If turbo coolant line recall not completed should I be on the hook for leak?

[Db750]

TLDR - If turbo coolant hose recall was not done on my CPO 2013 M6 should we be on the hook to cover $3k to replace the now leaking hoses?

I'll try to make this short - basically my wife's CPO 2013 M6 has been needing coolant top up every few weeks and we finally took it into dealer. Dealer reports nearly $3k to replace leaking coolant lines going to turbo. So as most would do here I do some research here and see tons of threads regarding the clamps not being strong enough for the pressure and the recall where heat shield was added and some hoses/clamps may have been replaced.

A little background - We live in KY where these cars don't exist so we made the one time mistake of having the car shipped from Beverly Hills BMW relying on the 8 BMW's we had purchased before out of state, yet driven to pick up in person, with no problems that this one too would arrive as said. Unfortunately this one arrived 3 years ago CPO with 18k miles with tons of stuff that should not have passed inspection and spent weeks in the shop here being repaired under original warranty. Given the timing of when we bought the car plus the way the selling dealer delivered car and the way we were treated during the buying process I am betting that this recall item may have never been addressed.

If so I was interested to hear everyones thoughts as to if we should be on the hook to pay for something that was likely caused by a recall we had never been notified of AND should have been fixed during the CPO inspection. To be frank the CPO coverage ends in March and we are looking to trade this car in around that time so the prospect of paying for a large repair at this time is not too exciting.

Thank you to anyone willing to offer some advice!

[Db750]

Well after looking back at my post history documenting the months the car was in service back in 2016 it appears that there had been a coolant leak amongst all the other issues we had. Called service advisor back and he confirmed that the car had been delivered as a cpo from Beverly hills bmw with this open recall not addressed and that the repair had been done at our local BMW dealer Don Jacob's.

As such the repair is roughly 6-8 months outside of the 2 year warranty on any BMW dealer repair and would also not be covered under cpo as hoses are an exclusion. Looks like it's time to call the indy!

[M5Dan]

That doesn't make sense CPO will cover a turbo coolant line. Should only cost you the $50 deductible. Take it to a different Bmw dealer than the one that's trying to charge you $3,000 for coolant line which is insane should be only a couple hundred at the most.

[Db750]

Originally Posted by M5Dan

That doesn't make sense CPO will cover a turbo coolant line. Should only cost you the $50 deductible. Take it to a different Bmw dealer than the one that's trying to charge you $3,000 for coolant line which is insane should be only a couple hundred at the most.

Originally Posted by M5Dan

That doesn't make sense CPO will cover a turbo coolant line. Should only cost you the $50 deductible. Take it to a different Bmw dealer than the one that's trying to charge you $3,000 for coolant line which is insane should be only a couple hundred at the most.

Hey Dan I appreciate the reply. Unfortunately this is the only bmw dealer near us. The next closest is about 1.5 hours away, which I certainly wouldn't be opposed to driving if it meant saving the money, but from my understanding of what I read on the cpo warranty, which is an exclusionary policy, hoses are one if the things that is no covered. I was surprised as well but once I looked it up that did seem to be the case. Let me see if I can find the document I am referencing - it took a bit of searching to find the old 2 year/100k cpo plan (not sure if the new 1 year plan is any different as far as what is covered)

[Dwaynos]

I just replaced my turbo coolant hoses and clamps. Parts cost me £35 and took 10 mins to fit. 3k must be some sort of mistake.

Don't get mugged.

[TLK]

$3k is likely to do hoses you cannot see or easily access. I spent about $4k in maintenance when I got my F10 550 which included the leaky topside hoses as well as ones very hard to access, trans and diff fluid. That car also has a similar problem with turbo coolant hoses and also plastic T junction connectors disintegrateing for the heat.

The M5 recall is only for the hoses under the beauty cover on the turbos, so this job only should not cost much even if you pay the entire amount. Sounds like a good independent bmw shop isn't an option in your area unfortunately.

[Db750]

Thank you guys for the replies I really appreciate it!! I am in Lexington KY so there are a few good indy shops here which I will be taking the car to. My preferred shop is Motorsports which is the one I have been in talks with today. They are amazing all around and have saved me tons over the years! Unfortunately we only have one bmw dealer in the area though so a second opinion from the dealer is hard to come by!

So with regard to price I have seen some guys including above say they did the job fast and for not much money and then others say it's a 6-10 hour job. I am not sure if there are different lines or what not, but I just got off the phone with my indy shop and they have informed me that most likely this is going to be a turbo out job meaning there is no really cheap way out! He said that he would like to take a look before he gives me an estimate and I trust that they will give me the most honest account as in the past they have even talked me out of doing work that they didn't think was necessary! The first date that he had available that would also work for my schedule was Thursday February 8 so that is when I will take it in. I will be sure to update everyone here as to what ends up being done hopefully I can add some insight to help out members down the road! For now my car is at the dealer getting the work that would be covered under cpo finished then I guess I might have to top the coolant up one more time!

