Okay, engine light was lit up again for some time, car is in limp mode or some kind of **** mode because its not all that powerfull.
however i went to BMW today and they said its the vanos on the second row, costs me around 20 000:- swedish crownes to fix...
now the other BMW reseller that sold me the car, which no longer exist because the owners sold it and all told me the VANOS was changed to the newer vanos that isnt the bad one. now my question is, is it normal that it can get mssed upp again or should the new vanos be good to have for a long time?
and question number 2 is...there's a strong smell of gasoline in the car...and they said they checked the cables and stuff for leakage and couldnt find anything....could it be the vanos that causes the smell of gasoline in the car?
appreciate any help.
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Looking to buy Kelleners Sport Silencers for the E39 M5. Message or E-mail me if you're selling!
What SPECIFIC codes did they find? What were the GT1 test results? (Scan them and post them here)
Often time CPS errors will appear as vanos/cam errors...and bad VANOS soleniods will appear to be bad VANOS to dealers. The solenoid costs $600, the vanos complete is $2600.
If you have the paperwork on the VANOS replacement, in some countries there is a warranty with new parts. Even if YOU didn't own the car, the replacement VANOS (if it was really done!) might have a warranty.
I think the soleniod is a magnetic/electrical control unit for the vanos actuator. It is feed a signal directly from the DME based on a whole number of things.
Last edited by andy777; 23rd September 2008 at 21:55.
Solenoid is controlled electrically and activates the actuator to change the timing. Two for intake, two for exhaust on each bank. However, solenoid sold in set of four, one per bank.
Solenoid is controlled electrically and activates the actuator to change the timing. Two for intake, two for exhaust on each bank. However, solenoid sold in set of four, one per bank.
Scan the code and let us know what it says.
Heh i dont have a computer to check it, and i made the mistake of not asking BMW what the codes were, although i called and he said it wasnt the solenoid it is the vanos...or else id say a different code.
this issue first started when i was driving kinda fast and the road was uneven so during the little "bump/jump" the engine lamp started...it fixed itself after a few miles of driving....then it started to come more and more often...
__________________
Looking to buy Kelleners Sport Silencers for the E39 M5. Message or E-mail me if you're selling!
Heh i dont have a computer to check it, and i made the mistake of not asking BMW what the codes were, although i called and he said it wasnt the solenoid it is the vanos...or else id say a different code.
Wait, you are saying that you are going to shell out thousands of crownes and TRUST that the BMW dealer is 'probably right'???
Here's the deal:
1. You might be too lazy to search but there are MANY threads in which people are told with certainty that the 'whole vanos is bad' yet we have found that sometimes (not always) there are MUCH cheaper fixes.
2. There is only ONE 'bad vanos' code. There is no 'bad solenoid' code and a separate 'bad expensive vanos actuator' code. You wanna beleive the BMW dealer is in business to save YOU money, fine.
3. You either need to spend the time to get educated so you can direct the repairs and not get screwed...or you pay the money. Pretty simple choice, some folks are pretty busy so the money is the easier way.
" i made the mistake of not asking BMW what the codes were,"
Yes, you did. Yo need to bring the car back and have them run a complete GT1 VANOS diagnostic, then scan the results in and we'll give you advice. In fact, if this was in the USA, the dealer SHOULD have printed that out and stapled it to the work order. You simply call the SA and ask them to fax it- DON'T ASK IF THERE IS ONE!!! Act like you know it exists, that there is absolutely ZERO question they already did this, and you want to see the diagnostics done on your car. If they didn't do it, they do it. If they didn't save it, - same answer- they do it again.
It is just not acceptablle to be asking an owner to approve a $2500-5000 fix without proper diagnostic documentation.
Or, pay them whatever they ask- that's another viable option.
Wait, you are saying that you are going to shell out thousands of crownes and TRUST that the BMW dealer is 'probably right'???
Here's the deal:
1. You might be too lazy to search but there are MANY threads in which people are told with certainty that the 'whole vanos is bad' yet we have found that sometimes (not always) there are MUCH cheaper fixes.
2. There is only ONE 'bad vanos' code. There is no 'bad solenoid' code and a separate 'bad expensive vanos actuator' code. You wanna beleive the BMW dealer is in business to save YOU money, fine.
3. You either need to spend the time to get educated so you can direct the repairs and not get screwed...or you pay the money. Pretty simple choice, some folks are pretty busy so the money is the easier way.
" i made the mistake of not asking BMW what the codes were,"
Yes, you did. Yo need to bring the car back and have them run a complete GT1 VANOS diagnostic, then scan the results in and we'll give you advice. In fact, if this was in the USA, the dealer SHOULD have printed that out and stapled it to the work order. You simply call the SA and ask them to fax it- DON'T ASK IF THERE IS ONE!!! Act like you know it exists, that there is absolutely ZERO question they already did this, and you want to see the diagnostics done on your car. If they didn't do it, they do it. If they didn't save it, - same answer- they do it again.
It is just not acceptablle to be asking an owner to approve a $2500-5000 fix without proper diagnostic documentation.
Or, pay them whatever they ask- that's another viable option.
A
++100
couldn't have said it better. Might sound a little harsh to some people but this it the only approach/the only right approach to deal with the situation..
And people complaint its expensive to maintain E39 M5 ? You need to keep in mind although E39 M5 is not as limited production as say "Porsche 911 GT3RS" but they're also not run in the mill 5 series car.
Chances are not all dealer will have their mechanic knowledgeable enough to dignose all sympton correctly.
But by reading some of the story and experience on this forum, you should be able to gain what other has been diagnose/misdiagnose and charged/mischarged for VANOS issue related sympton.
You need to keep in mind although E39 M5 is not as limited production as say "Porsche 911 GT3RS" but they're also not run in the mill 5 series car.
Linear Mode
