2013 328xi Engine Failure at 55k Miles

NY2010 · 10-19-2016, 05:02 PM

Hi all,

Wanted to come on here and share my story with you. It was a big lesson for me, so hopefully someone else can get something out of this.

Purchased my 2013 328xi used wtih 34k miles from a private dealer, still under warranty. First BMW, and first car I have ever purchased for myself. Serviced it properly based on the cars notifications at a local BMW service center. Last service was at 49k miles and everything was checked out, oil changed, multi-point inspection, etc. Two weeks ago, driving off a highway exit ramp (car at 55k miles) I received a red engine oil pressure low, followed by yellow drive train malfunction. As I came to a stop at the end of the ramp the car put itself in park and shut off. Was not able to get it back on or even into neutral. I was finally able to get it taken to my BMW Service center who informed me the entire engine would need to be replaced.

Specifically got, "REMOVED VALVE COVER FOUND INTAKE VANOS UNIT
BROKEN AWAY FROM CAMSHAFT ALL OF THE CHAIN GUIDES BROKEN
AND THE INTAKE CAMSHAFT IS SEIZED. REMOVED NUMBER THREE
BEARING CAP FOUND HEAVILY SCORED AND METAL AROUND CAP.
ENGINE SUFFERED TO MUCH DAMAGE TO REBUILD ENGINE WILL REQUIRE
REPLACEMENT. QUOTE IN SG. OIL SERVICE AND EVAC AND RECHARGE
REQUIRE WITH REPLACEMENT."

This came to over $18k, effectively totaling the car in my opinion. I requested a goodwill replacement from BMW but was denied due to poor oil history. The car had its oil changed every 10k miles (BMW recommends 15k for this car), however the carfax shows no service record prior to 25k miles. In essence, they denied my goodwill replacement because they deem that no oil change occurred for the first 25k miles leading to this issue 30k miles later. The carfax doesn't show the name of the first owner, nor will BMW give it to me so I am unable to reach out and find out if anything was ever done.

I reached out to the original dealership who sold the car to see what they might be able to provide but haven't heard anything back yet.

Likely will need to go for a used engine at a 3rd party shop or maybe just sell the car for parts.

I loved the car, but can't ever justify purchasing another BMW after this. I suppose the moral of the story is to check the carfax not just for accidents and major issues, but for simple oil changes as well. And change your oil much more frequently then BMW recommends.

mxchris727 · 10-19-2016, 05:27 PM

That's tough. BMW has the ability to see if the oil has been changed at a dealership; I would ask them to look up the car's internal service history. Engines for your car are inexpensive at around 1-2k. You may be looking at a 4k repair if performed at an independent shop.

F30lolz · 10-19-2016, 05:41 PM

Any BMW dealer should be able to provide maintenance/warranty work performed at any BMW dealer by giving the last se7en digits of the VIN. Gonna pull a Mike Miller here but speak to the service manager. GL.

PalestineM3 · 10-19-2016, 07:48 PM

Hey mate. Sorry about your unfortunate news. Dealerships can be scumbags sometimes I wouldn't expect to get help from them.

There is a shop in NJ called project M Motors. They have SEVERAL salvage parts such as replacement engines. Look up projectmmotors on facebook or instagram best of luck

elons335i · 10-19-2016, 08:05 PM

OP - sorry about your loss, you may have better luck in f30 forum in terms of info.

Efthreeoh · 10-19-2016, 10:01 PM

You have no idea if the oil service history caused the engine failure or not. It sounds like the oil pump broke. The inspection report mentioned nothing about oil sludge found in the engine. Oil sludge is what causes lubrication failures in engines because the sludge blocks the oil passages and starves the bearing surfaces of oil.

