2012 BMW 640i Check Engine Light

What Does the Check Engine Light Mean?

One of the most usually misunderstood lights or indicators in your 2012 BMW 640i is the check engine light. The check engine light is part of the onboard diagnostics system, and displays in a lot diversified ways. It can say "Check Engine", it can be a symbol of an engine, it can even be a combination of both. This light illuminates in either an amber or red color and is part of the diagnostics system found on your vehicle. Onboard computers increasingly have controlled and monitored vehicle performance since the 80s and do a assortment of things for your 2012 BMW 640i. Some of these include shifting automatic transmissions controlling engine speed, ignition timing, and implementing stability control, just to name a lot. With that being said, the check engine light can mean a variety of different things. It can be as practical as your gas cap being loose or as unhealthy as engine knocking. If your check engine light is on in your 2012 BMW 640i, contact Coggin BMW Treasure Coast. Contact Coggin BMW Treasure Coast today! Our BMW service department can help you find out what code is turning your check engine light on or inspect why your check engine light is flashing.

What could cause the check engine light to come on in a 2012 BMW 640i?

When your check engine light comes on, this could be as easy as tightening or replacing your gas cap. Likewise, the check engine light could also be a warning of a compelling problem that could cause compelling damage to your engine and come with a immense repair bill. Depending on your make and model, the check engine light will illuminate or blink. A persistent glow typically means something less compelling but a flashing check engine light hints that your vehicle’s engine is in compelling trouble and service is mandatory hastily. If your check engine light is flashing in your 2012 BMW 640i, we exceedingly suggest not to drive the vehicle and schedule BMW service straightaway. Below is a list of the most typical reasons your check engine light can come on:

• One of the most typical and many cause is that your 2012 BMW 640i gas cap is loose, damaged or missing. The gas cap for your 2012 BMW 640i serves multiple purposes. It prevents gas fumes from being released when you aren't driving, it seals the fuel system and helps maintain pressure within the fuel tank. What happens if you have a detrimental fuel cap? If your gas cap is classic or has a ruptured seal, you can lose fuel through evaporation which will result in more trips to the pump. Luckily, to replace a gas cap isn't lavish. If your check engine light turns on instantly after you put gas in your 2012 BMW 640i, first thing you should check is to make convinced the cap isn’t loose — or that it's still on your car’s roof or at the fuel pump.
• Your 2012 BMW 640i has a vacuum leak. Every BMW 640i has a vacuum system that performs a wide variety of functions. The vacuum system also helps lower detrimental emissions by routing the fumes as gasoline evaporates through the engine. If you notice that your RPM is high in idle or randomly surges, a vacuum leak could be the cause. Over time, vacuum hoses can dry out and crack, especially if they’re exposed to intense heat or extreme agile.
• The battery is meager or dead. The battery in your 2012 BMW 640i is every basic. Without a car battery, your car won’t start, light up the road ahead, play the radio or charge your phone. Today’s car batteries last much longer than they did a few decades ago, and they don't really require maintenance. The price of a new one depends on the type of BMW you drive, but check our sufficient service coupons and specials.
• New Spark Plugs or Plug Wires are basic for your 2012 BMW 640i. The spark plugs are the part of your engine that ignites the air/fuel range in the combustion chamber of your vehicle. This explosion is what moves the pistons and makes the engine run. The spark plug wires deliver the spark from the ignition coil to the spark plugs. If your spark plugs or spark plug wires are detrimental or classic, you will experience poor performance and reduced power. In some extreme cases, your engine will have trouble starting or continuing to run. Worn spark plugs and plug wires can cause clogged catalytic converter or damage to ignition coils and O2 sensors, best to more lavish repairs.
• Your mass airflow sensor (known as MAF) needs to be replaced. The mass airflow sensor in your BMW 640i is what determines how much fuel is basic to run your engine efficiently by measuring the payment of air entering the engine. As a part of the engine management system, the mass airflow sensor helps adjust to confident changes, like altitude. If your BMW 640i is having trouble starting, idling rough or has a precipitous change in the position of the throttle pedal, this could be a sign of a detrimental mass airflow sensor.
• Issues with any aftermarket items. An aftermarket alarm, exhaust or other item can wreak havoc on your 2012 BMW 640i if it’s not installed properly. These aftermarket parts and accessories can drain the battery, trigger the check engine light, or even prevent the vehicle from starting. If these issues sound favored, bring your 640i to BMW and have our team of certified mechanics ensure that your aftermarket items were installed accurately and aren't causing any issue. Getting accessories, especially aftermarket parts and accessories, or using OEM parts first place might price a microscopic bit more but could save you money from having to get poor work and damage caused by poor installation work corrected.
• Your catalytic converter is detrimental or going detrimental. The catalytic converter is a part of your 2012 BMW 640i’s exhaust system. The catalytic converter's function is to turn the carbon monoxide created by the combustion process into carbon dioxide. A damaged catalytic converter is commonly caused by neglected maintenance, which is why Coggin BMW Treasure Coast offers a complimentary multi-point inspection with every BMW service. If you have an issue with your catalytic converter and don't get it revamped, your 2012 BMW 640i will not pass an emissions test, show a lack of engine performance and will negatively affect your fuel economy. Your car may run at a higher temperature, too, which can cause other problems from overheating.
• Your O2 Sensor (Oxygen Sensor) needs to be replaced. The Oxygen sensor, established as the O2 sensor, measures the payment of oxygen in your exhaust system. If there is excess oxygen in your exhaust system, fuel burns faster and your vehicle will be less compelling when it comes to fuel economy. So what happens if I don’t replace your O2 sensor? A faulty sensor can not only affect your miles per gallon, but it can cause damage to your catalytic converter and your 2012 BMW 640i's spark plugs. The O2 sensor sends data to the vehicle’s onboard computer to pick the right range of air and fuel that enters the cylinders in your engine. A detrimental O2 sensor can also cause a car to fail an emissions test.

