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2010 2011 BMW 5 Series Forum F10 BMW 5-Series (F10) Forums General 5-Series Sedan and Wagon (F10 / F11) Forum N63 Motor Failure
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      07-17-2018, 12:36 AM   #1
Captain Cook
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N63 Motor Failure

Here we go now! I got a 2011 550 on CPO that I literally just back from the dealership for a drivetrain malfunction about 3 days ago (needed plugs and coils). As I'm driving down the street yesterday, out of the blue and without warning the car just shuts off completely - the engine shut off, no power steering, no lights or warnings, nothing. Luckily there wasn't too much traffic around so I managed to wiggle my way into a left turn lane before I had no option but to stop right smack in the middle of the road! When I tried turning the car back on, the engine wouldn't even crank. Weird part about it was the lack of any warning. It was driving perfectly fine.

So I get the car towed to a BMW dealership and they give me a call today saying that the engine is seized and I need a new engine.... what?! To move forward they want all receipts for any oil changes or other engine related work so they can submit a claim to BMW and see if they'll cover this under CPO warranty. Apparently that process will take at least week. Also they want to charge for 3 hours of labor to investigate this, which may or may nor be reimbursed according to the SA. In the meantime, I'm out in the dark and they won't even give me a loaner until the warranty claim is approved. Aside from warranty work, I get the car serviced at a very reputable indy in Toronto and I always had multiple quarts of oil in the trunk at all times since this car loves eating right through that oil. I've taken really good care of the car so this all comes as a huge surprise.

Has anyone had a similar experience or any advice? I've heard about dealerships trying to jerk people around to pay some of the costs of a new engine so I want to prepare myself for any backlash I might receive.

Last edited by Captain Cook; 07-17-2018 at 12:54 AM..
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      07-17-2018, 07:05 AM   #2
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Sorry to hear. We are hearing more about N63 engine failures. Did they say what was the reason for the failure? Rod bearings? What is your miles?
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      07-17-2018, 03:14 PM   #3
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It was at 145,000 KM. Haven't heard anything yet on what caused it, but I was told that it requires over 26 hours of labor (almost $5,000) on their part to investigate the root cause, which I would have to pay if BMW denies the warranty claim for whatever reason.

What a disaster. I'll update as it goes.
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      07-18-2018, 07:41 AM   #4
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I'm not a lawyer and this is not advice, but I personally wouldn't give them any service or repair related info unless the CPO contract or state law specifically requires it prior to approving or denying a claim.
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      07-18-2018, 03:43 PM   #5
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original engine?
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      07-19-2018, 02:01 PM   #6
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Captain Cook, what are the 7 last digits of your VIN?
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      07-20-2018, 08:02 AM   #7
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Been there.. aftermarket warranty company covered the $14k for a used motor... Was over if the rear bearings that went south. Can see some similar threads on the M5 forum. I went thru the diagnostic fee stuff too, wasn't fun.

Hopefully being CPO you will get a new motor, that's what they did in my wife's 335i when they broke it.
Good luck, msg me if you have questions.
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      07-20-2018, 11:19 PM   #8
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This is heartbreaking to hear, especially since it's a CPO car. Keep us updated. Hoping for a decent resolve for ya...dang.
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      07-21-2018, 06:17 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by EZgo View Post
I'm not a lawyer and this is not advice, but I personally wouldn't give them any service or repair related info unless the CPO contract or state law specifically requires it prior to approving or denying a claim.
Dang I wish I seen this earlier. My thinking was that all I have are records of my oil changes and I certainly had them all in order so why not.

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Originally Posted by 535_BiTurbo View Post
original engine?
Yes original motor.

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Originally Posted by NickG_TechniqueTuning View Post
Captain Cook, what are the 7 last digits of your VIN?
C785884

Quote:
Originally Posted by SchillerM View Post
Been there.. aftermarket warranty company covered the $14k for a used motor... Was over if the rear bearings that went south. Can see some similar threads on the M5 forum. I went thru the diagnostic fee stuff too, wasn't fun.

Hopefully being CPO you will get a new motor, that's what they did in my wife's 335i when they broke it.
Good luck, msg me if you have questions.
Thanks for sharing - Ouch going through that twice is terrible luck. How long did the process take if you don't mind me asking? They haven't been too keen on keeping me posted on details.
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      07-23-2018, 09:14 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Captain Cook View Post
It was at 145,000 KM. Haven't heard anything yet on what caused it, but I was told that it requires over 26 hours of labor (almost $5,000) on their part to investigate the root cause, which I would have to pay if BMW denies the warranty claim for whatever reason.

