[UrbanImport]

I had an 08 M5 lease and the oil cooler went bad @ 30k miles, it was replaced under factory warranty along with the lines. Two months ago I got an 06 M5 and the oil cooler has gone @ 35k miles. Now based off the fact that i'm 2 for 2 on oil coolers with these cars and from what i've seen on this board the coolers and lines on this car are a very common problem. When I bought my 06 I bought a "Hendrick High Tech" Extended warranty from the dealer (not sure if it is underwritten by somebody else or they are really the underwritter) for 4 yrs/48k miles for around $4200. My main concerns were SMG and electronics but since this was the highest level warranty the dealer sold I assumed it would cover relatively basic components..... such as an oil cooler. Apparently that was naive of me to think because in the fine print it covers internally lubricated parts of the motor and then the listed external parts which does not include oil cooler.

My question is for you guys with Zurich and other aftermarket warrantys do you know if it covers things such as oil cooler? I bought this warranty so this car wouldn't nickel and dime me but now i'm afraid that this warranty might have too many BS exclusions that they will be able weasel their way out of paying for things. At this point I can probably still get my money back and get a warranty elsewhere but just wanted to get thoughts on this specific example to see if it is even worth fighting or I should just suck it up as a cost of ownership. Stealership wants $1200 to replace the cooler so if I don't end up getting it done under warranty i'll go aftermarket and do it myself.

Quick shot of the Gulf Coast spill in my garage..... oil to the left is where my 08 was leaking, oil to the right is where my 06 was leaking.

 

[Vodyk]

Very common.

Once i got my bumper off however i noticed my issue was just loose lines and replaced the two ring seals. I don't think the oil cooler goes bad or the lines, just the connection can get loose. Only one nut holds it together and didn't seem locktight from the factory.

Check to see if you can tell if its coming from the connection between the oil lines and cooler.

Sorry about your warranty issues, sadly this fix requires the bumper to be taken off which takes a bit of work.

 

[Gustav]

Also, I beleive RPI can provide you with an aftermarket oilcooler, more effective as well.

 

[andrewsherman]

Both replies are great. This is not an uncommon problem and it usually proves to be the lines and/or connection and not the cooler itself. If it is actually your oil cooler, I would highly recomment going with the RPI high capacity cooler. I have it and love it. When I brought it into my shop (and these are some serious high end guys working on exotics every day), the raved about the quality and design of RPI's unit.