X5 N63 engine recall (Service Bulletin B001314)

[beammeupscottie]

Originally Posted by jiggz

Do both of you feel better now?

This is an internet forum…you should try to ignore people who get under your skin vs. trying so hard to be right. Nobody learned anything new here today after all these posts…

I did - I learned that there are cyber bullies on this site. All I did was post on the thread to share and learn any info I could on the service I'm scheduled for on Thursday.

[Cattivo]

Originally Posted by beammeupscottie

I did - I learned that there are cyber bullies on this site. All I did was post on the thread to share and learn any info I could on the service I'm scheduled for on Thursday.

First things first, my battery WAS replaced during the N63 campaign free of charge and i am out of warranty. Second, don't waste your time arguing with a know it all that don't know shit...a lot of guys are very helpful on here that actually know what they're talking about. Ask your SA to replace the battery

[beammeupscottie]

Originally Posted by Cattivo

First things first, my battery WAS replaced during the N63 campaign free of charge and i am out of warranty. Second, don't waste your time arguing with a know it all that don't know shit...a lot of guys are very helpful on here that actually know what they're talking about. Ask your SA to replace the battery

Thanks for your support and info!

I was searching and here's a recent article I found today for others who need more info on why all this is happening- hope this helps; (Road and Track)
http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-cult...ns-bmw-n63-v8/" rel="ugc" target="_blank">http://<a href="http://www.roadandtr...mw-n63-v8/</a>

[witz323]

UPDATE

So I was one of the first people to take my '11 X5 50i in. Mileage was 55,196. I had everything on the campaign replaced other than the timing chain. Now the car has 58,800 miles and I've had the oil light come on twice in those 3,600 miles. I think having to add two quarts in that short of a time is not right. I will be taking it again for service. Does anyone else have a similar experience burning this much oil?

[shark715]

Originally Posted by witz323

UPDATE

So I was one of the first people to take my '11 X5 50i in. Mileage was 55,196. I had everything on the campaign replaced other than the timing chain. Now the car has 58,800 miles and I've had the oil light come on twice in those 3,600 miles. I think having to add two quarts in that short of a time is not right. I will be taking it again for service. Does anyone else have a similar experience burning this much oil?

How many miles after the work was performed did you need the first quart of oil?

[witz323]

About 2,000 I added the first quart after the service recall. Now 1,600 miles later the light is on again.

[jiggz]

Originally Posted by witz323

UPDATE

So I was one of the first people to take my '11 X5 50i in. Mileage was 55,196. I had everything on the campaign replaced other than the timing chain. Now the car has 58,800 miles and I've had the oil light come on twice in those 3,600 miles. I think having to add two quarts in that short of a time is not right. I will be taking it again for service. Does anyone else have a similar experience burning this much oil?

Yes, I had to add a quart within probably 500 miles of getting my car back after the N63 work. Pretty ridiculous....SA just says '...yah these things require a lot of oil'

[Cattivo]

I also just had to add a quart of oil after 1,750 miles

[shark715]

Originally Posted by witz323

About 2,000 I added the first quart after the service recall. Now 1,600 miles later the light is on again.

OK, I thought perhaps they underfilled it when they did the oil service with the campaign work and 3600 miles later you needed another quart. Based on other forum members responses (mine too), 3600 miles per quart would be nothing unusual for this engine. But don't be shocked if they tell you that 1000 miles or more per quart does not indicate a problem. That's what BMW is telling Mini owners.

It's not likely that the campaign work would cause your engine to suddenly burn more oil (you didn't mention what your previous oil usage was). On the other hand, it's certainly possible that they did not reassemble something quite correctly and there's a leak. Let us know...

[shark715]

Originally Posted by jiggz

Yes, I had to add a quart within probably 500 miles of getting my car back after the N63 work. Pretty ridiculous....SA just says '...yah these things require a lot of oil'

Wow, in that case I would have driven straight back to the dealer...

[shark715]

My oil level is at max, but it's only been a couple of hundred miles since the work was done. I'll make to sure to watch it closely.

