[richjamison]

I have read several posts that seem to touch on this subject but none of them come to conclusion, or the discussion will veer to a different topic, or end up not dealing with my cars equipment. So I thought I'd create a new post.

2007 328i:
I have noticed that my car will start making a whistling sound as it warms up. When I begin my comute to work (or anywhere) the car is fine. About 5 minutes into the drive I start noticing the whistle. RPM's go up the whistle subsides and as the RPM's come down the whistle is obvious. As driving continues, there manifests a constant whistle and when I come to a stop the engine shakes sitting at idle. If I turn the car off then start it back up, the issue resolves itself.

This issue is not consistent, but has become more prominent in the colder winter days that we have been having here in Oklahoma. I had been simply dismissing the matter, but today the service engine light came on. I have not had a chance to code the light. I'm not sure that the service light is related to the behaviour because the light has come on once before during the summer but turned off on it's own.

Rich

[smallseafishie]

Does it sorta sound like a siren?

edit nevermind: OP drives a 328i.../

[richjamison]

Took the car to autozone to run the code. It returned P1553. They didn't have any BMW specific information on this code. However the Volkswagen definition is: Barometric/Manifold pressure signal ratio out of range. This also concurs with a description at this link. There was also another description at this link as being Engine Position System 'B' Performance (Bank 1). Anyone know what the implications may be in this situation.

BTW: After the guy got the code, I started the car back up and the SES light went off.

[timmahh]

I searched the interwebs and couldn't find any help, I was going to post helpful info and then bubb rubb, but I couldn't find info, so you just get bubb rubb:

Note you prolly want to have a BMW dealer read the code, I read that generic OBD2 codes won't provide any info into the problem.

[kittykat21682]

Rich,
Did you have any luck diagnosing the whistling sound? My car does the exact same thing and it's so embarrassing! In the drive through I can totally hear it, I turn the car off and on and voila the sound is gone... I want to get it fixed but I don't want to pay an arm and a leg...

[The HACK]

Intake boot leak.

[richjamison]

Originally Posted by kittykat21682

Rich,
Did you have any luck diagnosing the whistling sound? My car does the exact same thing and it's so embarrassing! In the drive through I can totally hear it, I turn the car off and on and voila the sound is gone... I want to get it fixed but I don't want to pay an arm and a leg...

I took the car in last monday and they pulled a code that indicates a cam shaft sensor. I have not had it replaced yet since the problem hasn't prevented me from driving. I can tell you that, in addition to the whistling, if I take the car on long highway trips (2 hours), when I exit the highway and come to a stop the car will stall. At that point I have to pull the key fob, put it back in, and the car starts no problem, drives good. I plan on taking it back in next month to have the work done.

Here are the codes that were indicated:
2A99 Crankshaft exhaust camshaft, correlation
2A82 VANOS intake

[ovaltine224]

any update on this? my car does this too. i replaced my intake solenoid and checked all the coils and plugs and still has this issue. 3 of the cylinders are misfiring when the whisteling starts

[John P McConnell]

i have an obd2 code that is popping up its a p1449 code any help would be awesome what is it and what is the best way for going about fixing it?

[Whistle_problems]

I'm having the exact same problem as OP.

Has anyone found a solution for this yet? Spent hours trying to replicate sound once i took it into the shop but of course it didn't make the whistle once i was there. This problem occurs often but not all the time. Maybe 20-25% of the time?

The high pitched whistle sounds like a tea kettle and it is very loud. I can easily hear it even with my windows up and music loud. Once the whistle kicks in the only way to rid of it is to turn off the car and start it back up. It makes the whistle while cruising as well as at a stop light.

[Whistle_problems]

bump - problem is unresolved =/

[tsensational]

I see people have checked their intake hoses but has anyone checked the intake manifold and the intake manifold gaskets? Or even the seals for your MAP sensor? Also throttle body gasket? On most cars I've worked with, those are the places where the whistling comes from.

[BenõrTheBMW]

Bump!!

I have this problem but the whistle seems to come out of the exhaust? It's only at idle.

[evolnimi]

The two problems are shown in the video with a fix:

[Degator86]

Ok so I know this is an old thread but I am having this same issue, other then mine is louder, I made a video, I took it to a bmw mechanic in my area and he thinks I need to replace the whole valve cover since the part that has gone bad is build into it. Forgot the name, just trying to get a second opinion. It seems like that's what they came to in the last video In this thread. The car runs perfect, out of the blue while driving it will start to run rough and I'll get the high pitch squealing, it will go away at higher rpm but once idling it makes noise like crazy, once I turn off car and restart it goes away until the next time it acts up. 2011 328i xdrive 67,000 miles on it. Replaced alternator, oil filter adapter gasket(real common from threads) new spark plugs. That's all I've done since owning it for almost 3 months. Originally I thought it was alternator noise, but it's not, I don't think a pully would make the egine run rough. Any help is greatly appreciated.

[Meeni]

Originally Posted by Degator86

Ok so I know this is an old thread but I am having this same issue, other then mine is louder, I made a video, I took it to a bmw mechanic in my area and he thinks I need to replace the whole valve cover since the part that has gone bad is build into it.

