In this article I describe the coolant then engine/ignition coil issue(s), then crankcase vent pipe issues that I had on a 2010 BMW 750i
Specs of 2009 F01 Chassis:
Coolant Leak
I had a coolant leak so decided to take the car to the local shop to get it fixed. They identified the issue as the lower outlet line being corroded. This took 11 hours of labour to replace (2 hours identify the issue and 9 hours to drop the tranny out of the way). Unfortunately, when I returned home, my coolant leak was still there… so I took it back and after another 5 hours of labour to replace the upper inlet line I hoped that the leak was fixed.
Air Breather System Issues
When I started to drive the car, the coolant leak appeared to be fixed but the car almost immediately started throwing new codes 101f01 and 118401:
BMW Notice
Here is the BMW note on what May cause these codes
This BMW note indicates that this may be an artifact of recent repair activities or a battery change, assuming that there are no causal factors for the codes. Since the car was just repaired for the coolant leak, I decided to try the reset procedure.
Recalibrating Tank Ventilation Valve / Purge Valve
After some research, I found that these are common code that occur after a repair or battery replacement and that you can simply do a “reset” procedure to fix. Here are the relevant sections from the BMW Maintenance note:
SITUATION
The engine malfunction warning is illuminated, and one of the following fault codes are stored in the DME shortly after programming the vehicle or with a customer complaint.
• FC 28A0 Throttle valve opening angle absolute pressure intake pipe comparison pressure too high Or
• FC 101F01 Throttle valve opening angle absolute pressure intake pipe comparison pressure too high
PROCEDURE
One of the faults are stored only after programming, or after performing a battery reset for an unrelated repair.
Solution: The adaptation procedure must also be performed first before replacing any parts or removing and parts to address this fault.
Adaptation Procedure:
Step 1. Disconnect the tank ventilation valve (purge valve) electrical connector
Here is the location of the value electrical connector:
It is located at the front of the engine bay. Just remove the clip and disconnect the connector.
Step 2. Allow the engine to idle for 15 minutes.
• This procedure will allow the DME to readapt faster than during a regular test drive
Step 3. After 15 minutes of idling, reconnect the tank ventilation valve (purge valve) electrical connector
Step 4. Clear the fault memory.
Step 5. Test drive the vehicle to ensure the vehicle is operating the correctly.
Result of Reset Procedure
It took 2 tries and this procedure seemed to temporarily resolve my issues but at the end of my test drive (which I pushed the car in manual mode) the car started to throw a yet another new code:
The car immediately goes into “limp” mode and throws a MIL (check engine light).
Change Ignition Coils
Code 140601 implies that the cylinder 6 ignition coil has failed. I decided not to take the car back again to the shop and instead I decided to attempt the repair myself as the shop was closed for the weekend. I removed the air ducts/cowling in the engine to get to the coils and decided to replace all 8 ignition coils (once I have them all exposed). This is likely not my issue, and in fact may just be an artifact of another issue, but I decided to replace all the ignition coils as a "precautionary" measure as I do not know how old they are and there is close to 190,000 km on the car and this removes any issues with the ignition coils going forward.
Exposed Engine Block:
Exposed Ignition Coils
New Ignition Coils
Picked up 8 new Bosh coils from germanparts.ca with a 2 hour turnaround time, picked them up and installed them.
When installing the coils, I noticed that many of the clips, etc. were missing from components removed and re-installed from previous jobs done at the shop in the engine bay. Basically, and in my opinion, whoever previously worked on the car did not do a good job. The old coils were numbered but were installed in random order?? I labelled and dated my new coils and replaced them in order by Bank and test drove the car. I noticed the above error codes (118401 and 101F01) returned after the repair and after a couple engine cycles, and the car was still setting the MIL (check engine light). So I needed to do some more investigating and in the meantime, I should likely complete a Throttle Body Adaption Reset.
Throttle Body Adaption Reset
The best way to clear these codes is to reset your throttle body. Here is the procedure for doing the reset:
Step 1: Without touching the brake - press the ON/OFF button while depressing the accelerator to the floor. Do not start the car - this puts it in accessory mode.
Step 2: Keep the throttle to the floor for at least one minute (or longer)
Step 3: With your foot on the gas pedal now turn off the car by pressing the ON/OFF button and release the gas pedal
Step4: Let the car sit for at least 3 minutes (the dash may go out). This resets the computer.
Step 5: Scan and clear any codes that remain in the computer.
