Rear Differential Mounts Catastrophic Failure Caught on Video

Darkshear · 11-26-2016, 09:50 AM

***UPDATE 12/31/16***

Took delivery of the new car on Thursday, 12/29. Here is the thread introducing that car: http://f10.m5post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1339232

***UPDATE 12/27/16*** (replies start at post #62)

Well, we found a CPO'd 2014 M5 out in Texas and transferred it in. It finally arrived in Tampa weekend before last. Looks like I'll be taking delivery on 12/29. Looking forward to moving past all this. Thanks goes out to the GM at the Texas store that was willing to part with their car in the interest of customer service.

In the end, BMW NA and my local dealer handled all of this very well, IMHO. Ultimately I'm out some money if you take in to account the Xpel wrap, the interest paid in the loan already, and some other odds and ends.

My car had an MSRP of $111,725. This new car had an MSRP of $127,255. The new car has B&O, full leather, and the carbon ceramic brake package, where my car did not. It also has the BMW M Performance carbon fiber spoiler. On the other end, this car went in to service a few months before mine, so my CPO will end 12/2019 instead of 4/2020.

So yeah, overall it has worked out fairly I believe.

I'm truly sad that this car was the victim of poor judgement of multiple other parties. I regret that BMW NA was placed in this position as well. This is a car company that I have come to love and trust, and this is another example of my faith in that.

I'll post a thread with pics of the new ride when I get it. Thanks, everyone for your feedback.

***UPDATE 12/2/16*** (replies start at post #29)

A few days ago, I was contacted by the dealer. They requested a meeting between them, myself, and the BMW of North America Area Manager. Today I had the meeting, and the outcome was not what I expected, but it was what I had feared.

BMW is going to buy back the car. They feel that it's not financially in anyone's best interest to repair the car (it has extensive damage--drive shaft, half shaft, rear diff, rear subframe, fuel tank, etc.) and they feel that the car is a liability for them as well as for me.

This was so, so disheartening to hear. I was truly disappointed, and felt very sad that this dream car I finally got my hands on was going to end up recycled, crushed, whatever.

But, I understand. I agree the car is a liability. I agree this is the best course of action. I agree all parties are better off this way.

So, the search begins for a new (used) car. Fingers crossed I find something that makes me as happy as this car has.

I'd like to mention that BMW NA as well as the local dealer I've been working with have both been so, so great with their service. It's not just that they do their job like they're expected to--these two teams have inspired confidence in the brand, the support, and the communication. BMW NA is going to assist me in the search and acquisition of a replacement M5. And, I have no second thoughts about repurchasing the same car.

There isn't any clear explanation why this failure occurred. At this point, the fate of the car is unknown to me. But I'm very confident this didn't occur because of a flaw in the design or build of this brand, platform, or this particular car. My faith in the brand is still just as strong as it was the day I drove a BMW for the first time in 1998.

Original Post:

So, I'm making a right turn on to a highway after a quick food stop. I step on the gas with some light urgency to get safely merged when *BOOM*. It felt like the car exploded, or like I ran over a boulder, or a small planet. The car jumped, shook, and grinded violently. Now on the side of the road, car still in "D", I tried to move to a safer spot with no luck--there was no power to the rear wheels anymore. I realized there was a catastrophic failure somewhere, maybe driveshaft or rear diff. I popped my head under the rear end and saw it--the mounts for the rear diff failed, and the diff was now sagging.

I can only imagine what this would have felt like if the car was moving at speed. My Waylens picked up some awesome g-forces at the point of failure, and the noise is terrifying.

BMW Roadside Assist picked up the car and dropped it at the dealer last night. I'm looking forward to hearing their take on the failure.

kuruca · 11-26-2016, 12:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Darkshear

So, I'm making a right turn on to a highway after a quick food stop. I step on the gas with some light urgency to get safely merged when *BOOM*. It felt like the car exploded, or like I ran over a boulder, or a small planet. The car jumped, shook, and grinded violently. Now on the side of the road, car still in "D", I tried to move to a safer spot with no luck--there was no power to the rear wheels anymore. I realized there was a catastrophic failure somewhere, maybe driveshaft or rear diff. I popped my head under the rear end and saw it--the mounts for the rear diff failed, and the diff was now sagging.