A wisthling engine with a hard to open vacuum shut oil filler is a telltale sign of a faulty PCV. The PCV valve is integrated in the valve cover on the 328. That's indeed the normal diagnostic and service plan for these symptoms.

[Degator86]

Originally Posted by Meeni

A wisthling engine with a hard to open vacuum shut oil filler is a telltale sign of a faulty PCV. The PCV valve is integrated in the valve cover on the 328. That's indeed the normal diagnostic and service plan for these symptoms.

Thanks man. Thats what I needed to know, i found other posts that said the same thing, if its hard to pull the cap when in that state, its fualty pcv, looks like I'll be having a long Saturday once I get the valve cover. I think the n51 and n52 are the same cover, since mine is the sulev model. Thanks again, i really appreciate it.

Ps while I have the valve cover off, anything i should just go ahead and replace while in there? It only has 67,000. I know it will come with new seals. Thanks

[Meeni]

Originally Posted by Degator86

Thanks man. Thats what I needed to know, i found other posts that said the same thing, if its hard to pull the cap when in that state, its fualty pcv, looks like I'll be having a long Saturday once I get the valve cover. I think the n51 and n52 are the same cover, since mine is the sulev model. Thanks again, i really appreciate it.

Ps while I have the valve cover off, anything i should just go ahead and replace while in there? It only has 67,000. I know it will come with new seals. Thanks

Nothing special to do in there. Since you will be removing all the tuperware, that's a good time to replace the spark plugs if you are close by their service life (80-100k on N52).

You'll need a new gasket for the valve cover, shoudl come with it. You will also need to replace the valvetronic motor gasket and I'm not sure it comes with it. You also need to extract and reinstall the crankshaft position sensor. The gasket for that part is known to leak easly so I'd throw in a new one as well. Get OEM gaskets.

The PCV is part of emission control and since you have SULEV vehicle it may still be covered by the SULEV warranty. I'd investigate this wrt to your state's local laws, vehicle mileage etc.

[Degator86]

I live in florida, I've seen some people say they have covered it in other states and some not. I am going to give it a shot in my area, see what they say, the car was originally registered in NJ. Other wise I am looking at this listing on e bay. Seems to have new bolts and gaskets.

https://m.ebay.com/itm/ENGINE-VALVE-...oAAOSwtfhYoxqg

[Degator86]

Wow, I just got off phone with bert Smith bmw in st. Pete. There's a recall on my 2011 328i sulev and other models on the pcv valve. That just made my day. There going to give me rental and everything. Thank you man for the info. I was just about to buy the valve cover. I am so glad this actually went well, lady was real nice on the phone actually and helpful.

[AoS810]

Hello e90post!

Just wanted to add my experience with this and a video I recorded. I have an E90 N51 (SULEV) and this is the 2nd time this whistling sound along with rough idle has happened. I am in Orange County, CA so the temperatures are roughly in the 60s to 70s. My car was fully warmed up after a long 50 minute commute with a mix of typical rush hour traffic speeds up to 70-75mph.

Anyone know if this is covered under the SULEV warranty? I currently have around ~140K miles so I'm still covered. I also have a 2A87 code for the exhaust vanos solenoid.

*EDIT* I forgot to add, I waited about 5-10 minutes after I shutoff the car, and turned it back on again and it was completely normal, no whistling or rough idle. Returned to the smooth N51 idling at 600rpm.

Thanks!

- James

[J Dibbz]

Originally Posted by AoS810

Hello e90post!

Just wanted to add my experience with this and a video I recorded. I have an E90 N51 (SULEV) and this is the 2nd time this whistling sound along with rough idle has happened. I am in Orange County, CA so the temperatures are roughly in the 60s to 70s. My car was fully warmed up after a long 50 minute commute with a mix of typical rush hour traffic speeds up to 70-75mph.

Anyone know if this is covered under the SULEV warranty? I currently have around ~140K miles so I'm still covered. I also have a 2A87 code for the exhaust vanos solenoid.

*EDIT* I forgot to add, I waited about 5-10 minutes after I shutoff the car, and turned it back on again and it was completely normal, no whistling or rough idle. Returned to the smooth N51 idling at 600rpm.

Thanks!

- James

I also have an E90 N51 (SULEV) and was having almost the same issue as you. I also had a 2A87 code for the exhaust vanos solenoid. The whistling for me occurred intermittently a couple days at a time but I would only hear it when driving at low speeds. Higher speeds the sound would fade out. If I shut off the car and turned it back on the sound was completely gone. I'm not sure about the coverage under the SULEV warranty but I'm pretty sure your exhaust vanos solenoid might be going bad or is clogged up. You can get them replaced with new ones if you want but you can also try cleaning them first. I ended up removing both the intake and exhaust vanos solenoids and cleaning with CRC Mass Airflow Cleaner. After cleaning I swapped their positions. So far haven't had the sound come up again and it's been about 3 weeks. There are lots of DIY videos on youtube for Vanos solenoid cleaning as it seems to be a common issue with high mileage E90s.