Help: X5 35i weird sound when accelerate

[sean.18883]

Hi guys,

I'm very new to the community. This is my first BMW, a pre-owned 2016 X5 purchased from The BMW Store's in October 2020 in Vancouver, BC, Canada.

Upon purchase, the car has close to 45k km. It is now sitting at close to 50k km.

Starting a few days ago, I started to notice a high pitch sound on top of the usual solid turbo engine sound when I press the gas pedal and accelerate between 0-50 km/hour.

There has been no change to how the car performs and drives except the sound... It is a bit irritating especially when driving in parking lot or accelerate on a quiet street.

Since the car is recently out of warranty (the warranty expired 5 days before I purchased the vehicle), I hope I can gather some thoughts here before bringing my car to the dealership and pay for the diagnostic....

Could someone please share with me on what could cause this high pitch sound to appear? Also, ways to fix this if possible?

Video is attached in this link:

Lastly, if anyone is in Vancouver, BC, Canada and know places that do good repair and service work other than BMW dealerships' service centers, please share some with me.

Thank you all so much in advance!

[turboawd]

Initial guess would be power steering pump. But you'd only have that if you had the adaptive suspension I think.
Or alternator? Or ac? Does the noise change with ac on or off?

[sean.18883]

Originally Posted by turboawd

Initial guess would be power steering pump. But you'd only have that if you had the adaptive suspension I think.
Or alternator? Or ac? Does the noise change with ac on or off?

Thanks for the input! But I don't think it is related to AC, i turned off my fan and radio to catch the noise and there is actually no change. The high pitch sound seems to go together with rpm or engine? when i accelerate the sound increases, then when shift gear goes from 1 to 2, 2 to 3, it pauses/drops then increases as ram rises....

Also, I don't think my car has adaptive suspension since it only comes with basic packages?

[turboawd]

Originally Posted by sean.18883

Thanks for the input! But I don't think it is related to AC, i turned off my fan and radio to catch the noise and there is actually no change. The high pitch sound seems to go together with rpm or engine? when i accelerate the sound increases, then when shift gear goes from 1 to 2, 2 to 3, it pauses/drops then increases as ram rises....

Also, I don't think my car has adaptive suspension since it only comes with basic packages?

Do you hear the sound with the hood up and someone revving it?
So since the power steering and coolant pump and fan are electric, that only leaves the alternator and ac pump on the front of the motor. Other possibility is the trans whining. But the transmission on the x are pretty solid.

[scotty339]

If you suspect turbo noise, go take a look at your charge pipe and make sure its connected on both ends and no cracks. The stock plastic ones can break.

[turboawd]

Originally Posted by scotty339

If you suspect turbo noise, go take a look at your charge pipe and make sure its connected on both ends and no cracks. The stock plastic ones can break.

That's not turbo. The sound is directly correlated to rpms. Turbo spins faster when under a load. There's no load revving while parked.

[GLU_WEIN]

Originally Posted by sean.18883

Hi guys,

I'm very new to the community. This is my first BMW, a pre-owned 2016 X5 purchased from The BMW Store's in October 2020 in Vancouver, BC, Canada.

Upon purchase, the car has close to 45k km. It is now sitting at close to 50k km.

Starting a few days ago, I started to notice a high pitch sound on top of the usual solid turbo engine sound when I press the gas pedal and accelerate between 0-50 km/hour.

There has been no change to how the car performs and drives except the sound... It is a bit irritating especially when driving in parking lot or accelerate on a quiet street.

Since the car is recently out of warranty (the warranty expired 5 days before I purchased the vehicle), I hope I can gather some thoughts here before bringing my car to the dealership and pay for the diagnostic....

Could someone please share with me on what could cause this high pitch sound to appear? Also, ways to fix this if possible?

Video is attached in this link:

Lastly, if anyone is in Vancouver, BC, Canada and know places that do good repair and service work other than BMW dealerships' service centers, please share some with me.

Thank you all so much in advance!

Check the idler pulley, belt tensioner pulley and alternator pulley, as they age they start making funky noises, this happens a lot in the E series so it wouldn't surprise me that it carried over to the F series. If it is a pulley it will be a lot cheaper to replace also.

[Vdesai0326]

Originally Posted by DieselDemonDM

Check the idler pulley, belt tensioner pulley and alternator pulley, as they age they start making funky noises, this happens a lot in the E series so it wouldn't surprise me that it carried over to the F series. If it is a pulley it will be a lot cheaper to replace also.

Yup agree with what he said I would replace drive belt and tensioner and the idler pulley.
Does it make the noise if you are at idle??

[M302_imola]

Love the gauges. My '15 doesn't look like that.

[turboawd]

Originally Posted by M302_imola

Love the gauges. My '15 doesn't look like that.

You can retrofit.

[M302_imola]

Originally Posted by turboawd

You can retrofit.

Around how much $ we talking?

[turboawd]

Originally Posted by M302_imola

Around how much $ we talking?

Maybe 2000?
Search on here for '6wb'

[M302_imola]

Originally Posted by turboawd

Maybe 2000?
Search on here for '6wb'

Jesus! Nevermind, that's more than I thought.

[sean.18883]

Originally Posted by DieselDemonDM

Check the idler pulley, belt tensioner pulley and alternator pulley, as they age they start making funky noises, this happens a lot in the E series so it wouldn't surprise me that it carried over to the F series. If it is a pulley it will be a lot cheaper to replace also.

Wow man, you are 100% correct. Thank you! I went to the dealer to get it diagnosed, and the technician narrowed down to either idler pulley or alternator pulley. Now the problem is solved by replacing the idler pulley.

[sean.18883]

Originally Posted by Vdesai0326

Yup agree with what he said I would replace drive belt and tensioner and the idler pulley.
Does it make the noise if you are at idle??

Thanks man!! It is indeed the idler pulley that made the sound per the technician at dealer. The problem is solved now by replacing the pulley.

[sean.18883]

Originally Posted by turboawd

Do you hear the sound with the hood up and someone revving it?
So since the power steering and coolant pump and fan are electric, that only leaves the alternator and ac pump on the front of the motor. Other possibility is the trans whining. But the transmission on the x are pretty solid.

Thanks man! You are correct, the technician narrowed it down to the alternator and AC pump area, saying it was either the alternator pulley or idler pulley that made the sound. I got the idler pulley replaced since it is the cheaper option to do, and the problem has been resolved. Really appreciate your help

[GLU_WEIN]

Originally Posted by sean.18883

Wow man, you are 100% correct. Thank you! I went to the dealer to get it diagnosed, and the technician narrowed down to either idler pulley or alternator pulley. Now the problem is solved by replacing the idler pulley.

Excellent! Glad I could help and you got it taken cared of.