2012 BMW 640i Check Engine Light

If the check engine light in your 2012 BMW 640i starts flashing, that means that the problem needs immediate attention and your BMW should be brought in instantly. A flashing light indicates that the problem is unhealthy and if not taken care of instantly may result in various damage to the vehicle. This blinking light regularly indicates a strict engine misfire allowing unburned fuel to be drained into the exhaust system. There it can immediately improve the temperature of the catalytic converter to a point where damage is likely, requiring an expensive repair. Some owners ask if spark plugs cause the check engine light to flash? This can absolutely be the cause. A bad, former or dirty spark plug can cause the engine to misfire. If your check engine light is flashing, please contact our unit of automotive advisors at Coggin BMW Treasure Coast hastily by calling 7727425582. If the problem is ignored or you continue to drive, this can spread to the spark plug wires, catalytic converter, or ignition coils which can lead to a very expensive repair.

How many miles can you drive with the check engine light?

It could be anything from a bad sensor to plug wires needing to be replaced. If you check engine light is flashing, we recommend that you pull over and contact Coggin BMW Treasure Coast to help opt for if your car is safe to drive in or if we recommend a tow truck. Since each check engine code has its own level of severity, it is difficult to predict how many miles you can drive with the warning light on. The safest bet is to decipher the code and then plan your strategy appropriately.

Check Engine Light Service 2012 BMW 640i

What do you do when you’re driving along in your BMW 640i and suddenly, a yellow light illuminates on your dash and says "Check Engine". If you’re like most BMW owners, your heart sinks a miniature because you have miniature idea about what that light is trying to tell you or how you should react. The fear of the unknown (or the cost of the unknown) can be just as stressful. But take a deep breath and realize the light coming on doesn’t mean you have to pull the car over to the side of the road and call a tow truck, but it is recommended that you get your 2012 BMW 640i checked as soon as available. Ignoring that warning could end up causing major damage to expensive engine components.

When your 2012 BMW 640i's ECM (electronic control module), which is the vehicle's onboard computer, finds a problem in the electronic control system that it can’t economical, a computer turns on your check engine light. This amber or yellow light is generally labeled “check engine” or “service engine soon”, or the light may be nothing more than a picture of an engine, or a picture of the engine with the word “check.”

When the light turns on, the ECM stores an engine code or “trouble code” in its memory that identifies as the issue, whether it's a sensor or a failing engine part. This code is read with an electronic scan tool that is used by our BMW auto repair technicians at Coggin BMW Treasure Coast. There are also a number of comparably inexpensive code readers that are designed for do-it-yourselfers, should you pick that route too. While this code will tell you the issue that is detected, a true diagnosis still requires an professional professional to imply the issue and repair it.

Is it safe to drive your 2012 BMW 640i with the check engine light on?