All BMWs sold sine 1996 come with "free" maintenance during the warranty period. Unless the previous owner(s) were complete dumbasses, the car would have seen at least 2 if not 3 oil changes provided by BMW free of charge, which would be in BMW's service database. Whether they got reported to CarFax is a different issue. The engine should still be under warranty. How do you know the car has oil changes every 10,000 miles if BMW can't establish it that it didn't have an oil change until 25,000 miles? You should demand that BMW show you what service records it has for the car. You have a right to see them. BMW can not allow you to see the original purchaser, but that is easily to redact from the records print out.

patents · 10-20-2016, 08:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NY2010

The car had its oil changed every 10k miles (BMW recommends 15k for this car), however the carfax shows no service record prior to 25k miles.

How do you know it had its oil changed every 10k miles?

Why on earth is BMW relying on Carfax records? UNLESS... BMW actually has no record of oil changes at any of its dealers, then it would look to Carfax to see if an independent shop reported an oil change. Failing both of those, it would be reasonable to assume that oil changes weren't done.

BMW dealers are not obligated to share the service history of your car with you. They consider the information to belong to the previous owner, and the right to that information does not convey to subsequent owners. However, you may find a service advisor who will look it up for you. Instead of calling the original dealership (or even your own), just walk in, go to a service advisor, give them your key and ask if they can verify the service history. You may have better luck if you don't just flat out ask for a printout, but if you just ask them to look and see what oil services were done.

Mine gladly looked up the history on my car. She said in her opinion, I should have the information since it's my car.

E46driver · 10-20-2016, 10:59 AM

Jesus that's horrible, but you can find used/rebuilt n52s and n51s for 1.5k to 2k with 50k-80k miles and right under 3k for motors with less than 45k.

18k is what my friend paid to get a 29k miles s65 after his m3 went to shit.

Delta0311 · 10-20-2016, 11:01 AM

Is this a E92 or a F30 2013 328xi?

AtlasM · 10-20-2016, 12:52 PM

Carfax service history is nice but there are way too many shops that don't report to Carfax for it to ever be truly comprehensive.

You were probably quoted the cost of a brand new replacement motor. Look into BMW remanufactured motors. They have a 2 year warranty from BMW and usually are more like $4-5k instead of $18k.

C1Boston · 10-20-2016, 01:03 PM

If you explain this to your dealer I dont see why they would neglect to give you the maintenance history. BMW NA denied your goodwill? I would assume that means they can see the maint history?

Also where did you see an oil change every 10k?

NY2010 · 10-20-2016, 04:38 PM

Thanks everyone. I was able to get the service history from a different BMW rep. No history of an oil change with a BMW listed prior to 25k. I was able to see the oil change history on the carfax from previous owners.

I was able to get the second owner of the car to reach out to the first owner (they wouldn't tell me the name, only that they were a company). Whoever the first owner was refused to provide any documentation.

I did talk to others who informed me that having 3 oil changes after the first missed oil change should have cleared out the sludge and it is unlikely that the missed oil change caused this problem.

Efthreeoh makes an interesting point, the tech report does not mention any mention of oil sludge. Nothing of the sort was brought up until they discovered the missing oil change.

tlow98 · 10-20-2016, 06:20 PM

If no bmw coverage then go to an independent shop. They can install a used motor ($1.5k) for about $2.5-3k.

Sorry to say but without documentation Bmw will not replace anything, honestly given your warranty expiration I doubt they would even if you had the documentation

Extremely rare failure of an n52. Sorry to hear.

Hope you're able to get it sorted quickly and cheaply.

5tony · 10-20-2016, 07:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tlow98

If no bmw coverage then go to an independent shop. They can install a used motor ($1.5k) for about $2.5-3k.

Sorry to say but without documentation Bmw will not replace anything, honestly given your warranty expiration I doubt they would even if you had the documentation

Extremely rare failure of an n52. Sorry to hear.

Hope you're able to get it sorted quickly and cheaply.

Is a 2013 328 an N52 engine or is it the turbocharged 4 cylinder engine?

tlow98 · 10-20-2016, 07:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 5tony

Is a 2013 328 an N52 engine or is it the turbocharged 4 cylinder engine?

