Here’s a little back ground about me,,,I’ve been a German car technician now for 31 years now.I had a family owned German car repair shop for 17 years,,We worked on Mercedes,Porsche and BMW .back in the 1980’s it was kind of normal to work on 3 type of cars,,,,all the German cars we very closely built the same,,,,they all had Bosch fuel injection and ignition systems,,,,but over the years that all started to change,,,,, I then removed myself from the family business and moved on to the R/V business.,,,where I was promised the world by a friend if I came to work for him,,,,Big mistake in my life,,,but learned a lot about the diesel R/V motor homes.,,,,During the R/V years I never stopped working on German cars for old customers or old friends cars.,,,,I was always playing around with German cars,,,,,and I personally drove a old 1984 528e 5 speed trans that I put over 300k miles on before the odometer stopped working,,,,,it still had the original engine and transmission and rear differential in the car,,,,the engine finally was burning to much oil to fix,,,,,I loved that car,,,,good gas mileage and a solid car on the road,,,,After 4yrs working and being shop foreman at the R/V shop.,,,,,I got a call from a friend at my local BMW dealership,,,,they wanted me to work for them,,,,,so I moved back to the BMW dealership,,,, .Where my heart belonged with German cars.,,,,,Where I became a BMW master technician.,,,,I’ve decided to show you the life and the different types of jobs we do and see everyday working on BMW .
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Recent Comments
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Could you please comment on this post?
Lifter failure on 2010 X5M – http://www.xbimmers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1181849
Thank you!
Gerry
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Hi Gerry,,,,I read your post about the lifters on your S63 engine,,,,I have never heard or seen any lifter problems on a M engine,,,,,I also talked to some of my master tech and a BMW Technical tech,,,,,,and they have no records of failed lifter,,,,,I’m sorry I wish I some info for you,,,,good luck
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Hi, I really enjoy reading your interesting posts.Could you please make a section in your blog where one can ask questions.thanks.
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Thanks for information,,,,,,i will look into it,,,,I’m still trying to figure this blogging thing out,,,,thanks
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Hi, I have a question about resetting Air Mass meter adaptations on E70 Diesel M57 engine.Are there any special steps like driving at certain speed for certain time after resetting Air mass meter adaptation reset with ISTA/D?or one can just drive normally and DDE will relearn itself?Thanks
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After you reset the air mass meter adaption values with a ista,,,,you just drive the car normally and it will relearn again. Thanks Andreas
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Thanks a lot for the information!!
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Hi, Question about E70 ZF 6HP transmission.Could you please advice which adaptions one should not touch with ISTA while resetting adaptations to cure 2-3 jerky shifts.There are couple of adaptations listed if you call up functions in EGS and also 2-3 adaptation resets in ‘Service function’.Sorry for asking questions here as i couldn’t find any other place in your blog to put questions.Thanks.
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Hi, I was just googling around and landed on your blog and I have to say I love what you post on what it’s like being a BMW master tech. Keep up the good work. I have a quick question to see if you could help me. My 2012 535i is having an oil housing leak like the one you posted in November. It looks like a gasket leak from the heat exchanger and a premature oil housing leak where there is a lot of oil buildup. I brought my car to BMW since it’s still cover under warranty. I told the service advisor that I found an oil small puddle of oil sitting between the oil filter housing and heat exchanger and cleaned it up because I thought it was from the previous oil change but 3 weeks later it came back. They took my car in and within 6 hours later called me and said they cleaned up the puddle of oil and there is no leak. They said they added UV dye into the oil and drove it see where the leak is coming from but there was no leaks and told me its probably from the previous oil change and that I didn’t clean it good enough. I told the tech and advisor that it is a slow leak that builds up. They didn’t want to take my word for it and looked at me like I was lying. Well the leak is back and I called them and they said they’re are willing to take another look at it. What should I say or do to making them fix the heat exchanger gasket and the premature oil housing gasket. I believe I’m a better mechanic than these tech. Any help or advise would be great. Thanks.