Results of Test Drive of New Coils
The test drive demonstrated that the car ran smoother then it was. Little idling or shifting hesitation issues, etc. - making me assume that the coil replacement was well overdue. However, I suspect that my 8 new ignition coils are not the root of my issue. Currently, I still have the 101F01 and 118401 codes that were introduced as part of the coolant leak work. I will have to further investigate.
Fuel Tank Ventilation Valve
After more investigating - there remains a rough idle when the car is in drive and the car throws the code even after the Throttle Body Adaption test and after a couple engine cycles locks in a MIL. I researched and found that code 118401 could potentially indicate a failure of the vent valve. I decided to look at replacing the valve to remove it from the equation, so sourced the valve with lines from BMW (less than $200 - as I will get the shop discount).
I intend not to pick up this part and to hold this part “in contingency” in case the 118401 code returns as it appears that there are additional leak issues that are more likely the the root cause for my issues.
Additional Leak Concerns
Upon further examination, I can see that there are other leaks in the Crankcase breather / air duct system in the engine, especially near the oil filler (right side of the engine or Bank 1 side - Cyl 1-4) that may be the root of my issues.
There is a lot of oil residue and when you wiggle the connector pipe to the Crankcase breather valve with the engine running a large amount of air escapes... Also the “valve” body seems to not be closed also letting air in/out. It appears that someone has attempted to connect the lower connector hose to main assembly using some electrical tape?
The other side Crankcase breather (left side or Bank 2 - Cyl 5-8) valve also appears to be separating but not as badly as the other side.
Crankcase Breather Hose / Vent Pipe Issues / Replacement
Time to dig deeper, so I took apart the engine yet again, this time focusing a bit closer on the Crankcase vent pipes. Upon closer examination, I can see that the Crankcase vent pipe on the right side (Bank 1 side - Cyl 1-4) is totally shot. In fact, someone actually used electrical tape to try to hold it together and the Breather pipe had a huge hole in it. It appears likely that air has been leaking badly from this hose and it possibly got further compromised (i.e. ripped) during the coolant repair job - this likely being the root cause of the significant idling/hesitation issues that were noticed right after the coolant repair and this would also explain the trouble codes that the car is throwing.
The above photo shows the Bank 1 Crankcase breather hose / vent pipe that is brittle/broken being held together by electrical tap that has a large hole in it and therefore definitely needs to be replaced.
Here is the cost for Crankcase vent parts from germaparts.ca (but I ordered directly from BMW)
Here is the link to the BMW Toronto Parts portal for Crankcase parts
I called back BMW and added the right side Connecting Line ($135) and associated Vent line ($75.50) to the order of parts but BMW does charge a costs for general public.
During disassembly, I noticed that the rubber boot is also cracking, but is likely salvageable with some rubber cement as it is near the edge of the boot, and the front filtered air duct, #8 on the diagram - where the breather hose plugs in, may have a small crack where it mounts to the engine and May also need to be repaired/replaced (BMW Cost: $137.67)?.
Filtered Air Duct
Supersession(s): 13-71-7-577-451
Here is the link to the BMW Toronto Parts portal for Air Duct parts
I used some rubber cement to fix the small cosmetic tear in the rubber boot near the clamp section (since it does not affect performance).
If required, I may just remove and repair the filtered Air Duct (this is where the breather hose plugs into) by using epoxy on the crack near the mounting screws until this part can be replaced.
Temporary Repair
I ordered some of the parts from a BMW dealer (via the warehouse) but they will take a few days to get to the nearest dealership. In the meantime, while waiting for these parts, I decided to attempt to repair the vent pipe and the connector hose just to see if I can get the car running and see if that improves its performance. I used some electrical tape and hockey tape and some zip ties and did manage to close up all the gaps and got the car running. In fact, the car seemed to be running and idling much more smoothly, indicating that this is likely the root cause of the issues, however this is only a temporary fix until the new parts are ready in a couple days.
Test Drive of Temp Repair
The test drive confirmed that the car is now driving and idling much more smoothly, especially at stops, but started throwing a MAF sensor error. As a precautionary action, I removed the 2 MAF Sensors used some MAF cleaner on them and re-installed. I also checked the MAF values while driving and both sides (i.e. MAF Sensors in each Bank) are providing very similar values, yet there still is a MAF volume too high error. One theory is that I may have assembled the broken valve with it in the "open" position causing errant readings?
