Think about yourself driving quietly on board your BMW X3 and abruptly an engine warning light appears on your dashboard ! The most standard kind of reaction is the fear of risking a serious trouble. To know what precisely this light refers to, you will have to learn how to read an BMW X3 fault codes, you may have previously heard of OBD system, this is precisely what we are going to focus on. Our writers have chosen to publish this piece of content to help you quickly discover the source of this default code and to give you reassurance. To do this, we will first look at the nature of a fault code on BMW X3, then how to read an BMW X3 fault code, and finally how to erase this fault code to be able to turn off the light on your dashboard.
What is a BMW X3 fault code?
A fault code is a universal or standard code common to all manufacturers , they are also named DTC (Data Trouble Code), the point is to ensure that any diagnostic OBD can interpret them. They will be symbolized by a standard format, like for example: P0255. Each data will have a special interpretation. Default codes are codes issued by the calculators of your BMW X3. These ECUs will continuously monitor your vehicle’s emissions, pressures, mixtures and when the values exceed the limits set by the vehicle’s ECU, the fault code will appear. The advantage of understanding how to read a fault code on your BMW X3 is that you will have gain access to to precise data about your motor vehicle which will let you to understand what concern you are facing.
How to read a fault code on my BMW X3?
In this second section we will now focus specifically on what brings you in this article, how to read a fault code on BMW X3. To discover this valued data you will need to to buy a diagnostic tool, also known as OBD 2, named after the socket on your BMW X3 to which you will have to connect. These diagnostic tools are easily obtainable, you will be able to find some in Bluetooth version which connects to your phone and some standard versions with a reader associated to the socket, as far as price is concerned, you will be able to find models between 30 and 100 euros. Once you have obtained an OBD2 diagnostic reader, you will need to discover the diagnostic plug on your BMW X3, it is established on the left side of your steering column on the lower part of your dashboard, behind a hatch. It is easy to locate because it is triangular shaped and has 16 pins. All you have to do is connect with your diagnostic tool to read the fault code of your BMW X3.
How to erase the fault code BMW X3
Finally, to conclude this article content, we are going to demonstrate you the process to perform to erase a fault code on your BMW X3. Once you have navigated through the menus, you will access the list of active fault codes on your car. However, you will have to ask yourself an important question, is it really productive to erase this fault code on BMW X3? Absolutely, erasing a fault code without dealing with the trouble corresponds to closing its eyes to the fact. Additionally, the computer of your BMW X3 is made to take resolutions according to the data it collects, if a vital fault code is on, it will actually adapt the engine general performance to preserve it. So if you get rid of the fault code, remember to fix the problem to which it is linked. Some OBD diagnostic tools do not allow you to do this. You have a dedicated navigation menu on most diagnostic tools that should allow you to clear this fault code on BMW X3.
If you have any further questions about the BMW X3, do not hesitate to consult our BMW X3 category.
