Is Your BMW Drive Train Warning Light is on? Here is How You Can Respond
Drive train is a system that transfers power from engine to the wheels. Malfunctions in this part of a vehicle leads your vehicle to run with a very low power. The power failures in the engine and the gear box is what that causes malfunction in the drive train. There is a warning light for drive train on the dashboard like other lights that shows problems in other systems in the car. So what to does it actually mean when the drive train warning comes on and what to do if the drive train warning light glows is what I’m gonna discuss in this article.
What causes the drive train warning light to come up?
In BMW cars, commonly it is found that the drive train warning light is glowing or the message comes up. When the drive train gets problems, then just like other problems, the dashboard warning light for drive train glows. The drive train warning light is a good sign of problems in the engine and the gear box which creates problem during the transfer of power. The engine control module or ECM also called as digital motor electronics (DME) when gets to know about the power issue in the engine or the gear box, then it immediately turns on the drive train warning light on dash board or make a drive train message to pop up.
The faulty battery
Low engine oil
Low fuel
Faulty mechanical parts
How to respond if drive train warning light is on?
While driving your car, if you suddenly get to know that your drive train warning light is on or there is some other signs as well with the warning light, then do not panic, you just have to be careful to diagnose your car without taking risks of further damage.
Restart the car - if you get the warning sign, then take your car to the roadside or to a safe place carefully and park your car. The engine and the ignition is turned off. Wait for 5-10 minutes and then again start your car to see if the error is reset or not. When the car is off, no accessories like lights, stereo or cooling fan should be on. Restarting is has been helpful for many car users whose car show drive train warning.
If after restarting, your car still shows up the drive train light, then you have to turn off the engine again and check for the leaks of different fluids used by engine like fuel, oil, coolant, etc. Check the fuel gauge. Check the underside of the car if there is fuel leaking or not. Check the oil level by a dipstick. Check for the leaks of oil under the car and also look for the smells of oil outside the car. Leaking of oil can lead to release of oil smell more. Check the coolant level and the coolant leaks. Leakage of coolant would lead to sweet smells and a white smoke from the exhaust and the hood. Also check the transmission oil leaks. Transmission oils are generally or red color and transparent. You can get to know if the leaking fluid is transmission oil or not.
Check the temperature of engine. If the engine tends to overheat, then the temperature gauge would point to the red zone or H mark.
Now if the car still shows the error, then you can use a diagnostic tool or an OBD2 scanner. Just plug in the scanner to the OBD2 port. The ignition is to be turned on but not the engine. The BMW model is selected and the error codes are read. You can also reset the codes.
Once you get to know about the root cause of the problem you can get the car totally inspected and repairs are to be done.
Conclusion
Driving the car with a drive train faults is not a good idea. Your car may get to the limp mode where you cannot drive the car with a speed more than 40 mph. Go get you BMW repaired as soon as possible. The cost of diagnosis depends on the type of problem in the drive train.