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How many miles on your 535,,,,,it sounds like the oil filter housing is leaking a common problem,,,,since they have records from the previous visit about the oil leak,,,,,they should be able to see where it leaking from,,,,,,have them take a small mirror and look under the oil filter housing where the top radiator hose mounts to it,,,,,they should see the radiator house covered in oil,,,,,,if it is then the oil filter housings gaskets are leaking,,,,I don’t understand why they don’t want to replace the oil filter housing gaskets its money.,,,,I hope this helps
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Hello and thank you for your help and kind reply. My car only has 21,773 miles as of today and it’s still covered under manufacturing warranty until 9/16. I’m surprised the engine already have failures with such low mileage. When I get there to drop my car off, should I ask to talk to the mechanics that would be working on my car or should I just tell the service advisor what you told me. I would like to ask for your permission first if I could show the advisor or mechanic your post/reply. And if you could add anything else with your reply that could help me resolve this matter I would appreciate it a lot. Thanks for your help again.
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I would appreciate if you would not use me as information,,,,,,due to it hard to tell what is leaking without seeing the vehicle,,,you can ask to talk to the tech looking at the car,,,,you can also ask to look at the car while it is in the shop and let the technician show you what he sees,,,you also said oil was puddling up next to the oil filter housing,,,,maybe the oil cap is slightly loose,,,,have them make sure the oil cap is also tight,,,,thank you
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could you comment pls
2011 328 with GM trann
at 70k miles the transmission has become slow to shift when starting out after setting over night
ie garage temp at 65 the transmission goes past 3.5 k rpm to shift. after the second shift it seems normal… in past it shifted 1500 to 2000 rpm range.
the fluid has been changed 2x the last time was at 60k.
ideas please
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Hi,,,,sounds like something internally is not working correctly,,,,,but what you could do first is get someone to reset the transmission adaption values ,,,,that will reset the trans all back to factory setting,,,,and hopefully that will help,,,,if not then something internally is the problem.,,,,good luck
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adaption reset didn’t help with transmission shifting cold, however there are no codes so i will just watch it.
thanks
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Yea I would just watch it,,,,and see if it gets any worse.
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Hi, I currently have a f80 and wanted to reset the engine adaptation. Can u tell me the process? I have ista d and under dme there is option clear adaption values but I’m scared to actually go through with the service function. Is it the correct one and safe to do?
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Hi,,,,yes that’s the correct way to do it,,,,,,do not reset the variant,,,,,just reset the engine adaption values only,,,,,,why do you want to reset engine adaption values?
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Thanks. I installed exhaust and filters, feels a little sluggish so I want to start fresh. So i shouldn’t be worried about messing up my car if I go through with the reset, right?
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You should be fine,,,,we do it all the time
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I love this website! Thank you for all those interesting pics!
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I’m glad you like,,,,I hope this helps you
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Hey there was wondering if you could point me in the right direction? I have a 2010 e92 335i with the n55 engine. i was about to drive home last night and when i started the car it cut out straight away saying loss of engine power so i turned it all off and back on again, i started my journey and it hiccupted again with the eml flashing up amd idrive coming up with the message again saying loss of engine power drive moderately, i managed to make it home 20 mins later (jolting and stuff every now and again and cutting out at a set of traffic lights) and got my carly app on it to read the codes, i got codes:
00387f- power management, closed circuit protection:quiescent current of injury
002bda- rail pressure sensor, electrical: short circuit to ground
002bea- mixture control- mixture too lean, large deviation
002be9- cylinder injection shutdown: low pressure in the high pressure system
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Sound like you have a high pressure fuel pump and low fuel pressure sensor issue,,,,it’s hard to tell about the fuel injectors,,,,,if you could run the engine for 2 minutes and remove and check the spark plugs to see if they are fuel soaked,,,,if they are fuel soaked,,,then you have a fuel injector issue on that cylinder,,,,I hope this help
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Thankyou for your reply i really appreciate it! Ill check the spark plugs first, if its not that i will probably change the hpfp i have already changed the fuel rail pressure sensor so i dont think its that, where is the low pressure sensor located?
