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      08-31-2019, 02:54 PM   #1
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Need some assistance here PLEASE! 2012 X5 35i Wont Crank/Start.

So my friends X5 is giving us some issues and I am out of ideas. Here’s the run down;

Car needed a front diff and since it required a sub frame drop, we decided to have a mechanic do it. Pick up the car and the swapped front diff solved the noise he was experiencing. Although the car now had no AC, the compressor wasn’t spinning. When he dropped off the car it had some of the best AC I’d ever experienced lol.

Bring the car back to the mechanic he runs the car for any codes and it says ac compressor fault, he says it’s the compressor but maybe the pressure sensor. Drive the car about an hour back to his house after that. Car seems to be running great other than no ac.

We order the pressure sensor before the compressor, while we are waiting I did the oil filter housing gasket and condenser gasket. After I’m done, we take the car for a test drive and 5 min into it the car completely shuts off, puts itself into neutral, we pull over. Try to restart the car, nothing, just a click, won’t crank anything. Grab jumper cables, nothings just a click when we hit the start/stop button.

Get the car towed to his house, I’m looking over the car and realize that the chassis ground strap is completely corroded and frayed and holding on by a few strands of wire. I’m thinking that’s the problem. Run the car for codes and we get 32E3 (EWS-DME interface hardware fault).

We replace the chassis ground strap with the new one, also replace the CAS relay, after doing some research and a lot of people said it’s all there no crank no start issue. The battery was low from us trying to start it and by the looks of it it was the original battery from 2012 so we decided to replace that as well.

Go to start it, nothing, no crank, no start.

Talk to our buddy that works at and in the shop and he said it was probably the starter. He said sometimes when the chassis ground strap is no good the car will send too much power to the starter and burn it out.

We order a starter from FCP EURO, install it, go to start it, nothing.

Every time we ran the codes from when the car stalled while on the test drive, we got the same 32E3 EWS-DME fault code. After we tried to start the car, we cleared the codes, tried to start again, nothing, ran the code and same Thing keeps popping up 32E3 EWS-DME fault code.

Little background, car had MHD stage 2 flashed on it before taking it to the mechanic to have the differential swapped out, not sure if he cleared something or did something with the computer but we’ve taken the car to BMW to get work done, the FRM Footwell module replaced under recall and they reset computers and it did nothing so I doubt it but wanted to add that.

Also after trying to start the car the I Drive pops up a yellow message for the 4X4 system and then after the key is out of the ignition, it shows a yellow error message for the parking brake.

The comfort access also has not been working, specifically not having to put the key in the ignition feature. Car will not start unless key is pushed in the ignition when before the car could be sitting for 48 hours, a week, two weeks, and He could get back in it and as long as the keys were in the car We could start it without putting in the ignition. So we also replace the key battery thinking that would fix it but no dice.

Symptoms-car shut off while driving and would not restart, seemed like a dead battery because of the no click no crank symptoms. Even with a new battery though and starter there still no crank no start.

So parts replaced
-battery
-chassis ground strap
-starter
-CAS relay
-new key battery

At this point we are out of ideas and ANY HELP WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED!!!


Thanks in advance guys!
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      08-31-2019, 06:11 PM   #2
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Hope I'm wrong but it sounds like the engine is seized which can happen on the n55 after the oil filter housing gasket replacement If you do a Google search, you will find it appears to be a fairly common phenomenon In every car/suv this engine is used in. So much so BMW released a oil priming procedure for it. My theory is when doing the OFHG job there is a good chance the oil line gets airlocked somehow at idle rpm and above for the first startup as their procedure is basically pulling all your injectors wires and cranking the engine for 10 seconds, 20 second break then wait a minute and repeat the process a few more times. This would explain why the engine just stopped and then nuked the starter/relay after when attempting to jump it. Again hope I'm wrong for everyone who is involved but a quick way to find out is to try to turn over the engine with a breaker bar and socket on the crank by hand. I would do a quick search on eBay and the local yards for a used engine before you do just in case so you have answer for your friend if it does turn out to be seized.

