It’s by no means a discovery that errors appearing while we’re driving aren’t the thing we want to see. Every time they do, we can either feel annoyed, irritated, sad, angry, or even fearful.
The last one is present when the error relates to our vehicle’s engine. It is the most crucial part of our car’s overall driving capabilities and costs the most to repair or exchange. It is precisely why the “Drivetrain Malfunction” error can give you lots of unpleasant emotions if it appears on your BMW screen.
Summary
The most common reasons for a BMW drivetrain malfunction are transmission fluid leaks and excessive car vibrations. If the BMW drivetrain malfunction is caused by excess vibration, you will probably have to make sure the U-joints in your drivetrain subset are working as intended to fix it.
In this article, we also take a look at the following:
- How to troubleshoot
- Repair cost
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This article will cover everything about this malfunction to help you prepare for such an event better. You’ll see how to look for it, what causes the error, as well as the consequences of it and repair methods.
How to fix drivetrain malfunction in a BMW
As unsatisfying as it sounds, the best way to fix the drivetrain in your BMW is to let the professionals deal with it.
It’s a complex subset of parts that requires maximum care and expertise, which most casual drivers lack. To avoid further damage to your car, it’s best not to try and repair it yourself, save for the prevention methods described above.
What Causes A Drivetrain To Malfunction?
The cause listed above is just one of the many probable causes responsible for a drivetrain’s malfunction. These might vary a lot. Identifying them is not always that easy, especially if you’re not experienced with car repairs. To help you, we’ve listed three main causes of this subset becoming damaged:
Excessive vibrations
These problems are most commonly appearing during gear changing or accelerating. If your car produces excessive vibrations, it might be caused by loose U-Joints in your drivetrain subset. They can be loose mostly from extensive usage if they become worn out. These shakings create an additional strain on the drivetrain and might eventually lead to it being damaged.
Grinding/bumping
An issue related to the previous one but caused by slightly different factors. Suppose you happen to notice a grinding noise during normal driving. It might be a sign of your U-joints being too worn out or your solenoid packs needing to be exchanged. Excessive grinding or bumping might cause dents and thinning of the ground surfaces, which can create a malfunction.
Leaks of transmission fluid
Another possible problem you can experience is related to the quality of your transmission fluid. It is necessary for your drivetrain to run smoothly and transmit power without additional torque losses. If this fluid leaks into other areas of your vehicle, it might disturb their normal pace of work. In turn, it will create an error.
Low-grade fuel
Cheap fuel and an expensive car just don’t match. Your car needs a high grade fuel to function well. Grades of fuel are measured in Octane level. Let’s explain that with the table below:
| Regular | Mid grade | Premium |
| 87 | 89-90 | 91-94 |
We recommend fuel with at least 92 octane level for your BMW.
What does it mean on a BMW?
Now that you know what a drivetrain is, it’s time to explain what the error means.
A BMW drivetrain malfunction is a hardware error in nature. It means that in order for it to appear, some of the mechanical parts of your vehicle have not to be working properly. In this case, the potential target of your car malfunction can be any parts that make up the drivetrain.
It includes the transmission, driveshaft, different joints, and the differential. The error will appear on your screen if any of them becomes damaged.
The subset in your car responsible for detecting these malfunctions is called the car’s engine computer, or ECU in short. It automatically detects all sorts of real-time errors in your vehicle, allowing you to react as soon as possible.
Due to the potentially rather serious nature of this error, there are countermeasures implemented into your car. They are there to ensure maximum safety in case of the drivetrain malfunctioning.
If this happens, the ECU (engine’s control unit) will switch the car into safety/limp mode. It means that the overall performance of your car, which is mainly the power generated by the engine, will be reduced adequately. It will be mentioned in the error message, which reads: “Drivetrain Malfunction: Drive moderately. Maximum drivetrain output is not available. Consult service center.”
You will not be able to reach the max speed of your car if it’s in limp mode. It is the best solution, as it prevents further damage to the already damaged parts. It’s while it also allows you to reach a repair point safely.
When accelerating
There are multiple reasons why your drivetrain might malfunction. If this error pops up while accelerating, the most likely problem lies in the high-pressure fuel pumps. These parts are necessary for fuel transmission from the tank to the engine.
They create high pressure inside themselves, which makes the fuel travel at very high speeds. Because of this, any smallest dent or function will result in significant losses of transmitting power. In turn, it will cause the engine to work inconsistently.
If you try to accelerate while having drivetrain problems, it will technically be possible up to an extent.
Remember that your vehicle’s overall performance is limited, and gaining speed will be much harder. Even when we ignore that, it’s still not recommended to accelerate excessively during drivetrain malfunctions.
It will only strain the damaged parts even more and might cause further damage, which will be both unsafe and pricey to repair.
Damage from mismatched tires
Mismatched tires are another serious cause of your drivetrain’s malfunction. They play a critical role in the overall performance of the vehicle, and their proper matching can be crucial to your car working properly.
Most importantly, tires that are mismatched in size can damage the differential assembly. It is done by making the differential use different performance outputs to each tire in the vehicle, losing the balance and shortening the lifespan of this piece.
Even if the cars are different in size by half an inch, it’s enough to cause severe balance losses in your vehicle subsets. It damages them in the long run. In order to avoid this, make sure that the tires you buy are always from the same brand and set. Before buying, check whether every tire is the same in diameter to avoid unnecessary problems in the future.
What to do when you’re accelerating & car is shaking
The first thing you need to do if your car begins to shake during acceleration is to minimize the further strain you’re putting on the vehicle parts. To do this, make sure it’s safe to slow down and try to approach a safe spot to park your car in slowly.
Once you’ve parked your car, let the engine rest for up to ten minutes. It will allow the automatic systems inside your car to perform a system reset and implement the safety measures, letting you drive back to your house safely.
It’s not necessary to stop driving immediately after your car enters limp mode. It’s advised to keep driving until you reach a safe destination or a place from which you’ll be able to call the mechanic.
In any case, make sure to call your dealership or a BMW mechanic to get your damages repaired if you’re done with driving already.
There is no reason to panic when the error pops up. The safety measures implemented into your car, working via autonomous systems, are more than enough to keep you safe if you behave correctly.
Make sure not to create a threat to other drivers by suddenly hitting the brakes or trying to stop your car.