I can only imagine what this would have felt like if the car was moving at speed. My Waylens picked up some awesome g-forces at the point of failure, and the noise is terrifying.

BMW Roadside Assist picked up the car and dropped it at the dealer last night. I'm looking forward to hearing their take on the failure.

Owhat kind camera thats recording

Darkshear · 11-26-2016, 12:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kuruca

Owhat kind camera thats recording

http://www.waylens.com/

Schweitzer · 11-26-2016, 12:28 PM

Maybe this? (Edit: Although it doesn't mention '14 cars)

http://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho....php?t=1285568

cjrdriven · 11-26-2016, 01:22 PM

Insane failure. Keep us posted. You have any mods at all? Any previous track days?

RPiM5 · 11-26-2016, 01:31 PM

Crazy. Should be covered under warranty though. Keep us posted.

TrevorM3 · 11-26-2016, 04:47 PM

Wonder if this diff has anything to do with the recall m5s had a few months ago

Darkshear · 11-26-2016, 05:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cjrdriven

Insane failure. Keep us posted. You have any mods at all? Any previous track days?

Quote:

Originally Posted by RPiM5

Crazy. Should be covered under warranty though. Keep us posted.

No mods other than cosmetic.

However, the original owner of the car was a tuning company in NJ (I didn't learn this until after the purchase) and they tuned the hell out of the car. Over 100 launches. There is a thread on this forum detailing the 10.95 1/4 it did back in 2014. It's an example of someone saying "Hey it's a lease, who cares what we do to it?". Screw the next owner, amirite?!?!

In any event, the details of this M5's history were reported to BMW NA when I discovered its past. I purchased the car CPO from a BMW franchise dealer. I don't have any fears of them not covering the repairs.

e90alpinem3 · 11-26-2016, 05:29 PM

This makes me cringe. Good luck OP.

Lerxst M4 · 11-26-2016, 05:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Darkshear

No mods other than cosmetic.

However, the original owner of the car was a tuning company in NJ (I didn't learn this until after the purchase) and they tuned the hell out of the car. Over 100 launches. There is a thread on this forum detailing the 10.95 1/4 it did back in 2014. It's an example of someone saying "Hey it's a lease, who cares what we do to it?". Screw the next owner, amirite?!?!

In any event, the details of this M5's history were reported to BMW NA when I discovered its past. I purchased the car CPO from a BMW franchise dealer. I don't have any fears of them not covering the repairs.

Very sorry to hear this. Do you have a link to that thread?

Darkshear · 11-26-2016, 05:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lerxst M5

Very sorry to hear this. Do you have a link to that thread?

http://f10.m5post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1070774

TrevorM3 · 11-26-2016, 08:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Darkshear

No mods other than cosmetic.

However, the original owner of the car was a tuning company in NJ (I didn't learn this until after the purchase) and they tuned the hell out of the car. Over 100 launches. There is a thread on this forum detailing the 10.95 1/4 it did back in 2014. It's an example of someone saying "Hey it's a lease, who cares what we do to it?". Screw the next owner, amirite?!?!

In any event, the details of this M5's history were reported to BMW NA when I discovered its past. I purchased the car CPO from a BMW franchise dealer. I don't have any fears of them not covering the repairs.

i'm surprised they are still covering the car even though it was modded. kudos to you, slap a new diff in there and hit the road again!

Darkshear · 11-26-2016, 08:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TrevorM3

i'm surprised they are still covering the car even though it was modded. kudos to you, slap a new diff in there and hit the road again!

Well, the reality is that there was no way BMW could have known. It's only pure chance that I was able to deduce the history of the car. When the car was returned from the lease, it was returned to stock. It made its way down to FL, where it passed all the Certified Pre-Owned checklists.

Ultimately, they elected to certify the car. How could they hold me responsible?

TrevorM3 · 11-26-2016, 09:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Darkshear

Well, the reality is that there was no way BMW could have known. It's only pure chance that I was able to deduce the history of the car. When the car was returned from the lease, it was returned to stock. It made its way down to FL, where it passed all the Certified Pre-Owned checklists.

Ultimately, they elected to certify the car. How could they hold me responsible?

well good thing you bought CPO...

DenverF10M5 · 11-26-2016, 09:34 PM

I blew my rear diff two months ago. My car had mods and it was covered, so you won't have any issues. The only delay was receiving the rear diff from Germany. I had the car back in two weeks.

desertfox73 · 11-26-2016, 09:39 PM

Holy hell. I would have said a lot worse if I'd been in the drivers seat.

Good luck with the fix, hope it's quick.

NightM · 11-27-2016, 06:23 PM

Itll get fix as u dnt have any mods on yours and you have Video.
Goodluck!!

Just to make u smile. You have a full breed race car there.

Certified pre owned.

Certified Race Car should of been posted at dealer

That car drank more race gas than any other car in the planet.

Igor_M5 · 11-28-2016, 04:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Darkshear

http://f10.m5post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1070774

Yeah man, you should be proud !

Darkshear · 11-28-2016, 04:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Igor_M5

Yeah man, you should be proud !

Lol it's a mix of pride and fear

Ywait · 11-28-2016, 04:27 PM

was there are diff whine before it happen?

Darkshear · 11-28-2016, 04:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ywait

was there are diff whine before it happen?

No. There was no warning, no indication. This was not an internal failure of the diff, it seems.

The bolt sheared, then the opposing bracket failed and snapped.

The thing literally broke off the bottom of the car:

Used2be · 11-28-2016, 06:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Darkshear

No. There was no warning, no indication. This was not an internal failure of the diff, it seems.

The bolt sheared, then the opposing bracket failed and snapped.

The thing literally broke off the bottom of the car:

Can you tell yet if your failure looks similar to the failure in this thread? Post number 16 is the picture.

http://f10.m5post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1291580

I think you're fortunate that you bought as a CPO! Sorry for the headache though!

