BMW X1: Reduced Power & Stalling Issues, Help Needed

Hey there! I have some experience working on BMWs and went through something very similar with my 2011 BMW 5-series. Had the exact same symptoms, rough idle, power loss, and CEL. After dealing with the sluggish response for a couple weeks, I finally took it to my trusted mechanic who diagnosed a faulty DISA valve. Fixed it by replacing the complete DISA unit, cost me around 280 Euro but the car ran like new afterward. Interestingly, my friend with a BMW 3-series had identical issues. The symptoms you're describing are pretty typical of a bad DISA valve on these engines. Could you share your mileage and whether you've had any other recent engine work done? This would help confirm if we're looking at the same issue. Also, are you getting any specific error codes? That info would be really useful.

Just had my first service done last week, and sitting at 64055 KM. Thanks for sharing your experience! This sounds exactly like what I'm going through. It's good to know there might be a straightforward fix. I haven't scanned for error codes yet, but I'll definitely get that done. The symptoms started pretty suddenly, maybe 2-3 days ago. Did yours also develop quickly like that? Going to schedule a mechanic visit soon, just wanted to be better informed before going in.

Hey again! Yeah, that's pretty much exactly how mine started too, super sudden, like a switch flipped. Mine actually started acting up right around the 65,000 KM mark, so our timelines match up really well. When I first noticed it, I thought I was imagining things, but within a few days, it got really obvious. Just to follow up on my previous repair experience, after replacing the DISA valve, I haven't had a single issue in the past year. It's definitely worth getting those error codes read though, just to be 100% sure. Your mileage and symptoms are so similar to what I dealt with, I'd bet good money it's the same problem. One thing I forgot to mention in my first reply, before I got it fixed, I noticed the symptoms were worse when the engine was cold, especially in the morning. Did you notice anything like that? Also, my repair cost might be different from what you'll pay since prices vary, but at least it gives you a ballpark figure to expect. Let us know what the error codes say when you get them checked. It'll be interesting to see if they match up with what I had (P1017 in my case, if I remember correctly).

Thanks so much for all the detailed info! And yes, you nailed it about the cold starts! I've been noticing it's definitely worse in the mornings before the engine warms up. I actually just got back from getting the codes read at a local parts store, and guess what, got the P1017 code, exactly like yours! I'm feeling much more confident now about what I'm dealing with. Going to call my mechanic tomorrow and specifically mention the DISA valve. Really appreciate you taking the time to share your experience, it's helped me avoid a lot of potential diagnostic runaround. I'll probably go ahead with the repair next week, and it's reassuring to know roughly what I should expect to pay. I'll still have them double-check everything just to be safe, but at least I won't be going in completely blind. Thanks again for all your help! It's such a relief to have a better idea of what I'm dealing with.