Valve Seals

[x5joe2013]

Hi guys,

Was shocked when I brought my 2013 50i in for more then usual oil consumption that they discovered the valve seals had failed.

Don't know too much about the repair specifics, but they did say that they would need to drop the engine. Seems major. It's covered under extended warranty, but I'm concerned that a repair this major is going to cause other issues.

Car only has 50k on it and will be undergoing a $9300 repair. Crazy!

Anyone else have experience with this type of repair? Good as new afterwards or quirky?

Thanks!

[bmwx5er]

Yes, I had mine done at 48.5k miles. http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...ght=valve+stem

My dealership did a good job putting everything back together and I didn't have to go back again with problems. But it's major surgery on the engine so be prepared for follow -up visits due to shop errors.
$9.3k seems a bit steep. You should be able to get it done for $5-6k at an Indy.

Here's an account of someone who got it done recently, and changed a bunch of other preventive maintenance stuff alongside http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho....php?t=1118553

HTH and good luck.

[x5joe2013]

Originally Posted by bmwx5er

Yes, I had mine done at 48.5k miles. http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...ght=valve+stem

My dealership did a good job putting everything back together and I didn't have to go back again with problems. But it's major surgery on the engine so be prepared for follow -up visits due to shop errors.
$9.3k seems a bit steep. You should be able to get it done for $5-6k at an Indy.

Here's an account of someone who got it done recently, and changed a bunch of other preventive maintenance stuff alongside http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho....php?t=1118553

HTH and good luck.

Thanks for the input.

Yeah it's covered, but my SA told me that was the cost. Maybe just to make me feels better about the warranty purchase.

Glad to hear you haven't had any additional issues and that you had a similar issue at such low mileage.

This N63 is just sad from a reliability standpoint.

[TurnOne]

Mine was done a few months ago that was covered under CPO. I want to say I'm averaging 1500-1800 miles per quart now which is much better than 6-700 miles before the fix. Have them replace the plugs while you have the motor out and other vulnerable parts, etc. I like the power of the N63 but will agree reliability is not good as the 35i. I hear the X5M might be better but that's a whole different beast. Good luck!

[philly42]

The scary part is that the S63 is based off the N63. I'm worried that this may be needed for my X5M.

The issues many are having with these engines leads me to not want another BMW in the future. I knew getting into a performance car to expect more maintenance and parts to wear out faster. But the issues I'm hearing are major and something you would expect from a Ferrari type of car.

[heatmizr]

That may be overstating it a bit...

I purchased my 2012 50i as a CPO vehicle after the first owner traded it in. Before it was put up for sale the dealer performed the N63 customer care package (or whatever it was called) during which they dropped the engine out to get at the front covers.
During re-installation someone over-torqued one front axle nut which stripped a couple threads and that did come back to haunt me but it wasn't a problem getting it fixed (once my dealer diagnosed the clunk).

I was wondering what else I might find over time but 2-3 yrs later and haven't had any issues. I think there are so many electronic systems on these vehicles that if they didn't get it right first try they would get an error code and find out pretty quick.

I wouldn't worry so much; if the dealer doesn't get it right it would likely be covered even if a follow-up visit is necessary. I would rather be in the dealer's hands for this than an independent.

[jiggz]

Originally Posted by heatmizr

That may be overstating it a bit...

I purchased my 2012 50i as a CPO vehicle after the first owner traded it in. Before it was put up for sale the dealer performed the N63 customer care package (or whatever it was called) during which they dropped the engine out to get at the front covers.
During re-installation someone over-torqued one front axle nut which stripped a couple threads and that did come back to haunt me but it wasn't a problem getting it fixed (once my dealer diagnosed the clunk).

I was wondering what else I might find over time but 2-3 yrs later and haven't had any issues. I think there are so many electronic systems on these vehicles that if they didn't get it right first try they would get an error code and find out pretty quick.

I wouldn't worry so much; if the dealer doesn't get it right it would likely be covered even if a follow-up visit is necessary. I would rather be in the dealer's hands for this than an independent.

Agreed Todd, even if you didn't have warranty this is a big job for most indy shops IMO. There aren't that many N63 powered X5's around, and most have only been out of warranty a few years max (some, like yours, still under BMW warranty so those have likely never seen an Indy shop), so I doubt many indy shops have much experience with this type of repair. But it's a moot point since it's covered under CPO.

FWIW my dealer quoted 9K too, if I ever need it done. So basically same as your dealership.

Look at the bright side, it failed now under warranty and not after it expired

[bmwx5er]

Originally Posted by jiggz

Agreed Todd, even if you didn't have warranty this is a big job for most indy shops IMO. There aren't that many N63 powered X5's around, and most have only been out of warranty a few years max (some, like yours, still under BMW warranty so those have likely never seen an Indy shop), so I doubt many indy shops have much experience with this type of repair. But it's a moot point since it's covered under CPO.

FWIW my dealer quoted 9K too, if I ever need it done. So basically same as your dealership.

Look at the bright side, it failed now under warranty and not after it expired

oh wow, when BMW goodwilled, i signed an invoice that totaled around $4500 for the job. 2x if done at "normal" shop rates

[UglyBuzzard]

Mine around 40k miles. BMW slowly replacing engine part by part. Once warranty is over, car is history. Fun to drive though and I don't like the newer X5's so probably try ML550 or 63.

Just had fuel pumps, plugs, injectors, coils done last week. About a $7k job at dealer.

All said and done, about $23k worth of dealer work done so far. Already have new turbos

[x5joe2013]

Originally Posted by UglyBuzzard

Mine around 40k miles. BMW slowly replacing engine part by part. Once warranty is over, car is history. Fun to drive though and I don't like the newer X5's so probably try ML550 or 63.

Just had fuel pumps, plugs, injectors, coils done last week. About a $7k job at dealer.

All said and done, about $23k worth of dealer work done so far. Already have new turbos

Yeah I feel like I'm headed that way as well. Already had the customer care package done which was about $6K worth of work and now this. Pretty nuts.

I'm considering trading for the 18 X3, but this has given me a bad experience with the brand.

[socale39]

If you look at the history of BMW V8 engines, sadly this isn't that surprising and one of the reasons I opted for the 35d over the 50i. BMW hasn't really figured out how to properly manufacture a reliable V8 in the masses. Whether it's oil consumption, vanos issues, rod bearings, or valve seals.....there always seems to be what I would consider a significant flaw. The good thing for OP is that this repair is covered.

[DuSh]

Originally Posted by socale39

If you look at the history of BMW V8 engines, sadly this isn't that surprising and one of the reasons I opted for the 35d over the 50i. BMW hasn't really figured out how to properly manufacture a reliable V8 in the masses. Whether it's oil consumption, vanos issues, rod bearings, or valve seals.....there always seems to be what I would consider a significant flaw. The good thing for OP is that this repair is covered.

AFAIK n63tu is free of such flaws finally. Still early to tell tho, but at least it was 4 years almost and so far so good