11-26-2016, 09:50 AM	#1
Darkshear Second Lieutenant 154 Rep 269 Posts Drives: BSM 2019 M5 Comp Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Tampa iTrader: (2)	Rear Differential Mounts Catastrophic Failure Caught on Video *UPDATE 12/31/16* Took delivery of the new car on Thursday, 12/29. Here is the thread introducing that car: http://f10.m5post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1339232 *UPDATE 12/27/16* (replies start at post #62) Well, we found a CPO'd 2014 M5 out in Texas and transferred it in. It finally arrived in Tampa weekend before last. Looks like I'll be taking delivery on 12/29. Looking forward to moving past all this. Thanks goes out to the GM at the Texas store that was willing to part with their car in the interest of customer service. In the end, BMW NA and my local dealer handled all of this very well, IMHO. Ultimately I'm out some money if you take in to account the Xpel wrap, the interest paid in the loan already, and some other odds and ends. My car had an MSRP of $111,725. This new car had an MSRP of $127,255. The new car has B&O, full leather, and the carbon ceramic brake package, where my car did not. It also has the BMW M Performance carbon fiber spoiler. On the other end, this car went in to service a few months before mine, so my CPO will end 12/2019 instead of 4/2020. So yeah, overall it has worked out fairly I believe. I'm truly sad that this car was the victim of poor judgement of multiple other parties. I regret that BMW NA was placed in this position as well. This is a car company that I have come to love and trust, and this is another example of my faith in that. I'll post a thread with pics of the new ride when I get it. Thanks, everyone for your feedback. *UPDATE 12/2/16* (replies start at post #29) A few days ago, I was contacted by the dealer. They requested a meeting between them, myself, and the BMW of North America Area Manager. Today I had the meeting, and the outcome was not what I expected, but it was what I had feared. BMW is going to buy back the car. They feel that it's not financially in anyone's best interest to repair the car (it has extensive damage--drive shaft, half shaft, rear diff, rear subframe, fuel tank, etc.) and they feel that the car is a liability for them as well as for me. This was so, so disheartening to hear. I was truly disappointed, and felt very sad that this dream car I finally got my hands on was going to end up recycled, crushed, whatever. But, I understand. I agree the car is a liability. I agree this is the best course of action. I agree all parties are better off this way. So, the search begins for a new (used) car. Fingers crossed I find something that makes me as happy as this car has. I'd like to mention that BMW NA as well as the local dealer I've been working with have both been so, so great with their service. It's not just that they do their job like they're expected to--these two teams have inspired confidence in the brand, the support, and the communication. BMW NA is going to assist me in the search and acquisition of a replacement M5. And, I have no second thoughts about repurchasing the same car. There isn't any clear explanation why this failure occurred. At this point, the fate of the car is unknown to me. But I'm very confident this didn't occur because of a flaw in the design or build of this brand, platform, or this particular car. My faith in the brand is still just as strong as it was the day I drove a BMW for the first time in 1998. Original Post: So, I'm making a right turn on to a highway after a quick food stop. I step on the gas with some light urgency to get safely merged when BOOM. It felt like the car exploded, or like I ran over a boulder, or a small planet. The car jumped, shook, and grinded violently. Now on the side of the road, car still in "D", I tried to move to a safer spot with no luck--there was no power to the rear wheels anymore. I realized there was a catastrophic failure somewhere, maybe driveshaft or rear diff. I popped my head under the rear end and saw it--the mounts for the rear diff failed, and the diff was now sagging. I can only imagine what this would have felt like if the car was moving at speed. My Waylens picked up some awesome g-forces at the point of failure, and the noise is terrifying. BMW Roadside Assist picked up the car and dropped it at the dealer last night. I'm looking forward to hearing their take on the failure. __________________ 2021 Brands Hatch Grey M5 Competition Last edited by Darkshear; 01-04-2018 at 12:06 PM..
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11-26-2016, 12:28 PM	#4
Schweitzer Lieutenant 46 Rep 415 Posts Drives: 2015 M5 CP Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Downtown Los Angeles, CA iTrader: (1) Garage List 2007 335i Coupe [0.00]	Maybe this? (Edit: Although it doesn't mention '14 cars) http://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho....php?t=1285568 __________________ 2015 M5, Alpine White, Sakhir Orange/Black leather, 20"M Style 343M, forged black wheels, Carbon Fiber trim/mirror caps, Competition Package, Executive Package, Bang & Olufsen sound. Last edited by Schweitzer; 11-26-2016 at 12:36 PM..
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11-26-2016, 01:22 PM	#5
cjrdriven Second Lieutenant 63 Rep 222 Posts Drives: 2014 BMW M5 Join Date: May 2015 Location: TN iTrader: (0)	Insane failure. Keep us posted. You have any mods at all? Any previous track days?
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11-26-2016, 01:31 PM	#6
RPiM5 Major General 2870 Rep 7,885 Posts Drives: Black M5 Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Earth 616 iTrader: (0)	Crazy. Should be covered under warranty though. Keep us posted. __________________
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11-26-2016, 04:47 PM	#7
TrevorM3 Banned 3322 Rep 8,083 Posts Drives: 6.3 AMG Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Florida iTrader: (0)	Wonder if this diff has anything to do with the recall m5s had a few months ago
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11-26-2016, 05:29 PM	#9
e90alpinem3 Lieutenant 255 Rep 494 Posts Drives: F10 M5 Join Date: Dec 2015 Location: Boston, MA iTrader: (1)	This makes me cringe. Good luck OP.
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11-26-2016, 09:34 PM	#15
DenverF10M5 Lieutenant 121 Rep 411 Posts Drives: 2014 F10 M5 CP Join Date: Sep 2016 Location: Denver iTrader: (0)	I blew my rear diff two months ago. My car had mods and it was covered, so you won't have any issues. The only delay was receiving the rear diff from Germany. I had the car back in two weeks.
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11-26-2016, 09:39 PM	#16
desertfox73 Banned 676 Rep 1,020 Posts Drives: 2018 F83 / 2018 F85 Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Nashville, Tennessee iTrader: (0)	Holy hell. I would have said a lot worse if I'd been in the drivers seat. Good luck with the fix, hope it's quick.
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11-27-2016, 06:23 PM	#17
NightM Lieutenant Colonel 450 Rep 1,519 Posts Drives: Bmw Join Date: Nov 2015 Location: NY iTrader: (0)	Itll get fix as u dnt have any mods on yours and you have Video. Goodluck!! Just to make u smile. You have a full breed race car there. Certified pre owned. Certified Race Car should of been posted at dealer That car drank more race gas than any other car in the planet.
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11-28-2016, 04:27 PM	#20
Ywait Private First Class 40 Rep 162 Posts Drives: e46m3,335,e92m3,435,f80M3,16M5 Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: melbourne iTrader: (0)	was there are diff whine before it happen?
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