If it ends up being several thousand dollar repair not sure what we will do with regard to selling or keeping the car. I would love to keep it and would not even question keeping if the warranty wasn't running out, but after what I went through with my 2008 m6 literally as soon as the warranty ended and even below 50k miles I do not want to deal with that again! I don't mind spending money on cars as I love them, but I don't want to spend my money on fixing stuff I'd rather it go to something new or under warranty!

[SapphireM5]

Pull the cover off on top of the turbos and see if those 4 lines are leaking. If it's those leaking it's an easy fix. Maybe snap a pic and post it up here.

[TLK]

Some info about the recall... https://f10.m5post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1052661

[AWF10M5]

My turbo coolant lines were leaking and my extended warranty covered them. The bill was well under $1k with parts and labor at a bmw dealership.

$3k sounds sus

[Dwaynos]

Originally Posted by AWF10M5

My turbo coolant lines were leaking and my extended warranty covered them. The bill was well under $1k with parts and labor at a bmw dealership.

$3k sounds sus

What if your warranty hadn't covered them, would you have been happy to pay anywhere close to 1k or even $200 for a job where parts are very little? As stated earlier, mine cost me £35 and took me 10 mins. It's upsetting to see so many people getting robbed.

[Db750]

Supposed to be picking the car up today. Had some other work done that was covered under cpo. Of course the thing they get you for which I really hate about the cpo is that since I didn't have them fix the coolant lines I am being charged an additional $14x.00 for the diagnosis for the coolant leak on top of the $50 cpo charge. So they get about $200 out of this visit from the customer plus bmw reimbursement.

I will be sure to pop engine cover off when we get the car back and let you guys know/post pics as soon as car is back in our garage . As I said before my indy who are bmw certified techs said that the leak could be under the turbo which would explain the expensive repair (I'm not overly knowledgeable on the way this motor is built but it makes me wonder how Don Jacob's could know the leak was under the turbo for $150 inspection fee though?)

[Db750]

Thank you to everyone who has posted thoughts or advice here I REALLY appreciate it a ton!! =)

[Craze]

The coolant lines are above the turbo

[M5Rick]

Under the turbo? It's news to me.

[Dwaynos]

I'm glad I do all my own repairs. There's are a limited amount of technicians that actually know what that are talking about.

[Db750]

Huge thank you to everyone that has posted. We got some snow here today so have had to drive my wife around in the truck (I quit doing the summer tire switch a few years ago) and now headed back from dropping her off at work to check out her car sitting in our garage. Will post pics shortly.

Just as a bit of back story I can not say whether the dealer is being honest or trying "to get one over on me" but I will say without question Motorsports, my independent repair shop, is not. If what everyone is saying is true and there is absolutely no reason to pull the turbo than I imagine the reason my indy wants to get the car into the shop before giving an estimate is that they have spoken on phone to dealer plus the info I have given them doesn't make sense so they want to see for themselves before making the call on what needs to be done. I will definitely update on that when we take it in but that won't be for a bit more than a week as we are going to Chicago for about a week leaving Friday. Motorsports has saved me thousands and thousands of dollars dating back to my 2008 M6 when my transmission went out and it had to be towed in a couple weeks after factory warranty ended. This was back when there was very little known about the smg 3 on m5board and they were able to rebuild the transmission replacing only what was broken AND sourced the parts for me cheaper than the cheapest price any m5board member could find. They truly are good guys and just want to make that clear in case somehow it hasn't come across that way.

Will post some pics here shortly and thank you all soooo much for the help!! I manage and do all repairs other than HVAC on mine and my family rental property for a living so while I am very handy and have no problem fixing anything I have just never had anyone in my family into cars so my knowledge is only what I have read here which I am more of a hands on learner so not the best way to go about it. I have no doubt I could fix the issue it's just a matter of having the right tools and the right knowledge (which I am probably at a first grade level compared to many here)!

[Db750]

Ok I have pulled the engine cover and frankly I am a little bit in shock if what has been said above is 100% accurate because I can very easily see what I am guessing is the leaking areas and burnt up/dried coolant. Please keep in mind I don't know what half these parts are but I'll post pictures below. It appears to me that the coolant is leaking from the rubber hose/clamp area that is under the four heat shields installed due to the recall noted above. The right most heat shield button broke when I detached it (thus I will wait until I have proper tools to unfasten the others as they seem to be a bit seized together), and that one is pretty clean inside, but you can see the burnt up coolant inside of all the other heat shields. It appears to me that the coolant after leaking runs along the little metal pipes and then deposits on the large metal tray that is further back toward the windshield. If this is all that needs to be fixed that I can fix it in a few minutes - the little clamps look like they are very similar if not the same as the pex clamps I use when installing water heaters.

