| 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
2001 BMW 5-Series repairs by problem area
Engine (52%)
Transmission and Drivetrain (4%)
Brakes and Traction Control (4%)
Suspension and Steering (18%)
Electrical and Air Conditioning (16%)
Paint, Rust, Leaks, Rattles, and Trim (3%)
Other (3%)
Chart based on 227 repairs.
2001 BMW 5-Series engine repair cost distribution
$2500+ (10%)
$1000 - $2499 (17%)
$500 - $999 (21%)
$100 - $499 (30%)
< $100 (22%)
Chart based on 108 repair trips. The repair cost chart excludes repairs made under warranty, do-it-yourself repairs, and repair trips that include maintenance.
2001 BMW 5-Series
Engine not specified
| 83000 mi US $3546 |
inspection II, valley gasket, valve cover gasket belt tensioners |
| 97000 mi US $3000 |
Radiator All The Pulleys |
2001 BMW 5-Series 4dr Wagon
282-horsepower 4.4L V8 5-speed shiftable automatic RWD
| 116560 mi C $800 |
Water pump failed |
| 82000 mi | Coolant leak discovered after repeated "low coolant" messages. Fix for problem would have been cost-prohibitive unless done myself. |
| 152000 mi US $350 |
replaced pusher fan after failure |
| 156000 mi US $300 |
Replaced water pump and hoses |
| 185100 mi US $300 |
Intake manifold vacuum leak, preventative maintenance on cooling system |
| 204700 mi US $120 |
Replaced coolant expansion tank |
2001 BMW 5-Series 4dr Wagon
282-horsepower 4.4L V8 5-speed automatic RWD
| 115600 mi US $250 |
Valve Cover gaskets |
| 117600 mi US $600 |
rear main seal |
| 113000 mi US $250 |
Valve covers leaking slowly. One bad ignition coil replaced. Purge valve replaced preventively. |
2001 BMW 5-Series 4dr Wagon
184-horsepower 2.5L I6 5-speed shiftable automatic RWD
| 93000 mi | valve cover gaskets, loose bolts on the manifold |
| 127000 mi US $150 |
Thermostat not working heat not hot Check ngine light on |
2001 BMW 5-Series 4dr Wagon
184-horsepower 2.5L I6 5-speed manual RWD
| 114300 mi US $1130 |
The crankcase vent valve was replaced. It was not causing any problems at all, but this is a known mode of failure on this engine and would have to be dealt with at some point, assuming the owner plans to keep the car for 200000 miles. |
| 133600 mi | Camshaft position sensor failed, causing engine to run rough. |
2001 BMW 5-Series 4dr Sedan
394-horsepower 4.9L V8 6-speed manual RWD
| 85560 mi R 7000 |
Water pump started to leak. |
| 39000 mi US $1496 |
Engine belts and valve cover gasket replaced by dealer |
| 40000 mi US $320 |
Mass airflow sensors replaced. |
| 48300 mi US $626 |
Oil pan gasket leaking (covered under previous repair), power steering connection to cooler leaking, oil filter housing leaking (required oil change). |
| 51000 mi US $1100 |
Valve cover gasket leaking. Was replaced by same dealership 23 months ago so fixed under warranty. |
| 134000 mi US $250 |
Original radiator cracked. Replaced myself. Took about 1-1/2 or 2 hours. |
| 60000 mi US $750 |
Replaced worn/defective MAF sensors, L and R. |
| 99000 mi US $1006 |
Thermostat and water temperature sensor replacement. Check Engine code frequently reporting engine was not warming up quickly enough. |
| 113000 mi US $200 |
Thermostat and water temp sensor. Check Engine code indicating prolonged engine warm-up timing. |
| 88000 mi US $380 |
Faulty camshaft sensor |
| 62200 mi US $1800 |
Car was leaking coolant. Tubes on the back side of the engine were leaking. Water pump was replaced as well. Valve cover gasket was replaced. |
| 64000 mi US $1100 |
Clutch replacement |
| 89900 mi C $290 |
Replaced left-bank exhaust CPS that had failed. |
| 102900 mi C $2600 |
Had the rear main seal replaced. Seeping. |
2001 BMW 5-Series 4dr Sedan
282-horsepower 4.4L V8 6-speed manual RWD
| 111000 mi US $2500 |
Needed to replace valve position and flow sensors. Replaced all. |
| 98000 mi US $200 |
Large puddle of coolant on the ground after parking. Replaced heater hose and coolant |
| 47000 mi | Failed emissions test. There is ongoing problem with the bank 2 communications sensor. "Check engine" light now comes on intermittently. Problem is likely sensor bank continuing. |
| 54900 mi US $1600 |
emission system because of fuel intake gauge |
| 62000 mi US $500 |
emissions sensor |
| 66900 mi US $1100 |
Active oil leak right valve cover. Resealed upper left timing cover. |
| 71000 mi US $120 |
There was a small leak detected but of unknown origin. Tests performed, no leak. |
| 80900 mi US $1241 |
Oil leak - Arm resealed, reseal oil leak at L/Engine Arm |
