Rear axle differential lock error

[chillindrdude]

Originally Posted by sA x sKy

I can understand if the fault came up during a track session but mine was at cold start lol

i would argue against that also. this car is marketed (and used by BMW themselves) for track performance.

barring high level / endurance racing, this car should be well within operating parameters for the average DE driver and track conditions.

[chillindrdude]

3rd time going in for this error
*sigh*

[verruckt]

Originally Posted by Stevens21234

it seems like every dealer just replaces the part instead of fixing it. It's like the tesla approach and it's not a good thing.

This has ALWAYS been BMW's approach. Seriously, it's nothing new.....

Any real work is done back at BMW Group and is why PUMA exists on the dealer side. When the engineers find a fix then it is released, however it's much easier to just replace the part and get you back on the road instead of trying this or that and using you as the test mule...

As for why you guys have to wait? Well, you bought a German car and the parts come from Germany. In addition to this BMW only produces X amount of parts and doesn't have a warehouse full of these things. It's both Cost and space prohibitive.

It sucks, but it's life.

[verruckt]

Originally Posted by chillindrdude

3rd time going in for this error
*sigh*

It's pretty clear after the 3rd time - ask that they replace the entire diff...

[chillindrdude]

got a call. apparently the last 2 differential faults were "communication error"s.

1st time, unit and connections inspected and checked for continuity. unit rebooted, faults cleared

2nd time, unit replaced. unit reinitialized, faults cleared.

3rd time (this time), my service advisor said the error type was a "module error". he said their M-tech found 2 pins misaligned/malpositioned in the power connector, this was rectified. The fault this time, has been intermittent, far more so than the previous 2 occurrences. Of course, when I went in for service today, the fault was no longer on the dash. The SA and tech are gonna flog the car alittle and get in a couple of drive cycles for 24hrs to see if the fix is stable.

So in short, no new differential.

*fingers crossed*

[Kankles]

So, I had initial service at 2k km, drove it for a week, ~800 km, then went to the States for a week (work), car sat in garage the entire week. Started car up in sport mode this morning and got the error. Drove it for a few Km then turned it off and it sat for an hour or so. Error didn't come back after that, at least not yet. I did some spirited driving in sport + and all seemed good. Hopefully I avoid any future errors but I'm not holding my breath.

[Kankles]

Originally Posted by Thrillbilly

So, I had initial service at 2k km, drove it for a week, ~800 km, then went to the States for a week (work), car sat in garage the entire week. Started car up in sport mode this morning and got the error. Drove it for a few Km then turned it off and it sat for an hour or so. Error didn't come back after that, at least not yet. I did some spirited driving in sport + and all seemed good. Hopefully I avoid any future errors but I'm not holding my breath.

It came back today...then went away again. I think I'm gonna take it in...wtf

[chillindrdude]

*ugh*

sorry to hear billy, please keep us posted.

[Kankles]

Originally Posted by chillindrdude

*ugh*

sorry to hear billy, please keep us posted.

Yeah, the error is getting more and more persistent. Getting it on each drive now. Although it clears when I restart the car. I truly think it's an electrical issue but won't know for sure until I take it in...hopefully today or tomorrow..

[raywai2]

Revive this thread since not many people reporting this issue since.

I got this "rear axel differential lock" error yesterday afternoon. Parked the car for 30 mins and the error went away. The car has 25k miles. I am thinking taking it to the dealership or wait to see if the error comes back (since the car still has warranty till November 2018). I have a feeling that if i take it in now with the error gone, the dealership might just do a quick check to see the module connection and tell me everything is fine now, and the error comes back later. But most likely I will take it in.

Has anyone else experienced this error?

[heinzlester]

i got that today as well.
along with RPA failure and driving stability. why is this happening

any inputs will be appreciated

thanks

[raywai2]

Mine actually disappeared after parked overnight and never came back. Called dealership and they said they might charge me for even take a look because the code disappeared and might not be stored by the ECU.

