BMW 1 Series Whistling: Charge Sensor Alert & Power Loss

Had the exact same issue on my 2017 BMW 2 Series diesel last month. The symptoms matched perfectly, check engine light, power loss, and that distinctive whistling sound. After checking at the garage, turned out the wiring harness connecting to the charge air temp sensor was damaged, with some corroded pins in the plug. The sensor itself was fine, but the connection was poor due to moisture getting in over time. Not a major repair, took about 2 hours to fix. They replaced the wiring harness and connector, cleaned the sensor housing, and applied dielectric grease to prevent future corrosion. Engine's running smooth now, no more warning lights or power issues. My advice: have a qualified tech check the wiring and connections before replacing the sensor itself. In my case, the sensor wasn't the problem, just the connection to it.

Hey, thanks for sharing your experience! That's really helpful since it sounds exactly like what I'm dealing with. Good to know it wasn't anything too serious in your case. Mind if I ask how much you ended up paying for the repair? Also, has everything been running smoothly since then, or have you noticed any other issues pop up? Would be great to know what to expect.

Hey there! Happy to give you an update. I got it fixed last week and it cost me 95 € to repair the faulty cable and plug connection. Honestly, it was such a relief that it wasn't anything major! Since the repair, my car's been running like a champ, no more check engine light, the power's back to normal, and those annoying whistling sounds are completely gone. The charge air temperature sensor error hasn't shown up again, and I've been doing quite a bit of driving to test it out. I'm really glad I didn't just jump to replacing the whole sensor, which would've cost way more. Sometimes it's just these little connection issues that cause the biggest headaches, right? If your symptoms are matching what I had, you're probably looking at a similar fix. Just make sure whoever looks at it checks those connections first, could save you some serious cash!

Thanks so much for the detailed follow-up! I actually just got back from the mechanic today and you were spot on. Took your advice about checking the connections first, and guess what? Same exact issue, corroded wiring harness and bad connection. The repair was pretty quick and cheap, only cost me a bit more than what you paid because they had to order a specific connector. The whole thing took about 2.5 hours to fix. I've driven it around for a few hours now, and it's running perfectly, no more whistling, full power back, and the check engine light is finally off! Really glad I asked here before going to the dealer, who probably would've replaced the entire sensor. You saved me some serious money and stress. Definitely learned my lesson about getting a second opinion and not assuming the worst right away. Thanks again for helping me out with this!