What a disaster. I'll update as it goes.
90k miles
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      07-24-2018, 07:37 AM   #11
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Captain Cook, your car is a 2011 and still covered under the CPO warranty? How long have you had this car and was this the same dealer you bought it from also?

I'm very surprised by how poorly the dealer has treated you, you paid an added cost to buy a CPO car rather than a "used" car on the open market for insurance against catastrophic failure like this...yet they are: treating you with suspicion, not giving you a loaner, and trying to stick you with costs never hinted at in the CPO warranty contract (mine just mentions a nominal flat rate cost per service). Perhaps contacting another dealer or BMW directly would be worth while if this dealer continues with this behavior.

Are other people really put through the ringer like this when they make CPO claims? As a fellow CPO owner I'm definitely interested in hearing how this turns out for you, hoping for the best
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      07-24-2018, 08:14 AM   #12
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Captain Cook, are you sure your car has the CPO warranty? I looked it up in BMW NA's database, and CPO coverage is not listed. This might be cause it's a Canadian model, but keep in mind, the base CPO warranty in Canada is also only for 5 years from the original in service date. Your car is well outside of that time period.
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      07-24-2018, 04:54 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NickG_TechniqueTuning View Post
Captain Cook, are you sure your car has the CPO warranty? I looked it up in BMW NA's database, and CPO coverage is not listed. This might be cause it's a Canadian model, but keep in mind, the base CPO warranty in Canada is also only for 5 years from the original in service date. Your car is well outside of that time period.
Yes, I'm positive it has CPO coverage. I'm not too certain about the situation in the US, but in Canada you can extend your coverage for up to 8 years for an additional fee. See link below.

https://www.bmw.ca/en/fastlane/certified_preowned.html
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      07-24-2018, 05:08 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tiburblium View Post
Captain Cook, your car is a 2011 and still covered under the CPO warranty? How long have you had this car and was this the same dealer you bought it from also?

I'm very surprised by how poorly the dealer has treated you, you paid an added cost to buy a CPO car rather than a "used" car on the open market for insurance against catastrophic failure like this...yet they are: treating you with suspicion, not giving you a loaner, and trying to stick you with costs never hinted at in the CPO warranty contract (mine just mentions a nominal flat rate cost per service). Perhaps contacting another dealer or BMW directly would be worth while if this dealer continues with this behavior.

Are other people really put through the ringer like this when they make CPO claims? As a fellow CPO owner I'm definitely interested in hearing how this turns out for you, hoping for the best
I've owned the car for about almost 3 years - Quite frankly I've never had any issues with CPO claims prior to this. Usually I send my car in and they'll issue a loaner before even diagnosing the problem. What they're doing this time doesn't seem like standard practice at all. I'm going to really dig into my contract tonight and see what would be the best way to speed this up or escalate it before I reach out to BMW NA - kind of tired playing all co-operative with them.

As for the latest update, I was told that BMW should get back to my SA tomorrow and we'll have to see whether they'll approve the claim. This is all crazy to me because the dealer hasn't even looked at the vehicle yet so there wouldn't be any grounds for BMW to base its decision off.

I really hope this isn't how they treat everyone with a faulty engine - especially given the N63's history.
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      07-29-2018, 01:30 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by EZgo View Post
I'm not a lawyer and this is not advice, but I personally wouldn't give them any service or repair related info unless the CPO contract or state law specifically requires it prior to approving or denying a claim.
OP may not reside in the US.
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      08-10-2018, 03:05 AM   #16
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Sorry guys! Went MIA for a little bit because I was out of town for a wedding. Here's the latest update below. Sorry for the long post in advance, just want to provide as much information as possible for anyone else that runs into this.

So after BMW Canada apparently did some investigation which took them about 10 days, I get a notice from the dealership that there was a lack of maintenance so they're denying my warranty. The dealership tells me to call BMW Canada and for the next few days ensued a wild goose chase because BMW would say 'we have no record of what the dealership is talking about' and the dealership would say 'go talk to BMW Canada, they have all the information'. After finally snapping on a poor guy at BMW Canada, he escalated the situation and opened an investigation into the dealerships actions because someone was obviously lying. More time passes while they investigate.