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The low fuel pressure sensor is located on the hard metal fuel line that feeds the high pressure fuel pump
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Found your site tonight by searching about the N20 timing chain problems, and I’m now leaving this comment worried about the oil line to the turbo, the oil filter housing, the oil pump chain on top of the aforementioned timing chain.. I’m not sure if this is a good thing to know about these issues.. or if I should cry & burn my 2014 N20 😛 At 95,000km I’m looking to either fix these issues or dump it. Can you think of any other “problems”?
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I’m sorry about the information,,,,but no I can’t think of anything else other then those problems,,,not every N20 has the same problem,,,,I have seen some that have no timing chain problem.
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I am writing just to thank you for that effort of posting day-to-day finding and overall experience as BMW tech here to public. Great short write ups and 2-3 pictures – all is needed. I spent 2 days reading your blog and picked up more than I ever could. Thank you for all your replies and sharing knowledge. The value of it can not overestimated.
Thanks a lot.
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I’m glad I can help
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Hi, bmwtechnician, how big is your knowledge about the N55 engine? 🙂
I’m from germany and even my dealer here isn’t able to solve the problem on my F10.
The main problem is, the ECU doesn’t throw any codes.
But I have loss of power and the car is bucking while I’m accelerating and during coasting.
I did a lot of logs while driving, but all sensors are working properly.
The funny thing is, if I heat the engine up and turn the car off for an hour, the engine operates at full power for a couple of miles after I fire it up again. But then it starts bucking like before. The bucking doesn’t fell like a missfire, it’s some kind of smooth.
The car also vibrates at idle. I can solve the problem if I disconnect the Valvetronicmotor.
Then the engine is running smooth, but the bucking and loss of power are still there.
Do you have an idea what it could be?
Thank you!
Greetings, Thomas.
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These are some of the possibility,,,,Has the dealer performed a vanos test,,,,I’m wondering if you have a bad vanos unit or vanos solenoid could be bad,,,,they should throw a fault,,,,,,also check the catalytic converters the honey comb inside maybe broken,,,,,also check the fuel pressure to the high pressure pump,,,,the fuel pump inside the gas tank might not be delivering enough fuel to the high pressure pump causing the engine to starve for fuel,,,,I hope this helps
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Thanks for your response! Everything you listed was done by my dealer and in an second attempt by me. But you know what, after a long session with my notebook in the car, it looks like I have found the issue by accident. It seems like a problem with the IGR(Intelligene Generator Regelung, in german). I disabled the IGR with INPA and the engine is operating at full power again. No bucking, no vibrations! To be sure it’s really the IGR, I disabled it permanently via E-Sys. The car is runnig great now! But the question is, what could cause such an issue and why do the ECU doesn’t show a code?
Have you ever heard of such a problem?
Greetings, Thomas.
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Very cool,,,,,I have never heard of the IGR causing this problem before,,,,I don’t know why it didn’t cause a fault in the DME,,,,that doesn’t make and sense,,,,I was looking through my school books for a answer for why I didn’t fault,,,,but I don’t have one,,,,,sorry,,,,nice job on finding the problem
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Hi I just want to let you know that your blog is very informative! Keep up the great work! =)
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Thank you,,,,glad I can help
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Hi, Need a suggestion from you about using diesel additive on X5 35D.I saw lots of people using diesel additives on M57 engines to solve injector problems which they say that additives cleans the injectors by removing deposits.But on my fuel cap,it says no additives.But lots of people are using additives on other common rail diesel engines.So would like to know what you guys use at the dealerships.thanks
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I know BMW diesel doesn’t recommend it on there car,,,,I really don’t see then need to use it as long as you are using good diesel fuel,,,,some states or country’s the diesel fuel is not that good.,,,,so if you have good diesel fuel where you live then you should be ok.
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Thanks a lot for the reply.One more question.On my 2006 E60 525xi,IBS sensor failed.So is it necessary to reprogram or update the DME while installing new IBS sensor?Read somewhere that software should match on both IBS and DME?Is that true for 2006 model year car?Thanks
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If we are talking about the negative side battery cable,,,,which is the IBS cable,,,,it just bolts right on,,,,no programming needed,,,,you will have to clear faults if there are any.
