New Engine - Guidance

[bmwdinan5]

Hi everyone,

I recently joined the forum as a new M5 owners. I've owned many BMW's in the past, but never a M (550 e60, 540 e39, etc).

I picked up a 2014 CP M5 with 29k miles in Virginia and drove it home to Chicago Friday night. 800 mile drive was long but great scenery. On Saturday I drove it up to Wisconsin to pick up a could cosmetic items and then back to Chicago; another 300 miles. Once back in Chicago, I was excited to finally give the car a good wash and show it off to my wife. This is where it goes bad.

Around 7pm Saturday night I'm on the highway and all of a sudden I hear a pop and series of warnings come up in quick succession.

1.) Drivetrain Malfunction
2.) Low Coolant
3.) Loss of oil pressure.

As soon as I saw the loss of oil pressure, I killed the engine and proceeded to cross 3 lanes of traffic to get over to the shoulder. This was a very dangerous maneuver as the cars were flying. I finally stopped in front of an off ramp barrier; which means I had cars flying 80mph all around me. I immediately called for BMW assist and began the process of them calling a toe. While waiting for the toll I proceeded to exit the vehicle. What I found was a pool engine oil every where. The entire undercarriage was coated, giant puddle on the floor and entire back end looked like it was super soaker with oil. Actually their was so much oil on the back of the car, the tow truck guy thought that was how my car was painted.

Today my dealership called and informed me that it appears a rod blew through the block and I would need a new motor which BMW approved.

Now before I purchased this vehicle I had my local BMW SM pull the entire service report. Everything was clean, not a single repair that was outside of standard maintenance. I've done extensive searches on the web, and can't find anyone else who's had a similar issue.

It appears my dealership will need 3 weeks to complete the repair based on engine delivery. I've expressed to my SM not to rush the repair as I don't want something this sophisticated to be performed with poor quality.

As enthusiasts,

1.) What concerns would you call out to the dealership who's performing this repair?
2.) I would expect BMW would recommend an engine service after 1200 miles. The dealership indicated I would be on the hook for this, but I feel BMW should as its required followup action for the repair. Would you ask BMW to cover this?
3.) Has anyone seen this in other S63 engine?
4.) With the dealership who sold me the vehicle, do I make them aware of the catastrophic failure which occurred 24 hours after purchase? Would it be wrong to ask that dealership to assist in composting with covering my first payment ($520), etc?

Thanks in advance

[ur20v]

1- none, they are trained, have BMW backing them and its a warrantied repair.
2- its only an oil change and check over but you could negociate on this- when was your car last service or when was it due for the next?
3- every engine will have failures, the S63 is no different, luckily its VERY rare even when tuned.
4- This seems reasonalbe considering the time you had the car and the time it will take to repair. Is it BMW finance/lease?

[13M5F10]

Originally Posted by ur20v

1- none, they are trained, have BMW backing them and its a warrantied repair.
2- its only an oil change and check over but you could negociate on this- when was your car last service or when was it due for the next?
3- every engine will have failures, the S63 is no different, luckily its VERY rare even when tuned.
4- This seems reasonalbe considering the time you had the car and the time it will take to repair. Is it BMW finance/lease?

I agree -

I do know two people who have had their S63TU motors replaced for the same issue, however, their cars were pushed to its limits which resulted in the blown rod. Nonetheless, it was covered under warranty and their cars were returned and they have had no issues since.

It's hard to say what could have caused your issue, there are too many variables that cold have caused the blown rod.

As far as a 1200 service, I've heard through BMW as well as through my two friends that the engine comes from factory "broken in" hence the reason why it's not required and that it would be on you.

Regarding the dealer you bought your car from, definitely notify them and request compensation of some sort. Discount on the car, first two months payment, or discounts on future services.

[MCarsFan]

Advised not to rev past 5,000 rpm for first 1,000 miles. Then oil change, follow normal service routine.

[TrevorM3]

tell that dealership to suck it, and do the breakin service. there is no logical reason for you to have to pay that.

sucks to hear this happen, but at least you have warranty.

[allmotor_2000]

Wonder who's car this was before...? Glad they are fixing it..!

