BMW 6 Diesel: Emergency Mode & Temperature Sensor Issues

Hi there! I'm a moderate car enthusiast with some hands-on experience. I had a similar issue with my 2010 BMW 5 diesel (pretty close to your 6 series). Mine also went into limp mode suddenly. After taking it to my trusted workshop, they diagnosed a faulty wiring connection to the oil temp sensor. The repair was straightforward, they replaced the damaged cable and connector, which solved the problem completely. Cost me about 95 Euro. Before I jump to conclusions though, what error codes is your system showing? Also, are you experiencing any other symptoms like rough idling or drop in power? This would help better compare our situations. If you want to know more about my experience with the BMW 5 (and even my 's 7 series), just let me know. These sensor issues can be tricky, but they're usually not too serious if caught early.

Thanks for sharing your experience! Yeah, my car has been pretty reliable until now (19023 KM since new, and always serviced on schedule). I'm getting rough idling and the engine feels sluggish, especially when accelerating. The error codes are showing P0198 and P0196. It's good to hear your repair was straightforward, gives me hope it won't be too complicated or expensive. Did you notice any warning signs before your car went into limp mode? I'm trying to figure out if I missed any early symptoms that could've helped prevent this.

Hey again! Thanks for the follow-up. Those error codes (P0196 and P0198) are exactly what I had with my BMW 5. And yes, thinking back, there were some subtle signs I initially ignored. About a week before the full limp mode, I noticed slight hesitation during cold starts, and the idle wasn't as smooth as usual. The symptoms you're describing, rough idling and sluggish acceleration, are identical to what I experienced. I actually kicked myself later for not paying attention to these early warning signs! The good news is that your mileage is quite low, and regular servicing definitely helps. Since we're dealing with the same issue here, I can pretty much guarantee it's related to the oil temp sensor circuit. In my case, the wiring had some wear and tear that caused intermittent connection issues. The sensor itself was actually fine, it was just the wiring giving false readings to the ECU. Quick tip from my experience: While you're waiting to get it fixed, try to avoid heavy acceleration as it puts additional stress on the engine. When mine was acting up, I drove it pretty gently to the workshop and didn't have any further issues. Let me know how the repair goes. I'm really curious if your fix will be as straightforward as mine was!

Thanks so much for all this detailed info! I'm actually relieved to hear your experience was so similar to mine, especially with those same error codes. That's super helpful to know about the cold start issues too, now that you mention it, I did notice something off during my morning starts last week, but didn't think much of it at the time. I'll definitely take your advice about driving gently until I can get it looked at. I've already called my regular mechanic and booked it in for tomorrow morning. Really hoping it turns out to be just the wiring like in your case, sounds much better than needing to replace the entire sensor unit! I'll try not to stress too much about it since you're right, the mileage is pretty low and I've kept up with all the maintenance. Thanks again for sharing your experience, it's been super reassuring. I'll definitely update you once I get the diagnosis and repair sorted out!