| 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
2002 BMW 5-Series repairs by problem area
Engine (44%)
Transmission and Drivetrain (3%)
Brakes and Traction Control (4%)
Suspension and Steering (17%)
Electrical and Air Conditioning (21%)
Paint, Rust, Leaks, Rattles, and Trim (5%)
Other (5%)
Chart based on 308 repairs.
2002 BMW 5-Series engine repair cost distribution
$2500+ (3%)
$1000 - $2499 (17%)
$500 - $999 (26%)
$100 - $499 (39%)
< $100 (15%)
Chart based on 128 repair trips. The repair cost chart excludes repairs made under warranty, do-it-yourself repairs, and repair trips that include maintenance.
2002 BMW 5-Series
Engine not specified
| 104000 mi US $225 |
Leak around radiator fitting. Was told that this is a common problem with the car. The replacement fitting was off of a Mercedes Benz since BMW does not make it. |
2002 BMW 5-Series 4dr Wagon
184-horsepower 2.5L I6 5-speed shiftable automatic RWD
| 109000 mi US $450 |
I had one cylinder replaced |
| 73463 mi US $467 |
Valve cover gasket, headlight bulb, inspection sticker |
| 132000 mi US $200 |
Check engine light for one bank too lean. Replaced oxygen sensor. Replaced mass air meter. |
2002 BMW 5-Series 4dr Wagon
184-horsepower 2.5L I6 5-speed manual RWD
| 112000 mi | overflow tank, radiator level sending unit, power steering suction and return lines, oil level sending unit, anti-freeze, oil filter housing gasket, PS fluid, valve cover gasket. |
| 171000 mi US $600 |
oil pan gasket |
2002 BMW 5-Series 4dr Sedan
394-horsepower 4.9L V8 6-speed manual RWD
| 89000 mi US $800 |
replaced clutch |
| 93000 mi US $700 |
Water pump froze & broke accessory belt |
| 109000 mi US $1200 |
Replaced main radiator hose, power steering pump and hoses and radiator cap |
| 111000 mi US $120 |
radiator overflow unit replaced |
| 77000 mi US $94 |
Muffled rattle developed under car. Turned out to be a sagging exhaust bushing, that allowed the exhaust to bang on a chassis cross member. Mechanic fixed it by just adding some washers to the bushing mount. |
| 73700 mi US $240 |
Mass airflow sensor was defective-- replaced |
| 70000 mi US $2500 |
Inspection II |
| 62500 mi US $2200 |
Exhaust mounts were loose and rattling. |
| 119000 mi US $300 |
Clutch was burnt when I bought the car, needed replacement. Also replaced flywheel, rear main seal, and other gaskets for preventative maint. Bank 2 post-cat O2 sensor was bad, causing SES light. Replaced all 4 O2 sensors since they were due. |
| 120000 mi US $500 |
Throttle Position Sensor went bad, causing vehicle to enter "fail safe mode" with max limit of 35mph and 2500 rpm. |
| 58300 mi US $300 |
Replaced thermostat. Thermostat was running cold. It's a 79 degree thermostat. Dash readout showed it running 76-77 on cold nights at speed. Also had soot on the rear bumper, sign of running rich. |
2002 BMW 5-Series 4dr Sedan
290-horsepower 4.4L V8 6-speed manual RWD
| 110700 mi US $100 |
Leaking valve cover gasket causing oil leakage into spark plug well. Occasional cylinder misfire as well as odor of burnt oil from oil seepage onto exhaust manifold. Possibly considered normal wear and tear item at this age. |
| 95000 mi US $300 |
Replaced leaking valve cover gaskets, cleaned and repainted valve covers |
| 124000 mi US $1700 |
Engine noise due to need for valve cover replacement. Was idling rough and blue smoke out exhaust due to vacuum leak |
| 152000 mi US $1400 |
replaced water pump and tensioner pully |
| 164000 mi US $235 |
replace radiator and hoses and expansion tank |
2002 BMW 5-Series 4dr Sedan
290-horsepower 4.4L V8 5-speed shiftable automatic RWD
| 58000 mi US $1700 |
Radiator went out, very costly on BMW's. |
| 60000 mi US $800 |
Battery dead. Took car to BMW dealer, found bad fan motor plus bushings cost $800. Did I even need a new alternator? (see first repair) |
| 76000 mi US $430 |
Blew hose, lost coolant, repair shop said I needed a fan clutch. I had them replace fan clutch. |
| 77000 mi US $430 |
Cooling Fan Malfunctioned |
| 79000 mi US $1250 |
Upper hose went, I had it fixed. |
| 79000 mi | Two weeks later the serpentine belt and tensioner went. I traded the piece of junk the same day! |
| 124000 mi US $634 |
Valve Cover Gaskets leaking, oil separator valve leaking, oil filter mounts broken, oil pan leaking, power steering reservoir leaking, and other minor oil leaks. |
| 124200 mi US $80 |
Vanos Seals leaking oil and dripping onto ground. |
| 125000 mi US $200 |
Oil leaks from upper timing chain cover and broken air pump hose. |
| 149300 mi US $200 |
A coil was replaced. M42, M50, M60 |
| 156700 mi US $224 |
replaced secondary air valve. |
