The P1415 BMW Error Code – Potential Causes and Solutions
Getting an error code on your BMW, or any car for that matter, is a really good way to ruin your day right from the get-go. You just know that it will occur whenever you have somewhere you desperately need to be and you are not just on your way to the grocery store. If you own a BMW there is a chance you have encountered the P1415 BMW error code once or twice before.
If you have recently replaced your engine starter there is an especially high chance that you are now encountering this issue from time to time. If you have yet to experience it or are unlucky enough to be staring at the P1415 BMW error code right now – you have come to the right place. Here is everything you need to know about the P1415 error code including what its potential causes are and what solutions you have at your disposal going forward.
What Is The Error Code – P1415 BMW
The P1415 BMW error code is more often than not caused by a failure with the secondary air injection system. The secondary air injection system ensures that you are getting a nice even burn in your combustion system and was actually designed as a method of reducing carbon monoxide emissions. Carbon Monoxide emissions are caused to a much greater degree if there is incomplete combustion within the engine.
A secondary air injection system works to combat incomplete combustion by injecting extra oxygen into the engine. If the secondary air injection system fails your car will display the error code P1415 BMW. If you are repeatedly getting this error code, it is not just a one-off, then you should probably contact a mechanic or your local BMW dealership to clarify whether or not the warning is warranted and formulate a plan to deal with it.
Potential Causes For Error Code P1415 BMW
There are a number of potential causes for your secondary air injection system to fail. Moisture within the electrical components of the system can cause them to misfire, fail to fire, or simply stop working effectively altogether.
Moisture and electrical components don’t mix well. But unfortunately, this is a common issue with secondary air injection systems. You may also find that your voltage supply or a poorly connected ground will cause the system to fail. For similar reasons to there being moisture in the system, if the air injection system can’t get enough consistent power it simply won’t work.
Additionally, you may find that a sudden increase in power might burn out resisters or relays and end up frying the air injection system completely resulting in it failing to work at all. A common cause for this is when you replace the engine starter and start the car again a few times.
If you already had faulty connections and were using a faulty starter you may just about get by. But once the engine starter is operating properly again it fries whatever components were barely hanging on. Like the secondary air injection system resulting in error code P1415. Lastly, blocked lines or leaking lines/valves can cause the air injection system to fail to inject enough air into the engine.
Potential Causes For A Faulty Error Code P1415 BMW
Working off the assumption that your error code P1415 is a faulty error code, since everything is working as normal (or at least seems to be) there are a few possible causes you should consider. First, if your mass air flow sensor is faulty it will potentially trigger an error code P1415 BMW even though your air injection system is working perfectly fine.
This could be the result of a mass air flow sensor that has had its harness opened or shorted. Additionally, it could be the airflow sensor that has a faulty connection and isn’t getting enough voltage or is not properly grounded that causes error code P1415. The chance of there being an electrical failure somewhere along the process line is the most likely cause of the error code. Even if that particular error code is warranted or not.
Potential Solutions For Error Code P1415 BMW
In terms of potential solutions that you yourself can identify; you will want to start by considering if there could have been anything that would be likely to cause an electrical failure. For example, if you have recently swapped out a bunch of electronic components such as your engine starter that could be related. If you have recently “drowned” your engine by driving through too deep water, for example, could cause there to be too much moisture somewhere within the system.
Furthermore, you could visually inspect the wiring harness for the mass air flow sensor and even its connectors. Realistically, you will likely need to speak to a BMW mechanic and explain the issue and attach your thoughts about what might have caused it.
Repairing either the secondary air injector or the mass air flow sensor is a difficult job and not something you will likely be able to do yourself. It is also a pretty important problem and not one you can put off for a few weeks, or even days until you decide what it is that you want to do about it.
Cost For Solving Error Code P1415 BMW
In terms of diagnosing the problem and knowing for certain what exactly the issue is it will probably take your mechanic about an hour. So, the cost would be an hour’s labor, whatever that may be. To actually fix the issue it will depend on what the issue is but that could be anywhere from a few hundred bucks to about a thousand.
A mass air flow sensor and a secondary air injection system will cost about $300 each and then you have to consider labor costs. If it is just a loose wiring harness, for example, it may only cost you about $100 including labor. You really can’t know until you have had it professionally diagnosed.
Conclusion
Now you know everything there is to know about error code P1415 BMW. It isn’t a super common error code but it definitely can crop up. And it always tends to feel like it happens at the worst of times. You can do a little bit of digging yourself to see if you can find a cause but realistically it is going to take a mechanic a couple of hours and a couple of hundred dollars to diagnose/solve the problem.
