Who has actually suffered a Vanos failure on E36 M3 EVO?
Poll: Who has actually suffered a Vanos failure on E36 M3 EVO?
Total Members Polled: 132
Discussion
One on an 1999 M Coupe (with the S50B32 engine) at 87.000 km. Whether or not it suffered failure previous to my ownership (starting at 80.000 km) I don't know, but still on the replaced Vanos now at 210.000 km.
And yes, your "poll" is somewhat lacking in options - e.g. a "Yes" would be a nice option...
And yes, your "poll" is somewhat lacking in options - e.g. a "Yes" would be a nice option...
Mines buggered right now,
I've ordered a rebuilt one from dr vanos and am hoping the whole job will cost around £500 rather than the £2k by using a new bmw part.
Once its on and running I'll start a post to let people know how I get on as this is becoming an Issue which could almost right off an M3 Evo.
I've ordered a rebuilt one from dr vanos and am hoping the whole job will cost around £500 rather than the £2k by using a new bmw part.
Once its on and running I'll start a post to let people know how I get on as this is becoming an Issue which could almost right off an M3 Evo.
Yup, intake soleniod failed at 108K miles, was quoted £1800 to fix from my local indy. the only reason i could tell is the lack of engine surge around 2.5K when accelerating hard, felt like the car had lost it's edge.
Still was a fast car even with this fault, just not quite as good as it should have been.
Still was a fast car even with this fault, just not quite as good as it should have been.
Pat sometimes the lack of surge at 2500rpm can be down to using the wrong oil.
Sorry about the poll gaffe,still 100% look s good lol,the point is all you hear about is how fragile these engines are Blah blah blah & I can't see it,its not an overly complex engine.
I know some on here claim to know it all from what they have read on some forum or other, but when you read through the lines of their posts it seems as though they would'nt know which end of a spark plug went where. Some jock strap sucking his teeth tells them its a vanos problem & they believe it.
True story, had a 1994 540 on Lpg few issues with the running chasing my tail as garages (petrol) were saying its the LPG & vice versa.
So i took it along to a independant BMW garage,who was reccomended on here!
He hooked his machine up & after awhile he exclaimed "Its the vanos system mate",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,a 1994 540 does not have vanos
Sorry about the poll gaffe,still 100% look s good lol,the point is all you hear about is how fragile these engines are Blah blah blah & I can't see it,its not an overly complex engine.
I know some on here claim to know it all from what they have read on some forum or other, but when you read through the lines of their posts it seems as though they would'nt know which end of a spark plug went where. Some jock strap sucking his teeth tells them its a vanos problem & they believe it.
True story, had a 1994 540 on Lpg few issues with the running chasing my tail as garages (petrol) were saying its the LPG & vice versa.
So i took it along to a independant BMW garage,who was reccomended on here!
He hooked his machine up & after awhile he exclaimed "Its the vanos system mate",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,a 1994 540 does not have vanos
During the summer BMW (Stephen James, ENFIELD) told me my VANOS was knackered. 2 grand to change
Phil Crouch ran diagnostics a week later - nothing wrong with VANOS.
Noise coming from the under the bonnet was BMW had screwed the undertray up too tight.
When complained dirst to Bracknell they told me where to go
Phil Crouch ran diagnostics a week later - nothing wrong with VANOS.
Noise coming from the under the bonnet was BMW had screwed the undertray up too tight.
When complained dirst to Bracknell they told me where to go
I bought mine with 40,000 miles on it, sold it four years later at 83,000 miles, never had any Vanos problems, in fact I can't recall having any problems with it at all
Mine was serviced by my local BMW dealer, don't know if it ever had the Vanos filter changed or not, I don't remember it being listed in any of the BMW service schedules.
Mine was serviced by my local BMW dealer, don't know if it ever had the Vanos filter changed or not, I don't remember it being listed in any of the BMW service schedules.
Bought my car (1998 R Plate) at 34k Miles, (This was Feb 2004) and the Vanos failed at 37k miles.
It had been driving perfectly, no strange noises and was very much still "like new" as a car, all of a sudden when driving along the oil light came on and the car started to feel strange so i stopped straight away. Got the AA out who looked at the Engine and saw oil peeing out from the front in what seemed to be a Gasket that had gone. The bolts on the front of the Vanos had completely come away so he replaced the bolts and at the cost of about £80 for the proper Mobil oil filled the oil up and started it only for it to blow again straight away (Obviously when you now know what had failed).
The car was recovered to BMW who said it was the Vanos unit, and that the price would be around £1700.00 They wrote to BMW for me to ask for a Good will gesture as the car was such low mileage and had FSH.
BMW agreed to pay for the parts so i only had to pay for the labour thank god but this really proved to me that you cannot always tell if a Vanos unit is dodgy or about to go.
I sold the car on shortly after with BMW warranty on the Vanos unit so it was a good buy for someone but it just made me realise how easily i could suddenly be faced with a huge bill and to be honest it terrified me!
