[azuritschwarz]

Hey everyone.
I have a 2007 E90 335i with 42,000 kilometres on it. Two nights ago while driving I got failures for ABS, Flat Tire Monitors, Cruise Control, Hill Assist, etc., which came & went randomly.
Got the codes read & came back with CE96 (Wheel Circumferential Velocity), 5DC2 (Wheel Speed Sensor: Increment Gear Right Rear), & 6139 (Reference Speed or Direction of Travel Uncertain).
I replaced the rear right speed sensor last night, took it for a hard 20 minute drive, & everything went away. Then this morning, I barely make it 1 minute from my house before it all comes back.
The shop says I need a wheel bearing, but I'm skeptical as I've never heard any noises or had any problems & they're a ton of labour.
I don't see how, but is it possible that the wheel bearing is faulty & tripping the codes again? Anyone experienced anything similar?
Thanks In Advance.

[BravoJohny33]

Originally Posted by yeg440i

Hey everyone.
I have a 2007 E90 335i with 42,000 kilometres on it. Two nights ago while driving I got failures for ABS, Flat Tire Monitors, Cruise Control, Hill Assist, etc., which came & went randomly.
Got the codes read & came back with CE96 (Wheel Circumferential Velocity), 5DC2 (Wheel Speed Sensor: Increment Gear Right Rear), & 6139 (Reference Speed or Direction of Travel Uncertain).
I replaced the rear right speed sensor last night, took it for a hard 20 minute drive, & everything went away. Then this morning, I barely make it 1 minute from my house before it all comes back.
The shop says I need a wheel bearing, but I'm skeptical as I've never heard any noises or had any problems & they're a ton of labour.
I don't see how, but is it possible that the wheel bearing is faulty & tripping the codes again? Anyone experienced anything similar?
Thanks In Advance.

They are trying to get you for a wheel bearing because what they want to do is take everything apart and clean everything because rust/dirt in the wrong area will cause a wheel speed sensor error. But mechanics always love to replace everything going into something. Its not their money.

[smass]

The tone ring for the speed sensor built into the back side of the wheel bearing. Others have had to change wheel bearings to fix the speed sensor issue. It is not super common but does happen.

[azuritschwarz]

Originally Posted by smassey321

The tone ring for the speed sensor built into the back side of the wheel bearing. Others have had to change wheel bearings to fix the speed sensor issue. It is not super common but does happen.

Thanks for the quick reply buddy! Really appreciate that, I'll look into it.

Cheers

[Efthreeoh]

Unless the 335i rear set up is completely different than the 325/328i (I've not checked realoem) the tone ring is on the outer CV joint and not the bearing. On my car I kept losing the left rear speed sensor until I realized the iron tone ring rusted so severely, the rust expansion of the metal was damaging the speed sensor. I fixed it by adding a thin washer under the mounting bolt, which positions the face of the speed sensor farther away from the tone ring.

[Efthreeoh]

OP, pull the speed sensor and get a flashlight and look into the oriface to check for rust on the tone ring. Check the face of the speed sensor for scrape marks or other damage.

[smass]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

Unless the 335i rear set up is completely different than the 325/328i (I've not checked realoem) the tone ring is on the outer CV joint and not the bearing. On my car I kept losing the left rear speed sensor until I realized the iron tone ring rusted so severely, the rust expansion of the metal was damaging the speed sensor. I fixed it by adding a thin washer under the mounting bolt, which positions the face of the speed sensor farther away from the tone ring.

Looks like there may be 2 different rear wheel bearings. 85mm require that be bearing be pressed in with the black area (tone ring) facing the center of the car. My 06 330i had the 85mm.

https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/e...heel-bearings/

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by smassey321

Looks like there may be 2 different rear wheel bearings. 85mm require that be bearing be pressed in with the black area (tone ring) facing the center of the car. My 06 330i had the 85mm.

https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/e...heel-bearings/

So the 330i, 335i, and 325i do not share axle shafts nor wheel carriers as common parts. The 325i and 330i models do share the same wheel bearing however. The 325i, 330i, and 335i all share the same wheel speed sensor. Sharing the same speed sensor tells me that all three models use the same axle design where the tone ring is mounted to the inside of the outboard CV joint. There is an orientation of the bearing when reinstalling, but I don't think it is related to the speed sensor mechanism. I've replaced my rear wheel bearings, which require removal of the axle shaft, so I'm familiar with the parts involved. While some of the rear wheel assembly parts may not carry the same identical part numbers (I did now check realoem), they all use a similar design. I'm pretty sure all rear axles on the E9X use a tone ring affixed to the outboard C joint.

If that is the correct case, I guess a bad wheel bearing could cause a speed sensor code, but I'd think it'd be noisy as hell.

[azuritschwarz]

Thanks so much to all you guys for the very educated responses. Don't know what I would do without gentlemen like yourselves! I did check the acceptor for the wheel speed sensor upon replacement, & it was of course dirty, but absolutely no rust/mud was found.

I am hoping to get my buddy to have a look at my wheel bearing when I replace my brakes this weekend or next week. I will update this thread with my results.

