[Sypher]

Earlier today, I was trying to overtake someone on a 2 lane road. I floored it and dropped down 2 gears from 8th. The car suddenly went into limp mode and was barely accelerating. I was able to complete the pass but felt there was definitely something wrong (engine vibration, and no power under 3000rpm). I pulled off the road and pulled the codes and it showed a misfire in all cylinders. I was still about 80km from home so I tried clearing the codes, turning the car off and turning it back on. Engine fired up and was running smooth like nothing happened. If it happens again I'll call roadside assistance and have it towed to the dealership for them to have a look (didn't to it today because all dealership service centers are closed and I need the car for the weekend).

Does anyone know what would cause this? I wasn't doing any aggressive driving prior to this happening. It was raining, not very heavily. And the car has less than 9000km on it. Only power mod is a Dinansport tuner that was put on around 3000km ago.

[3rdcoast228i]

Funny I had the exact same thing happen to me. In fact it was also raining the day it happen to me. No mods, and my misfire was on cylinders 2 and 3 only. My car has less than 7000 miles on it.

Turned it off then back on and it cleared up.

I was thinking it was probably bad gas. Now I'm wondering if somehow water was in the intake, and when accelerating hard it sucked it up?

[3rdcoast228i]

BTW My car has the n26

[Sypher]

My car also has the N26. Gas was down to about 1/3 tank left at the time.
I'd be very worried about the reliability of this car if a little rain and WOT would throw the timing completely out of wack. Actually, I'm pretty sure I've autocrossed in heavier rain that today's with no problems...

[3rdcoast228i]

Interesting, I was definitely below half a tank but above 1/4. I was about an hour into a drive so the engine was definitely warm. I'm assuming you were also in sport mode.

It doesn't sound like this is a coincidence.

[RoundelM3]

If you haven't read the stored fault codes, all this is pure speculation. It could be a number of things, particularly since you have the tuner. The N26 is a variation of the N20 that is tuned for maximum emission reduction (SULEV) with denser cats and other minor changes in engine parameters. Might be that the tuner's added boost tripped the ECU's safety limits, but reading the codes should give you more specifics.

[Sypher]

Originally Posted by roundel335

If you haven't read the stored fault codes, all this is pure speculation. It could be a number of things, particularly since you have the tuner. The N26 is a variation of the N20 that is tuned for maximum emission reduction (SULEV) with denser cats and other minor changes in engine parameters. Might be that the tuner's added boost tripped the ECU's safety limits, but reading the codes should give you more specifics.

I did pull the codes, but I didn't save them. Will save them for sure next time. I just wanted the problem resolved so I can get home. While the tuner could be to blame, I can say that I've pushed the car much harder before and have never had this happen before; but still, it's a possiblilty.

[RoundelM3]

The thing that makes me think it's the tuner is that after you shut down and restarted, all was ok again. The DME will go into "limp mode" if the oil temp, intake air temp, or coolant temp get too high or if it senses pre-ignition (also due to high temperature) and can't retard the timing enough to stop the pinging. You might mention this incident to Dinan and see if it's a known issue.

[Maynard]

I had a similar situation w/o any added tune, and after turning off/on it just disappeared (error code and cut to partial power, likely triggered by flooring it in fairly high gear up a hill). Later dealership runs Dx and says 'random fluke, n/t actually wrong'. I think these cars are so sensitive that they will detect and react to momentary glitches, then go back to normal - I'm just not used to that and keep waiting for s/t big to blow.

[3rdcoast228i]

Originally Posted by roundel335

The thing that makes me think it's the tuner is that after you shut down and restarted, all was ok again. The DME will go into "limp mode" if the oil temp, intake air temp, or coolant temp get too high or if it senses pre-ignition (also due to high temperature) and can't retard the timing enough to stop the pinging. You might mention this incident to Dinan and see if it's a known issue.

Don't forget the same thing happened to me, and now Maynard is saying the same thing and neither of us are tuned.

The more I think about it, I'm getting more convinced somehow water is collecting in the intake. Very humid air getting condensed in the intercooler? Wide open throttle then sucks it into the intake? Somethings up, just dont know what.

[RoundelM3]

Originally Posted by 3rdcoast228i

Don't forget the same thing happened to me, and now Maynard is saying the same thing and neither of us are tuned.

The more I think about it, I'm getting more convinced somehow water is collecting in the intake. Very humid air getting condensed in the intercooler? Wide open throttle then sucks it into the intake? Somethings up, just dont know what.

Any moisture in the intake tract would be gone right after initial startup/warmup, especially after driving any distance. Any air in the intercooler comes directly from the turbo's compressor side which is going to be too hot for condensation to occur. This isn't water-related, as limp mode occurs when the DME thinks the engine is either overheating, knocking, or some other situation where engine damage could occur. It's possible it might have something to do with fuel pressure, but the best advice I could give would be to have the car checked out at a dealership or an indy shop where they can read the fault codes (if any) and do some diagnostic testing.

By the way - what octane fuel are all of you guys running? 91 or 93? I know 93 is prevalent in Texas, but not sure about Canada.

[3rdcoast228i]

93 shell

I was also thinking I got gas at a station that I normally don't. They could have put the wrong octane in the pumps or something. Don't know, but it's running fine now.

Also the codes were pending. Cleared the codes and I have been checking it everyday, nothing pending.

[Sypher]

I'm running 91; ethanol free

[Taunto]

there is a Software Update that addresses this issue Through ISTA-P. Ilv17-07 is whats required. You can get them done at your local dealer. Remember if you have any Flash tune in your car - the flash tune will most likely get erased.
If you go in asking for them to just update the software on your car tho..expect to pay a minimum 1.5hr labour for them to program/complete encoding done on the car.

Can make a complaint about what happened and if your software is not up to date, it may get it updated through warranty, pending the techs Diagnosis.