50i Boost Pressure Sensor Replacement

[JoeyBimX5din]

This task was performed on a 2011 BMW X5 xDrive50i Base

I removed and replaced the drivers side 'boost' sensor, or map sensor

Part Number - 13627585492

you can search it and get different prices. I purchase mine from Northwest BMW in Owings Mills, MD, (http for $160//www.northwestbmw.com/

I would not recommend this job to someone super green in wrenching, I would say defer work to a professional if you have any hesitation in your mind. It required a bit of finesse I have leaned over my 14 year of work in the automotive field

==Tools Required==

-Removing Tire-

+ 17mm socket (to remove lug nuts)
+ Jack stand(s) (to set vehicle on once wheel is off and you are in the fender well)
+ Lifting Device for vehicle (to obviously pick the vehicle up off the ground to remove the wheel)

-Actual Repair-

+1/4 ratchet
+3/8 ratchet
+t20 torx socket
+t27 torx socket
+10mm socket
+8mm Socket
+10mm wrench
+13mm socket
+13mm wrench
+side cutters, or some sort of trim removal tool for the push ins
+Phillips #2 (P2) screwdriver or hex driver
+flat tip screwdriver, or something to unseat the sensor from the intake
+lighting for enclosed engine bay work space

-Things You Don't Need but Make This Job Easier-
+Flex locking head bit driver (I had a long one and that gave me a lot of extra leverage, that made this job in the tight space quite easier)

I own the cornwell version of the bottom driver. Any one of those may help your job a lot. The extra length of the bottom one is what sped my day up
+t20 1/4 driver bit for driver ratchet above
+creeper seat to sit on once you are working in the fender well. I had a piece of flat wood that covered my whole wheel, that I set a quadruple folded foam pad on, I sat on that for around 3 hours while working and BSing in the garage with some folks
+air or electric impact for wheel stud removal

==The Repair==
From here on out, this sensor will be identified as a MAP sensor. Deal with it.

Note - - You do not have to drain the coolant or power steering fluid, but if you have any desire to change those fluids, now may be the time to get it done. I say this because if you could simply remove both or 1 of the reservoirs, it would open up a bit of extra space in the drivers side front area of the engine bay, allowing a bit more working space to get the job done

++Air inlet tube++
This one is the tricky part, with one or two hands that whomever you pray to gave you (or science gave you), pull your fresh air inlet tube out of the grill mouth area, and out of the filter housing. Set off to the side.

++Power Steering Reservoir++
Remove two 10mm headed nuts from studs located just off the aluminum brace in the engine bay, front area. This is your power steering fluid reservoir. It just pulls up from here. I pulled mine up, and sat the tabs on the very top of the studs that were securing it, to give me a little extra space.

++Coolant Reservoir++
Next, remove two 13mm bolts holding your coolant reservoir. Once I removed these, I pulled my reservoir up and used some wire in my shop to secure the coolant reservoir up in the area (I wrapped the wire up on the hood latch). The reservoir was only 2-4 inches above where it normally rests to give me my extra space

+Hose Bracket++
There is a 10mm bolt holding a hose bracket located in the engine bay. The bottom of the bracket stops near where the map sensor is located, all you simply have to do is remove the 10mm bolt, slide the bracket to where you can slip the hose it is holding out of its grip, then pull the bracket out and set it to the side.


Note - -You can perform the wheel removal before or after securing the reservoirs and bracket, I am tall, so I had the vehicle on a jack stand before I completed the above work

++Left (Driver's) Front Wheel++
In a flat and comfortable area. Break your wheel studs loose (if you do not have suitable air or electric power to do so once the wheel has nothing to hold it), Lift the vehicle, and support it on jack stand or 2 depending on your comfort level. Remove your 5 wheel studs, and wheel/tire combo and set it out of your way.

Note - -At this point you should be sitting on your tire, creeper seat, or whatever you have fashioned to be comfortable in your wheel well. I recommend this as your mind will disregard your ergonomics and you can focus on the task at hand.

++Front Fender Flare++
Remove your fender flare by removing a combination of push ins, and a few t27 bolts. Pull it off like a viking, it gives your the impression you are going to break it, but you kind of just have to go for it. No fear here

++The Inner Fenderwell That is More Towards the Front++
The Fenderwell you are removing is the front one. It is a two piece inner fender well, the back inner fenderwell can stay in its place while you work. Removing this is a combination of P2 screws, 8mm head bolts, and 10mm head nuts. There is a good bit of them, I wish I had paid better attention to detail here, so I could tell you exactly how many, but I didnt. It will be more then 10 things you are removing. There is three screws that are under the front bumper. There is a middle splash shield that you will need to fold a little out of the way, towards the lower portion of the engine. The rearward inner fenderwell also will have to come off of one stud that it shares with the front. Once you have removed all the securing hardware, the inner fenderwell will come out. Once it is out, you will notice your business hole you have opened, and you may also be able to see your map senor with some light. Carefully unplug the sensor at the bottom of the coolant reservoir and move it out of your way, this gives you more room in your work area to move.

