Why is the engine "revving" as I am braking, and the car is difficult to stop?

Asked by Slipslide May 20, 2014 at 01:57 PM about the 2013 BMW 3 Series 328i xDrive Sedan AWD

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

I had a frightening experience coming to a stop, and the engine revved and I pushed on
the brakes, really hard, got it stopped, put the car in park, and turned it off.  It felt like the
car just wanted to keep moving.  I turned it on again, in park, and the engine revved
again, turned it off. I waited until traffic cleared, turned the car on and it seemed fine.  It
has been towed to the dealer, the computer scan showed no problem, but I am scared to
drive it.  It is a 2013 328 x drive with just over 7300 miles on it.

25 Answers

2,345

Throttle position sensor is sticking or there's a small chance of a vacuum leak

10 people found this helpful.
50

Same problem on my wife's x3. Revved to over 7000. Had to kill car in middle of street. Waited 5 mins and restarted. Could then drive to safe location. Second time it has happened, although first was much less severe. If our kids had been driving, they would have been in terrible trouble. Poor response from BMW when we explained the problem. Very unhappy.

5 people found this helpful.
140

I had the same thing happen this past weekend with my 2016 BMW 328i. Tried to stop but engine revved. It idles high, too. They said they couldn't find anything wrong with the car but I'm never getting back in it. I'm terrified it will happen again.

4 people found this helpful.
200

I had this same problem with my 2016 BMW 328 XI. I was at a full stop at a red light with my foot on the brake and my car lurched forward and hit the car in front of me. BMW Headquarters did a full accessment and said they found nothing wrong with the car. I do not want to get back in it. Did anyone have any positive resolution from BMW?

9 people found this helpful.
140

BMW was no help at all. I spoke at length to both the dealership and corporate customer service. Since the technicians couldn’t replicate the experience they wouldn’t allow me to cancel my lease. I’m stuck with a car I’m afraid to drive. Please create a complaint on NHTSA’s website. It’s the only way this issue will get investigated.

8 people found this helpful.
200

Thank you, KJSDRS1. I just filed a complaint at NHTSA. Have you heard back from them since you filed your complaint? Are you driving your car? My car is still at the service center and I do not want to chance this happening again. The customer service person at the NJ Headquarters is not helpful and he is dismissive. I am not satisfied at all with this outcome. Before this happened, I loved my BMW and thought I would be a BMW owner for life, but now I do not feel safe in a BMW.

4 people found this helpful.
140

My dealership found no issue with the car after an initial inspection but I made them keep it for a week. I was told that they ran diagnostics and drove the car and found nothing wrong. I have my car now (they wouldn't let me cancel the lease without a severe penalty or get a different car). I now only drive it to and from work (about 20 miles round trip). I'm scared every time I get in it and am extremely cautious. Not sure what else I can do. This was my second lease and I love driving BMW's but this will be my last.

2 people found this helpful.
200

KJSDRS1 there is no option to private message people on this site. Would you be willing to give me your email address so we can continue to discuss? You and I both have the same year, same model and same problem. Also, how many miles do you have on your vehicle? I also filed a complaint with the FTC which was suggested to me by the NHTSA.

4 people found this helpful.
60

Also a 2013 BMW 328i xDrive. As I am entering a parking spot, moving forward, I step on the brake to stop my car, and instead of doing that, the engine revved up pretty high and accelerated very quickly. The car hard stopped because it hit the car parked in front of me. I've been browsing this issue online and it seems it has something to do with the accelerator pedal sensor sticking...

6 people found this helpful.
200

Have you reported this on the NHTSA website yet? If not, I suggest that you do so that they investigate it.

10

Have had 3 revving incidents with my 2017 X3, all while stopping or stopped. Tachometer went to over 7,000 rpm and car was hard to control. Mechanics were unable to find any problems. BMW of NA was unhelpful and dismissive. Have complained to NHTSA, but no response yet. No more BMWs for me,

1 people found this helpful.
50

I noticed my car revved up when I would push on the brakes. Started shifting weird and revved while trying to stop. I noticed my massive air flow sensor was unplugged. Stopped once I plugged it back in.

5 people found this helpful.
10

I have a 2006 mini cooper , this problem just started i am extremely afraid to drive it now , i was going 20mph on a straight road when i was coming to a red light i pressed on my brake and the car went up to 4000 rpm , im getting suggestions to check my spark plugs for any oils , or a head gasket blown.

1 people found this helpful.
10

Also might have a leak in one of the air flow tubes. Have that checked also.

1 people found this helpful.
20

just happened to me yesterday, the engine of my 2006 330i was suddenly spinning very fast during braking, i ended up hitting a vehicle in the front though the damage was minor. was so scared. thanks for these posts. will file a complaint through NHTSA

2 people found this helpful.
10

Our 2018 BMW X1 lunged forward when shifting into park and almost drove me and my mother into a building !!! We had the vehicle towed from the location where it happened because we refuse to drive it. This happened 4 months ago and after a not so thorough “investigation” they are claiming nothing is wrong with the vehicle and harassing us to come pick it up. We are too terrified to even consider that option. Needless to say we hired an attorney.

1 people found this helpful.
20

Hi I got similar situation very scary on 911S during transition from uphill toward downhill situation applying hard brake & the car engine won’t stop but reviving up pushing mine car bang toward car in front looking considerable distance which I feel confident to brake scary like shit seem happen to all type of car

2 people found this helpful.

This is a long shot, but my wife had the same issue in our 2017 BMWxd with 40k miles. When I poked around, I found that the all weather BMW floormat on the driver's side had pushed way forward and was putting pressure on the gas pedal.

10

I am having the same issue. BMW/Mini UK are currently refusing to acknowledge the problem exists. The following link is what has been happening to my car and has been into the garage 7 times for unsuccessful attempts to fix the fault. https://youtu.be/piTXXWGt5iM I have managed to uncover a number of other Mini owners that have also experienced the same issues. 2 of these owners were both involved in serious accidents resulting in injuries. I am happy for anybody to contact me directly so I can collate all the evidence and pass onto to the Vehicle Safety Board in the UK. You can email me in confidence at nigel.millichip@btinternet.com

Hello. Someone found a solution to the revving? I have a BMW B47 Xdrive that revving after I put it in the parking.

10

Our relationship is in tatters with Mini over a dangerous random excessive revving fault. We share part of our experience so far. https://youtu.be/Up_SM79nWYc

1 people found this helpful.
10

I have the same problem with my 2008 bmw 550i msport car accelerates at the very end of the stop happened to both me and my wife it also revs on start up some times

1 people found this helpful.

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