Did the BMW service engine soon light just appear on the dashboard in your car? If it did and you’ve never seen it before, you might not know exactly what you’re supposed to do next. It can actually be a little bit scary seeing the BMW service engine soon light pop on out of nowhere. Fortunately, this light doesn’t typically indicate a serious issue with your car, but that doesn’t mean that you should turn a blind eye to it and pretend that it doesn’t exist. Instead, you should address it head-on and take the necessary steps to turn your car’s BMW service engine soon light back off. Learn more about what this light might mean and how you can work your way towards shutting it off below.
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What Is a BMW Service Engine Soon Light?
If you’ve been driving a BMW or, better yet, BMWs for a long time now, there is a pretty good chance that you’ve seen the BMW service engine soon light before. But just in case you’re not familiar with it, let’s start things off by talking about what it is. It’ll ensure that you’re on the same page with us before you dive headfirst into talking about what it might mean.
The BMW service engine soon light is a light that literally says “SERVICE ENGINE SOON” on your dashboard in most cases. It can be a little bit ominous at first since it’s often written in capital letters and seems like a warning. But that’s by design on the part of BMW. It’s designed to grab your attention and to let you know that it’s probably a good idea for you to make an appointment at a BMW dealership so that your car can get looked at.
What Does It Mean When the BMW Service Engine Soon Light Comes On?
Now that you know what to look out for with regards to the BMW service engine soon light, let’s take a few minutes to discuss what it means when it pops on. A lot of people tend to get stressed out as soon as they see this light, but you don’t always have to freak out because of it. Generally speaking, the BMW service engine soon light is in place to let you know that there is something that needs to be done to your car at the moment.
More often than not, your BMW service engine soon light is going to come on when it’s time for you to do some kind of service to it. You might be up for an oil change or a tire rotation. You might also need to have coolant put it into your car or some other maintenance performed on it. There could, of course, be a bigger issue at play. But that’s not always going to be the case.
You might want to make a note of how many miles you have on your car and then think about what maintenance could potentially need to be done to it at this time. If it’s been awhile since your last oil change, that could be the reason for the light. You should consider flipping through the owner’s manual for your car to see if it can point you in the right direction by letting you know about any maintenance that your car might need.
Is the BMW Service Engine Soon Light Serious?
You’re usually going to feel your anxiety levels go through the roof when you see the BMW service engine soon light come on in your car. Some people will automatically suspect that there is a major issue with their engine and begin thinking about different ways in which they can get rid of their car. It’s hard to blame them for jumping to this conclusion, but you’ll be happy to know that the BMW service engine soon light is not always serious. In fact, it’s not usually that serious at all.
That’s not to say that there isn’t going to be a bigger problem with your car than you might believe. But before you work yourself up into a tizzy and panic about engine repairs, you should carefully consider what might need to be done to your car right now. You should also think about driving your car down to your BMW dealership at your earliest convenience so that they can see what caused your BMW service engine soon light to come on. They can shed some light on it and put your mind at ease.
What Are Some Things That Can Cause the BMW Service Engine Soon Light to Come On?
As we’ve alluded to a few times now, it’s impossible to pinpoint exactly what might be causing the BMW service engine soon light in your car to come on. It could be something very simple, or it could be something complex with your car’s engine. It’s why your only response to it should be to arrange to have a mechanic from a BMW dealership look at it.
You should be looking at any number of things that might cause your BMW service engine soon light to come on. Some of these things include:
- Your gas cap isn’t on your gas tank tight enough
- Your oil pressure is lower than it should be
- Your car’s tires need to be rotated in the worst way
- Your car is experiencing an emission problem
As you can see, fixing something like a loose gas cap will take all of 5 seconds or so to fix. But identifying an emission problem and getting to the bottom of it could be a much different story. As a result, you’ll need to have a professional on your side to see why your BMW service engine soon light is on so that they can make the necessary fix to your car.
Can You Reset the BMW Service Engine Soon Light?
If you want to turn off the BMW service engine soon light in your car so that it’s not staring you right in the face every time you turn your car on, you may be able to do it. Resetting it is a good option for those who don’t want to have to worry about seeing this light turn on all the time.
