Why is my car shaking and the check engine light flashing?
A shaking vehicle AND flashing MIL ("check engine light") sound like the vehicle is misfiring on at least one cylinder. As @Anna Nguyen, @Brendan Sinclair, @Antoun Nabhan and others have said, it could be an ignition related problem. It could also be fuel-related. If one or more fuel injectors are clogged or dead, that would also cause a misfire in the affected cylinder(s). These are relatively cheap/easy things to check and fix.Other causes (which could be more complicated and more expensive) to fix include contaminated fuel, a bent intake or exhaust valve, a broken valve spring, a damaged piston/connecting rod, and on and on.I recommend getting a scan tool and checking the codes which are causing the MIL to light/flash and I also strongly recommend NOT driving the vehicle until the problem is fixed. If you continue to drive the vehicle as is, you will exacerbate the problem. Dumping unburned fuel into the exhaust due to a misfire will overheat and kill your catalytic converter. A more serious problem like a bent valve can eventually cause you to crater your engine (i.e.: completely destroy the engine).
Why does my car jerk slightly when shifting into reverse?
all automatics do this. Regardless of gear the magnitude, the jerk is a function of drivetrain and suspension slop, clutch pressure and condition, clutch engagement setting, transmission fluid properties, idle speed.If the jerk is extreme and changes engine RPM by more than 100RPM, you certainly have a problem. beware, it’s easy to get either ripped off or spend heavily. Start by checking idle speed, then inspecting/changing fluid, then inspecting suspension. then check the transmission and drivetrain for slop, wear, damage, starting at a driveshaft shop.Your low mileage car could suffer from the hands of an abusive and jerky driver, a driver who spent long hours shearing transmission fluid stopped in traffic, or a transmission defect.Without mechanical service, you can reduce the jerk by not stepping on the brake as you change gears, and shifting to neutral every time you must idle for more than 20 seconds.
Why does my car momentarily lose power after shifting gears?
You've asked several questions here...and also given some information that may have an impact on the answers you might get. You mention that the clutch is about to "go". If this is the case, it is typically manifested by "clutch slip" which is when you press the accelerator and the engine speeds up, but the car doesn't go any faster..i.e. the clutch is "slipping" against the flywheel/pressure plate without transferring the increased rpm of the engine to the transmission. If the clutch is indeed slipping, then this phenomenon is most noticeable right after you change gears, because your putting more demands on the engine (i.e. accelerating) and attempting to put more torque from the engine into the transmission (via the clutch) which causes it to slip more than it might in steady-state driving at a constant speed. If you are experiencing a slipping clutch you most likely need to replace it and afterward the car should accelerate smoothly and there will be a synchronicity between engine speed and car speed.Now, if your clutch is NOT slipping and your experiencing a perceived loss of power after shifting gears, it may just be that the engine rpm are dropping off too far before you reengage the clutch and resume acceleration. If this is the case, you may be taking too much time between disengaging the clutch (by pressing the clutch pedal) and re-engaging it (by lifting off the clutch pedal) When shifting gears, the clutch pedal should be pressed and released fairly quickly as part of a smooth, movement synchronized with moving the shift lever from one gear to the next. If you are pausing in the middle of the shift, or taking too long to reengage the clutch, the engine rpm will fall and the engine will be making less power than it was at the higher rpm level it was when you initiated your gear change. The idea is to keep the engine in a range of rpm that produces enough power to smoothly take up the level of acceleration you're trying to achieve while changing up through the gears.
What will happen if you shift to manual mode while driving in an automatic transmission?
I’ve owned a few cars that have had a manual mode on an automatic box, and the answer is the same across all of them: They’ll sit in whatever gear they were currently in, and wait for you to change.If I’ve slowed down and failed to change down as I do, they’ve all downshifted for me even though I’ve been in manual mode. They might not necessarily have downshifted when I would have if I was driving myself, but they have done it.Once they’ve downshifted, I’ve not seen any of them try and upshift again. Apparently my current car will do it if you’re pushing it so hard that there’s a risk of damage, but I’ve not seen it for myself.
How does the BMW M3 compare to the 335?
Power, price and exclusivity are the main differentiators. Note that you can get both of these cars in coupe, convertible and sedan forms.M3: V8 with 414 hp, starts at $55k, flared and meaner looking than the standard 3. Either six-speed manual or seven-speed double-clutch with M Drivelogic. Lots of bits and pieces that can make you a weekend warrior at the track or at least look like one.335i: turbo inline 6 with 300hp, starts at $40k, available with AWD (sedan and coupe only). Six speed manual or six-speed automatic.While some people love the current M3, I'm maybe too much of an old school kind of guy. I don't think any BMWs should have V8 engines, much less the M3 which used to value weight savings along with power in equal measure. The current M3 now weighs about 500 lbs more than a Ford Ranger pickup. I really love the turbocharged inline 6 in the 335i and think it might actually be closer in spirit to a lot of the older M3s that were so beloved. It's no lightweight either, mind you, but I prefer it.
What's the difference between Tiptronic and automatic transmissions?
