Materials to Maintain Your ZHP IIIII Hand Protection IIIII Tools to Maintain Your ZHP
Results 1 to 9 of 9
  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2013
    Location
    Austin TX
    Posts
    7,606

    Broken VANOS bolts on 2011 F25 X3

    Hope others can benefit from this info. This failure is common on the N51, N52K and N52T engines.

    I took the wife's 2011 X3 (86k miles) to my Indy for oil change and alignment. They called me later and said the oil change was done, but the alignment could not be completed due to : "vehicle running very poorly, lots of vanos/misfires/cam timing faults. Found TSB (technical service bulletin) for vanos adjusters that applies to this vehicle. Suspect issue with vanos adjusters, recommend towing to dealer."

    Needless to say, the X3 was running fine when I drove to the Indy earlier the same day. They printed this TSB for me:

    SI B01 10 14 = Engine camshaft (vanos) adjustment units: limited warranty extension to 10 years without mileage limitation.

    The car was towed the next day. The dealer said the valve cover needed to be removed to troubleshoot ($569 estimate). However if the issue was the one described in the TSB then I didn't need to pay anything. What they found was: "broken bolts on vanos unit please order and per SI B11 07 14."

    It was a $3,100 repair which the dealer covered. I only bought the valve cover ($570 OTD) per my Indy's recommendation. We're very lucky this didn't happen while driving the X3 during our summer vacation. The situation was stressful while we waited to find out if it would be covered under the warranty. On the positive side, we enjoyed a loaner for 10 days.

    Thanks for reading.
    2005 IR / black / 6MT
    157,000 miles

  2. #2
    Thanks for sharing fredo! Glad you didn’t have to pay out of pocket for it.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


    2006 Coupe | Black Sapphire Metallic | Natural Brown | Gruppe M Intake | Corsa TSE3 | Michelin PSS on Apex ARC-8 | Koni Yellows |

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Lexington, KY
    Posts
    4,903
    Holly molly, that is some luck right there! The bolt broke after the oil change but before the alignment, while they were starting the car up to put it on the alignment rack? unreal!

    Glad you dodged that bullet!
    325i, 2005, 5MT, Silvergrey, leatherette, Sport package; CDV delete, KONI STR-T & KYB Excel-G, Weisslichts, Stewart H2O pump

    328i, 2010, 6MT, Spacegrey, dakota leather, M-sport packages; has a 330 intake but no tune - yet
    http://s900.photobucket.com/user/othibau/media/Junesig.jpg.html][IMG]http://i900.photobucket.com/albums/ac208/othibau/Junesig.jpg

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2013
    Location
    Austin TX
    Posts
    7,606
    Indeed. The X3 broke down at the best possible time and place. Our summer trip was 1,200 miles (to New Mexico). Very lucky it happened before then.
    2005 IR / black / 6MT
    157,000 miles

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
    Location
    Las Vegas, NV
    Posts
    5,877
    That sucks Fredo, glad to hear was under warranty. This is an issue on the E46 M3's as well. I completely rebuilt my Vanos with Beisan Systems components and made a Vanos Thread after collecting a buttload of Vanos knowledge. Link is in my SIG take a look.
    BAV Stage 1 - BlueBus - UltraGauge - V1 - Orion V4's - ARC-8's - Brembo 996
    TTFS Engine/SMG Tune/CSL 255 - SGT Headers/Sect 1/SCZA - Evolve Eventuri
    VIS XTS CF Hood - CF Lip/Console/Diffuser - OE CSL Trunk - BWS 500S 9k/11k

  6. #6
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Location
    Charleston SC
    Posts
    6,149
    Perfect timing on that!
    Dinan CAI &Throttle body, ESS Tuning TS2, Bimmerbrakes gen3 headers, UUC SSK & DSSR. Achilles oil pump, VAC oil pan baffle
    M3 Motor mounts, UUC Trans mounts, Modified clutch style LSD 3.15, TMS front subframe reinforcement, Koni Yellow sports,
    H&R sport springs,
    UUC sway bars, BMW Perf. Rotors, UUC SS brake lines, Hawk HPS pads, CSL replica wheels,
    Rotora strut bar, FXR HID conversion, M3 Mirror conversion, BSW stage 1 speakers

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Mar 2016
    Location
    Madison, Alabama
    Posts
    335
    You should have been notified from the dealer on that SB. It was a recall a couple of years back. Not sure why your INDY recommended replacing the valve cover typically the valve cover gasket is replaced not the whole valve cover.

    The gasket runs 20-30 bucks.

    The vanos on that is completely different that the e46. Easily removed and replaced

    Suspicious to me since the vanos is on the front of head not under the valve cover.

    http://carfixdiy.com/diy-car-repair-...a82-2a9a-2a98/
    Family that races together stays together
    2005 330Ci 6MT SGM (x2)

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Feb 2013
    Location
    Austin TX
    Posts
    7,606
    We bought the X3 two years ago at the BMW dealer. They completed all pending recalls before delivery. I'm pretty there is no recall for this issue. The dealer will repair only when (or if) the vanos bolts fall down.

    About the valve cover, my Indy said it includes the oil separator which starts to fail around my mileage (83k).
    2005 IR / black / 6MT
    157,000 miles

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Mar 2016
    Location
    Madison, Alabama
    Posts
    335
    Yep. For some reason the local Bmw shop did our 2011 x5 vanos bolts as a mandatory safety recall.

    The n54 PCV can be replaced without doing the whole valve cover.

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1V4lR3qGyXc
    Family that races together stays together
    2005 330Ci 6MT SGM (x2)

Similar Threads

  1. WTB: 4 x 10mm spacers and bolts
    By slater in forum ZHP-Related Parts & Accessories (no vehicle sales)
    Replies: 26
    Last Post: 04-18-2014, 10:16 AM
  2. Extended lug bolts necessary?
    By BimmerWill in forum Wheels
    Replies: 12
    Last Post: 02-10-2014, 03:10 PM
  3. Dr. Vanos or Beisan for M54 Vanos fix
    By UdubBadger in forum Maintenance
    Replies: 146
    Last Post: 12-18-2012, 04:39 PM
  4. Replies: 72
    Last Post: 12-10-2011, 12:10 PM
  5. Broken bolt/ Vanos job HELP!
    By adb1028 in forum Maintenance
    Replies: 14
    Last Post: 08-13-2011, 10:21 AM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •