2010 E70 X5 3.0d - Judder / Rumble on Motorway

[Sm[]key]

Hi

Recently got this motor and also recently drove it on the motorway, from about 55+ mph the car starts to rumble / judder.

Today a fault came up which resets when the ignition is turned off.

The 4X4 light comes on in the centre of the dash, and a stability error is shown on the i-drive display.

Any one had this problems before?

Would like to know what it is before I go to the stealers.

Plugged it into a bluetooth OBD reader tonight the following came up:

Diagnostic Result
Fault
VTG (Transfer Case) Abnormal
54C6 VTG: Oil Wear Current

Thanks

[X5Sport]

Certainly needs looking at. Any jerkiness at walking speed when in full lock?

One check you do need to do though. What tyres are fitted, are they all the same size or different front/rear, are the pressures right, and what is the tyre wear like on all of them?

A common cause of what you describe is the wrong type of tyre fitted (more of a problem for staggered sizes) or more tread wear on any one axle (or wheel) than any other. There should be less than 1.5mm difference between any one tyre and any other.

xDrive cars are very sensitive to tyre choice and a bad choice can and has destroyed diffs or transfer boxes. It may not be you issue but it needs checking. The correct tyres should ideally be RFT and have either a ‘*’ mark or ‘MOE’ mark on the sidewall. The ‘*’ means approved for BMW with ‘MOE’ meaning Mercedes Original - Extended and also OK for BMW.

If nothing else it seems like you need the transfer case fluid changing - it should be done at 8 years or 60,000 miles from memory. Sealed for Life is just BMW speak for three years whilst under warranty!

[Sm[]key]

Thanks for your advice!

I think you may be right about the tyres had a look last night, the tyres are bigger on back 315/35/R20 & 275/40/R20 on front..

The rear tyres don't look good! Going to get them changed today and also get a check done to ensure the wheels are not deformed on all 4.

I did a test by getting back up to speed with then X5 and then engaging the auto box into neutral, the judder still remained.

Hopefully this is pointing towards a tyre / wheel issue?

I will try the steering full lock check later today.

Thanks again!

[X5Sport]

You’ll still need to keep the tread depths at less than 1.5mm between axles. I had one tyre go bad (sidewall delamination) on my X6 with the same sizes and that meant a new set had to be fitted because of the depth issue.

Worth checking the state of the brakes too. Although you have an error code for the transmission, a sticking calliper at speed can cause judder, as can a warped disc. Sticking calipers show up with one wheel being warmer than the others. It is more common than you might imagine.

[Leslie]

Thanks for your advice!

I think you may be right about the tyres had a look last night, the tyres are bigger on back 315/35/R20 & 275/40/R20 on front..


Thanks again!

That's normal sport spec nothing to worry about they have the same rolling radius. but as said big differences in tread depth can cause wear and future bother .The code suggests the transfer oil needs changed and after that car needs coded to tell it this has happened which your dealer/indi will do. This may or may not fix it , it did for one guy on here recently so who knows, after that it gets a tad more expensive if you have an actual transfer box problem.

[Sm[]key]

Well having spoken to a reputable tyre dealer today and hearing the tales of woe with X5's and various intermediate grade tyres I went for the BMW approved Bridgestone Dueler H/P Sport Run flats all round.

My bank balance took its greatest ever tyre cost hit, but immediately the rumble / judder at speed disappeared!

I have never known a car be so sensitive to tyre choice! Turns out I had a different tyre on each corner and one of the rears was down to 1.6mm, all the others healthy tread.

Hoping the gearboxes haven't suffered from the previous owners tyre choices!?

Going to change the transfer box oil tomorrow hopefully, oil is on order from BMW.

I tried full steering lock test in both directions but nothing to report back with!

The test will be when I'm next on a motorway and if the 4x4 fault light comes on again?

Thanks for the advice everyone!

[X5Sport]

Welcome to the world of xDrive, and why BMW actually means Breaks My Wallet.

Once the transfer box oil is changed that will at least clear the warnings. If all is quiet then at least you know that’s a job done.

BMW aren’t alone with this fragility and I believe it is only the very latest versions, with staggered setups, of the X cars where the issue has finally been more or less resolved.

[Sm[]key]

I was on the motorway a couple of times last week and the fault came up again? Switching off the ignition cleared it.

So it looks like changing the transfer case oil and checking the transfer gears did not resolve the 4X4 warning light problem.

Where do I go next?

PXL_20201214_185457842.MP.jpg (92.67 KiB) Viewed 5752 times

[Leslie]

How recently did you get this motor ? was it from a dealer Is there any warranty left ? you may have some comeback if it was very recent , if it was a private sale you have zero chance of a result.
Failing that sounds like you need to find yourself an indi you discuss the way forward possibly by getting your transfer box rebuilt if that's whats needed. There is a guy on here works at transfer boxes for a living Kkx5 is his user name if he is still on here he may be able to give you some advice on a way forward. Looks like he was last on in may but may still be contactable by message.

[Sm[]key]

I bought this privately so no come back....

