Had the same in reverse. Bosch factory, Valeo worked fine though.
Remember the old Bosch and Valeo alternators where the brushes were built into the regulator, which cost $15 and came off the back with two screws? Pepperidge Farm remembers.
Actively replacing our alternator now, I used this video to confirm that it was the same sound.
My first car was a E46 316i, under 100tkm on odo, had it for 3 years, literally gave no problems.
Sold the E46 and got a E39 530D because I love them. Has been reliable so far, I've had it as daily for almost a year now and the only critical problems it has had are that the alternator gave out after a couple of weeks owning and EGR thermostat was bad.
I've replaced the alternator (failed on me), done waterpump & thermostat (180,000km done as a precaution).
Dead battery within months, and car completely shutting off, your car SCREAMS alternator issue. Get it checked out.
I had Valeo in my other car, very common for Bosche to overcharge.
My friend’s BMW X5 had an alternator fail at 50k, she does a lot of city driving so lots of start/stops.
Mesmo um Valeo novo está caríssimo, pede mais orçamentos.
Alternator is my wild guess: Valeo alternators have long sucked, kinda like their starter motors.
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If choosing alternator across many manufacturers, check the part ranking. If your choice is down to two brands, the PartReview part comparisons help.
We compare alternator across these categories:
In March 2026 on PartReview, alternator VALEO were overall better than OEM BMW.
In March 2026 on PartReview, alternator VALEO were overall more popular than OEM BMW.
By vote balance, alternator VALEO surpassed OEM BMW:
By number of reviews, alternator VALEO surpassed OEM BMW:
In March 2026, according to PartReview, alternator VALEO led more car-specific ratings than OEM BMW:
VALEO are chosen by owners of cars such as: Ford Escape, and others.
Alternator OEM BMW have not yet taken leading positions in car-specific ratings. You can help by adding a review and specifying your car.
If this comparison didn’t fully answer your question, there are many others on PartReview.
For example, comparisons of alternator VALEO with: Denso, Bosch, Duralast, OEM Toyota, OEM Honda, OEM Volkswagen, AC DELCO, OEM FORD, OEM Audi, OEM Nissan.
Also available: comparisons of alternator OEM BMW with: Denso, Bosch, Duralast, OEM Toyota, OEM Honda, OEM Volkswagen, AC DELCO, OEM FORD, OEM Audi, OEM Nissan.
You can also see who is better among other alternator manufacturers: Bosch or Denso, Denso or Duralast, OEM Toyota or Denso, Bosch or Duralast, Denso or VALEO.