It had been driving perfectly, no strange noises and was very much still "like new" as a car, all of a sudden when driving along the oil light came on and the car started to feel strange so i stopped straight away. Got the AA out who looked at the Engine and saw oil peeing out from the front in what seemed to be a Gasket that had gone. The bolts on the front of the Vanos had completely come away so he replaced the bolts and at the cost of about £80 for the proper Mobil oil filled the oil up and started it only for it to blow again straight away (Obviously when you now know what had failed).
The car was recovered to BMW who said it was the Vanos unit, and that the price would be around £1700.00 They wrote to BMW for me to ask for a Good will gesture as the car was such low mileage and had FSH.
BMW agreed to pay for the parts so i only had to pay for the labour thank god but this really proved to me that you cannot always tell if a Vanos unit is dodgy or about to go.
I sold the car on shortly after with BMW warranty on the Vanos unit so it was a good buy for someone but it just made me realise how easily i could suddenly be faced with a huge bill and to be honest it terrified me!
Good poll. Interesting results. But...
How do we reach the people who have not used piston heads because they don't need advice on a vanos issue!?
Or how do we tell if dunce's have put the wrong oil in the car causing the vanos to wear excessivly?
Tell if it's been hammered repeatedly when cold
And surely the vanos is subject to wear and tear (like a Cooper S Supercharger etc. etc.) and may come to an end anyway. Rather than be classed another "Vanos Issue"!
Some E36's have done 110 - 150k etc, I would expect a new vanos during that sort of mileage.
And the old chestnut: BMW says it's a bit noisey and must be changed. Fine if warranty, not if you have to pay!
How do we reach the people who have not used piston heads because they don't need advice on a vanos issue!?
Or how do we tell if dunce's have put the wrong oil in the car causing the vanos to wear excessivly?
Tell if it's been hammered repeatedly when cold
And surely the vanos is subject to wear and tear (like a Cooper S Supercharger etc. etc.) and may come to an end anyway. Rather than be classed another "Vanos Issue"!
Some E36's have done 110 - 150k etc, I would expect a new vanos during that sort of mileage.
And the old chestnut: BMW says it's a bit noisey and must be changed. Fine if warranty, not if you have to pay!
Edited by AM-BM on Wednesday 10th December 12:50
AM-BM said:
Good poll. Interesting results. But...
How do we reach the people who have not used piston heads because they don't need advice on a vanos issue!?
Or how do we tell if dunce's have put the wrong oil in the car causing the vanos to wear excessivly?
Tell if it's been hammered repeatedly when cold
By the same token I would imagine most people on here are more aware of the Vanos issues and how to prevent failure and therefore it's less likely to happen to them. I'm sure the a lot of people that bought one when they were fairly new wouldn't have even known about vanos bolts/filters.How do we reach the people who have not used piston heads because they don't need advice on a vanos issue!?
Or how do we tell if dunce's have put the wrong oil in the car causing the vanos to wear excessivly?
Tell if it's been hammered repeatedly when cold
nickg123 said:
Bought my car (1998 R Plate) at 34k Miles, (This was Feb 2004) and the Vanos failed at 37k miles.
It had been driving perfectly, no strange noises and was very much still "like new" as a car, all of a sudden when driving along the oil light came on and the car started to feel strange so i stopped straight away. Got the AA out who looked at the Engine and saw oil peeing out from the front in what seemed to be a Gasket that had gone. The bolts on the front of the Vanos had completely come away so he replaced the bolts and at the cost of about £80 for the proper Mobil oil filled the oil up and started it only for it to blow again straight away (Obviously when you now know what had failed).
The car was recovered to BMW who said it was the Vanos unit, and that the price would be around £1700.00 They wrote to BMW for me to ask for a Good will gesture as the car was such low mileage and had FSH.
BMW agreed to pay for the parts so i only had to pay for the labour thank god but this really proved to me that you cannot always tell if a Vanos unit is dodgy or about to go.
I sold the car on shortly after with BMW warranty on the Vanos unit so it was a good buy for someone but it just made me realise how easily i could suddenly be faced with a huge bill and to be honest it terrified me!
I remember the day that happened mate! You didn't sound at all happy at the prospect of the bill! It had been driving perfectly, no strange noises and was very much still "like new" as a car, all of a sudden when driving along the oil light came on and the car started to feel strange so i stopped straight away. Got the AA out who looked at the Engine and saw oil peeing out from the front in what seemed to be a Gasket that had gone. The bolts on the front of the Vanos had completely come away so he replaced the bolts and at the cost of about £80 for the proper Mobil oil filled the oil up and started it only for it to blow again straight away (Obviously when you now know what had failed).
The car was recovered to BMW who said it was the Vanos unit, and that the price would be around £1700.00 They wrote to BMW for me to ask for a Good will gesture as the car was such low mileage and had FSH.
BMW agreed to pay for the parts so i only had to pay for the labour thank god but this really proved to me that you cannot always tell if a Vanos unit is dodgy or about to go.
I sold the car on shortly after with BMW warranty on the Vanos unit so it was a good buy for someone but it just made me realise how easily i could suddenly be faced with a huge bill and to be honest it terrified me!
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