The Nightmare Begins!!!

[Mike Meyers]

Decided to go to Gallaghers steak house in tampa for dinner today to celebrate my 62nd. birthday. We had 5:00 oclock reservations as we have animals to take care of and did not want to get home late. My nightmare begins about 3:45 as I was getting off of the veterna sexpressway oonto spruce. A message pops up that says oil at minimum. I had car serviced 2K miles ago and had to add 1 quart in about 500 miles, so I thought this was a little strange. I looked at the service and it said everything was ok except the micro filter needed service. Traffic was heavy, and I was nearing the entrance to the mall, so just as I turned into the mall the message low oil pressure pops up and to stop and exit the car asap in a safe place. That is what I did. Before I could accomplish this engine was not sounding very good. I parked and got out of the car. It has oil dripping from the front to the rear and a film about half way up the sides of the cars. The front wheels are litterally dripping oil. There is oil everywhere. I phone BMW roadside assistance (I have another name for them) and reported the problem. They said a wrecker would be out in less 55 minutes. I phoned to change my reservation until later. About an hour and a half the wrecker shows up. He tilts his bed and hooks the cables up and try's to pull the car up, but it doesn't want to move. I had the car in nuetral. I told him we could probably start the car and drive it up, but that it was probably not a good idea. He said he could pull it up but I would have to sign a waiver stating the they were not resposible for any damage they caused. He also stated that they would have to unload it in their yard and load it back up tomorrow as reeves was closed today. I would not agree. We walked across teh street and rented a car and went to dinner. After dinner, I called BMW "assistance" and after being placed on hold for 30 minutes was told a wrecker with a wheel lift would be their in less than 55 minutes. I hung up the phone at 8:40. At 10:00 I phones BMW again and they got the wrecker people on the line and they told me they would be there in 30 minutes. At 10:40 I called the wrecker myself and she told me they only got the call 52 minutes before. She also told me that they were not informed of a wheel lift, but this truck did have one. She told me the wrecker would be there in no more than 20 minutes. At 11:15 we called BMW and told them to forget it as we had to get home. We were going to be over 4 and 1/2 hours late getting home to take care of the animals. My wife was to say the least pissed. We road around the mall for another 10 minutes looking for security to let them know we were leaving the car there, but could not find them. The wrecker had not showed when we left the property at 11:25 I can handle most situations when I am given truthful facts. BMW assistance and the wreckers they use sure did drop the ball. I guess that I was not meant to celebrate anything today. My m5 is an 06 with under 18K miles on it. I will have to deal with this tomorrow. I am sure the engine is shot. I am wondering if the oil filter could have come off or loose. My car is completely covered underneath with oil. I had other plans for tomorrow than to spend my day with this car. My car is about 60 miles from my house sitting in a mall parking lot.
Mike Meyers

[Glock 32]

Sorry to hear this.

Lousy way to spend your birthday. Good luck...



--Edit--

YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO PUT YOUR CAR IN NUETRAL WITHOUT STARTING:

I wanted to verify with my car first... Here is what should work (key in ign. if you do not have comfort access, I do).

DO NOT PUT YOUR FOOT ON THE BRAKE so the car will not start, then:

Press the start button (radio readiness mode or acc. mode, if you rather), then:

Press the start button again (engine start/on mode, but car will not start without your foot on the brake), (car will warn you to put your foot on the brake or something), then:

Wait a second or two, then:

Put your foot on the brake and move it from Nuetral to drive and then back to Nuetral (maybe twice it it doesn't work first time).

Mine will go into Nuetral without having to start the car. Yours should too.

This should at least prevent you from having to let them drag your car onto the truck. Hope it works and you read this in time...

Good luck.

[M CRISIS]

Wow! Truley a nightmare! My first guess would be the vanos line.
Have you had the car since new? If not do you know the history of any service work? When was your build date?
I'd also hazard a guess that your engine is still OK if you indeed did not drive it very far. But if it is shot, you should still be OK (subjective) because your car is still under warranty. Hope it can all be back to new in a short time. Sorry to hear about your troubles. You sound like a patient man but anybody's patience would be tax in your situation. Good luck.

[tightie]

wow, sorry.
but on a side note. happy birthday.

[Ashok Arora]

Bad luck mate.

Was the vanos line ever replaced? There was a recall for '05 and early '06 cars since this was a known issue - the vanos oil supply line was originally a 10bar version but it was prone to failure causing massive oil loss. The replacement part is rated at 15bar. Check with your dealer.

[leburpor]

sorry to hear about your experience. hope yer baby gets well soon.

[xraym5]

What a terrible experience! It seems like taking the M5 to a steak restaurant can sometimes spell trouble (I think my Transmission is DEAD!!!). I don't know if this is possible, but if my engine ever dies rather than replacing the new engine under warranty I'd be tempted to take cash instead and pay for part of the Dinan stroker.

[Barry Lausch]

With the vintage, I'm betting vanos line. And based on your description of the event the most damage done was to your evening and your wife's disposition. It seems strange to me with the oil consumption being so high prior to this terminal event that you had no oil spotting where you parked the car??

Ref: lower vanos high pressure oil line, don't forget a little oil goes a long, long way. It's probably not as bad as it looks.............

[unfoundhorsepower]

Sorry to hear.....sucks to be you. It's under warranty, don't forget when they ask, you shut it off and NEVER re-started it again once you saw the warning !!!

[BogoKi]

Hi Mike,

Sorry to hear about your nightmare. BMW's road service should be better prepared, I am sure they will take good care of your car.

Now, just enjoy your birthday!

[ReconTrojan]

Happy Birthday.

I never have had to use BMW Roadside, and even if I did I have AAA which shows up lightning fast. Amongst many benefits they offer its totally worth the 125 a year.

Good luck on your car.