2013 X5M Engine Failure

[m5james]

A lawyer is your next step of assistance.

[RSmokos]

Originally Posted by laselvasurf

That's great news. The $10K for the engine install is definitely expensive! Almost double the cost compared to my indie mechanic.

I'm curious, how long have you owned the X5M? I wonder if there is any chance I could get a good will replacement from BMW, even though I haven't had the work done at the dealership. Does anyone have experience with that?

I've owned mine less than 90 days, and had the local dealer here inspect it, pull the maintenance before I bought it, then had him do the VSS after I did buy it. He said the vehicle is in very good condition. Then seize in less than 2 months.

The dealer here in Illinois is pretty big and a well known dealer with BMWNA I'd imagine and has some pull for their customers (me). You'll have to go to BMWNA to get the customer assistance and without a franchisee getting any revenue out of the deal (your indie), there's nothing in it for them. My recommendation (which was my plan B) was to get a quote from Ghassan or have my local indie (who is pretty good) do the rebuild and make is stronger. Seems Ghassan is around $11K plus whatever strengthening you want to do. I was prepared for $14K. Not happy with it mind you, but not tossing away a $28K car I just bought and equally unhappy with paying $39 for a 2013. All in all a shit sandwich. I've owned 8 BMWs over the last 30 years in my life and this is a first.

[Sophisticated Redneck]

Originally Posted by RSmokos

I've owned mine less than 90 days, and had the local dealer here inspect it, pull the maintenance before I bought it, then had him do the VSS after I did buy it. He said the vehicle is in very good condition. Then seize in less than 2 months.

The dealer here in Illinois is pretty big and a well known dealer with BMWNA I'd imagine and has some pull for their customers (me). You'll have to go to BMWNA to get the customer assistance and without a franchisee getting any revenue out of the deal (your indie), there's nothing in it for them. My recommendation (which was my plan B) was to get a quote from Ghassan or have my local indie (who is pretty good) do the rebuild and make is stronger. Seems Ghassan is around $11K plus whatever strengthening you want to do. I was prepared for $14K. Not happy with it mind you, but not tossing away a $28K car I just bought and equally unhappy with paying $39 for a 2013. All in all a shit sandwich. I've owned 8 BMWs over the last 30 years in my life and this is a first.

I'm very curious as to what caused the failure. It appears to be oil starvation but did the pump check out?

[greddy91]

Ghassan's quote is pretty dead on with where we were discussing a year ago.

We used the OEM crank, upgraded to forged rods and pistons, and bored the cylinder walls .020.

During the build we found that the alternator had been physically broken when the dealership did the dismantle of the motor... so add an alternator. The coolant tank was also nowhere to be found... add coolant tank.

Then after the build found the FRM was dead - so back to Stealer for the warranty repair. Where it also suddenly had cracked filtered vent pipes... so add that.

Then an o-ring in the oil cooler assembly...

Blah blah blah...

Long story long; Ghassan did a stellar job on the build. I'm close to 700 miles in and it genuinely seems bulletproof.

Up to you, but my BMW goes nowhere but Gee from here.

Originally Posted by RSmokos

I've owned mine less than 90 days, and had the local dealer here inspect it, pull the maintenance before I bought it, then had him do the VSS after I did buy it. He said the vehicle is in very good condition. Then seize in less than 2 months.

The dealer here in Illinois is pretty big and a well known dealer with BMWNA I'd imagine and has some pull for their customers (me). You'll have to go to BMWNA to get the customer assistance and without a franchisee getting any revenue out of the deal (your indie), there's nothing in it for them. My recommendation (which was my plan B) was to get a quote from Ghassan or have my local indie (who is pretty good) do the rebuild and make is stronger. Seems Ghassan is around $11K plus whatever strengthening you want to do. I was prepared for $14K. Not happy with it mind you, but not tossing away a $28K car I just bought and equally unhappy with paying $39 for a 2013. All in all a shit sandwich. I've owned 8 BMWs over the last 30 years in my life and this is a first.

[Dawgz]

So are these timing chain / bearings showing up randomly at high milage or is it a oil interval issue?

[m5james]

Mileage is likely the cause of worn/stretched timing chains, but mileage (low and high) couple with excessively long oil intervals are the cause of bearing failures

[Dawgz]

Originally Posted by m5james

Mileage is likely the cause of worn/stretched timing chains, but mileage (low and high) couple with excessively long oil intervals are the cause of bearing failures

What mileage are these chains going at? 60k? 90k?

