Anybody had vanos problems ?

M

mitchk

Member
Put my car in today for a service 1 - put it in a little early as it has gained a slight ticking noise over the last 500 miles.

Got a call later on saying that it is possibly the vanos unit that is on its way at £4000 :(

Now the ticking noise is only when it is warm and sound like a valve that is a bit out and is why I booked it in earlier to have the valve clearances adgusted.

Just asking :P has anybody had issues with the vanos on these cars? I have read about the older z3m which have problems but I thought this was all sorted?

The car is a 2007 with 21000 on it - I'm a bit gutted at the moment to be honest

Mitch
 
Can see why your gutted 4k, Jesus! I'm starting to wonder about these cars, I've had nothing but Problems & car has on 29k on the clock starting to think very very poor quality product & must say taking a slight edge off on ownership
 
don't have any warranty but BMW have decided to go 100% on parts with me labour

Dealer said £400 inc VAT but will try a do me a deal.... will see tomorrow when I hopefully pisk the car up.

Confused to why they would change the whole unit though ? I thought that its just the bolts that need tightening

mitch
 
They're telling you a load of rubbish and should be named and shamed imo... A vanos failing wouldn't cause a tappet noise at all. The N52 has a known problem with hydraulic lifters becoming pumped up. When the oil is hot and the pressure is low (low RPM), they wont have enough pressure to lift properly. I dont know if its a serious issue, id doubt it. Its worth doing a search on some BMW forums and BMW may help sort it as a good will gesture if its out of warranty.
 
They're taking the wee wee. The S54 engine is tappy under both idle & load. Every single one I've heard is exactly the same and any one here who owns one will testify! You're welcome to state your location, I'm sure someone would be happy to meet up if you want a listen to theirs :thumbsup:
 
Vanos problem noises should be a slight knocking (which will eventually get worse) from the unit when warm under certain revs. By all accounts most S54s will need some Vanos TLC at some stage. Steve at Mr Vanos is the man to speak with.
 
glewpot said:
Can see why your gutted 4k, Jesus! I'm starting to wonder about these cars, I've had nothing but Problems & car has on 29k on the clock starting to think very very poor quality product & must say taking a slight edge off on ownership
Click to expand...

Mine is a 2003 with 57K and it has been very, very reliable as a 3 season ride (stored winters). Not a single important issue has come up yet.
 
Hi Guys

I see your point but in the last 500 miles the tapping has definately got worse no doubt about it - hate being screwed though :cry:

The car is supposed to be sorted tomorrow so I will soon find out when it gets warm :driving:

I also thought that BMW checked all warranty parts supplied ? surely they will charge the dealer if there is nothing wrong with the vanos unit when returned to them - wouldn't have thought they would just dish them out.

Anyway of telling if it has been changed ?
 
playalistic said:
They're taking the wee wee. The S54 engine is tappy under both idle & load. Every single one I've heard is exactly the same and any one here who owns one will testify! You're welcome to state your location, I'm sure someone would be happy to meet up if you want a listen to theirs :thumbsup:
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I agree - I've had this car just under 2 years and its always been tappy but this was noticably louder - find out tomorrow anyway if it is sorted

thanks anyway
 
playalistic said:
They're taking the wee wee. The S54 engine is tappy under both idle & load. Every single one I've heard is exactly the same and any one here who owns one will testify! You're welcome to state your location, I'm sure someone would be happy to meet up if you want a listen to theirs :thumbsup:
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+1 :thumbsup: 47k on the clock (motorway, town and track use) and never a Vanos issue reported. They are noisy buggers, especially off throttle.

On the other hand if you have found that all over sudden it makes a "different" noise, then its only too right you get it checked out. Make sure you go to a garage that has plenty of experience with M cars though.

Good luck.
 
glewpot said:
Can see why your gutted 4k, Jesus! I'm starting to wonder about these cars, I've had nothing but Problems & car has on 29k on the clock starting to think very very poor quality product & must say taking a slight edge off on ownership
Click to expand...

Got yourself a dog? Its really bad luck and I hope it won't put you off the brand :)

What model do you have and what problems?
 
ChawenHalo said:
glewpot said:
Can see why your gutted 4k, Jesus! I'm starting to wonder about these cars, I've had nothing but Problems & car has on 29k on the clock starting to think very very poor quality product & must say taking a slight edge off on ownership
Click to expand...

Got yourself a dog? Its really bad luck and I hope it won't put you off the brand :)

What model do you have and what problems?
Click to expand...

I'm interested too (not doubting you), just this car has had nothing go wrong at all and it's racking up miles quickly.
 
EdButler said:
They're telling you a load of rubbish and should be named and shamed imo... A vanos failing wouldn't cause a tappet noise at all. The N52 has a known problem with hydraulic lifters becoming pumped up. When the oil is hot and the pressure is low (low RPM), they wont have enough pressure to lift properly. I dont know if its a serious issue, id doubt it. Its worth doing a search on some BMW forums and BMW may help sort it as a good will gesture if its out of warranty.
Click to expand...

Errr... Mate, check yer facts - the S54 has solid lifters, which are shimmed... So no tappets in our cars
 
Cheburator said:
EdButler said:
They're telling you a load of rubbish and should be named and shamed imo... A vanos failing wouldn't cause a tappet noise at all. The N52 has a known problem with hydraulic lifters becoming pumped up. When the oil is hot and the pressure is low (low RPM), they wont have enough pressure to lift properly. I dont know if its a serious issue, id doubt it. Its worth doing a search on some BMW forums and BMW may help sort it as a good will gesture if its out of warranty.
Click to expand...

Errr... Mate, check yer facts - the S54 has solid lifters, which are shimmed... So no tappets in our cars
Click to expand...

yup...... i do my shims yearly with the extra pressure added by boost..... so far i havent had to make any adjustments :-) honestly, i dont know whether its boost making things sound different but i dont hear any knocking/tapping at the certain rev range people reporty???
 
Cheburator said:
EdButler said:
They're telling you a load of rubbish and should be named and shamed imo... A vanos failing wouldn't cause a tappet noise at all. The N52 has a known problem with hydraulic lifters becoming pumped up. When the oil is hot and the pressure is low (low RPM), they wont have enough pressure to lift properly. I dont know if its a serious issue, id doubt it. Its worth doing a search on some BMW forums and BMW may help sort it as a good will gesture if its out of warranty.
Click to expand...

Errr... Mate, check yer facts - the S54 has solid lifters, which are shimmed... So no tappets in our cars
Click to expand...

As he said above, EdButler was referring to the N52, not S54 :poke:

http://www.z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=10937&p=161535&hilit=+n52+lifters

(although I presume the OP has an ///M, so the above is not of relevance anyway)
 
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