| 104000 mi US $200 |
Cooling fan clutch went bad. This caused poor coolant circulation which ruined the coolant temperature sensor/ control valve. These were both replaced and the car ran fine. Notice small coolant leak over a few weeks. Valley pan gasket was the culprit. Leak too small to justify repair cost. Stick to BMW brand coolant and the leak can be lived with. |
| 114000 mi | Radiator replaced. |
| 121000 mi US $170 |
I had to have an O2 sensor changed (bank one sensor one), $70. Autozone replacement radiator failed after one year. Installed new radiator under Autozone warranty but pressure checked before fitting it, $100. |
| 129200 mi US $40 |
Upper rad house failed. |
| 129000 mi US $80 |
Bolts/ nuts holding exhaust manifold to catalytic converter rusted off. |
| 132000 mi US $500 |
Spark plug came loose and fused to coil pack. Had to remove spark plug and coil then rethread insert into motor and place insert into new spot. New spark plug and coil pack placed into custom housing. |
| 134000 mi US $300 |
Power steeeing fluid pump came off hinge and belt slipped causing cooling system to fail. |
| 61000 mi US $560 |
Radiator broken. Replaced with new radiator. |
| 105000 mi US $600 |
Broken radiator hose. |
| 122700 mi US $100 |
Expansion tank cracked |
| 130000 mi US $1700 |
Replaced leaking radiator. |
2002 BMW 5-Series 4dr Sedan
225-horsepower 3.0L I6 5-speed shiftable automatic RWD
| 173000 mi US $200 |
Idler pulley cracked, Serpentine belts snapped off and had to be replaced |
| 160000 mi US $800 |
Cracked coolant line - replaced |
| 90000 mi US $3200 |
Valve cover gasket replaced; valve cover warping and replaced; moisture in brake fluid-drained refilled; power steering hose leak; replaced accessory drive belt; plugs gapped and reset |
| 75000 mi | Transmission went in to fail safe mode; car needed to be towed to dealer. Caused by loose battery ground which in turn sent "bad" signal to transmission computer. reset and ok. Coolant Leak. Dealer replaced water pump and miscellaneous gaskets, lines, tubes etc. |
| 131700 mi US $700 |
Replaced radiator expansion tank (again, second time in 3 years…lasted 39 months and 33k miles) and replaced both belts while in there. Was leaking a quart of coolant every day or two. |
| 135200 mi US $1100 |
oil filter housing gasket leaking; replaced |
| 156000 mi US $2800 |
Oil pan seal leak, valve cover seal leak Shop broke vacuum line for secondary air injection system when replacing valve cover gasket. |
| 188000 mi US $250 |
2 failed coil packs on cylinders 2 and 4 |
| 105300 mi US $150 |
Emission system issue not fixed. Check engine light - evaporative gas vapor recirculating likely problem. |
| 106200 mi US $800 |
Emission exhaust re circulation purge valve, rear brakes, |
| 109000 mi US $600 |
replace mass airflow sensor |
| 117000 mi US $1244 |
Replaced cracked radiator and failed radiator pump. |
| 69000 mi US $840 |
Coolant hoses had to be replaced as well. |
| 65000 mi | Replaced water pump. replaced water pump |
| 96300 mi US $500 |
oil filter housing gasket leaking |
| 98000 mi US $500 |
Replaced failing thermostat again and replaced 2 belt pulleys and belt tensioner. Changed auto transmission filter and fluid. |
| 106000 mi US $400 |
Replaced thermostat and water pump again |
| 98300 mi US $1200 |
Valve cover leaking- cracked R&R, Replaced spark plugs again |
| 119300 mi US $500 |
Thermostat started leaking again. third time it has failed in last 3 years |
| 124000 mi US $650 |
dash light on for service engine soon-oxygen sensor needed replacement |
| 154000 mi US $1600 |
replaced radiator all hoses belts and pulleys |
| 150300 mi US $150 |
Cracked radiator. Replaced with aftermarket radiator. |
| 33000 mi US $250 |
cvv replaced by me. Kit cost $150. Dealer wanted more than $400.00 |
| 33300 mi US $85 |
Bank 2 oxygen sensor, precatalytic. Fixed myself for less than $100. Must have computer program loaded into PC and connect to car input for diagnosis. |
| 34838 mi US $120 |
Valve cover gasket Valve cover gasket change. Was leaking quite small amount of oil. Although less than 35 K miles, is almost 10 years old. Few months ago I had to change the CV valve, but was misspelled as CV. |
| 37600 mi US $300 |
Broken radiator. |
| 51000 mi US $20 |
Oil line to VANOS. |
| 62000 mi US $100 |
Postcatalytic sensor |
| 103000 mi US $225 |
Needed to replace the valve cover gasket as it was leaking. |
| 108000 mi US $300 |
Valve cover was leaking and caused the oil to drain which resulted in a diesel sound while at idle. Replaced valve cover, not just gasket. |