[m5james]

I couldn't tell ya honestly. I remember when the recall came out for the N63, was randomly on RealOEM comparing headers between the M5 and X5M then stumbled across the timing chains being the same number. I'm at 126k now so I feel like I'm on borrowed time. I've seen detailed and lenghtly write-ups for the M62, so I can't imagine the headache it'll be doing the S63 almost blind with no tips and tricks.

[Dawgz]

Originally Posted by m5james

I couldn't tell ya honestly. I remember when the recall came out for the N63, was randomly on RealOEM comparing headers between the M5 and X5M then stumbled across the timing chains being the same number. I'm at 126k now so I feel like I'm on borrowed time. I've seen detailed and lenghtly write-ups for the M62, so I can't imagine the headache it'll be doing the S63 almost blind with no tips and tricks.

I wonder how much BMW would charge to do it...

[m5james]

$120 +/- per hour + rape + parts + supplies...more than I care to know :-D. Technically it should be free considering what they've done for an engine that makes 150hp less than us!

38hrs book time - https://www.xbimmers.com/forums/show....php?t=1076446

[Dawgz]

Originally Posted by m5james

$120 +/- per hour + rape + parts + supplies...more than I care to know :-D. Technically it should be free considering what they've done for an engine that makes 150hp less than us!

38hrs book time - https://www.xbimmers.com/forums/show....php?t=1076446

Wanna jointly start calling BMWNA? Ask them why the S63 engines are not part of it when the chain is the exact same.

[quick]

Originally Posted by Dawgz

Wanna jointly start calling BMWNA? Ask them why the S63 engines are not part of it when the chain is the exact same.

was there an attorney involved in that law suit? May be we should ask the N63 guys and see if they can give us a pointer?

How about calling the National highway data people?

[Dawgz]

Originally Posted by quick

was there an attorney involved in that law suit? May be we should ask the N63 guys and see if they can give us a pointer?

How about calling the National highway data people?

Likely contacting the lawyer that filled the initial suit for the N63 would be the best bet.

[greddy91]

If you're going the attorney route, let us know. I think a few of us have some bones to pick...

When my engine failed with a bent rod, the diagnosed cause was a failed fuel injector. My car had been at BMW twice previously with an open recall on that topic unfulfilled...

If fulfilled, would my motor have failed? I mean apparently not per BMW.

Actually... now that I type this... maybe I also need to talk to a lawyer.

[windsailor]

I concur, no issues here yet but, this may turn into a nightmare considering I'm @ 115k km already. I have changed the time belt before at 80k on a different car but, no direction on the bimmer

[Autobacs]

Awesome guys. It's basic common sense that dictates the S63 timing chain SHOULD be included also.

[RSmokos]

Engine replaced and back home - $10K. They received the new engine on Thursday and I have the car back today (Saturday). Impressive I'll say that. I am disappointed in that I explicitly stated I wanted to see the lower end and the failure but I could not...I even told them take pictures, but nothing. It's the engineer in me that needs to know the root cause of the failure but it's the dealer experience in BMW that does not probably want me to have that information. I get it and probably don't blame them.

This car and I are getting off to a rocky start but I'm hopeful.

[m5james]

Fellow driver lost his S63 engine on our Bimmerfest drive (Seattle to Los Angeles)...said it overheated slightly like the needle was fluctuating past the middle a few times, shut it down, then eventually it just wouldn't turn back on. Had it towed to Irvine BMW and they claim the engine has seized. I've pointed the owner to this thread.

[pdX5M]

I don't frequent the M5 forums on here or Bimmerfest but is this an issue that is happening for some of them as well?

[m5james]

S63TU, while the same architecture, is a different engine all together. I've heard of blown engines but only from bent rods due to too much boost.

[Kraftwerk AG]

Originally Posted by pdX5M

I don't frequent the M5 forums on here or Bimmerfest but is this an issue that is happening for some of them as well?

This seems to be happening with alarming frequency across all platforms lately

https://f10.m5post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1614050

[laselvasurf]

Originally Posted by RSmokos

Engine replaced and back home - $10K. They received the new engine on Thursday and I have the car back today (Saturday). Impressive I'll say that. I am disappointed in that I explicitly stated I wanted to see the lower end and the failure but I could not...I even told them take pictures, but nothing. It's the engineer in me that needs to know the root cause of the failure but it's the dealer experience in BMW that does not probably want me to have that information. I get it and probably don't blame them.

This car and I are getting off to a rocky start but I'm hopeful.

Glad to hear it's all taken care of! Enjoy the X5M and new engine(after you finish the break in of course...).

My indie submitted the work to my warranty company on Thursday, so we'll see how they respond early next week. I'm tempted to contact my local dealer and see if they would be willing to do anything like what you had done, though I'm guessing they will just laugh at me...