Low Idle
 

I have a 2001 e53. I have been having trouble with a low idle while I am at a stop position with it in drive. I have checked MAF for leaks and have have found none. I have also changed the ICV and the camshaft sensor and there is no change. I am thinking maybe I need new spark plugs. Does anyone have any other suggestions?

How low is it? What's the tach showing in neutral and in drive with your foot on the brake? Always post as much info as you can.
Do you know what it was before this problem? Have you changed anything?
What motor?

Stock idle on the 4.8is is 600 with loads off and car in drive, and 700 with ac on etc.

You can adjust this in GT1/dis but only +/- 50rpm.

I adjusted mine from 600-650 with loads off, and 700-750 with ac on, last night in the dme. Car idles extremely smooth cant feel the engine running almost.

low idle
 

I have attached a photo of the rpm's while in drive and in neutral. the motor is a 3.0

That seems fine. Unless it lopes or hunts I wouldn't worry about it. Nice dash light fix...

I agree the needle looks fine. Should be around 600 rpm in drive and 700 at idle not in gear. If your in D and have the a/c running then it should be around 700.

Can you tell us why you think the idle is low? Is it vibrating really bad when in gear shopped? or is it surging when stopped in gear?

Just need more info.

The black tape is not covering the check engine light, this is on the other end of the display. It's covering something to do with the ABS or related system.

The idle speed looks fine. Why do we think it is low? What is the symptom?

Why do you think the idle is low? Is there a problem that makes you think it must be because of low idle?

Looks perfectly fine to me.

Your tach needle is in the correct position, however if your experiencing roughness in the idle, I'd first inspect for a vacuum leak. There are several small hoses and fittings that come off the main intake elbow that can cracked.

How many miles are on your sparkplugs - over 75,000 miles? Do you use fuel additives? Are your drives generally short trips? A yes to any or all of those questions might indicate time to change the plugs.

2002 X5 3.0 273,870 miles
2004 325i 118,000 miles

there is alot of vibrating which is why i feel it is low. my doors make alot of noise. also, periodically, my check engine light comes on but doesnt stay on long enough to get it checked out.

Hmm, that could be a list of things. Vacuum leaks, warn out engine mounts, tune-up ect.
At your at the milage, a lot of things start showing serious signs of age and wear.

I don't think there is a simple answer for your issue, only several things to start checking.

Suggest you check for error codes

Is this considered as normal idle (see photo below)? It’s just above the second line at idle in drive without A/C on. I have N62. With A/C on, my X is very smooth at idle but without A/C, I could feel slight vibration. 50 RPM increase would be perfect. I looked everywhere in DIS but couldn’t find the idle speed management. Can someone point me to right direction? BTW… Not sure what I did but my climate control remembers the last setting after I turned off the car just like my E46. I must have changed or reset something in DIS while looking for engine idle management. So the climate control is programmable unlike previous stated.

http://junger12.home.comcast.net/~junger12/Idle.jpg

You shouldn't have adjust idle to smooth out the engine. Something else is going on. Check for codes and if there are none then we can start troubleshooting.

It's always been like this since purchase. I don’t have any fault codes. My X5 is completely healthy from diagnostic. Vibration isn’t bad, just slightly felt from the steering wheel at idle without A/C on. With A/C on, it’s very smooth. I understand that V8s aren't the smoothest engine design but if I can smooth out by increasing 50 RPM, I would consider it as an upgrade.

Vibration when the engine is at idle could be a bad engine mount. With someone at the driver seat have them snap open the throttle with the pedal and observe the engine for excessive movement side to side.

I agree its probably the motor mounts, with 150K they are done. My daughters car did the same thing. The shift knob would make your hand go numb, I put new BMW motor mounts in and its smooth as glass now. I think it was about $200 in parts and about 2 hrs messing around in the garage. The motor sit quite a bit lower in the engine compartment before with the bad mounts and now with the new mounts it lifted it up about 1/2" and her air box lines up better.

Is her engine a 3.0? If so, sounds like changing those motor mounts are fairly DIY'able?

I will check but I don’t believe it is the engine mount. My X5 only has 57k miles. Would engine mount go bad that soon? Besides, I felt this since purchase at 19k miles. All V8s I have owned have slight vibrations and I believe it’s just a characteristic of V8s.

My reply was posted toward the op damon69's problem. With over 100K miles on any 3.0 motor the mounts are usually wore out. My daughters car is a 325xi not a X5, But the mounts are very similar to the X5 3.0 mounts. To check them I put a jack under the motor and lifted up a little, and I could see the mounts were not supporting the engine like they should. Original BMW motor mounts are fluid filled and all the fluid was gone. Its not a hard job to replace them, but its not an easy job. It all depends on your mechanical skills. Usually if your tach stays steady and you can feel the vibration through your shift knob and you have over 100K miles then there is a high probability your mounts need replaced. Dont use cheap mounts, they are not fluid filled or dont contain the right amount. Use genuine BMW or who ever makes the BMW ones. Good luck with your fix.

Are you the original owner? If not did you do a carfax before purchasing the X? Could have been in an accident and they didn't bother to fix a broken mount.

Purchased used with 19k miles. No accident history and clean carfax. Never did PPI since it had warranty when purchased. No sign of accident from my years of inspections as ownership.

Anything can happen Junger. I never thought I'd have a shot front wheel bearing at 65k either, but I did.

But since you've had it since purchase I think its just characteristic of the vehicle.

Did you perform the snap throttle test to see if there is excessive movement in the engine?

I'll get the engine mounts checked and get the codes read then I'll update you. I'm also going to change the spark plugs just in case.

This is what happens when someone goes and hijack a thread instead of posting there own thread about their problem.

damon69 is the original poster and my first reply was to him about his vibration problem and the possible cause of bad motor mounts.

Jungerishere is the hijacker.

Yeah, I’m sure this is normal for N62. I only noticed because I’m very picky. :) After reading this thread about ability to increase RPM with DIS, light bulb lit up on top of my head. :cool: And I’m sure all N62 owners would agree that their engine smooth out at ~700 RPM with A/C on just like my N62.

Hijacker? LOL... I only asked few questions regarding RPM and where I can find engine idle management in DIS which was related to this thread subject. BTW... Engine didn't move excessively when I stomped on the gas but without a reference I couldn’t really tell. Little engine movement seemed normal. I don’t think there is anything wrong with the mount or the engine. And I don’t want to chase something that isn’t really broken. Anyway, thanks for your help...

But like I stated you did not start this post.

The engine mount reply wasn't directed at you, but you took it to mean you because you basically hi-jack the OP post.