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Yes i am talking about negative battery cable (IBS).Thanks for confirming!!
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I run a BMW tech support site and would love to talk further
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What the name of your tech support
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Hi,
I would be happy to drive my car to the dealer where you’re working for if it takes less than an hour. Would you mind if you let me know which dealer you’r working for if it doesn’t hurt the relationship between you and the dealer?
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I’m sorry I don’t like to say which dealership I work at,,,,or mix my blogging with work,,,,,sorry
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I absolutely understand. Thank you.
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Hi bmwtechnician
First of all thanks for the wonderful blog, especially the post about the n20 engine timing chain issues. I just wished I had read about it before buying my car. I recently got a used 2012 bmw x1 28i with a 100,500kms (around 62,000miles) not from a bmw dealer. I didn’t know that the n20 engine has issues until reading about it on a forum, which was linked to your blog post. Now am so worried about having a similar fate that I thought of reaching out to you to get some suggestions. At the moment the car runs fine no issues I know of. Took it to a bmw service center, where they did a 55 point inspection and didn’t point out any issues about the engine. No error codes either. I’m planning to keep the car for the next 5 years, so was wondering what I should service or parts to change so I’m carefree for those years. Also the fact the car has driven 62,000 so miles what would need to be service or changed. In terms of the timing chain what can I do to safeguard myself that I won’t have the chain break on me. Should change the timing chain and guide? I have included 2 videos, which I have taken. One at cold start https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcSWCMHBRq0 and the other revering it up https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBDHvOZxA2E&t=5s. If you don’t mind having a listen and give your advice on if the engine sounds alright. Sorry for the all the questions.
Thank you
Chey
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I noticed a very slight whine,,,which could be the timing chain issue,,,,my main concern would be the timing chain and guide rails.
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Thanks for getting back. Will book an appointment with the bmw service center tomorrow. Is there anything else I should consider changing, since I’m guessing they would need to take apart the engine to change the timing chain and guide rails. How long does this job typically take and the parts cost? Just to get idea how much I would be looking into labour and parts.
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Labor should be about 10 hours,,,,I don’t know the cost of parts sorry
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Good Morning,
I have a 2014 X1 with the N20 and having problems with the oil line and turbo exactly like you’ve detailed in your blog posts that I’ve been reading.
I changed my oil at 12,000, they changed it during a routine service at 22,000, and the problem started at 29,000. They’re trying to tell me that since they don’t have documentation for the 12,000 change, I’m liable for the $1k-7k fix of either the oil line or the turbo.
I’ve printed out your blog posts to help make my case that this is an existing problem BMW knows about with quite a few of their cars.
Do you have a Service Bulletin # related to that issue? It would really help me a lot. Thanks!!
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Sorry I don’t have any bulletin for this,,,,do you have any records or receipt on your oil service which might help you,,,,to prove you changed the oil,,,,,also see if they can do some kind of goodwill for you.
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Thanks for the reply!
Unfortunately, no, I don’t have any documentation-oil I already had and a filter from a buddy who swapped his brand new oem one for a K&n one when he bought it. They didn’t hassle me about that, just said that Bmw NA might take issue with it not being documented down the line.
They also agreed it sounded exactly like the documented n20 problem you’ve blogged about extensively. They said it’ll be covered under warranty unless they find sludge in the oil line.
Two questions for you: this Bmw dealer changed the oil at 22k and 29k and didn’t document or report any problems. Wouldn’t they have found sludge, if there was any, at those oil changes? I can’t imagine it was fine at both intervals then all of a sudden it develops?
Two: I read of a couple of cases online where sludge in the oil line was the result of the faulty oil line. Can you shed any light on that?
Thanks so much.
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It hard to tell if there is any sludge in the oil,,,,unless you look take off the valve cover or oil pan to check for sludge,,,,I haven’t heard anything about sludge causing damage to oil feed line.
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Thanks for your help so far with the oil filter housing gasket.
