X5 E53 4.4 engine problems, Help!!
 

Hi all,

I've got a problem with my 2001 E53 4.4 auto, I have this vibration coming from the engine, it feels like a misfire, as well as a shudder, it happens under acceleration between 3rd and 4th gear. The whole car shakes until you put your foot down further, then it goes away.

It has normal idle and plenty of power. When I'm sitting on 100klm the tacho will drop and rise 150rpm every 3 seconds, driving me nuts.
what I have done to try and fix it so far.
* took it to an auto transmission shop, couldn't find a problem with the auto blamed it on a missfire, so then I

1. replaced the fuel filter
2. all 8 coil's, very expensive!!
3. new spark plugs, (no oil leaks running into plug holes.)
4. purchased a peake scan tool, shows no problems
5. sprayed brake cleaner everywhere for intake leaks
6. Vanos is a bit noisy when it first starts, but is engaging.
7. fuel pump has high pitch noise when tank is full then goes away as it empties, this started when i filled up at a shell servo
Any help would be appreciated!!:D

I've got the same problem. No one ever answered me either when I asked for some advice.

Along with the hesitation I also developed a problem when the AC is on that would cause the engine to idle down to a near stall (sometimes would stall) and then the ECU would see it was not maintaining RPM and it would shoot up to 1200 RPM or so and fall back down. Over and over and over.

On the throttle body you will see a plug off the engine harness that has 6 wires in it. When I jiggled that plug/wires it went away. I unplugged it and made sure that the pins were tight in the connector, cleaned them and plugged it back in. That fixed the crazy idle issue.

I still have the hesitation while driving. Yes, I've done it all too. Plugs, coils, getting the fuel filter changed this week.

I suspect its either the:

1) Throttle
2) Gas Pedal
3) Harness plugging into the throttle.

My vote is on #1. I think that #3 was not a problem but some issue with the pins on #1 and I was able to clear that out.

I called the dealer today and they get 7 bucks for the connector and then 11 dollars for each wire that plugs in the connector. Each wire has a 1 foot lead you splice in to the harness. It was going to be around 120 for that and then I have to do it myself.

The list price for the throttle body unit was ~400 'ish.

I don't know what the gas pedal runs.

But I assure you all of this mystery surging crap everyone is trying to figure out is in the throttle/pedal assy.

Brandon

Question, does the symptom go away or get better when you switch to sport mode?

X5 problem solved I hope!!!
 

I've tried every thing to fix the shudder problem, hoping it had nothing to do with the auto transmission (big dollars)
Before I spent all the money on replacing coils etc, I took the x5 to a transmission shop, they drove it, told me it wasn't an auto problem, it's a missfire, why did I listen to them:banghead::banghead:

On the weekend I was down the local pub, drinking a beer or ten, got talking to a guy who owns a company that rebuilds torque converters, started to tell him my problem with the x5, then he said to me stop right there.

I'll tell you what your problem is, it shudders between 3-4th gear as well as 4-5th, tacho swings up and down when your sitting on a constant speed

He told me it's a common problem with the ZF-5hp24 trans, rebuilt a million of them, he's heard my story a heap of times, wasting money on everything else, before looking at the auto.

I can get the new torque converter for $550 and fit it my self or pay a shop $650 to fit it, I think I'll let them have the fun and do it, going to take 2 days.

Jordo I tried sports mode, same problem

Hope this helps someone else.
Pete...

Well, I'm glad to hear you have the problem identified. I had the identical problem you are discribing, and had mine fixed as well. Yours must have been pretty far gone.
Usally putting it in sports mode will help, decrease the symptoms, as sports mode increases hyd line pressure and gives it just enough pressure to make the torque converter fully engage. Sounds like yours still slipped.

Well report in when its all fixed up!

Jordo, I've got it booked in for next week, fingers crossed, not as bad in sports mode but still there. drained some fluid out today, before it's operation.
It's black as old engine oil, still smells ok though.!!

Sorry for the delay on this. It had been a while before I could test it out.

When I put it in sport mode the issue is gone. It drives like it used to before the problem started. I can take it out of sport mode and it comes back.

Brandon

Problem, solved no more shudder or revs going up and down while cruising.
turned out to be the lockup plate in the torque converter was all worn as well as a $2 seal and an o ring that had gone brittle.
With 240000klm on the clock and still with the original trans filter and oil inside, I was lucky that was all, $1000 cash for the repair, considering I was quoted between $5k and $9k for a change over box.