| 91000 mi US $3000 |
Busted radiator. Cooling system requires expensive-extensive fix every 2-3 years. |
| 87000 mi US $130 |
Check engine light came on and car was sputtering with power loss. Read codes and got multiple cylinder misfire. Ignition coil #2 was not functioning. Replaced with new one and engine light off and car runs good. Changed all plugs too. |
| 91000 mi US $400 |
Replaced lower radiator hose. |
| 124000 mi US $50 |
radiator coolant expansion tank developed leak, required replacement of tank. |
| 122100 mi US $46 |
Broke main engine fan blade. |
| 133000 mi US $100 |
Water pump replacement. Also fan pulley (attached), and air conditioner belt (separate belt, but easy to do at the same time). |
| 134000 mi | Secondary air pump making loud whine for approx 1-2 minutes after cold start. |
| 100000 mi US $2400 |
Vanos valve timing malfunction. |
2001 BMW 5-Series 4dr Sedan
282-horsepower 4.4L V8 5-speed shiftable automatic RWD
| 145700 mi $50 |
Nuts connecting exhaust with manifold rusted (totallly gone) and exhaust disconnected from manifold |
| 116300 mi US $70 |
Check engine light due to intake leak. Not successful, probably because there is more than one intake leak and I fixed only one of them. |
| 123000 mi | Intake leak never fixed. |
| 86000 mi | Bad tensioner pulley replace radiator hose |
| 117800 mi C $600 |
Check Engine light on - problem diagnosed as Air Pump valve ( part of emission system) part replaced but check engine light came on again in a few days |
| 120900 mi C $600 |
The clutch in the fan started to howl and I replaced it. |
| 76000 mi US $3500 |
Valve cover gaskets, valley pan, vent box Replaced radiator |
| 90000 mi US $2800 |
Waterpump and connecting belts and pulleys went out. |
| 93000 mi | Needed motor mounts, transmissions mounts, and a bunch of other very costly things. Car was a nightmare. All in all it put like 5k on my credit card in unexpected fixes in 11 months. Car overheated after I sold it. Pretty sure it was leaking coolant. No good. |
2001 BMW 5-Series 4dr Sedan
225-horsepower 3.0L I6 5-speed shiftable automatic RWD
| 118000 mi US $120 |
The belt tensioner and pulley needed to be replaced. It was making squeaking noise. |
| 108000 mi US $1200 |
Replace leaking radiator |
| 141000 mi US $1000 |
HeadGasket and Cooling System broke. HeadBolt threads stripped in M54 engine block. Temporary fix of new threads. Will eventually need to replace block. |
| 131000 mi | Year ago: valve cover gaskets,brake sensor,radiator, upper rear ball joints, oil filter housing gasket,cyclone separator with hoses.replaced leaking suction and return power steering hoses,replaced both axle seals,replaced fuel filter,injector system. Year ago: injection system cleaning service,replaced expansion tank and vent hose. |
| 131000 mi US $76 |
Upstream bank one. Sensor one o-2 sensor |
| 128000 mi US $40 |
Replaced leaking valve cover gasket. |
| 134000 mi US $650 |
replaced two heater pipes which are located beneath the intake manifold |
| 154000 mi US $635 |
Had the primary and secondary water pumps replaced - leaking. |
| 171000 mi US $781 |
Water pump bearing shot and radiator slow leak |
| 189000 mi US $765 |
Thermostat housing where hose connects was cracked. |
| 221000 mi US $50 |
Intake side cam position sensor failure. Replaced sensor. |
| 111000 mi US $120 |
Coolant leak noticed at a gas station on road trip. Added water several times on way to closest BMW dealer. Dealer repaired hose (had no new one in stock). |
| 112000 mi US $200 |
Replaced all coolant hoses after previous temporary fix by BMW dealer during road trip. I purchased and replaced 5 coolant hoses and also steering hydraulic hose that was leaking. |
| 138000 mi US $70 |
Waterpump on my drive back from Atlanta, the main bearing breaking about 1/2 a mile away from my house in a 1000 mile drive. |
| 144000 mi US $60 |
Coolant overflow tank. The old tank had a small crack on top of the tank not causing any harm but needed to be replaced so it was. |
| 153000 mi US $15 |
Oil Leak From Housing |
| 68180 mi A $830 |
Rectify oil leak at the oil filter housing to engine head connection |
| 70060 mi | engine idler bearing squealing after repair service to fix oil leak on oil filter housing. repair shop does not acknowledge the issue blaming age of the car |
| 88040 mi A $300 |
A/C drive belt tensioner bearing becoming noisy again, 12 months after last replacement. |