I ran into another issue with my ’11 535i. It looks like my A/C refrigerant discharge hose has a hole in it from rubbing up against something. I was backing out of my driveway and heard a loud hissing sound along with smoke coming out of my hood. When I opened the hood, I saw an oily residue which I thought was motor oil at first, but it did not smell like though. After looking more closely, it was a hose that comes from one of the end from the AC compressor and the other end into the condenser.
To repair this, do I only need to replace the a/c refrigerant hose and have a technician recharge my a/c? What parts would I need to remove in order to get to this hose and replace it? I haven’t driven my car since but my friend said it is safe to drive as long as I don’t run the AC. Would you agree?
I provided some pictures on the attached link below. I can’t figure out how this hose was rubbing against something to erupt like this. What do you think happened? I’m hoping it was caused from me replacing the oil filter housing, but I did not touch this hose while doing that job.
Engine Bay: https://postimg.org/image/v8mb3llxv/
Closeup: https://postimg.org/image/z33a9xwfb/
Closeup2: https://postimg.org/image/su4hvis2x/
Thanks for help!
-Alan
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Yes it’s safe to drive as long as you don’t run the a/c,,,,it looks like that hose was rubbing against the engine fan,,,,to be honest I have not replaced that hose yet,,,,or had any need to,,,,,the hose should be pretty straight forward ,,,,,just unbolt,,,,the problem is why did it rub against the engine fan,,,,there should be some brackets to keep that hose in place,,,,so it doesn’t hit the engine fan
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Hi, today my f10 n55 90k miles engine gave me the “Drivetrain malfunction: Drive moderately. Maximum drivetrain output not available. Consult service center”
I did scan it with ista-d and got two fault codes (Priority 1) among many others (Priority 2):
131401 “Variabile camshaft timing control (Vanos), exhaust, cold start not controllable.”
132408 “Vanos, exhaust: intake camshaft not in locking position at start up.”
I went and deleted the fault codes, restarted engine several times, drove around the block and no faults codes or any other errors were given.
What are the chances of this issue to reoccur?
Your help is much appreciated!
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It’s a good possibility that the faults will come back,,,,looks like your exhaust vanos unit might be going bad.
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I just want to make sure I understand correctly.
You’re reffering to the solenoid only or the whole vanos unit?
Thanks again!
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I’m referring to the whole vanos unit
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Hey bmwtechnician, is there a page where we can donate to fund your blog to show appreciation for your help and tips? I would love to show some gratitude.
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That’s very nice,,,I never thought of that,,,,I just do this to try and help people,,,,,never thought about the money,,,,,,maybe some day
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Yes! I really enjoy reading your work. If you setup a donation portal I would be happy to support your blog
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Thank you,,,it’s something I have to work on.
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+1!!
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Hi, I’m going to try to attempt a head gasket replacement on my 2011 X5, with the N55 engine. The car was in a front end collision where the engine took some of the force. Other than oil leaking out of gasket area in the front, the harmonic balancer was damaged, along with the belt tensioner. Can you share what some of your thoughts are on this, I look forward to hearing back from you.
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I should add that the engine did run, but eventally turned off. It was running rough with the inter-cooler disconnected. I also checked the oil level and it was fine.
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Do you know why it shut off,,,,or do you have any ideas,,,,,I would be worried about that
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You said the front engine damper took some of the damage,,,,my question was the drive belt still there or was it in pieces,,,,,if it was in pieces I would be worried if it got sucked in to the front crank seal,,,,causing damage to the seal and then you would have some pieces of the belt inside the oil pan.
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The drive belt was intact. I actually reused it to start the engine. I didn’t have the intercooler attached at all, I would like to guess that’s why it eventually shut off. There was some kind of whistle or howl, I’m hoping that nothing is wrong with the bearing behind the damper
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That’s the other thing I would be worried about,,,how bad was the damper damaged,,,,,can you still turn the motor over
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The damper was bent on one side such that it would run on the engine block, preventing or making it tough to turn over the engine manually. I didnt think of this right away. But I’m wondering if all of the oil that I am seeing is coming out of the oil filter housing area and seeping down the engine (the head gasket area creates a channel for it).