[bmwdinan5]

Well the new engine arrived Thursday and I had a chance to stop by the dealership over the weekend to see progress. The master tech was able to separate the drivetrain (engine & trans) from the vehicle. After seeing everything that has to be removed from the current engine and reinstalled on the new engine I started to get a sinking feeling. The dozens of wires and hoses and components that need to be removed and reinstalled is overwhelming.

Although the tech has performed N63 swaps before, this will be the dealerships first S63tu swap. I have appreciation for the training he has, but I'm concerned with the shear number items that need to be over something will be installed/adjusted improperly. e.g missing/damaged gasket, over/under torque, mis-routing of a wire/sensor, etc, etc.

I've emailed the exec team at BMWNA explaining the situation and the fact I've been a loyal customer since my first BMW, an e21. I'm hoping they'd be willing to have a second set of eyes validate the final assembly and to stand behind the work by extending my warranty to 6/100k from 4/50k.

I've attached some new photos... looks like a rod blew through the block, they still don't know what caused it.

[drbru]

Sorry to hear this mate....TO be honest though and this is not what you will want to hear...If this happened so soon after purchasing the car I would be taking the car back straightaway and asking for your money back....Even if BMW successfully swap the engine with no further problems, when you come to sell the car this type of failure will put potentional buyers off....(I certainly would not buy a car with this history) even if it appeared to be all good

[M5 London]

Originally Posted by drbru

Sorry to hear this mate....TO be honest though and this is not what you will want to hear...If this happened so soon after purchasing the car I would be taking the car back straightaway and asking for your money back....Even if BMW successfully swap the engine with no further problems, when you come to sell the car this type of failure will put potentional buyers off....(I certainly would not buy a car with this history) even if it appeared to be all good

Absolutely.

I am pretty sure, everything else being equal would mean this car is now devalued in comparison to a car without an engine swap.

The car needs to be returned to the seller and your money returned in full.

[MCarsFan]

I'm sure the new motor will be perfect. I would ask for some compensation given you just bought the car though.

[Bimmer6]

If the replacement is a new engine you will have no issues law of averages, and consider you have a used car with a new engine sweet deal actually. If it's a rebuild engine I would see if I could get a refund personally due to the failure. Good luck.

[M6Pilot]

29,000 miles vs. 0 miles ! I will take the 0 everyday of the week twice on sundays, I consider this inconvenient but a win. Also check what the warranty will be on the new engine, don't recall if u said anything about that. maybe you can push them for extended warranty there cost.

[Darkshear]

Originally Posted by Bimmer6

If the replacement is a new engine you will have no issues law of averages, and consider you have a used car with a new engine sweet deal actually. If it's a rebuild engine I would see if I could get a refund personally due to the failure. Good luck.

Sorry if this is TLDR...

Aye, agreed. I've seen them fly in new engines from Germany, and I've seen the dealer source "refurbished". If you get a new engine, have some faith--that puts you in to effectively a brand new power train.

I would ask if they've done the data upload to BMW to determine number of launches, etc. If the car has been "abused", I would request an evaluation for a clutch replacement.

While that engine is out, you do have some opportunity to have the dealer do a few extra little things like replace differential fluid, DCT fluid, and they'll work a lot of magic to build that labor in to the repair. I've been through two M engine repairs (E90 M3, E63 M6) and I was able to work with my SA to provocatively replace other little bits in there for very cheap.

bmwdinan5 Perhaps my experience will shine a different perspective for you... I picked up my CPO M5 in May. A dream come true, I was horrified when I started looking in to the history of the car. My car was originally leased by a tuning company in New Jersey. They're pretty active on these boards actually. They beat the *SHIT* out of this car. Over 100 launches, heavily modded; it was the fastest known M5 in the world for a time. There is still a video on YouTube of this car doing the quarter mile in 10.95 at 131mph. These guys did "God knows what" to the engine, they did suspension, exhaust, wheels, etc etc--I don't know everything. As it turned out, when I picked up this car, it has a defective Mechatronics unit in the DCT, a burned clutch, leaking differential, !!broken engine mount!!, and numerous other issues caused by previous owner. I wonder if the dealer even drove or examined this car before certifying it. The service order was 8 pages long and $13,000 afterwards.

The service tech that performed the repairs was from the UK. He was one of the first techs to pull a DCT and rebuild. He did an AMAZING job and I have absolute, 100% confidence in the power train of the car. Just in case something happens though, I made sure to DOCUMENT EVERYTHING in the event I needed to make a case to BMWNA.

