whooshing noise

[aeroresh]

The engine in my X5 quite often makes a loud whooshing type noise when accelerating which drowns out the sound of the V8! Kind of like a viscous coupling fan spinning up.

I thought at first it was the air con compresser hooking up but it does it even with the air con truned off. Could it be the cooling fan? If so why would it engage just after a cold start?

My old Range Rover TD6 (3.0 BMW turbo diesel engine) used to do make the same type of noise but nowhere near as often.

Other than the awful noise issue, the car feels alot slower when it happens.

Can anyone shed any light?

[asawadude]

Vehicle noises are very difficult to identify with worded descriptions. What you end up typically are a bunch of haphazard guesses. We could always go through a process of elimination, but the best thing to do is take it to a BMW tech and let him/her take a look and a listen.

When the transmission is in "park" and you rev the engine, does it make the same sound? Or does it occur only when the vehicle is moving? Are you able to identify the general area where the sound is coming from? That might help narrow it down between engine or tranny. Does it sound like the movement of air, i.e. a vacuum leak?

[Don Coffey]

Hi areoresh, I tend to agree with asawadude about trying to identify the noise this way. But as a side line have you seen www.x5drivers.co.uk they may have someone who can help in your local area and it is also a UK forum for you.

Don

[JV]

I suspect the sound comes soon after you start her up?

That's your air intake working overtime to get a big gulp of air, and it should probably do the same thing if you sit in slow traffic for too long.

Perfectly normal.

JV

[aeroresh]

Originally Posted by JV

I suspect the sound comes soon after you start her up?

That's your air intake working overtime to get a big gulp of air, and it should probably do the same thing if you sit in slow traffic for too long.

Perfectly normal.

JV

Think you've hit the nail on the head!

Its definately an engine noise, does sound like a massive fan and is engine speed related. It comes and goes. Seems to do it just after start up (first press of the throttle) and also at various times, usually after sitting in traffic.

Thanks for the responses

[HamannE53]

i had the same problem your describing, havent taken care of it yet, and it has not /yet set off the ck engine light. many people have experienced this problem before and i was told it had something to do with an air leak...it only happened to me when above 1000 rpms, and mostly happened when i drive after a long time.

[frankdatank01]

My X5 does the same thing and but I believe it is the clutch fan on the front of the engine. Not sure if it needs replaced becuase I am not overheating but it seems to me if the fan is only loud during initial start-up and then everyone once in a while that it is the fan.

Here is a link on fan clutchs.

http://www.popularmechanics.com/auto...t/1772922.html

I do hate that whirring noise, the entire neighborhood can here it

[aeroresh]

Sounds indentical to mine. With the hot weather we've been having in the UK recently, the fan noise is there alot of the time. You can actually hear it engage and disengage.

Makes my V8 uber-wagon sound like a crappy pickup!

I'll mention it to the stealer at next service. Im sure it shouldnt be soo loud.

[J.Seven]

Originally Posted by aeroresh

The engine in my X5 quite often makes a loud whooshing type noise when accelerating which drowns out the sound of the V8! Kind of like a viscous coupling fan spinning up.

I thought at first it was the air con compresser hooking up but it does it even with the air con truned off. Could it be the cooling fan? If so why would it engage just after a cold start?

My old Range Rover TD6 (3.0 BMW turbo diesel engine) used to do make the same type of noise but nowhere near as often.

Other than the awful noise issue, the car feels alot slower when it happens.

Can anyone shed any light?

Can you gives us a comparo between your Range Rover TD6 and the X5? Reliability, drive feeling and general ownership experience. Thanks in advance.

Did you stealer checked your whoooshing noise?

J.Seven

[aeroresh]

I'll try to be brief! Although the X5 is a great drive compared with the Rangie (The Rangie feels like a big 4x4 to drive compared to the more car like experience of the X) the 2 cant really be compared as they sit in a different market place.

A more reasonable comparison would maybe liken the X to a RRS which is similar in size.

Reliability wise both seem to be similar, a few niggly problems but on the whole both are excellent cars.

I do miss my Rangie and am thinking about trading the X in for a full sized 4.2 supercharged or V8 diesel next year but I wouldnt have another TD6 diesel as they are just too slow even when chipped!

Still waiting for 2 lights to go out before I visit the stealer again, fingers crossed its nothing serious.