thrown rod=new engine - The Unofficial BMW M5 Messageboard (m5board.com)

nthuzst · 8th December 2004, 05:26

I have owned my cpo'd 01 M5 43,400 miles (Imola/camel) for about 6 months. Bought it from a dealer in TN and looked for this car for 2 years before pulling the trigger. Have owned several BMW's and enjoyed the thrill and satisfaction (My dealer in Fla is excellent).
Coming back from the airport late one recent Fri nite, i noticed what sounded like the fan blade hitting the plastic housing each time i excelled. It was 12:40 am and I thought I'd nurse it home, but was concerned I might not make the 45 mile trip .
To my dismay, the noise grew louder and I knew this was abnormal to say the least.
Then all-of-a-sudden ......WHAM!
To my horror, I literaly heard car parts falling from my under carriage as my car went "Dead" and i rolled to a stop under the nearest street light i could find. Got out of the car and noticed a blood-bath-like swath of synthetic motor oil which trailed my parked car to it's resting place.
I knew the worst had happened at that point. Called Roadside Assistance and 1 hour later, tow truck arrived (now 1:50 am) .
Car was taken to dealer next day and they confirmed that I had thrown a rod.
Believe me, this was the talk of the dealership. They knew of M3's with such issues in the past but NEVER an M5.
BMW made them pull my DME box and send to them for evaluation before they would authorize ...dare I say it ...an M5 ENGINE REPLACEMENT.

BMW said they would replace engine (at a cost of $20,725.60 !!!!!!!)
Just picked car up today (process took 3 weeks) and all is well.

THANK GOD FOR CPO. I would NEVER buy another BMW without warranty!

mottati · 8th December 2004, 05:34

I'm curious, which oil did you use 5/30 or 10/60? There was one account of a spun rod bearing on the board that i know if, 5/30 was used, but the owner was told to use 10.60 in the future.

nthuzst · 8th December 2004, 05:47

5w30

mottati · 8th December 2004, 06:03

well, glad to see the warranty came thru. On the bright side, brand new engine!
Mike

Terk · 8th December 2004, 06:31

Nice to hear there was a happy ending to your story. A new engine is like almost getting a new M5

TCM · 8th December 2004, 07:00

Wow, glad to see you made out ok. Scary situation to say the least. I am happy to see BMW step up to the plate after many horror stories.

em5464 · 8th December 2004, 10:11

Wow, glad to hear that you got your beast back....I know exactly what you went through...I just got a new E39 motor as well...still breaking it in...I drove a rental for about 4 weeks...CPO is the name of the game...However, in my case I had to cough up $4400, and Mercury Insurance covered $20,000.....not too bad, it's like a new car....happy motoring

Ed

mr_bock · 8th December 2004, 12:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by nthuzst

5w30

Do you know if the new engine is using 5w30 also? My dealer was using 10w60 for several oil changes, then at my last change they put in 5w30. I questioned the Service Advisor and he pointed out a sticker on the radiator that said to use 5w30.

I wish this would get cleared up. Good luck with your new engine!!!

SC'dKellenersM5 · 8th December 2004, 16:26

I was that person who had the spun rod bearings....I was hinted at but not told exclusivly to run the 10-60 as its a thicker oil. My crank, crank bearings, oil pump, oil filter and oil pan were all replaced under warranty.

While i know alot of people see the sticker and say...thats what im supposed to have. The 10-60 gives a slightly added margin of saftey over that of the 5-30 and I will use nothing but it...even though I believe that Shadowman has used the 5-30 in my car (maybe) ill have it immediately taken out after the 1200 mile break in and replaced with 10-60.

BMW would have to prove that the switch in oil, would have and could have caused some sort of engine problem in the future.

BmwNut · 8th December 2004, 22:13

Good to hear that the story has a happy ending. Just be sure to baby her through the break in process, and then have at it! Sorry for the misfortune, but cant go wrong with a new engine.