So got the old CEL yesterday, OBD is saying P1554.

Lot of my research is pointing to the Vanos solenoids, possibly needing to be cleaned or replaced.

Quick Facts:
- The car idles slightly rough, but nothing too bad
- Oil warning came on, said it was at min level, checked next morning and there were no oil warnings, said it was max level.
- To add it has been pretty cold in California the last few days. Approximately as low as 37 degrees where I live.
- 2007 530i

Any help is appreciated

 

Are you getting a rattle from the vanos ? On my 545 it has 6 oil check valves that supply oil to the vanos , and will trigger a low oil warning when they go bad not supplying enough oil to the vanos .. Im not sure if the 530 has oil check valves but might be something to look into ..

 

Well I am getting slight rough idle (it's not that bad, but I was told by my Indy that Vanos would be an issue in the future.)

So I do know I will need to replace the solenoids at some point, but I am thrown off by the CEL with code P1554/P0440 followed by a random Check Oil Minimum Level warning.

Then the next morning the Oil was showing Max again, however the CEL light was still on.

So I want to know if these symptoms sound like something that could be remedied by an Oil Change (not due for another 1,500 miles). Perhaps I am losing oil slowly or the oil is dirty and not lubing the solenoids properly?

 

Update: So I got the oil changed, and about 5 hours later (about 4 drive cycles) the CEL turned off on it's own. So it appears the oil was the culprit here.

I know that my Vanos will eventually need replacing (solenoids, possibly entire system) per my Indy. Anyone think a decling Vanos will stop me from passing smog?