A Tiptronic transmission is an automatic transmission that includes an option to switch out of automatic mode and upshift or downshift by using paddles behind the steering wheel or by using the gear lever itself. The name Tiptronic is a registered trademark that is owned by car manufacturer Porsche. In Tiptronic, manual shifting is controlled through buttons with a plus sign for up-shifting and a minus sign for down-shifting. This is similar to what many sports cars use in order to give an authentic feel. While the first system was originally produced by Porsche, later systems have adopted similar technology, with the same name.Tiptronic systems allow drivers to choose whether they want to drive automatic, where the computer does gear shifting or manual mode where the driver has the opportunity to change the gear. Other systems have tried to emulate the feel of manual without giving you full control, but the Tiptronic transmission is the first device that offers a choice. The system has safeguards in place that keep drivers from going past the RPM red line when operating under manual control. If drivers fail to use manual shifting for a certain amount of time with Tiptronic, the software on the transmission automatically switches back to automatic and controls all shifts through the computer once again. It is then necessary to turn it on again to go back to manual.The Tiptronic, is also known as manumatic transmission, so allows the user to shift gears without having to operate a clutch. The system has built-in safety features so that the transmission cannot be damaged in the event of driver error. The technology is licensed for use by other manufacturers such as Volkswagen, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Audi, Seat, Skoda and Land Rover.
After how many miles will a BMW give you problems?
I’ve had 3 BMW’s. A 2003 530i that went 60,000 miles without a spot of trouble. Just routine maintenance. Which you should NEVER skip on a BMW. It did, like almost all 3Litre BMW engines burn a quart of oil every 5000 miles, but you get used to that.Second BMW: A used 2003 530iA. Only 17,000 miles on the odo. Total. Piece. Of. Shit. Dumped it a year later after $5000+ in repairs. I checked off EVERY TB issued on that car.Third BMW: 2006 325i. Still running great. 165,000 miles. It had the water pump fail at 105,000 miles on a 115 degree day with my daughter hammering it at 90 MPH on the freeway and it had the VANOS fail at 140,000 miles (which is better than most), but that’s all the non-routine work it has ever needed.ALL & All, BMW’s are not much worse than other cars in pure reliability. The biggest difference though is in the cost of the repairs when things do fail. OEM BMW coil? $85. OEM coil for a Toyota? $45. That basic ratio seems to apply to every part on the car. And BMW trained mechanics are about 30% more per hour too.I still love BMW’s though. They are an absolute joy to drive. Just take good care of them and never defer maintenance.
What causes a car to lose power while driving?
In modern cars with engine management systems, it is the system itself that reduces power if it detects a problem with the engine. A warning light will come and and the engine will go into 'limp home' mode, where speed it usually limited to 80km/h or lower. Any number of things can cause this, but usually it relates to loss of something important, like a coolant leak, or low oil pressure. Sometimes it can also be a false positive due to a fault in the management system itself.All internal combustion engines require three things to work; compression, fuel and ignition. Degradation of any one of theses will result in lower engine performance.Loss of compression can result from engine wear, common in engines with several hundred thousand kilometers on the clock. Engine efficiency is lost because gasses can escape past the piston rings. Mechanical failure such as a blown head gasket can cause a similar loss.Blockages or degradation of the fuel supply, such as a worn fuel pump will cause loss of power for obvious reasons.Ignition faults stem from things such as a cracked distributor head, worn spark plugs, worn ignition coil or faulty spark plug leads. They generally result in some cylinders not igniting the fuel/air mix, thus reducing the power.Loss of lubricant or coolant will cause the engine to overheat and then seize. In this case, loss of power is 100%.Worn bearings in the engine will usually not reduce power much, they will keep working, making more and more noise, and then fail catastrophically, causing the engine to seize.It is also possible for timing chains to slip, adjustment screws to loosen in the carburetor, exhaust manifolds to develop leaks , and other minor mechanical faults to occur that will reduce engine power. This can happen suddenly or gradually over time.
How do you bump-start a car with an automatic transmission?
In most (if not all) cases, you cannot "bump-start" a car equipped with an automatic transmission by getting it rolling "in gear" (either by pushing, pulling, rolling down a hill, or otherwise).There are a few reasons, all of which tend to have to do with fluid pressure.First, many/most automatic transmissions utilize a fluid coupler called a torque converter to connect the engine to the transmission. The engine turns the outer housing of the torque converter, which has vanes inside it. The vanes move through fluid and cause the fluid to begin to flow around within the torque converter. This fluid flow then turns a similar set of vanes on an impeller within the torque converter housing, but not connected to it. The impeller *is* connected to the automatic transmission's input shaft. If that sounds sorta complicated, imagine two house fans facing each other. If you turn one on, the other will eventually start to rotate as the air moved by the first pushes against the blades of the second. That's what a torque converter does ... but with fluid instead of air, and much higher speeds and pressures.So, thinking about such an arrangement for a moment, you can imagine that it takes considerable RPM to get the fluid flowing enough to move the impeller. Well, bump-starting would need to obtain an even greater RPM, because you'd be doing the opposite: using the smaller impeller to drive the bigger housing, which is connected to the engine, which tends to resist turning due to compression within the cylinders.But things don't even get that close when trying to bump-start a car with an automatic transmission.To oversimplify things a bit: The input shaft of an automatic transmission drives a fluid pump that forces fluid through the various passages in the transmission to cause the planetary gearset to engage its various gears to ultimately cause the output shaft to rotate. But when the engine isn't running, the input shaft isn't turning, so the fluid pump isn't turning, so there isn't any fluid pressure to engage the planetary gears . So, even though you can cause the output shaft to rotate by pushing the car, it won't cause the input shaft to turn.There are some great "how it works" pages on the web to help explain this better if you want to know more. Just google it.