Last edited by Sophisticated Redneck; 08-31-2019 at 06:19 PM..
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      08-31-2019, 07:41 PM   #3
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Not doubting rednex but my theory is that people/mechanic don’t usually drain(at least halfway)the coolant first while performing the housing gasket replacement. The coolant will go into the oil jacket when you release the 3 bolts to the housing. Which is why a lot of those failures resulting days later and not right away when the coolant is breaking down the oil. Whenever you turn off an engine, the leftover oil film that is on surface will be sufficient for a few seconds during starting and in those few seconds your oil will already be primed.
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      09-01-2019, 06:04 AM   #4
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If you're having comfort access issues, check the module in the trunk. I haven't gone digging for it in my E70 X5 yet (so I cannot tell you exactly where it is) but in my E82 1er, it's in the passenger side of the trunk under the trunk liner. You need to check and see if it's filled with water. If so, it's most likely your comfort access issue. I doubt this will keep the car from starting though.
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      09-01-2019, 09:53 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TwinSnailz View Post
Not doubting rednex but my theory is that people/mechanic don’t usually drain(at least halfway)the coolant first while performing the housing gasket replacement. The coolant will go into the oil jacket when you release the 3 bolts to the housing. Which is why a lot of those failures resulting days later and not right away when the coolant is breaking down the oil. Whenever you turn off an engine, the leftover oil film that is on surface will be sufficient for a few seconds during starting and in those few seconds your oil will already be primed.
Well if it makes a difference I drained both the oil and the coolant to perform the ofhg and before I started the car I bleed the coolant system.
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      09-01-2019, 10:14 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sophisticated Redneck View Post
Hope I'm wrong but it sounds like the engine is seized which can happen on the n55 after the oil filter housing gasket replacement If you do a Google search, you will find it appears to be a fairly common phenomenon In every car/suv this engine is used in. So much so BMW released a oil priming procedure for it. My theory is when doing the OFHG job there is a good chance the oil line gets airlocked somehow at idle rpm and above for the first startup as their procedure is basically pulling all your injectors wires and cranking the engine for 10 seconds, 20 second break then wait a minute and repeat the process a few more times. This would explain why the engine just stopped and then nuked the starter/relay after when attempting to jump it. Again hope I'm wrong for everyone who is involved but a quick way to find out is to try to turn over the engine with a breaker bar and socket on the crank by hand. I would do a quick search on eBay and the local yards for a used engine before you do just in case so you have answer for your friend if it does turn out to be seized.

I looked into this and it seems most of the times the n55 seizes after ofhg was bc someone dropped something into one of the ports underneath the oil filter housing. Hope you’re wrong though, that would really suck.

Not sure if this matter either but when the key is on before I start the engine the car is saying there is enough oil to start vehicle. Idk if it would say anything diff if the motor was seized. I also don’t think the ews- DME code would be present just for no reason as well as the yellow 4x4 and yellow parking brake errors after the car tries to crank. It feels like something electrical.

The test drive we went on after the gasket change was less than 2 miles.
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      09-01-2019, 04:16 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sophisticated Redneck View Post
Hope I'm wrong but it sounds like the engine is seized which can happen on the n55 after the oil filter housing gasket replacement If you do a Google search, you will find it appears to be a fairly common phenomenon In every car/suv this engine is used in. So much so BMW released a oil priming procedure for it. My theory is when doing the OFHG job there is a good chance the oil line gets airlocked somehow at idle rpm and above for the first startup as their procedure is basically pulling all your injectors wires and cranking the engine for 10 seconds, 20 second break then wait a minute and repeat the process a few more times. This would explain why the engine just stopped and then nuked the starter/relay after when attempting to jump it. Again hope I'm wrong for everyone who is involved but a quick way to find out is to try to turn over the engine with a breaker bar and socket on the crank by hand. I would do a quick search on eBay and the local yards for a used engine before you do just in case so you have answer for your friend if it does turn out to be seized.