Also of note is that the right most heat shield one of the buttons was left unfastened which you can see in one of the pictures. I am wondering if removing the engine cover and unfastening a button or two was the extend of Don Jacobs diagnostic test (or "diag" as the Service Advisor reluctantly mumbled to my wife as she asked him over the phone what the break down of the $200 charge was). If this is the case I will be EXTREMELY disappointed in Don Jacobs service department not only for the half assed diagnostic but even more so for the absolute rip off of attempt. It may be of note that my wife took the car in herself. I am really hoping its not a case of thinking they can overcharge a blonde in an M6, but it is beginning to appear that way!

View as soon as engine cover removed. Botton right button that is popped on right heat shield was like that when cover removed.


Right most heat shield doesn't appear to have any of the dried liquid I am guessing is coolant however you can see the other three to the left all have a good amount in them.


View zoomed out - I am guessing that the coolant is leaking out under the heat shield and is running back along the silver pipe and the dripping off onto this large metal tray where it dries up!

[Dwaynos]

Yeah they're the ones. Use a small flat blade screwdriver to open the poppers, they are tight. Pry the clips off and slice down the middle of the hoses with a sharp Stanley blade, you will be have to unbolt 1 or 2 10mm bolts on the steel lines (Not the turbo side). Peel the old hoses off and refit the new ones with the new clamps, you will need special pliers to crimp the new clamps or be gentle with a pair of side cutters.

I dug the invoice out for my hose set and it was £34.30p.

You won't lose any coolant in the process or very very little. You shouldn't need to top it up. Very simple job.

Good luck.

[Db750]

Originally Posted by Dwaynos

Yeah they're the ones. Use a small flat blade screwdriver to open the poppers, they are tight. Pry the clips off and slice down the middle of the hoses with a sharp Stanley blade, you will be have to unbolt 1 or 2 10mm bolts on the steel lines (Not the turbo side). Peel the old hoses off and refit the new ones with the new clamps, you will need special pliers to crimp the new clamps or be gentle with a pair of side cutters.

I dug the invoice out for my hose set and it was £34.30p.

You won't lose any coolant in the process or very very little. You shouldn't need to top it up. Very simple job.

Good luck.

Originally Posted by Dwaynos

Yeah they're the ones. Use a small flat blade screwdriver to open the poppers, they are tight. Pry the clips off and slice down the middle of the hoses with a sharp Stanley blade, you will be have to unbolt 1 or 2 10mm bolts on the steel lines (Not the turbo side). Peel the old hoses off and refit the new ones with the new clamps, you will need special pliers to crimp the new clamps or be gentle with a pair of side cutters.

I dug the invoice out for my hose set and it was £34.30p.

You won't lose any coolant in the process or very very little. You shouldn't need to top it up. Very simple job.

Good luck.

Wow man I am honestly in complete shock! I've bitched about how terrible the dealer we bought this car from was but I honestly never thought this would happen with our local dealer, but looking back I have only taken under warranty cars there so this was the first out of warranty estimate they gave me.

As I said above my wife dropped the car off alone and it was a newer service advisor I have never met so I am wondering if he thought she was the "typical m6 owner" who had more money than brains and $3k was pocket change! His demeanor seemed to drastically switch once he knew I was involved (I had listed all prior conversations on speaker phone) and honestly at this point I can't see any other possibilities other than they were trying to rip us off. Even at 3 hours of labor I would consider that a rip off knowing what I know now! and that would only get us to what around $500-600 with parts!

I am going to go ahead and order the parts now hopefully I can get them in by end of next week when I'm back and can install/test over the weekend! I genuinely appreciate all the help you guys have given me!! =)

Will of course continue to update and hopefully this thread will be able to help others down the road in my position!

[isved]

For what it's worth, I bought what appear to be more durable hoses than OEM from a seller on ebay, and found that I felt more confident tightening regular hose clamps than the BMW ones.

My car was just at the dealer, and one of the jobs performed states "coolant recall performed with aftermarket hoses, installed heat shields. $0.00 charge" and my car is not CPO and is no longer under any warranty. Your dealership was certainly trying to pull a fast one on you.

[M5Rick]

Originally Posted by isved

For what it's worth, I bought what appear to be more durable hoses than OEM from a seller on ebay, and found that I felt more confident tightening regular hose clamps than the BMW ones.

My car was just at the dealer, and one of the jobs performed states "coolant recall performed with aftermarket hoses, installed heat shields. $0.00 charge" and my car is not CPO and is no longer under any warranty. Your dealership was certainly trying to pull a fast one on you.

I used a/market hose too,hi temp silicone with smooth worm drive clamps which can be removed without destroying them unlike the original ones with strange fixing.