| 116000 mi US $1500 |
Coolant system overhaul was required. Also changed the fan clutch. |
| 79000 mi US $551 |
The oil filter housing needed to be resealed. The mechanic installed a new seal and lubricated the gasket. $263.64 |
| 89000 mi US $500 |
New mass air flow meter was needed, as the old one caused a check engine light. |
| 101000 mi US $1100 |
Thermostat failed, check engine light illuminated, part replaced |
| 80000 mi | Vacuum leaks in a number of components |
| 87000 mi US $600 |
Water pump blew out |
| 62600 mi | Intake manifold |
| 64500 mi US $175 |
Intake manifold. |
| 64600 mi US $900 |
Replaced throttle body. Had caution light in the middle display. Engine would periodically enter failsafe mode. |
| 86000 mi US $900 |
Automatic Transmission fluid replaced (burned due to previous issue, auxiliary fan failure), Camshaft Position Sensors (intake and exhaust) replaced, rear brake pads replaced. |
| 64000 mi US $500 |
Failed ignition coil |
| 73300 mi US $40 |
Replaced Oil Pan Gasket |
| 43000 mi | Valve cover leak. |
| 69000 mi US $800 |
Radiator leak. |
| 69000 mi US $300 |
Valve cover gasket replaced. |
2002 BMW 5-Series 4dr Sedan
225-horsepower 3.0L I6 5-speed manual RWD
| 99000 mi US $500 |
Failed thermostat, replaced entire cooling system pre-emptively. |
| 115000 mi US $75 |
The VANOS seals were replaced to correct a engine stumble between 1000-3000 rpm. |
| 42460 mi US $234 |
replaced faulty thermostat |
| 52100 mi US $200 |
Replaced valve cover to fix leak. replaced leaky valve cover gasket |
| 55000 mi US $70 |
leaky coolant hose replaced |
| 57000 mi US $500 |
CCV (crank case ventilation) valve replaced due to clogging/oil leak. |
| 62000 mi US $250 |
oil filter housing gasket replaced due to oil leak. |
| 71000 mi US $1000 |
cooling system overhaul. main failed element that triggered the overhaul: coolant expansion tank. |
| 81000 mi US $250 |
Failed oil level sensor, causing wrong low oil level warning |
| 97000 mi US $100 |
Radiator, Water pump, Thermostat. Thermostat was the real issue, other was PM. Replaced Exhaust Cam position Sensor. Check Engine light was intermittent |
| 158100 mi R 550 |
Clutch was replaced |
| 164300 mi R 1000 |
Water leak caused misfire. Cylinder head was removed and reconditioned. Gaskets replaced. Process was held up by machine shop being closed for Christmas holiday. |
| 169260 mi R 300 |
Engine overheated, water leaks fixed |
| 170500 mi R 600 |
Radiator was replaced |
| 179180 mi | Car blew head gasket and overheated. It is now off the road, awaiting funds for repair or a decision to scrap it. The head was overhauled before, but the car kept using coolant. |
| 126700 mi US $457 |
Intake air valve was broken. Very expensive part. Diagnosis was more expensive than actually replacing it. |
| 145100 mi US $1300 |
Valve cover gasket, front main seal, oil filter housing gasket replaced. Leaked about a quart every 750 miles. |
| 177000 mi US $800 |
Replace water hoses from engine to overflow tank and heater core. Oil change. |
| 147700 mi US $1800 |
Cam shaft position sensor |
| 220000 mi US $200 |
Overflow tank cracked |
| 143300 mi US $500 |
Oil gasket leak |
| 101300 mi US $6000 |
Clutch replacement and flywheel replacement. |
| 151700 mi US $160 |
Oxygen sensor failed |
| 155300 mi US $190 |
Fan clutch was slipping and was replaced |
| 91000 mi | Replace worn drive belts |
2002 BMW 5-Series 4dr Sedan
184-horsepower 2.5L I6 5-speed shiftable automatic RWD
| 90520 mi A $400 |
Radiator hoses replaced and coolant box replaced |
| 91020 mi A $900 |
Oil leak requiring new head gasket- $550 New radiator - $390 Both age related repairs. |
| 92380 mi | I did have a second coolant box which houses the radiator cap and was replaced in February and outside warranty. |
| 79000 mi US $295 |
vehicle was losing coolant. All coolant hoses were cracked and leaking. All were replaced |
| 80000 mi US $694 |
radiator leaking needed to be replaced |
| 80000 mi US $1200 |
Car won't go into sleep mode and battery dies if not run every day. Mechanic frustrated now on to second shop - still not repaired. |
| 82000 mi US $1300 |
Problem continues to manifest itself. Have replaced two control modules - one in September and one in October. Replacement of second control module. Hate this car!!! |
| 88000 mi US $1080 |
Replaced thermostat (check engine soon light came on). Replaced the oil filter gasket (oil leak). |
2002 BMW 5-Series 4dr Sedan
184-horsepower 2.5L I6 5-speed manual RWD
| 124620 mi $200 |
car just cut while driving and couldn't start again. |
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