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2010 2011 BMW 5 Series Forum F10 BMW 5-Series (F10) Forums General 5-Series Sedan and Wagon (F10 / F11) Forum Drivetrain Malfunction Issue
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      01-23-2014, 01:17 PM   #1
joestir
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Drives: 2011 535i
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Drivetrain Malfunction Issue

Hi everyone. I haven't posted before but occasionally read the forums and find other people's stories about car failure to be informative when troubleshooting problems of my own. I figured I would add a little of my own car troubles if it can help anyone who finds themselves in a similar situation.

I have a 2011 535i presently with 60k miles. Bought it used about a year ago from an independent non BMW lot with an aftermarket relatively comprehensive warranty. I would have preferred CPO but the price was a huge bargain even with the warranty, and it had every option I wanted. The newlywed period lasted about a year, and then a couple weeks ago we had our first fight.

I was driving home when I was suddenly accosted by a drivetrain malfunction light. I pulled over, stopped the car, prayed a little (in german—eh, maybe french), started it up, and warning light was gone... drove home fine and called BMW for an oil change appointment and mentioned the mysterious disappearing warning light. They scheduled me 2 weeks out for an oil change and diagnostic and ensured me that I was safe to drive it but I could bring it in early if it stopped driving normally. From that point, I drove about 3 days warning free before being greeted by another drivetrain malfunction warning, this time accompanied by a little orange engine light that the owner’s manual refers to as "service engine soon indicator lamp for Canadian models", which appears to be emissions related. From this point the car drove another few days with the 2 little warnings playing hide and go seek. A forum search yielded nothing definitive and I sort of wrote off the issue as a finicky sensor to be resolved by the dealer, hopefully under warranty.

Then last weekend I was driving the car home and had my first encounter with this Canadian Emissions Beast that has been mysteriously haunting the dashboard of my US spec F10. As I rolled to a stop, the car started idling like an old Buick and shaking violently. As I gassed it up a little, the beast was mellowed and the car proceeded forward as normal. As I relaxed the pedal at the next stop the little Canadian monster returned with all his fury. Now incentivized to roll the next few stop signs, I quickly finished my 2 block journey home and called BMW to let them know they would be receiving my car a few days early, possibly possessed. I then drove to the dealer (this time issue free) and dropped off the car with little diagnosis given that the shop was already closed for the day. I figured I should test drive the new 535D, since I was there anyway, before heading home in my loaner Kia that they were nice enough to decorate with BMW X1 badges.

Phone call came Monday from BMW SA. The Canadian Emissions Beast has a name-- Vanos something or other. And apparently something I did really grinds his gears because that's exactly what failed. The sketchy aftermarket warranty saved the day as BMW contacted them and had the repair work all authorized and had them pay directly. Picked up the car yesterday, everything clean and fixed, SA explained the failure using some technical jargon and they didn’t even charge me labor on the oil change as it was done during the warranty repairs. From what I gather, it was a gear failure in the valve timing system which BMW calls double vanos. Seems others have had this issue on BMWs, but mostly older models.

Overall it was a great experience from the dealer and the warranty company, surprising since both tend to have such bad reputations. I am definitely not keeping this car past warranty however. Next up will be a new diesel 535 or maybe that little m235i if I can get used to the tiny cockpit.
Appreciate 0
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