Would I have to take the belt off or put the car in neutral to do this test? Because as of right now the hub won’t spin at all....
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      09-01-2019, 05:06 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Quinnhogue7 View Post
Would I have to take the belt off or put the car in neutral to do this test? Because as of right now the hub won’t spin at all....
Hate to say it but it does sound like it's seized, having the belt on or off doesn't matter much and only in manual transmission cars do you have to be in neutral to turn the engine by hand. You should be able to rotate without to much effort (assuming a 24+" breaker bar is used). If it's not budging I would drain the oil. There should be metal particles in it from the bearings chewing themselves up and falling into the oil.

I did a quick search, 10k for an exchange from BMW, gahssan has rebuilts on eBay for 4K. I would contact direct, he might be able to discount. You can probably find a used at a local junk yard for around 1500-2500.

If BMW actually put a damn oil pressure gauge in their cars, none of this would be happening to the n55 despite the obvious design flaw. By time the warning comes on, it might as well say "your fucked"...if it even comes on at all.

Last edited by Sophisticated Redneck; 09-01-2019 at 05:15 PM..
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      09-01-2019, 07:57 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sophisticated Redneck View Post
Hate to say it but it does sound like it's seized, having the belt on or off doesn't matter much and only in manual transmission cars do you have to be in neutral to turn the engine by hand. You should be able to rotate without to much effort (assuming a 24+" breaker bar is used). If it's not budging I would drain the oil. There should be metal particles in it from the bearings chewing themselves up and falling into the oil.

I did a quick search, 10k for an exchange from BMW, gahssan has rebuilts on eBay for 4K. I would contact direct, he might be able to discount. You can probably find a used at a local junk yard for around 1500-2500.

If BMW actually put a damn oil pressure gauge in their cars, none of this would be happening to the n55 despite the obvious design flaw. By time the warning comes on, it might as well say "your fucked"...if it even comes on at all.
PM’d you, idk how to post videos on here but I did take a video of it cranking a few days ago. Say it is seized, I wouldn’t need a whole motor with accessories just the bottom end?
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      09-01-2019, 08:47 PM   #10
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Drained the oil and there is no metal shavings in the oil or in the oil filter. I even held a 120 mesh paint strainer underneath the draining oil for the first half of the oil draining out and nothing in the strainer either, literally nothing.
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      09-02-2019, 10:14 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Quinnhogue7 View Post
Drained the oil and there is no metal shavings in the oil or in the oil filter. I even held a 120 mesh paint strainer underneath the draining oil for the first half of the oil draining out and nothing in the strainer either, literally nothing.
Replied to your PM but your mailbox is full, will talk with you more on it tomorrow but in your PM you said the crank slighly moves when trying to start: Everything you have described sounds like its seized, possible electric issues but highly doubt it. If you still have doubts, only way to be 100% sure is to pull a bearing cap off the crank and check out the bearings. Cant easily do this on the N55 in a X5, requires a subframe drop. You could inspect the cylinders for scoring too, which should be pretty heavy. You can do that with a cheap borescope that hooks up to your phone you can get off amazon for around 50 dollars and pull the plugs and see what it looks like inside. Will call/txt you tomorrow afternoon as its a bit late now and talk some more.
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      09-02-2019, 10:20 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Quinnhogue7 View Post
PM’d you, idk how to post videos on here but I did take a video of it cranking a few days ago. Say it is seized, I wouldn’t need a whole motor with accessories just the bottom end?
Possibly, but the upper end (cam bearings/journals, cams, rockers, etc) most likely toast too wont know for sure until you open it up. I would not chance it and if the engine is seized highly recommend replacing the entire thing. Dont forget about your turbos. You may need to rebuild them too so inspect them closely if you end up pulling the engine.
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      09-02-2019, 10:24 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Quinnhogue7 View Post
Drained the oil and there is no metal shavings in the oil or in the oil filter. I even held a 120 mesh paint strainer underneath the draining oil for the first half of the oil draining out and nothing in the strainer either, literally nothing.
Interesting....There is a slim chance it could be electrical still but with you unable to turn by hand with a breaker bar things don't look good. More inspection is needed though. I recommend getting the borescope mentioned in my previous post.
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      09-04-2019, 10:45 PM   #14
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You could also try pulling the spark plugs to see what is in the cylinder.
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      10-15-2019, 11:33 AM   #15
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Figured I’d update this, finally caved and towed it to the dealer for them to do a diagnostic and unfortunately the engine is seized....

