to run your engine efficiently by measuring the ditch of air entering the engine. As a part of the engine management system, the mass airflow sensor helps adjust to actual changes, like altitude. If your BMW 328i is having trouble starting, idling rough or has a sudden change in the position of the throttle pedal, this could be a sign of a bad mass airflow sensor.

How much does it cost to get the engine light checked?

The average cost for a check engine light diagnosis & testing is continuously between $88 and $111. The positive news, Richmond BMW offers complimentary multi-point inspections and free diagnostics, in most cases, to help determine the cause of your check engine light. The check engine light warns of issues ranging from a gas cap that's not properly tightened to a more risky failure like a detrimental catalytic converter or a problem with one of the car's oxygen sensors, so it positive to get the common code reading and diagnosis.

How many miles can you drive with the check engine light?

If you check engine light is blinking, we advise that you pull over and contact Richmond BMW to help pick if your vehicle is reliable to drive in or if we advise a tow truck. It could be anything from a bad sensor to plug wires needing to be replaced. Since any check engine code has its own level of severity, it is difficult to predict how frequent miles you can drive with the warning light on. The safest bet is to decipher the code and then plan your strategy accordingly.

2018 BMW 328i Check Engine Light Flashing

Although there are copious attainable causes of an illuminated Check Engine Light, we know from years of providing Check Engine Light Diagnosis Service that there are copious regular causes including something as uncomplicated as a loose gas cap. Other regular reasons for a Check Engine Light are dirty mass airflow sensor, damaged oxygen sensor, faulty head gasket, a malfunction with the fuel injection system, faulty emissions control part, or defective spark plugs to name a few. No matter what is the root cause of the Check Engine Light, we have the BMW Certified Technicians and the certified service protocol to isolate the root problem and repair it as needed to restore factory specifications. When this happens, the Check Engine Light turns off, and you can leave the service center knowing that your BMW issue was fixed.

Every 2018 BMW 328i was designed with a high-technology performance monitoring system with a computer, and a series of sensors positioned strategically throughout the vehicle on its hard systems. The sensors are continuously detecting conditions while sending data to the electronic control unit. If the electronic control unit detects that the data is out of factory specifications, the Check Engine Light illuminates telling you that there is a problem. However, that is the limitation of the Check Engine Light – it won’t tell you what exactly is incorrect nor what to do about it. That’s where we come in; Richmond BMW provides a Check Engine Light Diagnosis Service that isolates the core problem and gives you a recommendation on what to do next from a Highly Qualified Service skilled.

Is it safe to drive your 2018 BMW 328i with the check engine light on?

If the check engine light is glaring, this means that there is a unsafe issue and it is recommended to service your BMW 328i hastily. This question is not exceedingly plain because it all depends on the severity of the issue. If the cause is a minor issue, such as a loose gas cap, it should be safe to drive. This is generally indicated by a practical glow of the check engine light. If you notice a difference in the performance of the vehicle, it could be an indication of a more critical problem. Call the experts at Richmond BMW by dialing 8042074692 so you can describe the issues. Or reduce your speed and bring your 2018 BMW to our certified mechanics as soon as probable.

Check Engine Light Service 2018 BMW 328i

What do you do when you’re driving along in your BMW 328i and suddenly, a yellow light illuminates on your dash and says "Check Engine". If you’re like most BMW owners, your heart sinks a miniature because you have miniature idea about what that light is trying to tell you or how you should react. The fear of the unknown (or the price of the unknown) can be just as stressful. But take a deep breath and realize the light coming on doesn’t suggest you have to pull the car over to the side of the road and call a tow truck, but it is recommended that you get your 2018 BMW 328i checked as soon as feasible. Ignoring that warning could end up causing major damage to expensive engine components.

When your 2018 BMW 328i's ECM (electronic control module), which is the vehicle's onboard computer, finds a problem in the electronic control system that it can’t correct, a computer turns on your check engine light. This amber or yellow light is naturally labeled “check engine” or “service engine soon”, or the light may be nothing more than a picture of an engine, or a picture of the engine with the word “check.”

When the light turns on, the ECM stores an engine code or “trouble code” in its memory that identifies as the issue, whether it's a sensor or a failing engine part. This code is read with an computerized analyze tool that is used by our BMW auto repair mechanics at Richmond BMW. There are also a number of relatively inexpensive code readers that are designed for do-it-yourselfers, should you determine that route too. While this code will tell you the issue that is detected, a true diagnosis still requires an experienced technical to determine the issue and repair it.

2018 BMW 328i Check Engine Light Codes

The check engine light turning on can be quite intimidating to see that slight light on your vehicle’s dashboard suddenly flashes, but in reality, it is not something that should cause you to shut down in fear right away. If you hear the term, diagnostic trouble codes (DTC), these are just another name for check engine light codes. These are automotive computer codes stored by the ECM, also cordial as the OBD (on-board computer diagnostic system) in your 328i. There are hundreds of assorted codes that your check engine light can represent. While that sounds daunting, with a slight patience, tackling main diagnostics will give you significant knowledge about your vehicle and will also allow that Check Engine Light to do what it is really supposed to do: be your guide. Regrettably, detectable and significant vehicle symptoms do not always accompany an illuminated Check Engine Light. Since there are hundreds of ability OBD codes, there are also hundreds of ability reasons for the light, including:

  • Ignition system faults
  • Old Battery
  • Bad Spark Plugs
  • Fuel and air metering systems problems
  • Loose Gas Cap or Missing Gas Cap
  • Emissions controls issues
  • O2 Sensor
  • Computer output circuit issues
  • Transmission issues

This is why it is hard for someone who does not have a lot of automotive knowledge to not assume what a code means. When your check engine light comes on, you should get it checked out promptly by a certified BMW mechanic. If the engine light comes on due to a risky concern, you risk damaging your car further by not repairing the issue right away. Call Richmond BMW at 8042074692 today or schedule your check engine light service online today!

Will the check engine light reset itself?

The check engine light on your 2018 BMW 328i will commonly shut itself off if the issue or code that caused it to turn on is fixed. For example, if the cause of your check engine light coming on was a loose gas cap, if it's tightened, the light will turn itself off. Likewise, if your catalytic converter is going correct, and you did various of stop-and-go driving, that may have turned on the check engine light due to the high usage of the converter. In most cases, your 2018 BMW 328i light will go off after about 20-40 miles. If you drive over that payment and the light is still on, you will need to bring it in to Richmond BMW so the light and code can be double-checked and reset.