Alternator VALEO or OEM BMW

PartReview Score

Rank #4 in ranking

3.7

Lights

3.8

Noise

1.0

Warning light

3.5

Owners' choice:

Ford Escape

PR Score

Ranking

Votes

Reviews

Average rating

Properties

Car

PartReview Score

Rank #12 in ranking

3.2

Lights

3.3

Noise

5.0

Warning light

2.1

No data

Reviews

All

VALEO

OEM BMW

VALEO › Alternator

Pad43 25 Jan 2026, 00:13

Warning light:

Rating 4.0

Had the same in reverse. Bosch factory, Valeo worked fine though.

Pros: worked fine

Vehicle: Volkswagen Golf

VALEO › Alternator

peacefulhectarez 27 Dec 2025, 03:35

Rating 5.0

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.

OEM BMW › Alternator

Former-Primary-3186 16 Dec 2025, 20:37

Noise:

Rating 5.0

Actively replacing our alternator now, I used this video to confirm that it was the same sound.

Vehicle: BMW

OEM BMW › Alternator

nikediboi 21 Nov 2025, 20:54

Warning light:

Rating 4.0

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.

Pros: reliable, no critical problems

Cons: alternator gave out, EGR thermostat bad

Vehicle: BMW

Mileage: 100000 km

OEM BMW › Alternator

bad_kiwi2020 16 Nov 2025, 09:31

Rating 4.0

I've replaced the alternator (failed on me), done waterpump & thermostat (180,000km done as a precaution).

Pros: done as a precaution

Cons: alternator failed

Vehicle: BMW

Mileage: 190000 km

OEM BMW › Alternator

CarsAlcoholSmokes 9 Dec 2025, 09:34

Warning light:

Rating 3.0

Dead battery within months, and car completely shutting off, your car SCREAMS alternator issue. Get it checked out.

Cons: alternator issue

Vehicle: BMW X1

VALEO › Alternator

Character_Wishbone18 18 Nov 2025, 06:03

Rating 3.0

I had Valeo in my other car, very common for Bosche to overcharge.

Pros: very common

Cons: Bosche overcharge

OEM BMW › Alternator

mr_lab_rat 2 Nov 2025, 22:36

Rating 1.5

My friend’s BMW X5 had an alternator fail at 50k, she does a lot of city driving so lots of start/stops.

Cons: alternator failed

Vehicle: BMW X5

Mileage: 80467 km

VALEO › Alternator

Caldas29 24 Apr 2025, 11:26

Rating 1.0

Mesmo um Valeo novo está caríssimo, pede mais orçamentos.

Pros: pede mais orçamentos

Cons: Valeo novo está caríssimo

VALEO › Alternator

RudbeckiaIS 19 Aug 2024, 12:17

Lights:

Rating 1.0

Alternator is my wild guess: Valeo alternators have long sucked, kinda like their starter motors.

Cons: alternators have long sucked

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Show all

Which alternator to choose — VALEO or OEM BMW?

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:

Comparison of alternator VALEO and OEM BMW

PR Score.
Overall ranking.
Vote balance.
Average rating.
Number of reviews.
Feature ratings.
Car owners’ choice.

Which alternator are better — OEM BMW or VALEO?

In March 2026 on PartReview, alternator VALEO were overall better than OEM BMW.

VALEO received a PR Score of 70 out of 100, and OEM BMW scored 62 points.
VALEO ranked 4 in the overall ranking, and OEM BMW ranked 12.
The average rating is higher for VALEO (3.7) than for OEM BMW (3.2).
Alternator VALEO have better feature ratings than OEM BMW:
- Noise - owners believe, that this property for OEM BMW is better than VALEO.
- Lights - drivers claim, that this property for VALEO is outperforms OEM BMW.
- Warning light - reviews suggest, that this property for VALEO is preferred to OEM BMW.

Which alternator are more popular — VALEO or OEM BMW?

In March 2026 on PartReview, alternator VALEO were overall more popular than OEM BMW.

By vote balance, alternator VALEO surpassed OEM BMW:

For VALEO, the ratio of positive (87) to negative (36) votes is 51 vote.
For OEM BMW, the ratio of positive (30) to negative (18) votes is 12 votes.

By number of reviews, alternator VALEO surpassed OEM BMW:

For alternator VALEO there are 39 reviews: 25 positive, 6 neutral, 8 negative.
For alternator OEM BMW there are 15 reviews: 8 positive, 3 neutral, 4 negative.

Which alternator do car owners prefer — VALEO or 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.

Other comparisons of alternator

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.