"ENGINE FAILSAFE PROG" message!! ??

[Aceman1120]

Hi Guys!..and Happy Holidays to all Yesterday I took my 2005 X5 to a Mechanic shop to do my Valve Cover Gaskets (cause my passenger side had a small leak at 96,000 miles)...it took him about 5hrs to just do one side (the passenger side), it got late and I had to drive back home in the X5... and I'm suppose to return tmoro to do the other side, but..as soon as i turned the X5 on, I noticed a shakiness in the Engine and my "Service Engine Soon" warning came on. Then as I started to drive and hit the gas, at about 2000-2500rpms, I got a message that says "Engine Failsafe Prog" and noticed that the idle was running ruff (the engine wasn't smooth as it was before). I searched the net with the "engine Failsafe Prog" message and I just got so many mixed reviews and so many different stories and opinions
Question:
1. Should I be worried or is it possible that maybe he just left a vacuum hose or spark plug wire loose?
2. Has anyone here experienced this before?
3. Where can i find a DIY for "Replacing Valve Cover Gaskets" on a 2005 X5..I found one for a 3.0, but I would like to see one for an 8 Cylinder.

My mechanic will hook it to a computer to see what error code he is getting. Any advice will be greatly appreciated. I will keep you guys informed

[SlickGT1]

I say get the codes first. Seems like something got screwed up during the gasket job. I don't get why it took him 5 hours to do one side.

[Aceman1120]

It turns out that I need "Valve Timing Gear sensor" that got screwed up..I think they damaged or broke it....I will keep you informed in case this helps anyone else

[DallasGV]

hopefully your mechanic is charging by the job and not by the hour - 5 hours for one side??