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So the oil issue should be solved. It looks like the both gaskets on the oil filter housing need to be replaced (including on cooler). They are leaking bad. The damper seems to be spinning ok. I feel like its not 100% straight. Maybe the hub was bent. Its not an expensive part, but i cannot seem to find some guidance on how involved it is to remove it. Will i need to remvoe the bolt, and hold the timing in place with BMW special tools?
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Shot I don’t remember ,,,,isn’t there 5 or 6 13mm had bolts that go around the center crank bolt
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There are 8 (if I’m not mistaken) bolts that hold the damper to the hub. The hub seems to be held by the one large crankshaft bolt. I’m not sure if you can just pull the hub out after this.
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No,,,,you have to lock down the motor to TDC,,,,you will need the tools to lock out the camshaft and the pin tool to lock out the flywheel,,,,you will need a very big breaker bar to loosen that nut,,,,because that hub is a press fit for the lower timing chain sprocket.
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After I remove the large bolt with the breaker bar, will I be able to pull the hub out with out any issues? Also, is that sprocket going to star inside somehow? I’m under the impression that the sprocket is mounted on the end of the hub
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No the sprocket should stay inside the engine,,,,the sprocket should be sandwiched between the front hub and the front of the crankshaft .
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Andreas, So the hub is damaged on the N55. I have 2 videos that show in slow motion that show this. I see that the crankshaft bolt is bent as well. Im hoping the crankshaft is fine. The engine is running at the moment. What are your opinions on just changing the hub and bolt? Im not sure how hard it would be to damage the crankshaft.
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I would just change the damaged hub for now and see hat happens,,,,,,,if you have to replace that bolt then you have to lock out the motor on TDC and lock out the timing chain and retime the whole engine when you replace that bolt.
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Bad news and even more bad news after that. The hun still has that “wobble” to it. It might be a little better, but it’s still there.
Second problem is that I have misfires and a code that reads vanos intake, control fault, camshaft stuck. Also a code that reads charging pressure control, deactivation. Pressure buildup blocked. Any idea on what it could be.
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I would check the vanos units and camshaft,,,,if bad vanos unit that would cause boost faults
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What’s your opinion on leaving the crankshaft as is? Would a slightly unbalanced crankshaft cause a lot of premature wear?
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You said the engine ran,,,,I think the crankshaft is ok,,,,I think your just seeing the pulley move around,,,,and all the front crankshaft pulls do move around alittle bit,,,,they are not perfect
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I wonder if the front of the crankshaft took a hit? I would set up a dial indicator and check for run out on the crankshaft snout. Your engine may be trying to run with a bent crankshaft.
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I would like to assume that the crankshaft is bent to some extent. If you look at one of the videos above you can see how the hub spins in an elliptical pattern. My concern is with the long term implications if i were to do nothing more.
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Like the previous post,,,may get a dial indicator and check the run out and that should tell you if it’s bent.
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As far as the boost codes, im not sure why the vanos could be bad just from me re-timing the engine and putting the valve cover back on. before i did any of this, there were no codes.
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The boost faults is due to the vanos and camshaft faults,,,,is there something you did ,,,,because you said the faults weren’t there until you took off the valve cover and timed the engine.
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Could the actual issue be whatever the original impact affected in the engine that caused the timing to change?
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Could be,,,,don’t know how bad the impact was.
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I would say no to this based on the fact that i had no issues up until i opened up the valve cover to re-time. I must have done something inadvertently or something is improperly connected.
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Hello bmwtechnician, I just took my car in for warranty work today. I know that techs hate warranty work. However, I always wonder how is BMW warranty work from a techs point of view compared to other dealerships? Also what do shop foremans usually do?
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As a tech I really don’t hate warranty work,,,the problem with warranty work is that they don’t pay us that much,,,,they are always cutting back on are labor times,,,,,that’s the big problem,,,,other dealerships have the same problems,,,what do shop foreman do they have they say on what we should do on problem cars,,,,when we have a problem car we run the problem by them and they decide what we should do to fix it,,,,,sometimes they are right and sometimes they are wrong,,,they might test drive cars with customers,,,they also dispatch work and make sure work gets done.