Whoops missed that point. This is the wrong forum for n20 F series stuff...

Used motors are 2-4K for the n20 currently. Install prices still apply

Bluewater328iT · 10-21-2016, 11:09 AM

In 2013, the coupes were E90 and the sedans were F30. OP does not specify which engine he has, but an engine failure is rather rare on either one.

Efthreeoh · 10-22-2016, 06:01 AM

OP, from what you describe how the failure occurred, it looks like to me the oil pump failed. You noted the low oil pressure light came on first, then the engine basically shut down. If your engine had sludge in it, several oil changes probably would not have totally cleared it up and there would be evidence of sludge still in the engine. You bought the car at 34,000 miles and drove it 20,000 miles before the problem came up. If the engine had sludge in it because it didn't see the first oil change until 25,000 miles, the engine would have died a lot earlier than 20,000 mile after you bought it. If the engine saw it's first change at 25,000 I doubt it did any real damage, but I suspect the engine had an oil change that for some reason wasn't recorded. A scan of the ECU will tell you how many oil changes there were if the CBS was reset every the oil service was done.

I think the oil pump failed and BMW is using the excuse of lack of maintenance records to not repair the engine. BMW makes it extremely clear that new BMWs under warranty are subject to "free" maintenance for the first 4 years and 50,000 miles of ownership. The selling dealership constantly reminds the owner that the car is due for service, they send mailers all the time. And the CBS would have made it clear the engine was far past due an oil change (the first one). I'm not absolutely sure, but seems to me the ECU should have a record of the the CBS reporting engine oil past due. Hassmaschine is the expert on the ECU, maybe he knows for sure.

elons335i · 10-22-2016, 10:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

OP, from what you describe how the failure occurred, it looks like to me the oil pump failed. You noted the low oil pressure light came on first, then the engine basically shut down. If your engine had sludge in it, several oil changes probably would not have totally cleared it up and there would be evidence of sludge still in the engine. You bought the car at 34,000 miles and drove it 20,000 miles before the problem came up. If the engine had sludge in it because it didn't see the first oil change until 25,000 miles, the engine would have died a lot earlier than 20,000 mile after you bought it. If the engine saw it's first change at 25,000 I doubt it did any real damage, but I suspect the engine had an oil change that for some reason wasn't recorded. A scan of the ECU will tell you how many oil changes there were if the CBS was reset every the oil service was done.

I think the oil pump failed and BMW is using the excuse of lack of maintenance records to not repair the engine. BMW makes it extremely clear that new BMWs under warranty are subject to "free" maintenance for the first 4 years and 50,000 miles of ownership. The selling dealership constantly reminds the owner that the car is due for service, they send mailers all the time. And the CBS would have made it clear the engine was far past due an oil change (the first one). I'm not absolutely sure, but seems to me the ECU should have a record of the the CBS reporting engine oil past due. Hassmachine is the expert on the ECU, maybe he knows for sure.

I'd listen to this guy...

TheBingoBalls · 10-22-2016, 11:42 AM

While we're on the subject, while BMW could use the lack of maintenance records as a sign of neglect can they solely base their decision on that? Say the original owner(s) did the oil changes themselves out of pocket, never went to BMW for maintenance and never updated CBS so maintenance was in fact done but was never properly reset and recorded through any system, I don't think it makes sense to form a conclusion just because records were missing without any sort of physical evidence that indicates there was a lack of maintenance done.

TBN54 · 10-22-2016, 11:58 AM

What's the last 7 of the VIN?

I work at a dealer and can pull up and see what the oil service intervals that were done on the car.

