Today I was driving, and everything was fine. Suddenly, the power steering stopped working, meaning I couldn't turn the steering to turn. I looked on the screen it said "alternator malfunction". A week a go I seen battery low charge on the screen too.

Two questions: since the power steering stopped, could it be that my belt for the pulley tensioner popped? I heard weird noises while driving after I seen the "alternator malfunction" error code. Maybe the belt was getting chopped up somewhere under...

Next question, how much is parts and labor for a new alternator in the event that I need one?

Thanks !

 

Since the alternator and the power steering pump are both driven by the same belt, it stands to reason that if the belt broke or came off you would lose power steering, and get an alternator malfunction message. Did you bother to look under the hood?

 

No, I didn't look under the hood yet. I will do so in an hour. Would I be able to notice the belt off ?

 

Yes. The belt is on the front of the engine and in plain sight.

 

Which E60 do you have? That belt probably also drives the water pump. Running the engine without the water pump running is a VERY BAD IDEA, so don't start it again until you determine what's wrong.

 

I have a 2007 530i....Yeah the belt is off ; so I'm taking her in tomorrow. I'm not driving it. getting it towed..Thanks a million!

 

how many miles on your car? I saw that my belt (07 525i, 54K miles) is not seating fully aligned on the tensioner pully. May be about 3mm of that belt is sticking out. I am wondering if this is a sign that it might come off - and need to replace ASAP.

 

87600...see if it's the correct belt before you run into a problem...

 

Thanks. There is only one belt on the N52 engine (06-07 525/530).