Inconsistent hard time starting
 

Hey all. My 2002 4.6 X5 has just turned 100,000 miles. Months ago I got the dreaded “SES”light in the dash. I ran the codes and they came up PO455, PO440.
So I put on a new gas cap from BMW, as well as a fuel vapor purge valve and “SES” light comes on and off intermittently.
I was filling up with gas yesterday with the car not running.
I tried starting the X5 and it had a really hard time starting after it was shut off to get gas. It’s like the engine spins over freely but not starting.
I’m thinking fuel pump, fuel filter, injectors, maybe spark plugs because I believe they are all original.
Lemme know what y’all think.:dunno:
Thanks in advance,
Dave Dykstra

Similar thing happened to me, I cranked it this morning and it was like it got stuck on crank mode as if I was holding the key, started kept cranking. Had to shut off and try again and started immediately. No CEL for me. If it was a more basic car I would think something with the crank position sensor or ignition switch.

Lots of troubleshooting to do before confirming root cause or replacing parts.

Did you clear the codes and they are back? Do you have any new codes?

When my purge valve failed the car would not start (without coaxing with gas pedal) after filling with gas.

Yes. Cleared the codes and the same codes come back. The weird thing is that sometime I don’t have to clear the codes. The “SES” light turns off.
Could there be a problem in the fuel return line?

Thanks again for the replies.

Always check your work before troubleshooting further or replacing other parts. New parts are sometimes dead out of the box. Before you replaced the cap and valve was the light on all the time or also intermittent as it is now?

The light was always on.

I ran for fault codes after work and found nothing in regards to the starting issue I had this morning.

What codes are you getting?

Any correlation to amount of gas in the tank when you get the light? Any other symptoms such as loss of performance or engine missing?

It probably couldn't hurt to test your fuel pressure from the rail.

Plenty of YouTube Videos on how to do it.

Screw cap on the fuel rail, place rags around the valve and press down on it with a flat head screwdriver.