10-19-2016, 05:02 PM	#1
NY2010 Registered 1 Rep 2 Posts Drives: BMW 328i x-drive Join Date: Oct 2016 Location: Pennsylvania iTrader: (0)	2013 328xi Engine Failure at 55k Miles Hi all, Wanted to come on here and share my story with you. It was a big lesson for me, so hopefully someone else can get something out of this. Purchased my 2013 328xi used wtih 34k miles from a private dealer, still under warranty. First BMW, and first car I have ever purchased for myself. Serviced it properly based on the cars notifications at a local BMW service center. Last service was at 49k miles and everything was checked out, oil changed, multi-point inspection, etc. Two weeks ago, driving off a highway exit ramp (car at 55k miles) I received a red engine oil pressure low, followed by yellow drive train malfunction. As I came to a stop at the end of the ramp the car put itself in park and shut off. Was not able to get it back on or even into neutral. I was finally able to get it taken to my BMW Service center who informed me the entire engine would need to be replaced. Specifically got, "REMOVED VALVE COVER FOUND INTAKE VANOS UNIT BROKEN AWAY FROM CAMSHAFT ALL OF THE CHAIN GUIDES BROKEN AND THE INTAKE CAMSHAFT IS SEIZED. REMOVED NUMBER THREE BEARING CAP FOUND HEAVILY SCORED AND METAL AROUND CAP. ENGINE SUFFERED TO MUCH DAMAGE TO REBUILD ENGINE WILL REQUIRE REPLACEMENT. QUOTE IN SG. OIL SERVICE AND EVAC AND RECHARGE REQUIRE WITH REPLACEMENT." This came to over $18k, effectively totaling the car in my opinion. I requested a goodwill replacement from BMW but was denied due to poor oil history. The car had its oil changed every 10k miles (BMW recommends 15k for this car), however the carfax shows no service record prior to 25k miles. In essence, they denied my goodwill replacement because they deem that no oil change occurred for the first 25k miles leading to this issue 30k miles later. The carfax doesn't show the name of the first owner, nor will BMW give it to me so I am unable to reach out and find out if anything was ever done. I reached out to the original dealership who sold the car to see what they might be able to provide but haven't heard anything back yet. Likely will need to go for a used engine at a 3rd party shop or maybe just sell the car for parts. I loved the car, but can't ever justify purchasing another BMW after this. I suppose the moral of the story is to check the carfax not just for accidents and major issues, but for simple oil changes as well. And change your oil much more frequently then BMW recommends.
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10-19-2016, 05:27 PM	#2
mxchris727 Captain 193 Rep 666 Posts Drives: '03 M5, '06 325i, '12 M3 Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Westport, CT iTrader: (0)	That's tough. BMW has the ability to see if the oil has been changed at a dealership; I would ask them to look up the car's internal service history. Engines for your car are inexpensive at around 1-2k. You may be looking at a 4k repair if performed at an independent shop. __________________ BMW GT1 (INPA, DIS, WinKFP, ect..), ISTA/P & /D is up and running! PM me if you want to stop by and code your car.
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10-19-2016, 07:48 PM	#4
PalestineM3 Private First Class 52 Rep 191 Posts Drives: 2013 AW E92 M3 Join Date: Oct 2016 Location: NJ iTrader: (0)	Hey mate. Sorry about your unfortunate news. Dealerships can be scumbags sometimes I wouldn't expect to get help from them. There is a shop in NJ called project M Motors. They have SEVERAL salvage parts such as replacement engines. Look up projectmmotors on facebook or instagram best of luck
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10-19-2016, 08:05 PM	#5
elons335i Lieutenant 108 Rep 474 Posts Drives: E61 6MT SG \| Night Vision Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: usa iTrader: (0)	OP - sorry about your loss, you may have better luck in f30 forum in terms of info. __________________ ...
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10-19-2016, 10:01 PM	#6