++MAP Sensor++
At this point you are staring at the intake manifold front section. There is a PCV hose that you may try to remove to gain a little more room to the map sensor. I gave up on it, as I couldn't get mine to unseat, and didn't want to risk breaking it, as the X is my daily driver. The MAP sensor is secure by two t20 torx head bolts. There is a pinned electrical connector, that is clipped in by the tab built into the sensor. This is key as if you break the tab, your new sensor has another tab, don't sweat breaking it. So take your t20 remove both the t20 screws. Now at this point, I broke my map sensor as I unseated it from the intake manifold. You will notice the sensor has a cage around the wire that sends the signal. That is what broke on me. Lucky it came out of the hole easily. I would recommend to take some care at this point. So, unseat your MAP sensor, and pull it out a little towards you. The OEM harness has enough slack to get the sensor close-ish to you. Now disengage the connector tab, and remove the sensor.

You Are Halfway Done

++Re-installation Process++
I am going to breeze through reassembly with less detail, as by now, it should be self explanatory. Install you the OEM connector into your new sensor. Install the MAP sensor into the intake manifold. Install and tighten two t20 torx screws into your intake manifold, take care not to cross thread. Hook up your optionally remove PCV line if you were slick enough to get it off before. Plug in the sensor at the bottom of the coolant reservoir. Lower the coolant reservoir back into position. Install the two 13mm bolts. Take your bracket, secure the line it was holding, and bolt it to where you remove it from. Lower your power steering reservoir back onto its studs. Install two 10mm nuts to secure. Install front inner fenderwell. Install fender flare. Reinstall wheel and studs, torque studs to proper torque level. Lift vehicle, remove jack stand, lower on ground. Take one last check, make sure you do not have 'spare' nuts or bolts from the repairs. Start the vehicle, and check over for regular operation. Take on test drive to verify repairs, if repair has been verified, your job is complete.

Any questions PM me or leave a comment here. I may be able to take pictures upon request if you need to know what specific part I am referencing above.

Thank you, and good luck.

[jandref321]

Hardcore. I think the big thing that kills me is the plastic rivets...started reading then got to the fender flares and was like argh. I hate the one time use thing...and the whole needing a special rivet gun thing. Of course, once you've got it then you're good.

Awesome DIY! Thanks for adding...there isn't enough on E70s and this is a great addition to the forum's collective knowledge.

[TKR]

Nice job. Thanks for writing.

Did you pressure sensor give a fault code? What were the symptoms of the bad sensor?

[friendlystart]

What was the symptoms of your vehicle causing you to replace these components?

[JoeyBimX5din]

Originally Posted by jandref321

Hardcore. I think the big thing that kills me is the plastic rivets...started reading then got to the fender flares and was like argh. I hate the one time use thing...and the whole needing a special rivet gun thing. Of course, once you've got it then you're good.

Awesome DIY! Thanks for adding...there isn't enough on E70s and this is a great addition to the forum's collective knowledge.

I believe the E70 folks as a majority are not turning wrenches on the trucks quite yet.

The push ins you speak of, I typically just chop the heads off with a side of side cutter, then push the remainder through the hole, your local autozone/advance auto sells replacement push ins for Ford, Chrysler, GM, that do work as an acceptable replacement for these.

[JoeyBimX5din]

Originally Posted by TKR

Nice job. Thanks for writing.

Did you pressure sensor give a fault code? What were the symptoms of the bad sensor?

High RPM high boost situations after a heat soak (idling or regular person driving) causing a limp mode. With enough limp modes in a certain amount of time, it will finally set a check engine light.

I believe I completed the wrong side. I have to pull the codes later this week.

[m5james]

I was getting this code as well, ended up being a bad vacuum line running from the engine bay to the mufflers. I had deleted the lines from the trunk to the mufflers themselves, but it wasn't until I deleted the T from the vacuum line in the engine bay that my issue finally went away. You'd have to search my threads for detailed pics.

[JoeyBimX5din]

I guess I can try that to. I have seen your pictures a few times, and I probably need to have the pictures, and my truck in front of me to know exactly where the lines you reference are located

[m5james]

5 min fix and test...remove the T going to the rubber line that eventually becomes a hardline once it feeds into your passenger fender. If it doesn't help, then move onto the next thing.

[JoeyBimX5din]

I don't know if your delete applies to us non M cars.



50i on the left, M on the right. Maybe you can decipher what I would be deleting on mine, I just don't want to go poking around and possibly cause more problems.

[m5james]

Do you have an exhaust valve? If not, then I guess it's moot to even mention. Nevertheless that solved my problem. There's a thread on here posted about how they replaced the sensor itself.

[JoeyBimX5din]

I don't believe we do. If you look at the two vacuum line diagrams m vs. 50i, it does show they are a bit different. I will probably have to smoke it to see if anything is leaking.