Did some further troubleshooting for the MAF issue and took apart the right-side Breather valve that I had reassembled and sure enough the small metal "flap" inside the valve was broken and was lying in the bottom i.e. "fully open". So I simply wedged it in the "closed" or vertical position to reduce the air flow, test drove the car, and the MAF error went away. The new breather hose will resolve this issue.
Time for the Duct Tape! Ugly but Effective
Here is the result of the temporary patch using some duct tape and a couple zip ties to try to keep the valve closed. This allowed me to test to see if we are on the right track or not.
With this mod in place, the car was idling and accelerating much more smoothly but is still locking in the 101F01 code but only after some time?? This is not surprising given the state of the crankcase breather valves.
Next Steps
Replace the Crankcase breather lines both left and potentially the connector line for Bank 1.
New Parts
Grabbed the new parts from BMW - Left and right breather valves and one connector hose for the right side.
I installed the left and right crankcase breather valves and when I removed the supposedly working one (on the left / Bank 2 side, Cylinder 5-8) I could see that someone had previously tried to fix the hose with some rubber hose. This would explain the delayed errors in the breather system as it is likely that this mod would start leaking when the car engine heated up and the rubber hose expanded as there are no clamps to keep it in place. This is likely why when I first test drove the car it would be fine (I.e. when it was cold) but then after getting hot, started throwing codes.
I managed to salvage the both down lines on each Bank, and just needed to install the new Crankcase breather valves.
Success
After installing the new Crankcase breather pipes/valves both left and right, the car is back to running smoothly and not throwing any codes.
Root Cause
The root cause can be traced back to bad Crankcase breather hose / vent pipe issues. Once replaced the car is running perfectly.
BMW Customer Care Program
I came across this when searching for potential solutions to all my issues and is an interesting read as it appears that the Crankcase valve issue is just one of the many challenges / deficiencies with the design of the N63 engine. Unfortunately, this was strictly a US based recall program.
The N63 Customer Care Package
"A proactive package to update components on the N63 engine that will eliminate potential issues the customer may experience." This was a preemptive replacement of problem areas to stem the tide of failures and complaints. BMW's plan was to nail multiple problems at once and went to extraordinary lengths to accommodate customers. Parts to be replaced included: HFM air flow sensors, fuel injectors, vacuum pump, low pressure fuel system, turbo seals, and crankcase vent hoses.
The CCP was a separate initiative than the N63 engine replacement and other measures taken during the N63 class action lawsuit. The CCP was implemented in 2014 and the class action suit was settled in 2018. It's important to note that the CCP and the class action only apply to 2009-2014 models. Since BMW made ongoing changes to the N63 design, models from 2015 and later may not suffer from the same deficiencies as earlier models.
Apparently Canada is not part of North America
Just a heads up for anyone in Canada regarding the extended CCP regarding the N63 engine.
This is the message I got from BMW Canada.
Dear BMW Customer:
Thank you for your reply.
Please be advised the Customer Care Package you are referring to is from BMW of North America. BMW Canada is a separate corporate entity from BMW North America, which only oversees BMW vehicles produced for the US market; extended warranties and recalls provided by BMW North America do not apply to Canadian BMWs.
Regretfully this information you have passed on to us does not apply to your vehicle, it is for the United States.
Apparently Canada isn't part of BMW North America, regardless of the fact the car (and the deficiencies) is exactly the same!!
Recall and Fix for Free - What a Joke!
Here is what a car owner received when he found out that his car was actually "in scope" of the CCP program, a bill for over $9,000 just to enter the program:
"Sorry for the delay in getting this over to you. The following are the repairs we need to perform on your vehicle before we can continue with the oil consumption testing on your BMW as per BMW NA’s response to the case we submitted on your behalf.
Misfires on multiple cylinders.
Recommend replacing all 8 ignition coils with factory updated coils and spark plugs (fouled due to excessive fuel) $1,229.00
Black Smoke from the tail pipe on acceleration.
Recommend replacing all 8 fuel injectors due to them leaking. $4,418.00
As for other components that will need to be addressed but not as a part of the diagnostics side of things is as follows.
Replacement of all 4 crank case vent lines (cracked or broken) $950.00
Replacement of all turbo coolant lines due to leaking coolant. $2,516.00
These repairs may be cheaper to do when making repairs under the class action but I did want to bring them to your attention.
Please let me know how you would like to proceed or if you have any further questions."
Safe to say, I will be staying away from any BMW program at these prices!! And I would be very frustrated if I brought in my car and BMW treated me in this manner!
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