Possible Symptoms of failing VANOS Solenoids (n55)
 

Let me start off by saying I'm not most knowledgeable with cars to begin with and will again note that I'm a beginner. But I would find this helpful to those who don't understand what the current problems are with the VANOS solenoids.

I currently drive a 2011 335i e90 (n55 engine) with a JB4 and catless BMS downpipe as my current mods. I've hit about 52k miles, had my chip for over 20k+ miles, and about 18k+ miles with my downpipe.

I've found this youtube video to be really helpful in understanding the solenoids but it doesn't specifically get into the e90's.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWKX97gHFlc

The Problem
1. At around 40k miles, I've noticed that my car would go into limp mode(yellow half engine light) on WOT(wide open throttle) with my jb4 turned on. A simple car restart would generally clear it, and if not turn the chip off and restart.
2. During low rpm's, my car would somewhat jerk when I'm pulling out of the driveway. This could happen in drive or reverse. I've taken it to the dealer under warranty, but they don't do jack for you ever. Nor will they ever. F**k them.
3. When stopped and in gear, I would notice that me engine seems to rattle and result to my car shaking a little bit before getting #2. Probably better defined as my engine idle tends to hiccup.
4. Whether the car is warmed up or not, when you rev the engine, you can tell that your rpm tends to 'hesitate' at around 1500rpm as it comes down ~900rpm. To me, it feels like the car is having a hard time breathing. It just doesn't feel comfortable/normal to me. This could be another symptom.


Now here's where it gets interesting where it made me want to post it here...

Just yesterday actually, my car wouldn't start. It would crank once, then go completely silent minus the whirling sounds from the electronics.
After reading up some more, I'm more than convinced that it has to do with the solenoids. In addition, I've noticed a leak somewhere that I haven't exactly been able to pinpoint. I like keep my engine bay at least somewhat clean so that I would see leaks like this.

It's only been about 12 hours since, but I'll be doing some work to figure out some solutions. I'm going to first clean my solenoids as the first round of troubleshooting and see if that fixes the problem. I'll eventually look to replace the solenoids relatively soon.

Hope this helps for you guys too.

After speaking to a BMW tech he told me that it is common problem on the n55. The vanos gear uses hallow bolts. The bolts tend to shear off and snap. The bolts that break off can cause some serious engine damage. BMW has made a new revised part with new bolts and a new vanos gear. From what he told me some cars with low mileage have issues. He also said he seen some cars with high mileage not have issues. From what I understand BMW does not want to do a recall because of the fact not everyone is being affected. All they want is the cars to experience the problem after the warranty.

Check your charge pipe and see if it might be cracked.

Basically these symptoms can also happen with a boost leak, or more specifically when the MAP sensor is not reading actual airflow into the engine correctly.

^^what he said boost leaks on the chargepipes can be hard to see as most break right on the seam under the c clamp

Buy yourself a $20 OBD code reader if you don't have one already and scan for codes.

If you have a bad VANOS, it will usually throw a code specific to it. Whatever problem you have, you should get a decent code that will point you in the right direction.

Anyone have the codes for this issue?

Hey guys! was this issue ever fixed? if so, what was the solution? im having a jerky transmission when creeping or when i let go of the break without pressing the throttle. Transmission works flawless when i apply gas and by no mean its slipping right now.

Man...what does a vanos selenoid issue have to do with vanos bolts that shear off... ? Two different issues.. and bolts shearing IS NOT A COMMON ISSUE.. common means its happening alot.. it does not.. and it has been taken care of with a recall..

Aim at spreading good information not just anything please

Just realized you revived a 5 year old thread that does not even sound like anything similar to your issue... WHYYYYYYYYYYYYY lool

lolololololol sorry it was the closest description ive been able to find relating to my problem :/

no worries however i suggest you make your own thread with the issues you are experiencing. Chances are these guys are not even on this forum anymore..

LOL. yeah I sold the car a while ago but here's my batman reply for you.

----
There were a couple things wrong in my case.
- Jb4 Chip
- Ignition Coils
- Spark plugs
I can't isolate exactly where my problem got fixed, but I specifically remember everything sorting itself out after I dealt with the 3 things aforementioned.

Jb4
The chip I had was one of the older stage 2 JB4 chips so before updating the firmware, I was supposed to cut one of the cathodes off because it would screw things up electronically. I had to replace my starter 3 times because of this...

Ignition Coils/Spark plugs
I changed my spark plugs within a month or 2 after this post along with the JB4 cathode trick and the car was running just fine. About ~10k miles after, I had a huge power leak and it turned out to be bad coils.

TLDR:
jb4 = more wear and tear
plugs went bad, coils went bad, jb4 was old and needed updates


Hope that helps

Are you running stock? What mods? How many miles? Did you buy new?

I guess i might open a new thread but here are my mods:
JB4 (MAP 4 since i havent replaced my coils/sparks) its pretty cold here in VA
Intake
Charge Pipe

i bought it with 70k miles and im at 80k right now. It has always done this jerky movement when i let go of the brake and start creeping but it goes away after i apply just the tinniest bit of gas. It feels like the gas pedal isnt giving enough gas when its not pressed at all. Right now im waiting for the coolant reservoir so i havent driven the car this week but will report back with a video as soon as i get it up and running again.


Again, sorry for reviving this old ass thread. Still learning how to forum :confused2

All good, I think we've all been there lol. Stage 1 or stage 2? Chances are the coils and plugs have never been replaced. I'd start with changing the plugs out because they're much cheaper. And while you're in there, get a digital multimeter and test your coils. That should tell you if they're providing enough juice and whether you need to replace those.