This question is not very accepted because it all depends on the severity of the issue. If the cause is a minor issue, such as a loose gas cap, it should be safe to drive. This is constantly indicated by a logical glow of the check engine light. If you notice a difference in the performance of the car, it could be an indication of a more hazardous problem. If the check engine light is twinkling, this means that there is a hazardous issue and it is recommended to service your BMW 640i hastily. Call the experts at Coggin BMW Treasure Coast by dialing 7727425582 so you can describe the issues. Or lessen your speed and bring your 2012 BMW to our certified mechanics as soon as compelling.

How much does it cost to get the engine light checked?

The average cost for a check engine light diagnosis & testing is constantly between $88 and $111. The informed news, Coggin BMW Treasure Coast offers complimentary multi-point inspections and free diagnostics, in most cases, to help determine the cause of your check engine light. The check engine light warns of issues ranging from a gas cap that's not appropriately tightened to a more unsafe failure like a damaging catalytic converter or a problem with one of the car's oxygen sensors, so it informed to get the agreeable code reading and diagnosis.

Will the check engine light reset itself?

The check engine light on your 2012 BMW 640i will usually shut itself off if the issue or code that caused it to turn on is fixed. For example, if the cause of your check engine light coming on was a loose gas cap, if it's tightened, the light will turn itself off. Likewise, if your catalytic converter is going apt, and you did a lot of stop-and-go driving, that may have turned on the check engine light due to the high usage of the converter. In most cases, your 2012 BMW 640i light will go off after about 20-40 miles. If you drive over that amount and the light is still on, you will need to bring it in to Coggin BMW Treasure Coast so the light and code can be double-checked and reset.

2012 BMW 640i Check Engine Light Flashing

Although there are countless potential causes of an illuminated Check Engine Light, we know from years of providing Check Engine Light Diagnosis Service that there are bountiful contemporary causes comprising something as straightforward as a loose gas cap. Diverse contemporary reasons for a Check Engine Light are damaged oxygen sensor, a malfunction with the fuel injection system, dirty mass airflow sensor, faulty head gasket, faulty emissions control part, or defective spark plugs to name a lot. No matter what is the root cause of the Check Engine Light, we have the BMW Certified Technicians and the certified service protocol to isolate the root problem and repair it as needed to restore factory specifications. When this happens, the Check Engine Light turns off, and you can leave the service center knowing that your BMW issue was fixed.

Every 2012 BMW 640i was designed with a high-technology performance monitoring system with a computer, and a series of sensors positioned strategically throughout the vehicle on its hard systems. The sensors are ordinarily detecting conditions while sending data to the electronic control squad. If the electronic control squad detects that the data is out of factory specifications, the Check Engine Light illuminates telling you that there is a problem. However, that is the limitation of the Check Engine Light – it won’t tell you what definitely is wrong nor what to do about it. That’s where we come in; Coggin BMW Treasure Coast provides a Check Engine Light Diagnosis Service that isolates the core problem and gives you a recommendation on what to do next from a Highly Qualified Service professional.

2012 BMW 640i Check Engine Light Codes

The check engine light turning on can be quite intimidating to see that little light on your vehicle’s dashboard suddenly brightens, but in reality, it is not something that should cause you to shut down in fear right away. If you hear the term, diagnostic trouble codes (DTC), these are just another name for check engine light codes. These are automotive computer codes stored by the ECM, also known as the OBD (on-board computer diagnostic system) in your 640i. There are hundreds of diversified codes that your check engine light can represent. While that sounds daunting, with a little patience, tackling dominant diagnostics will give you practical knowledge about your vehicle and will also allow that Check Engine Light to do what it is really supposed to do: be your guide. Unfortunately, accessible and practical vehicle symptoms do not always accompany an illuminated Check Engine Light. Since there are hundreds of potential OBD codes, there are also hundreds of potential reasons for the light, including:

• Loose Gas Cap or Missing Gas Cap
• Old Battery
• Fuel and air metering systems problems
• O2 Sensor
• Bad Spark Plugs
• Computer output circuit issues
• Emissions controls issues
• Ignition system faults
• Transmission issues

This is why it is aggressive for someone who does not have bountiful of automotive knowledge to not assume what a code means. If the engine light comes on due to a compelling concern, you risk damaging your car further by not repairing the issue right away. Call Coggin BMW Treasure Coast at 7727425582 today or schedule your check engine light service online today! When your check engine light comes on, you should get it checked out abruptly by a certified BMW mechanic.