| 92160 mi | Idler pulley bearing for serpentine belt has failed again. |
| 94240 mi A $823 |
Opted to repair noisy belt pulley, also found leaking radiator expansion tank and hoses |
| 133500 mi US $800 |
Replace Oil Separator |
| 129500 mi US $100 |
Rebuilt failed DISA valve with kit from www.germanautosolutions.com |
| 148000 mi US $200 |
Leaking upper radiator hose, |
| 152900 mi US $300 |
Car was hesitating and stumbling. Mechanic replaced fuel filter and spark plugs |
| 159300 mi US $700 |
radiator leaking. Replaced radiator, water pump, theromostat, upper rad hose |
| 80000 mi US $1500 |
Defective sensor led to failure of wiring harness for throttle body; also needed to update engine software and replace another emissions sensor that caused lean mix error codes. |
| 84000 mi US $320 |
Intake idle valve stuck, causing overly lean mix and surgy, low power. Valve replaced, software reset. Required 2 trips to shop. |
| 84000 mi US $500 |
Same problem as before--loss of power, surgy, unable to accelerate beyond 25 mph. Mechanic finally offered to buy car as a project car for himself. Got at least low KBB trade-in value, and put proceeds to new Audi A4 |
| 159000 mi US $208 |
Expansion tank exploded (and disabled the vehicle). Lost all coolant. Indy replaced expansion tank, problem solved. |
2001 BMW 5-Series 4dr Sedan
225-horsepower 3.0L I6 5-speed manual RWD
| 166050 mi US $900 |
valve cover gasket and oil pan gasket valve cover gasket and oil pan gasket |
| 180000 mi | Major coolant leak with subsequent warped head. Car was deemed no longer worthy to fix and sent off to pasture. |
| 136720 mi C $250 |
Thermostat stuck open; Engine running colder than expected. Replaced Thermostat and flushed/replaced Coolant. |
| 94000 mi US $500 |
Leak in radiator. Replaced whole cooling system. |
| 111500 mi US $700 |
Valve cover leaking oil due to slightly warped PLASTIC valve cover. Despite replacing the valve cover gasket at 100k miles as preventative, it leaked 11k miles later. The leak was small. |
| 130000 mi US $1000 |
thermostat failed and it was an OEM part about 2 yrs old vacuum leak |
| 161000 mi US $800 |
Oil Leaks, small. Valve cover gasket, right rear. RR gasket on oil filter mounting piece |
2001 BMW 5-Series 4dr Sedan
184-horsepower 2.5L I6 5-speed shiftable automatic RWD
| 153300 mi US $658 |
Rough idling...crankcase vent valve and appropriate hoses replaced. |
| 170000 mi US $1168 |
Light oil leak, and Check Engine light on. Replaced Valve cover gasket replace & Crankcase Vent Valve: Crankcase vent valve, 2 breather hoses, breather hose return, oil separator hose. |
| 187000 mi US $2782 |
Transmission warning light and vehicle was shifting rougher then normal. A bad "Mass Air Flow Sensor" was diagnosed as cause. Replaced sensor. No obvious symptoms, but SES produce codes related to upper thermostat. (Thermostat and housing replaced). Codes indicated lean banks 1 & 2. Replaced Crank case vent system. (typical in the 2001 525i BMW E39/M54 eng models) Found oil leaks. Replaced oil filter stand gasket & Valve Cover gasket. |
| 190300 mi US $350 |
Water-Pump went bad & replaced. |
| 199055 mi US $50 |
Replaced ignition coil... |
| 61000 mi US $120 |
SES light for Cam Shaft Postion sensor exhaust side. Was present when car was purchased however light was intermittent and finally got around to replacing. Self installed, though typically a easy job, very hard to loosen the bolt. |
| 83500 mi US $130 |
Had small leak from lower radiator hose. Had to replace sensor and the hose, and refill coolant. |
| 72000 mi US $1230 |
Oil filter housing gasket and VANOS seals leaking. Also as PM replaced CCV (discovered to be on way out) with all associated hoses and air distribution piece, Valve Gasket, Dip stick tube o ring, and upper timing cover gasket. |
| 114000 mi US $800 |
Significant engine oil leak from gasket and hose below oil filter. |
2001 BMW 5-Series 4-door
8-cylinder manual 2WD
| 102000 mi US $674 |
Replace cam position sensor R&R Thermostat, pressure test cooling system for leaks. Test effectiveness of antifreeze protection. Replace o-ring, thermostat and coolant |
2001 BMW 5-Series 4-door
8-cylinder automatic 2WD
| 113000 mi US $150 |
Coolant System Radiator hoses |
2001 BMW 5-Series 4-door
6-cylinder manual 2WD
| 121000 mi US $1650 |
DISC (VANOS) air valve failing. |
2001 BMW 5-Series 4-door
6-cylinder automatic 2WD
| 89000 mi US $3200 |
Water pump failed. |
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