Not sure what to do at this point, swap the motor or sell it. What do you guys think it would be worth? 2012 X5 35i fully loaded, comfort package, sport package, premium package, cold weather package, everything but 3rd row. 120k car ran perfect before this mishap. Really bummed about this.
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      10-16-2019, 11:27 AM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Quinnhogue7 View Post
Figured I’d update this, finally caved and towed it to the dealer for them to do a diagnostic and unfortunately the engine is seized....

Not sure what to do at this point, swap the motor or sell it. What do you guys think it would be worth? 2012 X5 35i fully loaded, comfort package, sport package, premium package, cold weather package, everything but 3rd row. 120k car ran perfect before this mishap. Really bummed about this.
Sorry to hear it did turn out to be seized.

Engine swap would cost you around 3-4K if you do all the work yourself or about 7-8K Indy shop and prob 16k+ at Dealer.

If it were me, I would find a decent used engine and swap it.
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      10-21-2019, 10:07 PM   #17
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Originally Posted by Sophisticated Redneck View Post
Sorry to hear it did turn out to be seized.

Engine swap would cost you around 3-4K if you do all the work yourself or about 7-8K Indy shop and prob 16k+ at Dealer.

If it were me, I would find a decent used engine and swap it.
Thanks for your condolences, you helped out a lot from the start, I appreciate that man! Do you know if the swap difficult or pretty straight forward?
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      10-22-2019, 07:24 AM   #18
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Originally Posted by Quinnhogue7 View Post
Thanks for your condolences, you helped out a lot from the start, I appreciate that man! Do you know if the swap difficult or pretty straight forward?
Cut your losses and just sell it to a salvage yard. Its worth thousands in parts.
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      10-22-2019, 01:47 PM   #19
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Cut your losses and just sell it to a salvage yard. Its worth thousands in parts.
What salvage yard? Any salvage yard I’ve ever been to give you what the car is worth in weight. I’d like to get atleast $5k. Car is super clean, clean title in hand, never been in an accident, fully loaded.
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      10-22-2019, 01:55 PM   #20
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If you swap an engine, you will never recover the cost even if you do it yourself.

There is no guarantee it would not have other problems.

You can also put the vehicle up for auction yourself, as a private seller.
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      10-22-2019, 03:34 PM   #21
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If you swap an engine, you will never recover the cost even if you do it yourself.

There is no guarantee it would not have other problems.

You can also put the vehicle up for auction yourself, as a private seller.
Yeah I hear you, it’s been a great car to me, I just wish I knew what was wrong with the engine. I know it’s seized but why did it shut off and seize up. Can the motor be rebuilt? I just want more information and I’m torn with what to do.

What sites offer auctioning the car other than somewhere like eBay?
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      10-23-2019, 05:52 AM   #22
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Quinnhogue7 View Post
Yeah I hear you, it’s been a great car to me, I just wish I knew what was wrong with the engine. I know it’s seized but why did it shut off and seize up. Can the motor be rebuilt? I just want more information and I’m torn with what to do.

What sites offer auctioning the car other than somewhere like eBay?
https://www.autoauctionmall.com/used...ealer-auctions

https://www.copartdirect.com/sell-non-working-car

https://carbrain.com/get-an-offer#ZipCode

There are few others. Just Google
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