[M3 Geezer]

I began to hear the rear end humming about 500 mi ago. Never got a warning message. When I took it in for the scheduled maintenance (30,000 mi) they decided to replace the differential. I do not track or or otherwise abuse this great car and still had this 'random' failure. I am, however pleased that it is under warranty but there are 15 months and 19,000 miles to go.....whichever comes first!

[JesusLovesU]

Issue solved:
I had the same issue after I installed my exhaust. Went back under the car and realized that there is a cable that runs down the drive shaft to the differential. This cable is facing the ground attached to a white clip. The exhaust was pressing up against this which must have been causing the issue because I had to cut the casing that was holding the wire to this small bracket and zip tie it out of the way. Now no issues! This may be different from other rear differential issues you may be having although this was mine

[SpaceCowboy]

BMW has had many problems with this differential. They even had a stop sale on both the F8X and the M2's for a while because of the rear differential. It wouldn't surprise me if this was an eventual recall item.

https://www.autoblog.com/2016/07/22/...m-cars-report/

http://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2...ferential.html

[Matteo88]

revive this thread once more. i will start a new one if i don't get any responses here.

only owned the F80 since may so this is its first winter. took the car to an un-plowed hill to gain some understanding on what it can handle in terms of snow. running square setup of 255/35R19 michelin PA4.

while the traction control is so good i have been driving largely with traction completely off, mostly for fun but also to give the tires a chance to dig if they need to.

so the hill was a big challenge and i never made it up. in the process i was spinning off and on, trying different methods to conquer the snow but there was just too much in front of the front tires that slowed me down to a stop once i got going. needless to say i was spinning the back wheels considerably over the course of a few minutes, probably 2-4 mins but definitely less than 5.

all of a sudden i received the same warning as mentioned in this thread. rear differential lock. i had assumed this was due to heat. it may bear mentioning that it was very cold outside, probably about -18C (0F) and very windy. i thought this to be more of a "feature" than a warning. i think there was also a "drive with care" message. then i noticed both the DSC and DSC Off lights were illuminated and another message about collision warning malfunctioning. somewhat after this i stalled the car (shut up!) because it seemed as though traction control switched back on and throttle inputs weren't as predictably transferred to the drive wheels as they are when traction is off and the wheels are allowed to spin.

i restarted the car, sulked a bit, threw it into reverse and went back down the hill and onto the more lightly covered portion to climb back up.

all other instances of this warning seem to have come on randomly for others.

any ideas peoples?

[MyFragileHalogen]

That happened to me recently as well. Chassis error popped up when I engaged handbrake at a traffic stop and I restarted the car and it popped up. After driving for a while it disappeared and I could do DSC off again. Gotta keep my eyes on it as my warranty will be done in a couple months

[Grantk]

Originally Posted by Kankles

Yeah, the error is getting more and more persistent. Getting it on each drive now. Although it clears when I restart the car. I truly think it's an electrical issue but won't know for sure until I take it in...hopefully today or tomorrow..

I know this is old but any update on this? What was causing the error?

[Kankles]

Originally Posted by Grantk

I know this is old but any update on this? What was causing the error?

IIRC it was the GHAS control unit. I didn't need a new diff and error never came back. But I did sell the car a couple years ago and now have an M2c.

[Grantk]

Good info. I've been getting the error for around 2 months. Going to replace the GHAS (quoted $2k from BMW ) and hope it stays away. I was worried they would eventually tell me to replace the diff

[ninekrpm]

Looking for some troubleshooting guidance...

I just replaced the diff carrier + bushings, had dropped the subframe completely to do this...

Once everything came together, I started the car and noted this error "rear axle diff lock error".

There were 4 sensors/plugs that I had disconnected when the subframe was dropped, two on the diff (front and back) and two on the wheel hubs (wheel speed sensor).

Car runs fine...just looking for some guidance of what I may have overlooked or things I could look at/do.

Appreciate the help...thanks!

[___]

Had this error on and off for past few months, then became frequent enough that I took it in (had also noticed that the car didn’t at all behave the same when trying to slide a turn a bit ;-)), dealer says need a new diff, $5.5k!!