At the end I get a call from a district manager that says "we can't give you any more information other than there was a lack of maintenance". I asked when this happened and what it was and they refused to disclose further information claiming privacy laws - was it an oil change? inspection? brakes? I have no idea. How privacy gets involved when all I'm asking for is the reasoning behind why my warranty is being denied is beyond me. But I do know that between the full service records I pulled from the dealership for the entire cars history and for the time that I had the vehicle, all maintenance was done to spec! I haven't seen anything out of order so this is smelling like bullshit.

Nobody has even opened the car up yet, nor has anyone diagnosed the actual problem. Going forward I plan on going full legal on them. I've even contacted a class action law firm in Toronto, since up north we don't have the benefit of all the class actions that got settled down in the US. The advice I got was to use the same arguments in the class actions to sue myself in small claims. I currently own 4 BMWs - three 5 series and one 3 series thats been chugging along like a tank - and I swear to god I feel like selling them all after all this bullshit. Second time I been screwed out of warranty btw. Guess I'll see those bastards in court.

In the meantime I'm wondering what to do with the car while I figure out how to settle this and recover my costs. Do I source a new engine (roughly $5,000 last time I looked)? Can I rebuild this one? Where do I even start.

Last edited by Captain Cook; 08-10-2018 at 03:23 AM..
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      08-10-2018, 08:16 AM   #17
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Wow! That's crazy, I hope if you haven't already that you start documenting all correspondence with both BMW CA and the dealer! Hell every phone call chasing it up I'd start recording the call(advise them you will be recording the conversation).

Is there a consumer affairs you can try to start mediating with? Before going down the legal avenue, Otherwise maybe a draft letter from a legal firm to follow up on and start some scare tactics for the dealership maybe.
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      08-10-2018, 08:51 AM   #18
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The only plausible assumption that comes to mind is that they found a maintenance gap from the previous owner, thus the statement about privacy. That's just a guess though, and if that was the case I'm not sure why they would pass the buck to you as you purchased the car CPO, I'd assume the dealer who certified would be culpable.

Is the dealer your working with currently the same one who certified/sold you this car, or was that another dealer?
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      08-15-2018, 03:40 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tiburblium View Post
The only plausible assumption that comes to mind is that they found a maintenance gap from the previous owner, thus the statement about privacy. That's just a guess though, and if that was the case I'm not sure why they would pass the buck to you as you purchased the car CPO, I'd assume the dealer who certified would be culpable.

Is the dealer your working with currently the same one who certified/sold you this car, or was that another dealer?
Funny enough you were exactly on the ball! I ended up doing a pull of the full service records and with a little digging into the dealership I found out that an oil change was missing from a previous owner. I know exactly where the previous owner serviced the vehicle so I gave that dealership a call and, again, they refused to disclose the record of the oil change due to privacy reasons but said they'll confirm that it was done through email. So now that I got this sorted out the dealership says they have to submit another claim to BMW Canada with the updated information. Crossing my fingers that I don't run into another issue because I really don't want to go the legal route. It'll take forever and it's such a hassle.

At the end of the day, this whole process has been so annoying. It's been approximately 3 weeks of running back and forth trying to figure this out already.
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      08-15-2018, 08:01 PM   #20
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Why does everyone get so bent out of shape on the maintenance records? If you don’t change your oil it can cause engine failure. Why would this be out of line? I don’t understand the logic here... if you can prove all your oil changes were done you have nothing to worry about.
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      08-16-2018, 01:16 PM   #21
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Originally Posted by NinetyEight740 View Post
Why does everyone get so bent out of shape on the maintenance records? If you don’t change your oil it can cause engine failure. Why would this be out of line? I don’t understand the logic here... if you can prove all your oil changes were done you have nothing to worry about.
Of course it can cause engine failure. But all my service was in order. Luckily I knew where the past owner serviced his car or otherwise you'd be shut out of luck trying to track down past records. My problem is that I'm sure the dealership noticed the 40,000 gap in oil changes without the missing record. Instead of informing me they wasted my damn time by submitting a claim to BMW Canada anyways and making me go through all this bullshit 3-4 weeks later. Also when I asked what the lack of maintainable was everyone wanted to play dumb until I pieced things together. Probably hoping I roll over and take their 60/40 deal on the cost of an engine.
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      02-27-2023, 06:15 PM   #22
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N63 motor

Any update in Canada? I know it’s been 5 years but this just happened to me. I would love to join a class action.
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