Here are the steps that you may be able to take to shut a BMW service engine soon light off:
- Turn on your BMW’s electrical system without starting the car up
- Find the odometer button that is situated at the bottom left corner of your BMW’s instrumental panel
- Press the button and hold it down until the service message appears
- Release the button and then press and hold it down again until you encounter a message that says, “Reset?”
- Release the button one more time before pressing and holding it again to reset the service message
This should shut your BMW service engine soon light. But you should know that it will come back on again if you have something more than just a maintenance issue on your hands. You’re not going to want to keep resetting it if you can avoid it. That could lead to serious consequences down the line if you’re not careful.
What Might Happen If You Ignore the BMW Service Engine Soon Light?
In a perfect world, you would drive your BMW down to your dealership, have them take a quick look at it, and find out why the BMW service engine soon light is on in your car. You would then have them fix whatever seems to be the problem with your BMW and have the light shut off once and for all. But there are, of course, many people who will choose to bypass this option and ignore the BMW service engine soon light instead. This is, as you might imagine, not the smartest idea.
In some instances, ignoring the BMW service engine soon light isn’t going to be the end of the world. If it’s on because of a loose gas cap or because you need an oil change, you can ignore it for a little while and eventually do the thing that needs to be done to shut the light off. But if you do just so happen to have, say, a serious engine problem, ignoring the BMW service engine soon light could cause this problem to spiral out of control. You could do damage to your engine by repeatedly ignoring the BMW service engine soon light.
This is yet another reason why your only real option should be to seek the help of a mechanic at a BMW dealership. It’s almost always better to be safe than sorry when it comes to your BMW. The last thing you want to do is continue driving around in a car that’s not safe to drive.
Who Should You Take Your Car to When the BMW Service Engine Soon Light Appears?
There are certain types of car that you can take to pretty much any mechanic when you have a “Check Engine” light on in it. But when you have a BMW service engine soon light on in your BMW, you’re not always going to be able to take it to any old auto repair shop to have service done to it. You’re going to need to either find a shop that specializes in working on BMWs or take it to a BMW dealership. The latter option will typically be the best one.
There are some qualities that you should look for regardless of whether you take your car to an independent auto repair shop or a dealership. The establish that you trust to work on your car should have these characteristics:
- They should have a wealth of experience as far as working on BMWs goes
- They should have a great reputation within your community for doing good work on BMWs
- They should offer a wide range of BMW repair services
- They should extend affordable prices on their BMW repair services
- They should have excellent customer service
Your goal should be to locate an auto repair shop or a BMW dealership that will be able to nail down exactly what’s going on with your car so that you can get your BMW service engine soon light turned right off.
How Much Will It Cost to Fix a Car With the BMW Service Engine Soon Light On?
When you first see the BMW service engine soon light come on in your car, you might immediately think about how much it’s going to cost to get it to go off. That’s a big part of the reason why people get so stressed out about the BMW service engine soon light coming on in the first place.
It would be impossible for us to sit here and tell you that the BMW service engine soon light isn’t going to cost you a small fortune. If you have something seriously wrong with your car, you might be looking at making an expensive repair to it. But at the same time, you might have a smaller repair on your hands that won’t cost much at all.
The sooner you drive your car to a BMW dealership to assess the issue with it, the sooner you’ll know what it’s going to cost you to fix it. By addressing a BMW service engine soon light right away, you could prevent the need for costly repairs.
Can You Sell a Car With a BMW Service Engine Soon Light On?
If you have an older BMW that you no longer want, you might think that a BMW service engine soon light on inside of it would prevent you from selling it. And in some instances, it might. Private buyers might not feel super comfortable investing in your old BMW when the BMW service engine soon light is on. But that doesn’t mean you won’t have any options if you want someone to take it off your hands.
Even with the BMW service engine soon light on in your car, Cash Cars Buyer will still pay you cash for your vehicle. We’ll give you top dollar for it, too, BMW service engine soon light and all. We’ll arrange to pick it up from you so that you don't have to worry about doing a thing and make it a pleasant experience for you overall. Contact us now if you want to sell a car that has the BMW service engine soon light on.