Car running poorly after sitting for a while?

Tiny
CHRISTOPHER SA
  • MEMBER
  • 1993 BMW 320I
  • 2.0L
  • 6 CYL
  • 2WD
  • MANUAL
  • 127,500 MILES
Since August 2025 I have used my car very little. I occasionally started it up, with the first time being over a month after parking it. It took much longer to start and then ran really rough. I let it warm up and it was not as good as it was back when I was using it regularly.

When I tried to drive it from my backyard it stalled. I started it again and it was very rough and was 'hunting' for power (or whatever it is called) as when I pressed the accelerator it threatened to stall. I finessed the throttle and slowly got it to the point where it could rev without problems.

So I made an effort to start it more often, like every two weeks.

Recently I took the car out and about 2 miles down the road while turning left it nearly stalled mid-way through the turn. I had to press the clutch in and let the car coast around the corner so the engine wouldn't stall. I pulled over and finessed the throttle again and got it to the point where it revved cleanly.

After it was left for a couple of days after this incident a friend took it out and it stalled on him too - approximately the same distance down the road (2 miles or so). He was able to get to where he was going though.

The battery is relatively new being purchased in November 2024 (not 2025). There is a new CDN$500 Bosch alternator installed (though the bottom bolt has still not been sorted out as no-one at BMW knows what size it is and they can't find it anywhere on their system).

I new fuel pump was installed in July of 2025.

So. Any ideas?
Wednesday, January 7th, 2026 AT 12:00 PM

5 Replies

Tiny
STEVE W.
  • MECHANIC
  • 15,397 POSTS
The description sounds like bad fuel. Most gasoline sold these days seems to get stale within a couple months. Between the condensation in the air and stale fuel you end up with a vehicle that barely runs. As a start I would drain out the fuel in the tank, then add some fresh petrol and see how it responds once it gets the new fuel into it. It is a very common problem with vehicles that set for any time.
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Wednesday, January 7th, 2026 AT 12:24 PM
Tiny
CHRISTOPHER SA
  • MEMBER
  • 258 POSTS
I thought it was something to do with the fuel system Thanks for getting back to me so quickly and confirming this.

By the way, do you know if anything has changed recently with the quality of the fuel being sold these days?

I ask because I had the car sitting for 2 years starting about 4 years ago (Sept 2022) and when I finally got back to working on it and starting it up, it started right up no problem. This happened in March 2024.
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Wednesday, January 7th, 2026 AT 12:45 PM
Tiny
STEVE W.
  • MECHANIC
  • 15,397 POSTS
Depends on where you are in the world in terms of the fuels. Most of it is blended as cheap as possible with alcohol and lower quality chemicals that don't age well. The alcohol is a big issue as it absorbs water and it settles out over time. So instead of actual fuel the pump gets a dose of alcohol and water that the engine doesn't like.
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Wednesday, January 7th, 2026 AT 1:41 PM
Tiny
CHRISTOPHER SA
  • MEMBER
  • 258 POSTS
Am in Ontario Canada. And thanks for the great information.
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Wednesday, January 7th, 2026 AT 2:11 PM
Tiny
STEVE W.
  • MECHANIC
  • 15,397 POSTS
Yeah, then you get booze fuel and different blends by season. The stuff causes problems. I refuse to run it in my garden and small engines because it doesn't stay usable after a short time. So I'd drop the fuel out and refill. Now if you can get good non-ethanol fuel, put some of that in it and test. It usually lasts 3-4 months without a problem.
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Wednesday, January 7th, 2026 AT 5:45 PM

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