325i dies while driving

[jesse09]

About a month ago my 325i's Service Engine Soon light came on. I didn't have time to take her in anywhere so I continued to drive her for a few more days. Then she died on me when I was slowing down to a stop sign. I took in to a mechanic and they ran her codes and told me it could be one of a few things according to the codes. They figured it was the Cam sensor and replaced it. She was fine for a few days but then her light came back on and she died on me again when I tried to take off. She has continued to die on me randomly and since then it has gotten more and more often, sometimes 3 times right in a row. When she dies it is without warning and I don't know it until I go to turn and I don't have power steering or I go to give her gas and she won't go. Also when I try to accelerate, sometimes she doesn't accelerate right. She feels like she is dragging or hitting a wall. It feels to me almost like she isn't getting enough gas to the right place? Once or twice I was able to feel she was about to die b/c she was shaky but I let off the gas and it was okay. I wanted to see if anyone had any idea what could be wrong or if they had this happen to them. I really don't want to take her into the dealership b/c it's expensive and I've heard they don't always do it right or cause more problems.

[johnjmurray]

Jesse, you can't just replace the cam sensor with any old thing. It must be a genuine part. Trust me. This part leads to all sorts of gnarly behavior if it's from a 3rd party.
You haven't said but I presume you have more than 20K miles on the odo. Think about replacing the VANOS seals (http://www.beisansystems.com/). Check for vacuum leaks, especially along the intake parts. Clean the Mass Air Flow (MAF) meter.
If you're not doing this yourself find an indy who knows what all this jargon means or go to a dealer if money is no object.
The SES light means something is wrong. Treat it seriously.

[mbordenkircher]

Jesse, you can't just replace the cam sensor with any old thing. It must be a genuine part. Trust me. This part leads to all sorts of gnarly behavior if it's from a 3rd party.
You haven't said but I presume you have more than 20K miles on the odo. Think about replacing the VANOS seals (http://www.beisansystems.com/). Check for vacuum leaks, especially along the intake parts. Clean the Mass Air Flow (MAF) meter.
If you're not doing this yourself find an indy who knows what all this jargon means or go to a dealer if money is no object.
The SES light means something is wrong. Treat it seriously.

+1

[nathancarter]

In addition to the things that John listed above, cleaning the ICV (idle control valve) may help - especially if you're often stalling when decelerating to a stop.

For further help, see if you can get the exact codes that are causing the light to come on. If you (or mechanic) is using a standard OBDII scanner, the codes will be of the format Pxxxx, for example P0128.

[jesse09]

My car does have over 20k miles, she has over 100k actually. The person who had her before me didn't do any maintenance, they just drove her. And the cam sensor was not from a third party, the mechanic said they got it from BMW. I had also just replaced my air filter (it was so dirty you couldn't see through it and dirt was falling out). I will check the things you listed and see if any of it helps, thanks.

If the problem is fixed, will the SES light go off? It has gone off before often right after I have filled her up with gas, but it always turns back on and the problem persists.

[mbordenkircher]

My car does have over 20k miles, she has over 100k actually. The person who had her before me didn't do any maintenance, they just drove her. And the cam sensor was not from a third party, the mechanic said they got it from BMW. I had also just replaced my air filter (it was so dirty you couldn't see through it and dirt was falling out). I will check the things you listed and see if any of it helps, thanks.

If the problem is fixed, will the SES light go off? It has gone off before often right after I have filled her up with gas, but it always turns back on and the problem persists.

Inspection II ASAP