Here are the error messages from INPA:

Date: 20.12.2020 14:48:06
ECU: VGSG70
JobStatus: OKAY
Variant: VGSG70
-------------------------------------------------------------
RESULT: 1 error in error memory !
-------------------------------------------------------------
55C3 55C3 VGSG-Allrad-Notlaufregelung aktiviert. Keine DXC Sollmomentenvorgabe.
Error counter: 3
Logistic counter: 29
1. Umweltsatz
Mileage 265456 km
Eingangsspannung KL30 14.63 Volt
KL15 Status CAN CAN Signal OK -- KL15 ein 0-n
KL15 Intern KL15 ein 0-n
Fahrbereitschaft CAN Signal Ok -- VKM ein 0-n
Reset-Quelle NO RESET 0-n
MKSOLL 0.00 Nm
MSperrIstPosLim 96.00 Nm
deltaPhiSperreCal -30.00 Grad
SperreError 0.00 1
SperreMainState 16.00 1
CAN_Fehlersignale 0.00 1
2. Umweltsatz
Mileage 265896 km
Eingangsspannung KL30 14.63 Volt
KL15 Status CAN CAN Signal OK -- KL15 ein 0-n
KL15 Intern KL15 ein 0-n
Fahrbereitschaft CAN Signal Ok -- VKM ein 0-n
Reset-Quelle NO RESET 0-n
MKSOLL 0.00 Nm
MSperrIstPosLim 0.00 Nm
deltaPhiSperreCal -29.00 Grad
SperreError 0.00 1
SperreMainState 16.00 1
CAN_Fehlersignale 0.00 1
unplausibles Signal oder Wert
Testbedingungen noch nicht erfüllt
Fehler momentan nicht vorhanden, aber bereits gespeichert
Fehler würde kein Aufleuchten einer Warnlampe verursachen
Error code: 55 C3 38 03 1D 81 9E 75 ED 00 0C 1E 00 10 00 81
D5 75 ED 00 00 1D 00 10 00
============================================================


E R R O R M E M O R Y
-----------------------
Date: 20.12.2020 14:44:32
Model: E70
Scope: all control module
JobStatus: OKAY
Quantity: 29
-----------------------------------------------------------------
ADR Gen. name JobStatus Number of errors•
Error code Kind of error

12 DME/DDE OKAY 2 Error stored•
4222 04•
4262 04•

19 VGSG OKAY 1 Error stored•
55C3 38•

29 DSC OKAY 1 Error stored•
5EC0 A0•

63 MASK/CCC OKAY 2 Error stored•
C519 20•
E1E9 60•

6D FAS OKAY 1 Error stored•
9E5A 41•

=================================================================


I drove 300 miles on Sunday and the fault came up once.

I then drove another 300 miles yesterday and no fault came up?

[X5Sport]

Error 4222 & 4262 are related to the glow plugs. You might have both failed plugs and a failed controller, or just a plug or two. Not unusual for a faulty plug to take out the controller. This is a diy job as long as you take great care and use a release agent for the plugs because they can and will seize in the head resulting in them snapping. It isn’t an engine apart job if they do though as there are tools that will recover the debris.

BMW recommend use of Brunox lubricating grease Part no: 83 23 0 418 567 (RealOEM lists it as Herstellerlabel, EU Multifunction Spray.

55C3 is the ‘limp mode’ warning. May be triggered by a dodgy ABS wheel sensor.

5EC0 points at a steering angle sensor issue and may trigger limp mode code above.

C519 and E1E9 and both in the infotainment system and could be caused by bad attempts at coding - the second one relates to the HUD (if you have one?).

9E5A is linked to the fast heater part of the bum warmers being at fault.

If you clear all of the codes, what comes back after a drive? Faulty glowplugs will also prevent the DPF from regenerating adding another expense to your list. I don’t know whereabouts you are in the UK but it sounds as if you need a good specialist Indy to look over the car. Mine is in Bradville on the edge of Milton Keynes. Far cheaper than getting a dealer to look at it.

[Sm[]key]

Thanks for all your help, all faults were reset before the long mileage first trip, via INPA.

The driver seat heater wont turn on so that clears that one, still would like to fix it though, I like a warm bum!

Glow plugs I will look at sometime soon, yes I've known small diameter plugs tend to shear when seized.

The car was fitted with an aftermarket android head unit, as the OEM screen was cracked, not a bad addition, the kids like it! That should answer some of the other errors?

Will have to look at ABS, not changed any pads yet!

Did the transmission error codes tell anything specific to my problem? i.e. the fault I've been getting on motorway drives with the 4x4 fault?

Thanks

[X5Sport]

The only transmission codes I’m seeing (unless it’s buried in the German part) are connected with the ABS & DSC warning which will give what the iDrive is flagging - no DSC available. Both use the ABS wheel sensors to check for any one wheel spinning under power at which point the ABS brakes that wheel only to give three good traction points.

[Sm[]key]

**Solved**

I replaced all the ABS wheel sensors and this solved the 4x4 light fault I kept getting intermittently.

The sensors were very dirty when I took them out, a clean may have sorted them but I had already bought 2 fronts and 2 backs.