In the end I called BMWNA and noted the issues. I contacted the dealer immediately and kept them in the loop the entire time. All communications are documented.

I'd say seeking compensation is a long shot, but the sooner you bring them in the loop, the better. You can push for comp after the conclusion of the repair. Do the math on lost time with the car and ask very nicely for a concession.

My $0.02.

[RPiM5]

It's always worth a shot to contact BMWNA customer relations in situations like these where the car is still under factory warranty.

Yes the cars value may diminished a little bit but I have always seen engine replacement as a good thing, especially as a private party buyer.

I'm more interested to know how this could have happened in the first place. It's extremely difficult to have a rod penetrate and go through the block. I'm thinking a rod bearing issue or some high heat situation where the rod actually severed from itself and exited the block with the piston head. Too bad BMW doesn't disclose these kinds of findings as to what actually happened.

Either way, the OP should be fine. Once the engine gets installed, continue to drive the car just as you have been and enjoy it, well once the new engine has broken in of course.

[bmwdinan5]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. BMW believes one of the injectors failed which lead to the cylinder filling with fuel, etc, etc. I've emailed BMWNA Customer relations and some email addresses I found for their leadership. I have not heard back yet so I will be making a call this evening on my way home. I'm simply asking them to cover extend the powertrain warranty to 100k. I think this is reasonable to ensure longevity of the repair.

My service advisor informed me the engine was installed this afternoon and they are simply working on reinstalling the suspension. Should I confirm they will be performing a wheel alignment?

[RPiM5]

Originally Posted by bmwdinan5

Thanks for the feedback everyone. BMW believes one of the injectors failed which lead to the cylinder filling with fuel, etc, etc. I've emailed BMWNA Customer relations and some email addresses I found for their leadership. I have not heard back yet so I will be making a call this evening on my way home. I'm simply asking them to cover extend the powertrain warranty to 100k. I think this is reasonable to ensure longevity of the repair.

My service advisor informed me the engine was installed this afternoon and they are simply working on reinstalling the suspension. Should I confirm they will be performing a wheel alignment?

Yes they will need to do a wheel alignment make sure they do. An extended warranty for the drive train should be very reasonable to ask.

Good luck on a speedy recovery.

[bmwdinan5]

Good morning

I forgot to mention what they feel was the root cause of the rod bending. They believe an injector stayed open and began filling the cylinder, which ended up causing a hydro lock situation. I guess that's possible, but what are the odds? That would need to be a lot of fuel. Has anyone heard of this happening with other BMW engines?

[GB///M]

Good luck with everything. Who's doing the repairs, Perillo?

[bmwdinan5]

I pretty much refuse to walk into Perillo and I live across the street. I've only had bad experiences.

I've been going to Laurel and my Service Manager Bob is great.

[GB///M]

Originally Posted by bmwdinan5

I pretty much refuse to walk into Perillo and I live across the street. I've only had bad experiences.

I've been going to Laurel and my Service Manager Bob is great.

Yeah same here that's why I was asking and hoping it wasn't there.

[ur20v]

New Engine = great

Pulling these engines and putting in a full engine isn't hard - if they were rebuild its a little more involved. To the untrained it looks overwhelming but isn't any differnet to a N63 or other build in practiaclity.

Having been though the master tech program I can tell you these guys are 'grease monkies' but highly intelligent and skilled technicians in the true sense of the word.

You are over thinking it. And if you are unsure of the build on completion you can always spend your own money to get it checked. It will be covered by the standard parts warranty and any exsisting warranty so you are covered.

Just get the car back - bed in and enjoy!

P.S

No sustained high revs

No constant revs

Fully warm engine and oil - not by idling - drive straight away

Vary revs and load (throttle position) constantly and build up from a low rpm ceiling and load to a high rpm and load

Do this on a few journeys as possible to get to over 500 miles then you should be good to go as you are not beding in the brakes, clutch, gears or dif which takes longer

[bmwdinan5]

I picked up the car Friday and everything seems great. Tonight I was looking under the hood and noticed they forgot to attach two of the host clamps that connect the turbos to the heat exchanges. Is this something I can get by with for a few days or should get addressed asap. Anything else I should check to make sure they didn't miss anything?