[rennis]

My X5 went 2,602 miles after the service campaign before needing another quart of oil. Since then it needed a quart after 767 miles, and again after 855 miles.

I'm starting an Oil Consumption Check Sheet with BMW later this month.

[shark715]

Originally Posted by rennis

My X5 went 2,602 miles after the service campaign before needing another quart of oil. Since then it needed a quart after 767 miles, and again after 855 miles.

I'm starting an Oil Consumption Check Sheet with BMW later this month.

Yikes, that's not good. Let us know what happens.

[witz323]

Spoke to SA today. He informed me that since the Customer Service Update (N63 Recall) BMW has issued a service bulletin stating that these motors may require adding a quart of oil every 750 miles.

So I guess this is what we're left with. I'm not going to even bother bringing my car in because there's really nothing to do. I'll continue to monitor, add oil, and provide updates on the forum.

[shark715]

Originally Posted by witz323

Spoke to SA today. He informed me that since the Customer Service Update (N63 Recall) BMW has issued a service bulletin stating that these motors may require adding a quart of oil every 750 miles.

So I guess this is what we're left with. I'm not going to even bother bringing my car in because there's really nothing to do. I'll continue to monitor, add oil, and provide updates on the forum.

Wow, I'd love to see that service bulletin and BMW's explanation for why a modern engine with such low mileage that's been properly maintained would be using so much oil. Certainly sounds like a defective design, and the fact that they reduced the oil service interval may be a clue. One would have to think that when the word about this gets out it's going to hurt resale values. While I assume we all appreciate the gesture of the service campaign, if there's problems with the engine they should be extending the warranty. As part of the campaign, one of the things they tested was our timing chains, and in my case, the dealer said it does not need replacement. So what happens when it needs replacement at 70k miles? I smell class action on this. When I first heard about the N63 campaign I thought BMW might have turned a corner regarding how they react when there's a widespread problem with one of their products. If they are just going to try to blow us off regarding oil usage, I'm afraid it's a sign they are returning to their old ways of just sticking their head in the sand.

[witz323]

What is the new oil service interval anyways? Instead of adding a quart, i'm thinking of just doing a complete oil change. I'm at about 3,600 miles on this oil.

[shark715]

Originally Posted by witz323

What is the new oil service interval anyways? Instead of adding a quart, i'm thinking of just doing a complete oil change. I'm at about 3,600 miles on this oil.

There's a note on my receipt for the service campaign work that reads something like "customer has been informed that the oil service interval has been reduced to 10,000 miles".

[witz323]

Originally Posted by shark715

There's a note on my receipt for the service campaign work that reads something like "customer has been informed that the oil service interval has been reduced to 10,000 miles".

Ok, thanks. I will continue with my usual 6,000 mile intervals.

[MRV99]

Originally Posted by shark715

Wow, I'd love to see that service bulletin and BMW's explanation for why a modern engine with such low mileage that's been properly maintained would be using so much oil. Certainly sounds like a defective design, and the fact that they reduced the oil service interval may be a clue. One would have to think that when the word about this gets out it's going to hurt resale values. While I assume we all appreciate the gesture of the service campaign, if there's problems with the engine they should be extending the warranty. As part of the campaign, one of the things they tested was our timing chains, and in my case, the dealer said it does not need replacement. So what happens when it needs replacement at 70k miles? I smell class action on this. When I first heard about the N63 campaign I thought BMW might have turned a corner regarding how they react when there's a widespread problem with one of their products. If they are just going to try to blow us off regarding oil usage, I'm afraid it's a sign they are returning to their old ways of just sticking their head in the sand.

On the N63 motor, the acceptable oil consumption has always been 1qt for 750 miles since this motor was released. This campaign has nothing to do with oil consumption and everything to do with replacing defective parts as well as changing the oil change intervals.

I have spoken at great lenghts with my SA and Techs(he is a buddy of mine) about the oil consumption of the n63 motor and the turbos and the lower viscosity rings are the main source of the oil consumption. This is what the techs which I know tell me is the culprit.. He has seen dozens of each model that has the N63 in the car and what he is seeing is the oil consumption has a lot to do with the driving profile which the driver has. No mater if it is a 5,7,x5,x6 they burn oil when they driving profiles are similar.

