X5 E70 N52 Known Issues?

[mejim707]

Originally Posted by imalabil

Reliability for the first owner/leasee, then forget it. And parts are just too expensive. $563 for an eccentric shaft sensor? Come on...

That's too bad about your reliability. And yes, the eccentric shaft sensor is not only expensive but a big job to replace it. My valve cover failed and when I got everything back together I pulled a p0012 code. After investigation one of the possible issues was the sensor but thankfully it didn't come to that. You could get the part cheaper online but when you're stuck in a time crunch sometimes you have to eat the cost. When I replaced my DISA recently it ran me $400 for the part form the dealer. You could get it for $220 online, but, I had to get to work that morning so I was sol. I could probably have made it to and from work, but I drive 120miles a day on my commute and if that flap decided to finally give up it could potentially blow your engine by sucking the parts through the intake to the valves. It wasn't worth the risk.

But, if you ever inspect the eccentric shaft sensor and there are any signs of oil, you're pretty much going to have to replace it. If you end up replacing that you may as well replace the valve cover at the same time since the case vent valve has a tendency to fail.

Good luck with your car!