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Thread: 2007 X3 Rough Idle

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jul 2011
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    Everett, Wa
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    2007 X3 3.0si

    2007 X3 Rough Idle

    The issue: Occasionally when the engine is warmed up, RPM will drop from normal idle around 700rpm down to about 500rpm at which point it will idle very rough and surge. The idle roughness is enough to shake the car a small amount. This doesn't happen all the time however over the last few weeks it has happened enough to really get my attention. From time to time while driving and coming to a stop, once the car is completely stopped the idle will drop as low as 300rpm and feel like it almost dies but kick back up and idle fine. One correlation I have found is that whenever the idle becomes rough, you can hear a distinct whistling sound coming from the engine area however I cannot pinpoint where it is coming from.

    Other issue that may be related though I doubt it. Occasionally when I go over bumps that is enough to move the car side to side such as up a curb slowly I will catch a smell of burning oil. I have looked for leaks around the table cover gasket and haven't found anything definitive. I assume the oil is coming from my oil filler cap as I sometimes find oil near it. Other than the oil after bumps, I never smell any.

    I suspect I'm going to be told it is a vacuum leak somewhere, which is what I'm assuming is the issue however I have checked around the intake and have found nothing. If enough people agree it is most likely a vacuum leak, I will run it to the shop and have them smoke test it.

    1993 BMW E36 325i: July 2011 - Nov. 2012 RIP
    1987 BMW E30 325: Dec. 2012 - April 2013
    1989 BMW E34 535i: April 2013 - Nov. 2014
    2000 Audi B5S4: January 2015 - May 2018
    2007 BMW E83 X3: June 2018 - Present

  2. #2
    Join Date
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    2001 525it
    I would take it to the shop and let them figure it out who really knows what the cause is until you do dx.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jul 2011
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    2007 X3 3.0si
    Quote Originally Posted by jclausen View Post
    I would take it to the shop and let them figure it out who really knows what the cause is until you do dx.
    I have had nothing but bad experiences with the shops around my area and would rather avoid doing so. But thanks for the idea.

    I finally got a check engine light and grabbed my scanner to see the results, which are as follows:
    P1017
    P0174
    P0171
    P116E
    P0113
    P1771

    A few locals suggested it could be a vacuum leak or intake leak, so I went ahead and checked all of the hoses carefully, removing most for closer inspection. Nothing appeared to be even close to wearing out, mostly all new condition so far. The P0171 and P0174 suggest intake leak once again, or a bad MAF which i've already replaced last week. P0113 suggests a faulty intake temp sensor, however that turned out to be integrated with my MAF. I went ahead and cleaned out my throttle body, however it wasn't even dirty to begin with.

    Next up I think I will remove my DISA valve and see if its broken on the inside. If it turns out that the DISA valve is in fact broken, could that fit all of my current symptoms (see above)?

    Also, on my previous E36 I had some issues with my VANOS which I hear isn't quite as easy to work on in this X3. Could VANOS be a possible cause?

    1993 BMW E36 325i: July 2011 - Nov. 2012 RIP
    1987 BMW E30 325: Dec. 2012 - April 2013
    1989 BMW E34 535i: April 2013 - Nov. 2014
    2000 Audi B5S4: January 2015 - May 2018
    2007 BMW E83 X3: June 2018 - Present

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
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    CDN
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    08 X3
    Quote Originally Posted by RedManE36 View Post
    I have had nothing but bad experiences with the shops around my area and would rather avoid doing so. But thanks for the idea.

    I finally got a check engine light and grabbed my scanner to see the results, which are as follows:
    P1017
    P0174
    P0171
    P116E
    P0113
    P1771

    A few locals suggested it could be a vacuum leak or intake leak, so I went ahead and checked all of the hoses carefully, removing most for closer inspection. Nothing appeared to be even close to wearing out, mostly all new condition so far. The P0171 and P0174 suggest intake leak once again, or a bad MAF which i've already replaced last week. P0113 suggests a faulty intake temp sensor, however that turned out to be integrated with my MAF. I went ahead and cleaned out my throttle body, however it wasn't even dirty to begin with.

    Next up I think I will remove my DISA valve and see if its broken on the inside. If it turns out that the DISA valve is in fact broken, could that fit all of my current symptoms (see above)?

    Also, on my previous E36 I had some issues with my VANOS which I hear isn't quite as easy to work on in this X3. Could VANOS be a possible cause?
    We do not have a vanos. Believe ours is the valvetronic motor. Do you have a ISTA to get actual BMW codes vs. generic P codes?

    Sounds to me like a vacuum leak, you cannot find it by visual inspecting. If you don't trust a shop make your own smoke machine (empty paint can, clear tube, incense sticks) and see where it leaks through. Remove your MAF and block the intake boot and push air through the brake booster line.

    The oil smell is your valve cover gasket.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jul 2011
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    2007 X3 3.0si
    So quick update, after going out and checking a few more components, I've discovered my oil filler cap had a very strong suction at all times, but especially when the idle got rough. I did some searching online as to what can cause the suction and found this video below that describes my issues perfectly. Now I am deciding whether or not to just go about replacing the whole valve cover since I need to do the gasket anyways, or just replace the CCV. I know that the CCV was never intended to be replaced by itself and lots of you would probably recommend that I stick with BMW's recommendations. I just want to ask if anyone has any personal experience doing this and how it resulted?

    1993 BMW E36 325i: July 2011 - Nov. 2012 RIP
    1987 BMW E30 325: Dec. 2012 - April 2013
    1989 BMW E34 535i: April 2013 - Nov. 2014
    2000 Audi B5S4: January 2015 - May 2018
    2007 BMW E83 X3: June 2018 - Present

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Oct 2016
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    Las Vegas, NV
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    2003 BMW 540i M Sport
    VCG is kind of a pain, but perhaps necessary. First, I'd just recheck torquing of the valve cover bolts. Then, check the condition of the valvetronic actuator gasket. Mine failed spectacularly (ok, an exaggeration but there was a pretty sizable crack in it which is where my leak and unmetered air was coming from.) Easier to replace this then the valve cover gasket itself, just take care to "twist it out". I think there are some good DIYs on how to remove it and reinstall. If this doesn't solve, then ready some 4 letter words when trying to remove the vent pipe off of the back of the cover.

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