my 1993 325 stalls at stop light -- vanos? spark plugs?

[will10025]

my 1993 325 stalls at a stop light if i don't give the car any gas. this problem only started happening when the weather was very cold this past january.

when the car is about to stall, the idling gets rough (hesitates and spikes), and the check engine light goes on. but the light resets as long as i give the car a little gas or restart the car after the stall.

this happens when the car has been running for a while, not necessarily during a cold start.

i brought the car into a dealer and had the diagnostics. they said that i needed a new vanos system (est 1100 for parts and labor).

the car has 99K miles on it, and i haven't had a tuneup since 50K miles. also, i just replaced the oil after having gone too long on the last oil change.

has anyone else had these problems? has anyone had a vanos replaced and solved this issue?

[Shawn0923]

I have had the same exact issues with my 01 330! They replaced the Vanos and all is well now...cost me 1800 though...ouch....

[hoe3]

Ok, I'll show my ignorance of my own car, a '93 325is, what is a vanos?

[Shawn0923]

It is the Variable Cam timing system on BMW's. Night mare if it goes out or has problems...Hope it never happens to you..