BMW 3 Diesel Running Rough, Multiple Engine Problems

Hey there! I had something very similar with my 1999 BMW 5 series diesel. Got basically no car knowledge here, so I totally panicked when it happened. Had those exact same symptoms, rough running, stalling, jerking around when trying to accelerate. Super annoying! My mechanic found it was just a loose cable connection to one of the sensors. Fixed it up, and they charged me 95 Euro, not too bad considering I was worried it'd be something major. What's the exact model of your 3 series? Also, any other warning lights besides the check engine? Might help figure out if it's the same issue I had. Sometimes these BMWs can be tricky with their electronics.

Thanks for sharing your experience! Mine's a 3 series with 92898 KM on the clock, had its last service about 3 months ago. Actually, no other warning lights showing up except the check engine light. Good to hear yours was just a loose connection, gives me some hope it's not something too serious! Been keeping my fingers crossed it's nothing major like the fuel injection system. I'll definitely get the mechanic to check those sensor connections first.

Hey again! Back with an update on my earlier response about my '99 BMW 5 series. Just wanted to add, after that first fix with the loose sensor connection, I actually had a similar issue pop up again about 6 months later. Turned out my initial guess about the ignition coil wasn't too far off! The symptoms came back exactly the same, the rough running, stalling, jerking during acceleration, but this time it WAS the ignition coil. Cost me about 300 bucks to replace, but the car's been running like a dream since then. These older BMWs can be a bit finicky with their ignition systems. Since your car's got similar mileage to what mine had when this happened (mine was around 95000 km), it might be worth having your mechanic check the ignition coil too. The loose sensor connection fix I mentioned before was just a temporary solution in my case. Sometimes these problems can be related, where a failing ignition coil causes sensor readings to go wonky. Just thought I'd share this follow-up since our situations seem pretty similar. Hope you get it sorted soon!

Thanks so much for that detailed follow-up! Really appreciate you sharing what happened with your car later on. That's actually super helpful to know about the ignition coil being the real culprit in your case. I've booked my car in for tomorrow morning and will definitely mention both the sensor connections and the ignition coil to my mechanic. The mileage similarity is quite striking too, makes me think you might be onto something there. The cost doesn't sound too bad either, 300 for an ignition coil replacement seems reasonable, especially if it sorts out all these annoying issues. At least now I can go in a bit more informed about what to expect. Can't tell you how much better I feel knowing someone else has dealt with the exact same thing and got it fixed! Will update the thread once I find out what's actually wrong with mine.