e34 1994 540i - transmission problem? Help
 

Hi,
Please help to figure out whats wrong here
Car starts to die sometime (it starts to happen pretty often now). While driving it starts to shake when a accelerating, and it cant get any more speed, it stops, check engine is flashing at that times.
Once going downhill i decided to put the car in "N" and it died on me while was still driving... everything turned of, and all lights went on. OMG
transmission is dead, isn't it?
or it's some kind of engine problems? :bash

While others have posted here on automatic transmission problems with E34s, the fact that you got a "check engine" flash rather than a "transmission fault" (or somethingl like that), coupled with the other symptoms you describe, makes me think you may have that dreaded NikaSil (or something like that) problem, where high-sulfur content fuel erodes the cylinder sleeves. Do a search on this forum or the Internet for more info. Not good.

Red Check Engine Light
 

Hi All,

I am new to the Bimmer Community and I am happy to have found this group. My '94 530i has been great until last Sunday when the Check Engine light came on and the car started to lose power. I took it to my mechanic who has cleaned the fuel line and checked the transmission. I got the car back yesterday. After I got gas and drove away, she backfired and jerked. I immediately took her to the BMW specialist that my mechanic suggested. Has anyone experienced this? Thanks.

if it was a transmission fault then the error in the computer should have been "trans program" not check engine, i had a little bit similar problem before, the car just died while driving around 60kmh on the highway, check the sensors like the crank sensor or anything related to fuel senders like the lines, pump or filter, still it would be best to see an expert so that the problem could be pointed out

Has the car had an aftermarket alarm system installed in it at ANY point? Mine did when I bought it. It caused the same issue, had to get under the dash and completely remove it all and return the wiring harness to stock.

indie- i'm not an expert, i only rely on what i have experienced, backfiring is usually caused by fuel that leaks out and is unburned in the combustion chamber - have the plugs checked, fuel pump and the injectors - your injectors might be faulty, if your mechanic cleaned the fuel line, might as well replace the filter

My '94 530i has been great until last Sunday when the Check Engine light came on and the car started to lose power.