Do you do long extended driving were the car temp is brought up to full operating temps and maintained over time. Do you have short commutes or long commutes. How hard do you run the engine. Do you baby it or does it see redline often. I was always told on BMW engines is they do not like short run intervals and they need to see High RPM on a regular basis. That is the way they were designed and that is what is the big issue with oil consumption and sludge on US based cars. US drivers do not drive High RPM and they tend to have many short stop and start cycles.

On my 2011, it ran many very short intervals 2-5 miles with the car not coming up to temp and low RPM. During the 6k miles I had it, it would burn about 1qt every 1000-1500 miles and that includes the 1200mile Break-in oil change which I do on my own dime. On the 2012, It still sees the shorter commutes but I make sure that when it is on longer commutes it sees high RPM at much greater frequency. This car only does about 1qt every 3500 Miles. It has 41K miles on it and it has seen about 6 oil changes with maybe 5qts additional over the 4 years. The 2012 will burn more OIL in winter than it does in summer and that can only be due to the lower temps that the engine is seeing on the shorter commutes.... On the longer and summer commutes, it does not see much burn at all.

[rennis]

Originally Posted by MRV99

On the N63 motor, the acceptable oil consumption has always been 1qt for 750 miles since this motor was released. This campaign has nothing to do with oil consumption and everything to do with replacing defective parts as well as changing the oil change intervals.

I have spoken at great lenghts with my SA and Techs(he is a buddy of mine) about the oil consumption of the n63 motor and the turbos and the lower viscosity rings are the main source of the oil consumption. This is what the techs which I know tell me is the culprit.. He has seen dozens of each model that has the N63 in the car and what he is seeing is the oil consumption has a lot to do with the driving profile which the driver has. No mater if it is a 5,7,x5,x6 they burn oil when they driving profiles are similar.

Do you do long extended driving were the car temp is brought up to full operating temps and maintained over time. Do you have short commutes or long commutes. How hard do you run the engine. Do you baby it or does it see redline often. I was always told on BMW engines is they do not like short run intervals and they need to see High RPM on a regular basis. That is the way they were designed and that is what is the big issue with oil consumption and sludge on US based cars. US drivers do not drive High RPM and they tend to have many short stop and start cycles.

On my 2011, it ran many very short intervals 2-5 miles with the car not coming up to temp and low RPM. During the 6k miles I had it, it would burn about 1qt every 1000-1500 miles and that includes the 1200mile Break-in oil change which I do on my own dime. On the 2012, It still sees the shorter commutes but I make sure that when it is on longer commutes it sees high RPM at much greater frequency. This car only does about 1qt every 3500 Miles. It has 41K miles on it and it has seen about 6 oil changes with maybe 5qts additional over the 4 years. The 2012 will burn more OIL in winter than it does in summer and that can only be due to the lower temps that the engine is seeing on the shorter commutes.... On the longer and summer commutes, it does not see much burn at all.

I used to think there was no rhyme or reason for the oil consumption in mine. If I'm mostly doing around-town/driving for work/stop & go, I tend to average 750-900 miles between 'quart-adds'. Which is ridiculous.

I drive the hell out of mine most of the time, and I really work it hard during the summer when I tow a boat with it. I do see better consumption when I'm towing - actually markedly better when I'm towing frequently on 100+ mile trips with our boat. The oil consumption figures drop a lot. It's completely counter-intuitive to me at least, but the harder the engine is working, and the hotter the temps are, the less oil it guzzles.

[rennis]

And what is the purpose of the lower viscosity rings? lower viscosity oil for the turbos? (thick oil is not good for turbos at start up, right?)

but the lower viscosity in the cylinders - how does that work? Is it blow-by?

[Dawgman]

Just got my service recall done. Only a day in the shop. They did not inform me about increased oil consumption. Strangely enough, all of my coding is still working. I asked him to confirm that all software in the car was updated and my SA confirmed this. Is there any way the software is updated if my custom coding is still present?

Only driven it 10 miles, but the lag is gone, so that is nice. Not sure what else I will notice.