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Hey there bud-
I just stumbled upon this site by accident, and I’m loving the content you’re posting.
I just wanted to say that your effort is helpful and much appreciated. This seems to be a page you’re updating on your own time to share your experiences and knowledge with the world. There’s so really fascinating info on here that you’d never be able to read or find anywhere else, especially from the perspective of a master tech.
Just wanted to extend my appreciation to you, please keep up the amazing work! Would hate to see this site ever go down. BOOKMARKED!
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Thanks for the kind words
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Hello,
Wanted to say thank you for your awesome site. I have a question regarding my 2016 340i xdrive and I’m hoping you could enlighten me as I’m so confused. This past December I had noticed the car sounded different, in the sport mode I was no longer hearing the popping sound the screams serious power, beside sounding cool. I noticed no exhaust from the left outlet while in the sport mode and after looking into the outlet and sure enough the valve was frozen by a layer of ice(probably from me washing the car, I hate dirty cars, which is a slight problem with MN winters). I proceeded to get my heat gun and melt the ice, all good but still not working. A few days after I received a “low battery do not shut vehicle off” warning after my commute home. The car started normally as far as no slow crank or anything of the sort typically associated with a weak battery. I brought to the dealer and was explained the cold weather affects with battery, etc. They then explained that the exhaust valve doesn’t open in comfort or sport unless under load and only after reaching EOT, made sense. 3 weeks after this explanation the valve began opening within 2 minutes of starting no matter of the OAT and definitely without the vehicle reaching EOT or what drive mode it was in. On my recent 10k service I mentioned the exhaust issue, as well as the start/stop feature not working since the low battery warning. They replaced the battery, noting the vehicle had several stored battery related codes but no other issue. This fixed the start/stop issue but the exhaust valve still opens shortly after start up and there is no more popping sound while in sport mode (which was so cool). Now that I got your head is spinning, what is the proper operation of this exhaust valve? I’ve attached a video link so you could see the exhaust valve opening shortly after start up in confort mode. The video was taken today 3/30 with an OAT of 47F and the vehicle sitting for over a day. I look forward to your thoughts.
https://1drv.ms/v/s!AuxhqRYM8eWsbVKiIhHQv8ipEgU
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Ok my head is spinning ,,,,lol,,,,ok I believe the exhaust flap is there to keep the exhaust quiet during start up,,,,it’s also there to help in exhaust back pressure and to heat up the catalytic converter,,,,I hope this helps
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Thank you for your reply. I know I’m putting you on the spot with a “phone diagnostic” with out having the actual vehicle in front of you. In your experience, what would be the impact of the valve having been stuck closed for 2-3 weeks.
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You said the valve was frozen for awhile,,,,maybe something happened to that exhaust valve motor,,,I’ve seen the shaft on the exhaust get jammed
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I thought that could be a possibility as well. When the vehicle is idling in comfort or eco after reaching EOT is the valve suppose to be closed. I know it really doesn’t matter if it’s always open. In fact, I read so many post of people trying to bypass the valve and leave it open. This makes me shake my head as people are trying to bypass the incredible engineering that goes into these cars. I just want it to work as they intended because I’ve learned ignoring these things it’s never good. Contrary to what some people think, turning the radio up doesn’t make the noise disappear! Lol
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Just sometimes,,,,lol
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Isn’t that the truth! My dad owned a shop in South Gate many moons ago. I always remember this customer who brought her at the time new 1984 chevette for an oil change. No big deal except a few days later she comes in noting the car had no power and swore she saw smoke and smelled something burning. We test drove it, power was ok as much as could be for a chevette and no smoke or burning smell. She picked it up and next day she was back with same complaint. So my dad drove it again, no problem. So he parks the car and has her drive the car. Immediately my dad discovers the problem. As a safety measure we would apply the parking brake as the customer parking area was on a slight incline. She was driving with the parking brake on the whole time. When my dad says to her “didn’t you notice the car didn’t want to move?” She replied “of course, that’s why I pressed the gas pedal all the way down! Lol
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That’s classic
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Hi Andreas,
Please provide some guidance?
