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01-18-2014LAST POST
Got the dreaded " engine malfunction " engine light on today. The car is 08 e92 m3. Bought the back wit 22k on it 3 years ago. It currently has 61k miles on it. Use my code scanner and got codes that said its misfiring on cylinders 1,2,3 and 8.
Been searching the forums and found that in some cases, the problem could be the throttle actuator. Read that a lot of older m3s that hit around 60k miles, the throttle actuator goes bad. Also read that it could be the the ignition coil gone bad. Actually I'm really hoping that it's just the spark plugs. I believe the spark plugs haven't been changed since they are "suppose" to last till 100k miles. ( that's what my dealership said) So, the question now is what should I do? I plan changing the sparks plug within a few days. Should I go ahead and buy a new throttle actuator since that will eventually go bad and I have the engine expose from the spark plug change. Should I order a few ignition coil, just in case one or two is bad? Any advice would be highly appreciated!!!! Thanks

Codes were - P0300, P0301, P0302, P0303 and P0308
I'm about to replace an ignition coil that went bad and was causing a misfire on cylinder three -- code P0303. So many cylinders at once though, seems unlikely that's your problem.

Protocol for testing ignition coils is to swap the presumably bad coil to a cylinder that isn't misfiring, and see if the misfire follows. Would be like a minor game of chess in your circumstance, but you could try it
Sounds like an ICV to me... Could be actuators but you have misfires in both banks. I would first have a reputable BMW specialist perform a factory idle air actuator test and then go from there. Another potential cause would be the fuel pressure sensor.
Most all actuator failures have an associated error code. I would lean in a different direction on this one.
Try swapping a coil from a cylinder with no error code with a coil from a cylinder that has the misfire. See if the misfire follows the coil.
tvl1219 wrote
Got the dreaded " engine malfunction " engine light on today. The car is 08 e92 m3. Bought the back wit 22k on it 3 years ago. It currently has 61k miles on it. Use my code scanner and got codes that said its misfiring on cylinders 1,2,3 and 8.
Been searching the forums and found that in some cases, the problem could be the throttle actuator. Read that a lot of older m3s that hit around 60k miles, the throttle actuator goes bad. Also read that it could be the the ignition coil gone bad. Actually I'm really hoping that it's just the spark plugs. I believe the spark plugs haven't been changed since they are "suppose" to last till 100k miles. ( that's what my dealership said) So, the question now is what should I do? I plan changing the sparks plug within a few days. Should I go ahead and buy a new throttle actuator since that will eventually go bad and I have the engine expose from the spark plug change. Should I order a few ignition coil, just in case one or two is bad? Any advice would be highly appreciated!!!! Thanks

Codes were - P0300, P0301, P0302, P0303 and P0308
i believe Spark plugs are suppose to be changed every 36-37k miles... its in the maintenance manual
tinman831 wrote  
Try swapping a coil from a cylinder with no error code with a coil from a cylinder that has the misfire. See if the misfire follows the coil.
Not really worth doing this.. This would be the proper procedure if one or two coils were faulting. With three or more, there is a bigger picture here. The chances of having multiple coils fail at once is extremely low. This means something affecting combusting quality globally is causing the issue.
nyc4runnin wrote  
tvl1219 wrote
Got the dreaded " engine malfunction " engine light on today. The car is 08 e92 m3. Bought the back wit 22k on it 3 years ago. It currently has 61k miles on it. Use my code scanner and got codes that said its misfiring on cylinders 1,2,3 and 8.
Been searching the forums and found that in some cases, the problem could be the throttle actuator. Read that a lot of older m3s that hit around 60k miles, the throttle actuator goes bad. Also read that it could be the the ignition coil gone bad. Actually I'm really hoping that it's just the spark plugs. I believe the spark plugs haven't been changed since they are "suppose" to last till 100k miles. ( that's what my dealership said) So, the question now is what should I do? I plan changing the sparks plug within a few days. Should I go ahead and buy a new throttle actuator since that will eventually go bad and I have the engine expose from the spark plug change. Should I order a few ignition coil, just in case one or two is bad? Any advice would be highly appreciated!!!! Thanks

Codes were - P0300, P0301, P0302, P0303 and P0308
i believe Spark plugs are suppose to be changed every 36-37k miles... its in the maintenance manual
They are supposed to be changed at the third oil change. But with Bmws "Condition Based Service" this varies. Technically the first service would be at 1,200, second at 16,200 and third at 31,200. They should be changed around the 31k mark although we've seen dealers change them at 36-37k (or not at all!).
Mike Benvo wrote
They are supposed to be changed at the third oil change. But with Bmws "Condition Based Service" this varies. Technically the first service would be at 1,200, second at 16,200 and third at 31,200. They should be changed around the 31k mark although we've seen dealers change them at 36-37k (or not at all!).
BENVO'S BAAAAAACCCCK AND ALREADY HELPING PEOPLE OUT :D:happyanim:

I'm no expert but I'd try spark plugs first too, I think you're on the right track OP. If that doesn't work, try taking it to a reputable 3rd party bmw mechanic and see whats up.