Lifters replaced on 3.0si and now the engine intermittently stumbles on cold starts

[Tae]

Hey gang,

I haven't posted in a while so I wanted to first start off by saying HI and to thank the Xoutpost community for all the great info/insight you all share on the boards with everyone.

Now on to the issue at hand, I have an '08 X5 3.0si (which I purchased new and took delivery in Oct '07) that had the lifters replaced a few months back to address an intermittent "metalic" ticking noise that was occuring on start ups. The noise would eventually subside after the car warmed up but when I mentioned this behavior to my BMW SA during a routine serive, he quickly followed up and said he was aware of the issue (said it was related to the lifters) and scheduled me to bring it in. I did also search to find numerous posts related to other folks experiencing similar issues and having the same service performed.

After the work had been completed, I went to pick up my vehicle and upon starting up the car, noticed the engine stumbling, and as a result the whole car shaking hard, which seemed to have lasted for a few seconds. I immediately shut the car off to have the SA observe and he brought out the head technician/engineer to also have a look.

They both agreed that the behavior was not normal but couldn't provide an immediate answer for why it was happening. Left the car again to have it looked at and they said everything (computers, timing, etc...) all seemed right but the engine still continued to stumble a bit on start ups. They advised that I try and see if this behavior would "smooth" itself out after some normal use/load since it may just require some break in or adjustment period.

Sure enough, things seemed to smooth out for the most part over time but a slight hesitation at cold start ups started to resurface again. I'm going to schedule to have it brought back in to see if any adjustments are needed but I wanted to check with the rest of the community (that had the lifter replacement service to his/her 3.0si model) to see if they've had similar experiences.

Other than this nuance, the rest of the car has been holding up well (just issues with some trim pieces but all addressed under warranty). I guess I wouldn't be as concerned if this were a leased vehicle but since I actually purchased the X5, it's got me a little nervous. I'll keep you all posted as things move along.