In the case of an M54 engine where ista test shows to replace vanos…
Is it enough to replace 0-rings only? I see a huge variety of kits from o-rings alone to teflon seals to gaskets and nuts and bolts.
I’m thinking o-rings alone is enough and reuse everything else?
Thanks.
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Are we talking about the vanos unit,,,I wouldn’t chance it with new seals and bolt,,,I would just replace them with new one,,,,,I don’t like to do the job twice if rebuilding them doesn’t work.
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Hey Andreas, I’m curious how you diagnose a failed PCV on the N55’s (E series)? I seem to be having very high oil consumption and a rough cold idle. Looks like during the roughness the AFR goes a bit lean and timing is pulled down to -4 and then oscillates +4 to -4 and the AFR swings from 14.4-15.5. Eventually this calms down and it is smooth. I noticed when removing the oil cap with the engine running there seems to be a lot of vacuum behind it, seems to me like more than the 0.55 psi that the system is supposed to maintain. I’m thinking the PCV system might be introducing air after the mass air flow meter and causing oil consumption.
Thanks!
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It sounds like your valve cover is faulty,,,,you have to check the vacuum at the oil cap and see hat it is,,,,you already said it hard to remove the oil cap when it’s idling.,,,,,sounds like that is your problem.
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Greetings bmwtechnician! We recently bought a new 2016 550i M-Sport with the N63 and it has 4K miles now. We are hoping the 2016 engine has the engineering updates it needed by now to prevent the issues we’ve read about on some of the earlier ones. Reports of excessive oil consumption is somewhat concerning of course. What is your opinion of the later N63’s and what did BMW update about them compared to the earlier engines? Did BMW possibly get too thin and lightweight on the ring package design, is it the new lower viscosity oils? What does BMW usually do when one comes into the service department with a complaint of high oil consumption and the car is in warranty?
Many thanks, Greg
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Yes the newer engines and venting system and injectors has changed for the better,,,,the oil consumption thing has not really change ,,,,if there is oil consumption the dealer will monitor how many miles between adding oil to the engine,,,,I personal think the problem is the design of the engine heads,,,,we never had this problem until they redesigned the cylinder heads .
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Vinny here with 2011 535i M-Sport
suddenly got the: “Steering Response Drive moderately. Consult nearest service center” followed by iDrive reset.
Power steering seems 100% present but Active Steering is gone
Was able to pull the following codes:
480006 ICM Undervoltage – 155113 km
480007 ICM overvoltage – 155113 km
4823FC EPS Control Unit: Undervoltage during operation (Reduced steering servo) – 155113 km
800352 CID video connection: no LVDS Signal – 155111 km
800BAA TRSVC: CVBS output, open circuit or not connected – 154286 km
would really appreciate your input
Thanks in advance Andreas!
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I should note the battery is OEM and one year old.
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Hey I forgot to ask you are there any other under voltage faults in the car,,,,check the charging system if you can.
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Looks like everything happened at the same time and under voltage problem,,, you might have 2 problem,,,,the EPS and ICM might both be bad,,,,you need someone to figure out why the under voltage problem,,,i don’t have a wiring diagram on your car,,,,but I think both modules talk to each other causing 2 different problem.
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As far as I know there are no other undervoltage faults.
Fyi: I was able to reset the ICM but not the EPS ecu module … it just hangs on resetting … which makes me think the EPS has failed.
Will take it to the dealership tomorrow.
As always, thanks a lot Andreas.
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I think your right the EPS is bad
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Andreas,
Do you know if the N55 is compatible throughout the 2011-2013 X5? Looking at realoem, there are a few differences, block, oil pump, and few other items are different. If i do an engine swap, im wondering if i will be ok? Thanks in advance for your time.
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No they are different
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Andreas, do you know where the valvatronic relay and the dme relay are located on a 2011 e70?
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The DME relay should be in the E-box which is on the passengers side in front of the windshield inside the engine compartment,,,,it sits under the micro filter,,,,I don’t think that car has a valvetronic relay I could be wrong.
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