Efthreeoh General 17315 Rep 18,737 Posts Drives: The E90 + Z4 Coupe & Z3 R'ster Join Date: May 2012 Location: Virginia iTrader: (0)	You have no idea if the oil service history caused the engine failure or not. It sounds like the oil pump broke. The inspection report mentioned nothing about oil sludge found in the engine. Oil sludge is what causes lubrication failures in engines because the sludge blocks the oil passages and starves the bearing surfaces of oil. All BMWs sold sine 1996 come with "free" maintenance during the warranty period. Unless the previous owner(s) were complete dumbasses, the car would have seen at least 2 if not 3 oil changes provided by BMW free of charge, which would be in BMW's service database. Whether they got reported to CarFax is a different issue. The engine should still be under warranty. How do you know the car has oil changes every 10,000 miles if BMW can't establish it that it didn't have an oil change until 25,000 miles? You should demand that BMW show you what service records it has for the car. You have a right to see them. BMW can not allow you to see the original purchaser, but that is easily to redact from the records print out. __________________ A manual transmission can be set to "comfort", "sport", and "track" modes simply by the technique and speed at which you shift it; it doesn't need "modes", modes are for manumatics that try to behave like a real 3-pedal manual transmission. If you can money-shift it, it's a manual transmission. "Yeah, but NO ONE puts an automatic trans shift knob on a manual transmission."
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10-20-2016, 10:59 AM	#8
E46driver Captain 78 Rep 739 Posts Drives: 2009 E92 N51 328i Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Rowland Heights iTrader: (4)	Jesus that's horrible, but you can find used/rebuilt n52s and n51s for 1.5k to 2k with 50k-80k miles and right under 3k for motors with less than 45k. 18k is what my friend paid to get a 29k miles s65 after his m3 went to shit. __________________ 2009 Alpine White E92 N51 328i Automagic \| Premium & Sport Pkg. \| Coral Red/Black Dakota Leather Interior \| M-Spor \| BMW Performance Exhaust \| Active Autowerke Headers \| BBS CH-R \| CPS Front Lip \| Performance Front Grills \| 888Concepts Custom Headlights (GONE) 2011 Alpine White E90 N55 335i Automagic
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10-20-2016, 11:01 AM	#9
Delta0311 Banned 7478 Rep 10,120 Posts Drives: 2011 BMW 335xi E92 2016 228xi Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: NJ iTrader: (1)	Is this a E92 or a F30 2013 328xi?
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10-20-2016, 12:52 PM	#10
AtlasM Captain 285 Rep 615 Posts Drives: '11 E92 335xi 6MT Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Rockville, MD iTrader: (0) Garage List 2011 BMW 335i xDrive [8.00]	Carfax service history is nice but there are way too many shops that don't report to Carfax for it to ever be truly comprehensive. You were probably quoted the cost of a brand new replacement motor. Look into BMW remanufactured motors. They have a 2 year warranty from BMW and usually are more like $4-5k instead of $18k.
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10-20-2016, 01:03 PM	#11
C1Boston Private First Class 103 Rep 199 Posts Drives: Uber Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: Boston iTrader: (0)	If you explain this to your dealer I dont see why they would neglect to give you the maintenance history. BMW NA denied your goodwill? I would assume that means they can see the maint history? Also where did you see an oil change every 10k?
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10-20-2016, 04:38 PM	#12
NY2010 Registered 1 Rep 2 Posts Drives: BMW 328i x-drive Join Date: Oct 2016 Location: Pennsylvania iTrader: (0)	Thanks everyone. I was able to get the service history from a different BMW rep. No history of an oil change with a BMW listed prior to 25k. I was able to see the oil change history on the carfax from previous owners. I was able to get the second owner of the car to reach out to the first owner (they wouldn't tell me the name, only that they were a company). Whoever the first owner was refused to provide any documentation. I did talk to others who informed me that having 3 oil changes after the first missed oil change should have cleared out the sludge and it is unlikely that the missed oil change caused this problem. Efthreeoh makes an interesting point, the tech report does not mention any mention of oil sludge. Nothing of the sort was brought up until they discovered the missing oil change.
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10-20-2016, 06:20 PM	#13
