Quick Poll - Are you on your 4th alternator
 

Water Cooled Alternator.
Last alt job was 38 months ago.
I'm too lazy to dig up repair records and I sorta stopped keeping track .....awhile back, but I kinda feel like it's always a 3-4 year longevity for us on the alt.

Ha, I'm sure some of ya'll are are on your original one and are rolling was past the clock versus my experience

Serendipitous chance to contribute my experience. I was cleaning off the desk and found a receipt for a 2016 alternator replacement in the X5. I think it was my 1st.

Oddly though, just last month I replaced the OE alternator in the 2002 E46 *and* the 2nd one in the 2000 540.

:dunno::dunno:

Jeez. I do that look when I am looking at the alt or WP.
Or when I changed the big $$ HP PS hose when I changed that out 2 years earlier

I'll look at it in a positive light.
I'll have to check. Belts for sure have been swapped a million times I've been in. Not sure sure about pulley/tensioners

I'm definitely on my OEM one and I'm at a hundred 93,000 miles. I do see my interior lights dim up and down consistently as I idle. I've already replaced my battery.Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

Still original Alt @ 76k, but I may dip into the X5 maintenance savings account and buy up another one for the inevitable

15 years and only on my second from what I understand.

2005 4.4 132k miles and on my second alternator after replacing the factory original one at around 110k miles.

3.0 with 225,000 miles. I'm on my third replacement.

Are the N62 alternators known to go bad?

I have this metallic whirling noise when I free rev the car and can't point out if it's PS, Alt, or WP.

No other symptoms of that suggest it's failing.

On the X5 with the 4.4i N62, alternator died (due to oil leak from VC/Timing cover) at ~120,000 miles. I believe that to be the original. On the 4.8is the alternator is also dying at 118,000 miles. Also due to an oil leak from the timing cover/valve cover, and I also believe that to be the original.

Moral of story, for N62 owners at least, change your oil gaskets near the alternator. LOL