BMW M3 Engine Stalling: Ignition Coil Crisis?

I had nearly identical issues with my 2011 BMW M5 last year. The symptoms you're describing match exactly what I experienced, rough idle, stalling, and jerky acceleration. Initially thought it was just one bad coil, but turned out all six ignition coils were failing. The cables connecting to the coils were also showing signs of wear. Got new coils and cables installed, and the car's been running perfectly since. Not a super serious repair in terms of engine damage, but definitely not something you want to ignore as it can lead to misfires and catalytic converter problems if left unchecked. My garage did a diagnostic test first to confirm it was the coils before doing any work. Any BMW specialist should be able to handle this pretty routinely, it's a common issue with these engines. Quick tip: If you're planning to replace the coils, might as well do all of them at once, even if only one is bad. They tend to fail around the same time.

Thanks so much for sharing your experience! That's really helpful and sounds spot on with what I'm dealing with. Did you remember roughly how much you ended up paying for the full repair with parts and labor? Also, curious if you've had any other ignition-related issues pop up since getting it fixed?

Hey again! Yeah, happy to update you on my experience. After seeing the mechanic, it turned out I was right about the ignition coil, it was definitely defective. The good news is it was a pretty straightforward fix. They found a faulty cable connection to the coil that was causing all those annoying symptoms. The total bill came to 95 € for fixing the cable connection and getting everything properly sorted. Much cheaper than I initially feared! And honestly, since getting it fixed, my M5's been running like a dream. No more stalling, rough idles, or any of those jerky movements when accelerating. Haven't had a single ignition-related issue pop up since. Quick update on my previous advice about replacing all coils, in my case, it turned out we didn't need to do that since it was just the connection that was faulty. Sometimes you get lucky! But still worth checking all of them while they're at it. Glad I could help with your situation. Let me know if you need any other info!

Thanks for all the details! I bit the bullet and took my car to a mechanic yesterday. Turns out you were spot on about the ignition system, but my case was a bit different. They found two bad coils and some worn-out spark plugs that needed replacing. The whole thing set me back about 450 bucks including parts and labor, but honestly, it was worth every penny. The car's running smooth as butter now, no more stalling or jerking around. The mechanic also did a thorough inspection while they had it up on the lift and said everything else looks solid. What a relief to have this sorted! The best part is I found a really honest mechanic through this whole ordeal. He showed me the old parts and explained everything clearly without trying to upsell me on unnecessary work. Think I'll stick with this shop from now on. Thanks again for helping me figure this out. It's great having knowledgeable to turn to for advice!