Hi everyone, just here looking for a little advice on my new-to-me 2007 MCS. I got a CEL last week and decided to pick up the Bavarian Technic doodad to fix what I can myself.

Here's the report I got from my engine scan:



The coil issues seems to make plenty of sense, I'll just order a new coil for number three, pull out the old one and put in the new one. Easy enough right?

The VANOS issue scares the crap out of me. Can y'all give me any insight into this code?

Thanks!
Alex

 

...oh and I'll save my steering lock warning light issue for another day.

 

All together the errors seem to point to a problem with your valve train. The VANOS solenoid is known to fail on these cars, I'm not sure if its an expensive repair or not. Did you have any issue with the cold start problem? Ususally they are replaced when the tensioner work is done. Did the car have any valve work done recently?

Are you losing any torque/power?

 

VANOS: it's the BMW version of variable valve timing. It's my understanding that there are components in early versions of VANOS that can fail after 100k or so miles, or possibly even earlier. The BMW approach to VANOS issues is to replace the whole assembly, but I believe there are rebuild kits available as well (aftermarket only).

 

Thanks guys! My understanding of the Vanos code is that its simply the solenoid valve for camshaft adjusting unit dirty/ blocked... My Bentley manual arrives tomorrow along with my new coil so I'll look into the replacement process and see if its in my comfort zone.

Anyone replaced a coil before? Any tips? Hoping its just pull out the old and pop in the new...

 

Please post an update on this. I get that vanos warning every year.

 

No news yet. Haven't had a chance to work on the car yet. Trying the ECU reset trick we IM'd about to clear up the steering lock warning, and will see if that Vanos issue pops back up in the future after I replace my #3 coil (part comes in today).

Cheers,
Alex

 

It's rather uncommon for the VANOS issue to only cause one cylinder to misfire, considering that the VANOS actuation is not separate from cylinder to cylinder but rather the whole camshaft.

Depending on how many miles you have (over 20k), I would look into dirty intake valves - carbon buildup. You will have to remove the intake manifold in order to inspect them. If they look okay, I will consider swapping the spark plugs and plugs to see of the fault changes location - good luck!

 

Yes I too am certain they are seperate issues.

Cleared the code and swapping the coil this afternoon to eliminate one issue. I'll just roll and we'll see if that VANOS code returns!

 

Alright! Left the battery unplugged overnight which reset the ECU so my steering wheel lock warning is GONE!

Replaced the #3 coil, there was some corrosion on the old one. Car seems to be running fine, no longer in limp mode. I haven't wound her up with a wide open throttle yet, but hopefully she's going to shape up.

Regarding the VANOS warning, I've cleared it and it hasn't shown back up yet. I haven't been driving much so we'll see how it does in time!

 

Today is 11/26/12 and the VANOS error came back up. Everything has been wonderful since the reset back in September.

Reset it and it has gone away again. We'll see how long it lasts this time! Glad I got that BavTechnic tool.

 

Change your oil. That woriked with my vanos errors.

Are you able to read real time engine parameters with your tool ? (I can not)