Hard acceleration drivetrain malfunction/solution

[janseny7]

Recently during hard accelerations I would feel the car stutter and then get a drivetrain maulfunction. I will turn the car off and then turn it back on and the message would go away and everything was normal until the next pull. Was running the stage 0 gts tune. Thought that might be the reason so I flashed it back to stock, but it still did it. I ran the codes and got a bunch of errors. I don’t have the screenshot with me or I would post. it’s been about two years and 25,000 miles since I last did spark plugs so I changed out plugs and ignition coils.

Everything is running better. No more errors and car feels better. Those tunes will wear out plugs faster than usual(thanks captain obvious)

On a sidenote, whenever you do maintenance on a car a second time it goes so much quicker. First time I did plugs I had some help from friends and was super nervous but this time I did it all by myself, and it was a breeze. So far this year I have done a valve cover,expansion tank, front brake pads, oil change and plugs/ignition coils myself.

If I went to the dealership for all this it would’ve easily been over $5000-6000. Another big area for savings was buying OE parts like Bosch plugs and Delphi coils. Valve cover and expansion tank were OEM.

[jaylazy2020]

Originally Posted by janseny7

Recently during hard accelerations I would feel the car stutter and then get a drivetrain maulfunction. I will turn the car off and then turn it back on and the message would go away and everything was normal until the next pull. Was running the stage 0 gts tune. Thought that might be the reason so I flashed it back to stock, but it still did it. I ran the codes and got a bunch of errors. I don’t have the screenshot with me or I would post. it’s been about two years and 25,000 miles since I last did spark plugs so I changed out plugs and ignition coils.

Everything is running better. No more errors and car feels better. Those tunes will wear out plugs faster than usual(thanks captain obvious)

On a sidenote, whenever you do maintenance on a car a second time it goes so much quicker. First time I did plugs I had some help from friends and was super nervous but this time I did it all by myself, and it was a breeze. So far this year I have done a valve cover,expansion tank, front brake pads, oil change and plugs/ignition coils myself.

If I went to the dealership for all this it would’ve easily been over $5000-6000. Another big area for savings was buying OE parts like Bosch plugs and Delphi coils. Valve cover and expansion tank were OEM.

That’s so true. Doing some DIY on these with the superb knowledge on these forums can not only save you a fortune but it’s very satisfying to nail it yourself.


I was quoted €3800 from Bmw when I asked to change the serpentine belt as it was making a small chirping sound.

They quoted to change the harmonic balancer as well(not sure is this mandatory?)

So I bought all the oem parts myself for €300(except harmonic balancer) and I’m doing it myself.

Tensioner was the first to change and that alone has stopped the chirping sound but going to do both belts and the two other pulleys this weekend so everything will be brand new at 58k miles.

I’ve been running stage 2 on colder ngk plugs for a year and have done 8k miles

I’d like to change the plugs soon and maybe the injectors as preventive maintenance

[janseny7]

Originally Posted by jaylazy2020

That’s so true. Doing some DIY on these with the superb knowledge on these forums can not only save you a fortune but it’s very satisfying to nail it yourself.


I was quoted €3800 from Bmw when I asked to change the serpentine belt as it was making a small chirping sound.

They quoted to change the harmonic balancer as well(not sure is this mandatory?)

So I bought all the oem parts myself for €300(except harmonic balancer) and I’m doing it myself.

Tensioner was the first to change and that alone has stopped the chirping sound but going to do both belts and the two other pulleys this weekend so everything will be brand new at 58k miles.

I’ve been running stage 2 on colder ngk plugs for a year and have done 8k miles

I’d like to change the plugs soon and maybe the injectors as preventive maintenance

Where are the injectors located? When I changed my valve cover, I had to disconnect the fuel rail, so I’m semi-familiar with getting that far into the engine.

[jaylazy2020]

Originally Posted by janseny7

Where are the injectors located? When I changed my valve cover, I had to disconnect the fuel rail, so I’m semi-familiar with getting that far into the engine.

Sorry I meant coil packs, I’m sticking with the easy stuff for the minute!

[janseny7]

Originally Posted by jaylazy2020

Sorry I meant coil packs, I’m sticking with the easy stuff for the minute!

Easy all relative. Two years ago I would have thought that stuff is rocket science. It’s amazing the confidence you build by doing stuff yourself.
Most people don’t do it because they don’t want to mess something up. Understandably so. But once you get the hang out of it, it becomes addicting