Hi all,

I bought a 2005 525i with an M54, 282k km on it, about three weeks ago. I thought it lacked some power during the test drive but I drove there in an EV and so I thought I might just have been spoiled.

The evening after I took it home I floored it when entering the highway and at 5k rpm in 3rd gear it went into limp mode. Everything went away after a restart.
Read out the odb, got P0011 and P0014.
By this point after reading some common problems I was thinking it may be the VANOS solenoids, replaced the intake one and felt a bit more torque until 1.8k rpm (can't really get to the exhaust that easily). Still, went to a mechanic with it and he tells me the timing chain has probably skipped a tooth, and that the aftermarket solenoids I bought are probably worse than what's already in there.

Now both the dealer I bought it from and a trusted friend tell me this (timing skip) is impossible, and that it would run horribly if it was the case (it runs well, smooth idle, just not the power I expected from 190hp, mechanic agreed it was missing power).

Do you guys think the chain may have skipped a tooth? If not, any ideas on what may be the issue?

The mechanic also sent me these images which should implicate the skipped tooth, but I don't really understand what I am looking at.




This was a readout of my own before going there

 

If you went aftermarkets on the solenoids take them back. Things that make the engine work always get at least OEM (look at he states it).

Take the VC off and see what the engine looks like. Is there sludge? This tells you how it was taken care of. The M54 is solid and the likely hood of it jumping is slim to none unless the engine wasn't taken care of (oil changes when needed).

 

With VC do you mean valve cover? Is that the same as the cylinder head cover?

 

Never heard it being called cylinder head cover but yes

 

Thanks! It's the name i saw here, helps me confirm.
I will check that in the weekend, looks to me like it's a bit of work to get it off.

The mechanic told me that if I found plastic debris in the oil filter (changed that this tuesday) he would be sure that the chain skipped. Does that sound reasonable?
Couldn't find much there, only a few of these:

 

from the first error codes ( INPA and mechanics list) it seems to be the solenoids, since it states its mechanical (they might jam sometimes). however, the other codes might indicate timing.
did you check the oil level, since low/bad oil can trigger the solenoid codes.

 

I don't know what that is but I would of said listen for chain slapping on cold starts.

Personally I would threw cleaner in the oil let idle for 10 mins and changed the oil. Then I would of cleared the codes and did a relearn before I troubleshooted and further.

 

I'll check and listen for a slapping chain next start.
I have just changed the oil, it's about 3/4 between mininum and maximum advised level. The car seems to be a bit more economic after the change.

Using a cleaner sounds like a good idea, I accidentally got quite a bit more oil than I ordered so I may just do that.
Could a bad cam sensor cause similar issues? Seems to be a possible cause for P0014 according to the video seanjordan20 mentioned.

 

The thing is you're getting the issue on the front and rear bank which is unlikely that both go at the same time. Did you get the 2 codes at the same time?

 

I have only seen them together, however I think both have been present since I bought it so I don't know if they came together or independent of each other.
It could be possible that both "went at the same time" if the driving gear skipped and not one of the gears on the ends of the camshaft.