My 2006 X5 Nightmare

MstrD · #1 09-17-2013, 04:46 PM

This is a little lengthy, but necessary to see my problem. I'm not sure where I'm headed on this. Looking for some insight.
In 2009 I bought a 2006 CPO X5 3.0. At the time it had approx 22k miles on it. I bought it out of state, and I’ve been taking it to the local dealer for all the maintenance/repairs. The CPO warranty was set to expire at the end of Sept 2012 (I was never going to hit the mileage for expiration, just time).
In Jan 2012 I had an oil change done. Over the next 4 months, I was in to the dealer on multiple occasions because the low oil light was on. In that time they added 4+ quarts. I had gone maybe 3000 miles. Previously I had some oil loss, but it was getting worse.
In May 2012, it started running rough, and it was in for service. They determined it needed valve seals. (59k miles). The pulled the head. Replaced the seals, head gasket, etc.
July 2012 low oil again. Dealer added a quart. Aug 2013, low again. Dealer added a quart. I was concerned over the continued loss, since my warranty was expiring the following month. I was assured that since it was a prior problem, and documented that it would be ok.
Dec 2012 – check engine light again. Continued oil and now coolant leak. They pulled the head again. Had the head resurfaced and tested. Reinstalled. New head gasket, etc. Repair done at their expense (dealer or BMW’s expense, since prior problem = no cost to me)
Jan 2013 Low oil again, and what appears to be sludge in the engine (which I took pictures of). They called the tech that had worked on the car. He said it was just condensation. Adds 2 quarts after 500 miles. (in this time, both SAs that I had been working with were no longer at the dealer)
I make an appt. They now tell me that they need to use a specific form to track oil consumption. Neither previous SA had ever used this form.
April 2013 engine running rough. Oil/coolant loss again. They replace 2 ignition coils and the expansion tank. (which I pay for). The next day, check engine light on again. They now keep the vehicle and it is determined that they need to tear down the head (again). Pull the head. Check engine block for cracks. Send out head again. Check head for cracks. Check that the surface is good. They don't come up with anything they can pinpoint as the problem. Decide that maybe they didn’t use the correct head gasket (not thick enough) and they reinstall. 68k miles
During this they gave me a loaner X1, and they keep my car for 55 days. No charge to me, and I suspect they were using “off time” for the tech to work on it.
June 2013 – pick up X5.
Aug 2013 – low oil light again. In for service. “they will monitor it”. Added 1-2 quarts.
Sept 2013. Running rough cold. Check engine light on again. In to dealer. Diagnosed as the same problem. Leak down test failed on one cylinder. After 3,900 miles.
At the moment, it's at the dealer. They gave me a loaner at the end of last week. I'm supposed to hear from them today as to their next step. My feeling is, it's the same original problem from when it was under CPO warranty. They either never fixed the problem, or never correctly identified the problem. I've kept a log of all my visits, and service records to support my problems.

I'm hesitant to get BMWNA involved, as a) I'm not sure what they will do, an b) I'm trying to let the local dealer resolve my issue. Except for $650+/- that I paid in April of this year for some ignition coils/expansion tank, I haven't had to pay anything.

The dealer has been working to resolve my issue, but I've lost both patience and confidence that they can fix the problem. Anyone have any idea as to what the real problem might be? I'm now expecting the worst.

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bcredliner · #2 09-17-2013, 05:04 PM

Did it run fine and use no oil between July and December of 2012?

They resurfaced the head but did they check or deck the block?

bcredliner · #3 09-17-2013, 05:05 PM

How many miles between adding a quart of oil?

MstrD · #4 09-17-2013, 05:13 PM

It started to lose some during that time period. My understanding is that they checked all tolerances the last time to ensure that the April 2013 head gasket would be a correct fit. Apparently everything checked out. Or so they said.

At it's worst I was losing a quart every 800 miles +/-. Unless I count the Jan 2013 time, and it was less than 500. I believe my engine had the older oil separator. They were going to swap that out in April 2013 as well. Off hand I don't know if they finally did or not.

I kept checking after the last head gasket. It seemed to be ok until about Aug. So this time it ran 3k plus miles for the 1+ quarts.

Assuming they had everything correct on the last head gasket, there must be some other problem that is causing everything to blow. If it needs another head gasket, that would be the 4th one in 12k miles.

TwinTurboGTR · #5 09-17-2013, 06:01 PM

I didnt see anywhere did you mention of it was burning or leaking oil. I mean with the amount you are losing, it sounds more towards leaking and not burning only because of the rate you are losing it at. I also didn't see it mention that they checked the front timing cover seals or anything simple. Sounded like they just went straight to a HG. I mean they could always an exhaust test where the hook a device to the coolant reservoir. This device uses a liquid that changes color that determines if there are exhaust gases leaking out of the combustion chamber. Not sure if this test is possible for our trucks, but ive seen the used on Mercs and Audi's without a problem. I'm not convinced the HG was even the problem.

MstrD · #6 09-17-2013, 09:04 PM

That was one of my concerns. I never had any oil on the driveway, garage or parking lot. All that oil had to be going somewhere and that would mean going through the engine. The dealer never seemed to have the same concern.

upallnight · #7 09-17-2013, 09:26 PM

I would check the reinforcement pan under the engine for oil. That pan can hold a lot of oil.

I was always under the impression that any repairs by a BMW dealer had a 2 years unlimited mileage warranty on the repairs. Since the truck continues to use oil I would expect the dealer to honor the 2 years unlimited mileage warranty.

bcredliner · #8 09-18-2013, 12:34 PM

How many miles per quart of oil was it burning in the 2009 to 2012 period before the problem started?

bcredliner · #9 09-18-2013, 12:38 PM

No blue smoke, No oil in the coolant, No problem with 02 sensor, or cat convertor during the excessive oil burning periods? Do you have the invoices to see what parts were replaced or "rebuilt''?

Doru · #10 09-18-2013, 02:05 PM

Last year I was starting to lose about 1 qt every 500mi or so. Turned out it was the OFH gasket. Changed that, no more oil loss.
If the engine was burning so much oil as you describe, you would probably have some cats issues by now.

P.S.: that was on my e39 with the same engine you have: M54B30

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