[smass]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

So the 330i, 335i, and 325i do not share axle shafts nor wheel carriers as common parts. The 325i and 330i models do share the same wheel bearing however. The 325i, 330i, and 335i all share the same wheel speed sensor. Sharing the same speed sensor tells me that all three models use the same axle design where the tone ring is mounted to the inside of the outboard CV joint. There is an orientation of the bearing when reinstalling, but I don't think it is related to the speed sensor mechanism. I've replaced my rear wheel bearings, which require removal of the axle shaft, so I'm familiar with the parts involved. While some of the rear wheel assembly parts may not carry the same identical part numbers (I did now check realoem), they all use a similar design. I'm pretty sure all rear axles on the E9X use a tone ring affixed to the outboard C joint.

If that is the correct case, I guess a bad wheel bearing could cause a speed sensor code, but I'd think it'd be noisy as hell.

For my 330i, orientation of the bearing was related to the speed sensor. I did mine the wrong way the first time and the speed sensor did not get any signal . I took the bearing apart and there were speed sensors in the plastic parts that separate the ball bearings.

[feuer]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

I'm pretty sure all rear axles on the E9X use a tone ring affixed to the outboard C joint.

Models with small parking brake (160mm) 316, 318, 320, 325. Big parking brakes (185mm) models 330, 335i and m3 is on the bearing. 100% not on half shafts.

[feuer]

Originally Posted by BravoJohny33

They are trying to get you for a wheel bearing because what they want to do is take everything apart and clean everything because rust/dirt in the wrong area will cause a wheel speed sensor error. But mechanics always love to replace everything going into something. Its not their money.

Oh yeah, and they also want to do this because there is chance that isn't the issue and they will be doing all that labor in vain and not able to collect from customer.

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by smassey321

For my 330i, orientation of the bearing was related to the speed sensor. I did mine the wrong way the first time and the speed sensor did not get any signal . I took the bearing apart and there were speed sensors in the plastic parts that separate the ball bearings.

This morning I had the time to look closer at the part numbers on realoem instead of hurriedly on my phone yesterday. The 325i and 328i in the US market cars use a 75MM bearing, which has the tone ring mounted on the axle. The 85MM bearing used in the 330 and 335i must have room in it enough to include the tone ring as part of the bearing seal. The speed sensor is indeed a different part between the 325/328 and the 330/335; I thought yesterday it was the same part. So I stand corrected. I can see now the 85MM bearing in the 335i as a possible cause of the OP's issue.

I guess the issue here is BMW sells enough 316/318/323/325 models in Europe to justify two different axle/rear hub designs between the different powered cars.

[azuritschwarz]

Thanks guys!

Going to have my buddy (ex BMW, now Mercedes technician) take a look at it sometime next week. Thanks to you gents he'll have an idea of what to look for since this job is a bit outside my scope of ability.

Funnily enough, I've driven it plenty over the last day & a half, & haven't gotten the messages to come back

I'll update when I know more, cheers!

[Pladi]

replacing the bearing should fix that. The sensor is a hall effect sensor and the bearing has the magnetic strips.

[nsjames]

Originally Posted by feuer

Models with small parking brake (160mm) 316, 318, 320, 325. Big parking brakes (185mm) models 330, 335i and m3 is on the bearing. 100% not on half shafts.

this.

to further add to the confusion, xdrive cars are different than the i drive cars.

My 328xi has the larger parking brake/carrier.

[feuer]

Originally Posted by nsjames

this.

to further add to the confusion, xdrive cars are different than the i drive cars.

My 328xi has the larger parking brake/carrier.

Only the caravans (e91)

[LukeAdamson]

Originally Posted by azuritschwarz

Thanks guys!

Going to have my buddy (ex BMW, now Mercedes technician) take a look at it sometime next week. Thanks to you gents he'll have an idea of what to look for since this job is a bit outside my scope of ability.

Funnily enough, I've driven it plenty over the last day & a half, & haven't gotten the messages to come back

I'll update when I know more, cheers!

Did you ever find out was going on? I'm having a near identical issue with mine right now.

[azuritschwarz]

Originally Posted by LukeAdamson

Did you ever find out was going on? I'm having a near identical issue with mine right now.

Yes thankfully, I had to replace the wheel speed sensor at the rear right wheel — it has a white connector. I would give you the part number once I find it but it could be different for your vehicle. Good luck!

[LukeAdamson]

Originally Posted by azuritschwarz

Yes thankfully, I had to replace the wheel speed sensor at the rear right wheel — it has a white connector. I would give you the part number once I find it but it could be different for your vehicle. Good luck!

Thank you!

so no wheel bearing replacement after all?

[azuritschwarz]

Originally Posted by LukeAdamson

Thank you!

so no wheel bearing replacement after all?

I can happily say that no bearing replacements were required although I did buy the part. The codes just stopped, I don't know if there was some sort of adaptation period or not. The car just rolled 80,000 km & this is still the only issue I have had with it

[sub150]

Just as an FYI for anyone coming across this. I have a RWD E91 LCI and have a bad ABS code..car going into limp mode occasionally. Had heard a lot about the reluctor ring vs tone ring. Well, he is the status of my tone ring on the wheel bearing.



Now, to figure out what else uses the setup in my car because finding a Rear Passenger E91 LCI will be a tall task. See lots of talk about 335's and 328 sedans but going to scroll through RealOEM and see what I can find.