tlow98 Major General 2188 Rep 5,002 Posts Drives: 2009 E91, 2014 F15 x35i Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Bay Area iTrader: (2)	If no bmw coverage then go to an independent shop. They can install a used motor ($1.5k) for about $2.5-3k. Sorry to say but without documentation Bmw will not replace anything, honestly given your warranty expiration I doubt they would even if you had the documentation Extremely rare failure of an n52. Sorry to hear. Hope you're able to get it sorted quickly and cheaply.
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10-21-2016, 11:09 AM	#16
Bluewater328iT Lieutenant 87 Rep 471 Posts Drives: 2011 BMW 328iT Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: New Rochelle, NY iTrader: (0)	In 2013, the coupes were E90 and the sedans were F30. OP does not specify which engine he has, but an engine failure is rather rare on either one. __________________ BMWCCA member since 1990 Mods: 330 intake, ECU reflash & tune, Magnaflow cat back resonator & muffler, BMW Euro airbox, tinted windows
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10-22-2016, 06:01 AM	#17
Efthreeoh General 17315 Rep 18,737 Posts Drives: The E90 + Z4 Coupe & Z3 R'ster Join Date: May 2012 Location: Virginia iTrader: (0)	OP, from what you describe how the failure occurred, it looks like to me the oil pump failed. You noted the low oil pressure light came on first, then the engine basically shut down. If your engine had sludge in it, several oil changes probably would not have totally cleared it up and there would be evidence of sludge still in the engine. You bought the car at 34,000 miles and drove it 20,000 miles before the problem came up. If the engine had sludge in it because it didn't see the first oil change until 25,000 miles, the engine would have died a lot earlier than 20,000 mile after you bought it. If the engine saw it's first change at 25,000 I doubt it did any real damage, but I suspect the engine had an oil change that for some reason wasn't recorded. A scan of the ECU will tell you how many oil changes there were if the CBS was reset every the oil service was done. I think the oil pump failed and BMW is using the excuse of lack of maintenance records to not repair the engine. BMW makes it extremely clear that new BMWs under warranty are subject to "free" maintenance for the first 4 years and 50,000 miles of ownership. The selling dealership constantly reminds the owner that the car is due for service, they send mailers all the time. And the CBS would have made it clear the engine was far past due an oil change (the first one). I'm not absolutely sure, but seems to me the ECU should have a record of the the CBS reporting engine oil past due. Hassmaschine is the expert on the ECU, maybe he knows for sure. __________________ A manual transmission can be set to "comfort", "sport", and "track" modes simply by the technique and speed at which you shift it; it doesn't need "modes", modes are for manumatics that try to behave like a real 3-pedal manual transmission. If you can money-shift it, it's a manual transmission. "Yeah, but NO ONE puts an automatic trans shift knob on a manual transmission." Last edited by Efthreeoh; 10-22-2016 at 12:25 PM..
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10-22-2016, 11:42 AM	#19
TheBingoBalls Brigadier General 3821 Rep 4,660 Posts Drives: BMW Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Toronto, Ontario iTrader: (1) Garage List 2018 F36 BMW 440i x ... [0.00]	While we're on the subject, while BMW could use the lack of maintenance records as a sign of neglect can they solely base their decision on that? Say the original owner(s) did the oil changes themselves out of pocket, never went to BMW for maintenance and never updated CBS so maintenance was in fact done but was never properly reset and recorded through any system, I don't think it makes sense to form a conclusion just because records were missing without any sort of physical evidence that indicates there was a lack of maintenance done.
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10-22-2016, 11:58 AM	#20
TBN54 Captain 427 Rep 793 Posts Drives: 08' E92 335 -> 17' F30 340i Join Date: Dec 2015 Location: Upstate NY iTrader: (0)	What's the last 7 of the VIN? I work at a dealer and can pull up and see what the oil service intervals that were done on the car.
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