BMW M62

The M62 is BMW’s 4.4-litre V8 of the late 1990s and early 2000s — the engine of the
E39 540i, the E38 740i, the first X5 4.4i and the 840Ci. It replaced the
M60, and the change is visible in the government records as a clean
step in displacement from 4.0 litres to 4.4.

What the M62 is

An all-aluminium V8 with two overhead camshafts per bank and four valves per cylinder,
enlarged from the M60 that preceded it and later fitted with single-VANOS variable valve timing
on the intake camshafts. It sits between BMW’s first modern V8 and the Valvetronic
N62 that replaced it in 2001.

Our archive holds no United States brochure covering these cars — the oldest 5 Series
and 7 Series documents we hold are from 2004, by which time the N62 had arrived — and
rated power appears in certification records only from 1998. This page therefore publishes no
horsepower figure, and what it does publish comes from EPA fuel economy data.

Where it appears in the records

The X5 entry runs to 2005 in the fuel economy records, which is later than the M62’s
production span, and the reason is the changeover: the N62 took over
the 4.4-litre X5 during that period. Displacement alone cannot separate them, because both are
4.4 litres. What separates them is Valvetronic and the model year, and for a specific car the
VIN decoder resolves it.

The 4.0 to 4.4 step

Telling the M62 from the M60 is straightforward, because the displacement changed and the
EPA recorded it:

A pre-2002 BMW V8 of 4.0 litres is an M60; one of 4.4 litres is an M62. There is no ambiguity
in that window, and the rule comes out of a government dataset rather than out of a forum.

The one that is not an M62

The E39 M5 and the Z8 of the same years also have a BMW V8, and it is not this one. Those
cars use the S62: 4.9 litres rather than 4.4, built by BMW M GmbH,
with individual throttle bodies and Double-VANOS. It is a different engine that happens to
share a family, which is the rule for every S-prefixed BMW engine and the subject of our
guide to engine codes.

In the records the difference is visible immediately: 4.9 litres and 15 mpg for the M5 and
Z8, 4.4 litres and 16 to 18 mpg for the 540i.

What we do not publish

No reliability rating. The NHTSA complaint database records faults against a
vehicle, not an engine, and a 1999 5 Series in that database may be a six-cylinder 528i
or a V8 540i without the record saying which. Any figure headed “complaints about the M62” was
produced by splitting those records on an assumption.

Common questions

Which BMWs have the M62?

In the United States: the 540i of 1997–2003, the 740i and 740iL of 1996–2001, the
840Ci of 1996–1997, and the X5 4.4i from 2000.

How much horsepower does the M62 have?

We do not publish a figure. Certification records carrying rated power begin in 1998 and do
not cover these engines, and we hold no brochure of the period. Displacement is 4.4 litres in
every US application.

What is the difference between the M60 and the M62?

Displacement, principally: 4.0 litres against 4.4. The M62 replaced the
M60 between 1996 and 1997 depending on the model, and the table
above gives the exact year for each car.

Is the M5 V8 an M62?

No. The E39 M5 and the Z8 use the 4.9-litre S62, an M division
engine with individual throttle bodies. The 4.4-litre M62 is the ordinary V8 of the 540i and
740i.

What replaced the M62?

The N62 from 2001, the first production engine with Valvetronic.
It kept the 4.4 litres and added a 4.8-litre version.

Sources

Cylinder counts, displacements, model years and fuel economy from EPA fuel economy data, with
the source named on every specification page. No brochure covering these
cars is held in the archive.