P0011 Code 2001 X5 4.4 M62 V8 -New Owner-

[andrewwynn]

Unfortunately no test for badly working CPS other than it doesn't work well in a car. The only time Ive ever seen the cam too advanced error the fix was replace the CPS.

I bought my CPS from Amazon from a place that said It was OEM from Germany. The instructions came in German they looked identical to the BMW part without the logo and worked flawlessly for 35,000 miles. (And still going. Both our M54 have this same part, both replaced with same OEM Amazon part.

Our CPS lasted about 4000 hours. (Both). I would have no problem recommendation of preventive replacement at about 4000 hours or whenever they are a likely candidate for causing problems.

I was just reading up on how the vanos functions and it sounds like it's possible for a bad seal to cause it to wander.

Did you already swap vanos solinoids?

If the solinoid is set to maintain cam position but leaks then it may advance the cam. You mentioned one that spins. They might both do that but one takes a lot more effort because of tight seals.

The CPS could be the symptom not the cause. You definitely want to swap solinoids and see if the problem swaps banks.

You may have already tried that. I didn't remember.

Re: bent disk; is for example somebody used a boroscope to look at the chain guides, it's quite possible to bend the disc that the CPS detects. When that is bent it will cause misreading of the cam position just like when out CPS.