[4444405]

Hi all,

Well here we are......10 months of ownership of a 68k mile 2005 M5 and been very happy and lucky.....'till today!

Parking up in work after a perfectly normal drive across the city the Engine Malfunction warning light/message appears.....OK I thought...finish parking and start the engine again...assuming it was a glitch? Wrong!

Car starts again and I begin to smell Oil and a hear a weird knocking noise coming from the engine......switch off immediately at this point.

Examine outside car and a pool of oil emerges from the underside of the engine....also notice splashes of oil on both front alloys and inside both front wheel arches.....oddly enough there was a lump of fresh looking grease? on the front wheel arch near the spoiler...where could this have come from?

Car is now on its way to the dealer for further investigation and the dreaded call back to me will happen soon I suppose.

Warrantywise.co.uk ....lets see if they are willing to cough up!!

Any Thoughts or experiences??

 

[juber]

Hi mate,

Oh god! That doesn’t sound good really, it could of lost loads / all of the oil and the knocking noise may be the bottom end gone (big end bearings)due to oil starvation, which means new engine, That’s worst case scenario! (going by what happened with my sisters Alfa 147)

Did you get an oil low warning before or do you know how much oil you had in the engine at the time? Because if your engine oil was ok at the time and you had no warning then doubt it was the above. It could be a number of things though!<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com<img src=" /><o></o>
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You don’t have BMW Warranty I take it? Make sure you jump all over that warranty company like a rash as they are as good as a broken arm. <o></o>
<o></o>
Most warranty companies don’t like you taking your car to main dealers as they don’t like to pay labour and diagnostic costs that main dealer charge, what you should tell them is that they should be aware of the car being a high performance therefore not many garages will touch it as they don’t have the equipment.<o></o>
<o></o>
I’m hoping it’s something petty and simple, that’s why I always swear on main dealer or private sale with main dealer 0 excess warranty when buying high performance cars! Good luck mate. <o></o>

 

[4444405]

Thanks for the reply.......from what I could see on the road the oil started leaking a short while before I arrived my place of work and as I was parking up the engine malfunction limited power message appeared. I stopped the engine and restarted (before I got out to discover Oil) and at this point I heard a knocking sound and could smell Oil......switched off and got out and saw the mess!

I'm hoping its not a new engine as it is going to be hassle with warranty etc....fingers crossed its a simple Oil Pump!!

 

[M5Grouch]

I hope it turns out OK for you. Let us know the result?

 

[unfoundhorsepower]

May be an oil line...I hope so.....or BIG $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

 

[Sharpie12]

I went through this fiasco not too long ago. My engine threw a rod straight through the oil pan they said. I got a new engine but not before I had to pay about $10,000 myself....and this was WITH the BMW factory warranty. Good luck.

 

[GeorgeSmooth]

It could be a burst Vanos oil line, if that is the case its small fix.

 

[unfoundhorsepower]

I went through this fiasco not too long ago. My engine threw a rod straight through the oil pan they said. I got a new engine but not before I had to pay about $10,000 myself....and this was WITH the BMW factory warranty. Good luck.

Why did you have to pay ???:dunno:

 

[itwasepic]

4444405, Let us know what the outcome is because I'd like to hear how it could have been avoided and/or checked for when you had your inspection before you purchased.

 

[LJ Martin]

I went through this fiasco not too long ago. My engine threw a rod straight through the oil pan they said. I got a new engine but not before I had to pay about $10,000 myself....and this was WITH the BMW factory warranty. Good luck.

If you had a BMW factory warranty what was the excuse for the 10k charge.

 

[dvdoughboy]

Why did you have to pay ???:dunno:

If you had a BMW factory warranty what was the excuse for the 10k charge.

You guys must've missed this thread.

 

[4444405]

You guys must've missed this thread.

Thanks for pointing me to that thread...however my engine was running fine and I believe the knocking sound which was not too bad was due to poor oil circulation at the top of the engine. It was not over revved at any time before the failure happened.
The dealer have not pin pointed the problem as yet (i struggle to understand what exactly they have done so far) but the mechanic suspects a broken conrod within the engine? I did explain that the engine was running fine despite the knocking noise and all cylinders sounded healthy. The oil leak runs for about firty yards down the road from my work so a broken pipe is the most logical answer....pressure goes and oil starts to leak into the lower engine cover thus leaving a tram line of oil trail. These were very thin lines of oil...upon parking there was a pool emerging...but i doubt more than a litre or two of oil. Surely the knocking noise I was hearing only for 5 seconds and just before I shut down the engine was due to poor lubrication?

More News tomorrow hopefully!

 

[unfoundhorsepower]

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, yes. the post

 

[LJ Martin]

Please keep us updated. I was considering the purchase of an M5. From the thread that was pointed out to us, BMW still doesn't want to cover their design flaws with their warranty. If the engine over revved it is their responsibility to repair the damage. Also found that after market warranties won't cover a design flaw that the factory will not honor. Kinda sad as I had my heart set on owning one of these beasts.:crying2:

 

[M5Grouch]

Please keep us updated. I was considering the purchase of an M5. From the thread that was pointed out to us, BMW still doesn't want to cover their design flaws with their warranty. If the engine over revved it is their responsibility to repair the damage. Also found that after market warranties won't cover a design flaw that the factory will not honor. Kinda sad as I had my heart set on owning one of these beasts.:crying2:

What design flaws?

 

[4444405]

Vanos Pipe!

Part is on order and I have asked for an Oil Service to be completed at the same time, otherwise the dealer would only top up the engine with the required Oil and still charge me! May as well get them to drain the engine and fit a new Oil Filter and reset the mileage on the iDrive.

£300 is what I am expecting to pay...maybe more.

Thank you guys for your responses......it's great to know that you lot are here to share our thoughts and worries! with.

 

[DriveWFO]

Vanos Pipe!

Part is on order and I have asked for an Oil Service to be completed at the same time, otherwise the dealer would only top up the engine with the required Oil and still charge me! May as well get them to drain the engine and fit a new Oil Filter and reset the mileage on the iDrive.

£300 is what I am expecting to pay...maybe more.

Thank you guys for your responses......it's great to know that you lot are here to share our thoughts and worries! with.

The Vanos line was a common problem for the 2006s. I know mine was replace by the previous owner.

 

[GeorgeSmooth]

Vanos Pipe!

Part is on order and I have asked for an Oil Service to be completed at the same time, otherwise the dealer would only top up the engine with the required Oil and still charge me! May as well get them to drain the engine and fit a new Oil Filter and reset the mileage on the iDrive.

£300 is what I am expecting to pay...maybe more.

Thank you guys for your responses......it's great to know that you lot are here to share our thoughts and worries! with.

Jackpot, what do I get for guessing correctly.

 

[4444405]

And here is the prize for all you guys for the help and support...

RapidShare: 1-CLICK Web hosting - Easy Filehosting

A Great pdf guide on the M5 and full information regarding the engine.

Many Thanks again.

 

[Sharpie12]

Glad to hear it was nothing catastrophic. Congratulations man