car runs but wont drive. not tranny...

so i was driving down to a meet today in pittsburgh and im sitting at a light. the light turned green and i started to move through the intersection and then nothing...literally nothing. i had no throttle response. the car is an auto. it will not rev at all. i have literally no throttle response. no codes at all. the car did not stall it just wont drive. i was thinking the accelerator module? any other ideas? its sitting at the shop now because i leave for vacation on monday and cant leave it in my condo parking lot.

Ari

Did your accelarator cable snap? I had a similar symptom when I had a massive air leak after the MAF, although it would still rev, I couldn't drive anywhere!

will the car start moving when you put it into drive?

yes the car will still move but it only drifts. i think its the cable but i dont know what else it could be. its not the shift linkage but that was out right away because it wouldnt rev. i just want to expedite the process at the shop.

does the pedal feel different? cus it should be a WHOLE lot lighter if the cable snapped. can you put it in neutral or P and rev it with the gas pedal?

Also, try popping the hood and shove your hand down by the throttle body to see if the cord snapped

feels a whole lot lighter. where is the throttle body? give me a landmark in the engine bay. near the maf?

Originally Posted by barcode148

feels a whole lot lighter. where is the throttle body? give me a landmark in the engine bay. near the maf?

follow the tube that is behind the maf under the intake manifold. You should be able to squeeze your hand in there and check if the cable is on or not.

I know it's a bad pic but...


If you look at the "box"(DISA fyi) to the right of the oilstick(red) you can see the trhottle wire, just down below it is the throttle.

ya, in Pir4t's pic, that "open tube" under the "box" (DISA) is the intake boot. through that tube is the throttle body. if you can take off your air filter, MAF, and the intake boot right after your MAF you should be able to start the car and try to physically push open the valve with your fingers (the valve will and should open if you push the top of valve) while your engine is idling to see if it responds. I don't really know how mechanically inclined you are (not meaning any offense) but if it's not revving in neutral or Park when you push the pedal and there's no codes and you say you feel that the pedal is ALOT lighter than I bet your cable snapped. Any competent indy shop or mechanic should be able to spot that REALLY easily

Originally Posted by alibusoul

ya, in Pir4t's pic, that "open tube" under the "box" (DISA) is the intake boot. through that tube is the throttle body. if you can take off your air filter, MAF, and the intake boot right after your MAF you should be able to start the car and try to physically push open the valve with your fingers (the valve will and should open if you push the top of valve) while your engine is idling to see if it responds. I don't really know how mechanically inclined you are (not meaning any offense) but if it's not revving in neutral or Park when you push the pedal and there's no codes and you say you feel that the pedal is ALOT lighter than I bet your cable snapped. Any competent indy shop or mechanic should be able to spot that REALLY easily

I don't wanna be hatin or something but i would never stick my hand near the intake tube of the car , that **** is scary

On the side of the TB there's a mechanism that allows the wire to open the throttle, i feel alot safer twisting this than putting my hand in the intake xD

im pretty mechanically inclined . this is just the first vehicle that i have ever worked on. i have done some minor stuff but when this happened i was under the impression that all e46s were drive by wire. after a bit of research i came upon the fact that that was only the case on the 2001 and up models. im going to go to the shop today and pop the hood and check it out. hopefully i can diagnose it as just the snapped cable and save myself the diagnostic fee at least. thanks for the help guys.

Originally Posted by Pir4t

I don't wanna be hatin or something but i would never stick my hand near the intake tube of the car , that **** is scary

On the side of the TB there's a mechanism that allows the wire to open the throttle, i feel alot safer twisting this than putting my hand in the intake xD

lol i know i just didnt know if would be able to find that since its kinda tucked in there. one time my tb got stuck so i had to go in there and push with all my might haha. But ya, pushing might not be the best idea..

any updates??

got a call from the shop today. not what i wanted to hear while i was sitting on the beach. he claims that the throttle body went as well as the cable. $1138 of work to be exact. is it possible for the throttle body to go without throwing a single code?

Originally Posted by barcode148

im pretty mechanically inclined . this is just the first vehicle that i have ever worked on.

Those two things do not go together.


The throttle body is $650 new, $250 ish used. If you had the time and a garage, this could be a DIY.

If you can bring your own part into the INDY shop, you would save $300-400

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BMW-E...Q5fAccessories

Wait, I just remembered.

When I first took my car in to the BMW Stealership for a checkup the day I bought it. They wanted to replace the Throttle Body becuase of a throttle body stuck error code.

Turn out all it needed was as cleaning! I took it apart and cleaned it with some throttle body cleaner, and the error code went away.


So, just get the cable replaced, and clean your throttle body. I guarantee this will work. Dont listen to them, you donot need a new throttle body, there really is nothing that goes wrong with them.



Think about it, it was working fine right? Then all of a sudden, snap, throttle cable breaks, and it stops working. JUST REPLACE THE CABLE 1st!! Could save you alot of money that does not need to be spent.

Originally Posted by barcode148

got a call from the shop today. not what i wanted to hear while i was sitting on the beach. he claims that the throttle body went as well as the cable. $1138 of work to be exact. is it possible for the throttle body to go without throwing a single code?

Hey, just have them fix throttle cable, throttle body should be fine (have it cleaned). Good luck.

yea ive never seen a throttle body fail.....some indys like to rob money from people

my thoughts exactly...only one problem. they did the work without the go ahead from me. he better have the throttle body in hand and it better be broken or we are going to go round.

Originally Posted by barcode148

my thoughts exactly...only one problem. they did the work without the go ahead from me. he better have the throttle body in hand and it better be broken or we are going to go round.

If they did the work without the go ahead from you, demand they put the old one back and that your not paying for it. Throttle bodies DO NOT GO BAD. (99% of the time). All you needed was a cable and a throttle body cleaning, thats it.

But because you were a stranger from out of town with a sob story, they are sapping you for everything you are worth. Plus its a bimmer, people assume we are rich.

BULLSHIT