[Gypsyqueen]

Hello everyone!

I was driving my 2012 BMW 328i on the highway about 2 weeks ago and the check engine pressure light came on, car started shaking, and as I was moving to the breakdown lane the drivetrain malfunction light came on. At that point the car still had power but after I turned it on and off a few times it completely lost power so it can only be moved via dolly tow truck (due to a neutral lock out).

After some initial googling I saw that the 2012 BMW 328i has a timing chain problem and it seemed like it will be a very expensive repair $5-10K. There is even a class action lawsuit against BMW in the US. They extended the warranty up to 70K miles and I am around 72K miles.

I took the BMW to one dealership and they could not even run diagnostics on it because they couldn't get it to start. So the only other option was to take it to a BMW dealership. I got the report back yesterday and they said the computer generated no faults at all and everything is fine (see attached report). The cost of this diagnosis is $400. They said that to further investigate would have to remove the valve cover and the cost for that would be an additional $540 plus tax.

I don't mean to vent about personal stuff but I am 6 months pregnant and this entire situation has caused a tremendous amount of stress (my husband had to relocate across the entire country because he was using this car for work).

At this point as much as I want to find out what's the cause of the problem there is absolutely no guarantees. I could be out $1K with BMW and still not know what the heck the problem is. I am thinking of just selling the car AS IS and maybe get $5K for it. It's KBB value is around $15K.

Another option would be to tow the car to another dealership. Guy said he would take a look at the engine for $500 and he is going to call some scrappers to see how much a used engine would be.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[BMWILUVU]

Maybe the first dealership cleared the codes. This could be faulty pressure sensor, pressure control valve, oil pump, or the timing chain guide broke and blocked up the oil pump pick-up. Some expert diagnosis is on deck. Is Budd's collision a BMW shop? I think they over-tested for this problem before checking the oil pressure components.

[AlmondJayRoM3]

Take it to an independent bmw mechanic. Sounds like the dealership tech just connected the computer found nothing moved on.

[obert]

Sounds like the timing chain.

Don’t think you can trade in the car with this known issue and if you sell private you basically screwing over the new owners, if the car will even make it that long. Do you hear a whining sound? Low oil pressure light came on? Usually the chain guides plug up the oil holes for a minute and it causes all the issues.

[bimmer456]

It says warranty repair so why are you being charged? Did the oil pressure light cone on?

[Gypsyqueen]

How much would it cost to replace a timing chain approx.?

[obert]

Originally Posted by Gypsyqueen

How much would it cost to replace a timing chain approx.?

I think I have seen people posting that a indy shop can do it for around 3g and dealer was 5g or more.

[jmaak]

if the cars pass the compression test (based on the image), then either you had no fuel or no spark. Sounds like engine misfires to me if the car shook a lot and the check engine light came on.

I would see if there are any permanent codes stored. If you see misfires, try replacing your ignition coils.

[jimmy89045]

Originally Posted by IK6SPEED

Looks like it was an independent and not a BMW Dealer as I doubt there is a BMW Dealer named " Budd's Collision"

I'd take it to an actual BMW Dealership to be diagnosed.

It clearly says "for any collision or paint repair call budds collision services". This is a bmw dealer in my area- https://www.buddsbmw.com. That is an advisement on op's dealer invoice not a independent shop logo.

[KRS_SN]

don't panic without knowing what you are panicking about
If your car hasn't been tuned and has been regularly serviced preferably at thd dealership the outcome may not be that bad
get the BMW dealership to diagnose the problem first even it it costs 1k snd yhen push to have thiz covered under goodwill. if they refuse contact bmw directly if you think you have a case. If yoy are 72k snd the car was covered till 70k they may offer a good will contribution.
Best of luck

[babagurgur]

Yeah if you live in Canada and have a F30 n20, you are boned.

For some reason BMW thinks that the same car with the same engine south of the border is meant to get their timing chain replacement warranty, but not in Canada. Fuck us, right?

[bimmer456]

It must be a BMWNA thing not sure if Canada has a separate headquarters even though North America would seem to be inclusive of Canada. The headquarters is in NJ though so I would think there is a headquarters in Canada for issues with Canadian vehicles.

[Gijutsusha]

I had a "drivetrain malfunction" on my 2012 about a year ago. Car ran rough and just died. Couldn't restart. Had to be towed to the dealer. Turned out it was the in-tank fuel pump that failed. BMW had just issued an extended warranty to 70K miles this, so it was a known problem. Did the dealership check for this?

[tangonauta99]

I had a similar event a couple of years ago in CPO 2015 328xi with 29K miles. I was going at high speed in the highway when the car started to shake and not able to maintain any speed over 40 mph. Even though the issue cleared overnight, I took it to the dealership as it is still under warranty. I attached a copy of the work done. So far, no problems.

[arvi604]

Originally Posted by babagurgur

Yeah if you live in Canada and have a F30 n20, you are boned.

For some reason BMW thinks that the same car with the same engine south of the border is meant to get their timing chain replacement warranty, but not in Canada. Fuck us, right?

7/112km for Canada N20 timing chain as per my SA in Vancouver

VIN based

[IK6SPEED]

Originally Posted by arvi604

7/112km for Canada N20 timing chain as per my SA in Vancouver

VIN based

It seems OPs 2012 vehicle would most likely be over 7 years old...and the mileage is over the limit.