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  #1  
Old 01-18-2017, 04:14 PM
faz faz is offline
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2011 X5 35i, oil mix with coolant, dealer says oil cooler leak at filter housing

Hi everyone,

Haven't been here for a while now (since replacing our E53 with E70 a couple of years ago.)

I took our 2011 X5 35i (mileage is about 90k) to dealer to check a couple of issues (heat in passenger foot well, and passenger seat belt alarm even if no one is sitting there).

#1- passenger foot well heat: they say all other X5s in their lot of the same age are showing the same symptoms, this is normal. I am not sure if I agree. This wasn't happening in the past.

#2- passenger seat alarm: no codes, suspect leather tightening while hot weather (when the alarm happens). I agree to leave it alone for now. Just need to keep the buckle in all the time.

But the most important and what the purpose of this thread is:

#3- in debugging the issue (#1) above, they found that there is considerable amount of oil in the coolant, and they say that the oil cooler is leaking by the oil filter housing. The cost of repairs: OVER $1900 !!! (labor intensive to replace the part and flush the system a couple of times to clear all the oil out, parts are about $300-$400 or so.)


I did a search on oil cooler leak and can't find much reported on this forum. Youtube has a good video of N51/N52 gasket change for oil filter and oil cooler (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IORcQabnoIw) which is not too labor intensive it seems.

Any experience with this problem (#3) that you can share? Any suggestions / thoughts about any of the above (#1, #2, #3)?


THANK YOU IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR TIME AND REPLY!
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  #2  
Old 01-18-2017, 08:37 PM
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Have you checked the expansion tank for oil? How much oil can you see floating there? There is a profile gasket between the oil cooler and the oil filter housing. If this gasket fails, oil and coolant can mix also. I would change his gasket first, then the oil cooler if leak continues. This gasket will also cause a visible external oil leak.
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  #3  
Old 01-19-2017, 12:46 AM
ard ard is offline
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Why are you taking an out of warranty BMW to a BMW dealer?

At least their laziness has saved you money... I am thinking the seat pressure sensor is failing. "Tightening leather"??? Thats a new one...

Footwell is likely an actuator failing- did they do a computer survey/testplan of the HVAC system?? (All the ones on the lot are showing that symptom?! Have you read about everyone saying that here, or anywhere online????)

Good advice above. Find another shop for a second opinion
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Old 01-19-2017, 03:10 AM
faz faz is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pshovest View Post
Have you checked the expansion tank for oil? How much oil can you see floating there? There is a profile gasket between the oil cooler and the oil filter housing. If this gasket fails, oil and coolant can mix also. I would change his gasket first, then the oil cooler if leak continues. This gasket will also cause a visible external oil leak.

Thanks for the feedback.

I didn't get a chance to look at the problem yet, it is in the dealership and the service advisor called and told me about it. As part of checking for the foot well heat issue, the mechanic noticed the oil and after checking things out, they suggest that it is the actual cooler that has a leak in it. Looking at the diagram of the parts, I too was wondering if the problem is just a simple gasket or not, but as per SA and mechanic involved, it is the cooler itself.

This being my wife's car and her doing 30 mile commute each way every day in it, I really want to get the issue resolved in one shot, even if it means replacing a $200 part that may or may not be faulty. Had this been a few years ago (no kids back then, more time), I would have dove in myself and did what you are suggesting.
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  #5  
Old 01-19-2017, 03:19 AM
faz faz is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ard View Post
Why are you taking an out of warranty BMW to a BMW dealer?

At least their laziness has saved you money... I am thinking the seat pressure sensor is failing. "Tightening leather"??? Thats a new one...

Footwell is likely an actuator failing- did they do a computer survey/testplan of the HVAC system?? (All the ones on the lot are showing that symptom?! Have you read about everyone saying that here, or anywhere online????)

Good advice above. Find another shop for a second opinion
thanks for your reply. yes, I agree with your point of taking an out of warranty car to the dealer.

Well, the seat belt issue was brought to their attention before warranty expired, and they said they couldn't find a fault code so couldn't do anything, but noted it in their system in case it happened again (after warranty) they could cover it. Now of course, it has been too long past the warranty and they are refusing to do the work on it. I will have an independent shop look into it.

Also the heat through the passenger footwell, well, the indie shop didn't have any experience with this, thought may be refrigerant is low... I just wanted to get the dealer involved to do the computer etc. testing done and get the job done in one shot.

The oil/coolant mix situation was found and brought up by the dealer after the visit.


Am I the first one who has seen and reported the oil/coolant mixing situation here? doing a search on the forum didn't come up with anything that had to do with oil cooler. Search on google brought up a post in another forum with regards to a recent 4 cyl turbo 328i, having the mix of oil/coolant due to oil filter housing gasket/oil cooler gasket... so I am guessing this is not a very common situation perhaps??
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  #6  
Old 01-19-2017, 08:34 AM
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My 2008 X5 had the same issue when the gaskets failed. I immediately did a coolant and oil change. This is an easy easy repair. You may need to loosen the intake manifold to get at the bolts. Its a total of 6 Etorx bits for removal of the housing and the cooler. Replace them both at the same time. Itll save you the headache in the future. Im pretty sure this is a similar job as with the N52 to N54/55 Engine. Correct me if I'm wrong guys.
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  #7  
Old 01-19-2017, 10:21 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by faz View Post
thanks for your reply. yes, I agree with your point of taking an out of warranty car to the dealer.

Well, the seat belt issue was brought to their attention before warranty expired, and they said they couldn't find a fault code so couldn't do anything, but noted it in their system in case it happened again (after warranty) they could cover it. Now of course, it has been too long past the warranty and they are refusing to do the work on it. I will have an independent shop look into it.

Also the heat through the passenger footwell, well, the indie shop didn't have any experience with this, thought may be refrigerant is low... I just wanted to get the dealer involved to do the computer etc. testing done and get the job done in one shot.

The oil/coolant mix situation was found and brought up by the dealer after the visit.


Am I the first one who has seen and reported the oil/coolant mixing situation here? doing a search on the forum didn't come up with anything that had to do with oil cooler. Search on google brought up a post in another forum with regards to a recent 4 cyl turbo 328i, having the mix of oil/coolant due to oil filter housing gasket/oil cooler gasket... so I am guessing this is not a very common situation perhaps??
No you are not the first one. Its fairly common the gaskets to fail and cause oil and coolant to mix. If its actually the housing that is cracked, that is not common, but I have seen a thread here or on bimmerfest about it.

Replacing the two gaskets is only about $30 in parts.

I wonder how they came to the conclusion about "the cooler itself"
Did they take it apart?? You didn't even bring the car in for this issue right? They should not be dismantling parts if you brought it in on an unrelated issue.

I bet just the gasket.

Edit: Here is a few links that helped me do this procedure:
DIY Addendum: Oil Filter Housing Gasket with OEM Oil Cooler
Another Oil Filter Housing Leak/Intake Valve Deep Cleaning (with DYNOS)
Oil Filter Housing Gasket Replacement - a few questions. - N54Tech.com - Your Source for International Turbo BMW Racing Discussion
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IORcQabnoIw
DIY - Your Oil filter housing gasket is leaking.

Last edited by json; 01-19-2017 at 10:33 AM.
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  #8  
Old 01-19-2017, 02:13 PM
ard ard is offline
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Remember- the SA is generally a liar who's main job is to steal money from you. $1900 in labor? "lots of repeat flushes"...sure. They can quote you whatever they want, they simply make up the hourly charges based on what they need for the weeks billables or what they think they can leverage from you....
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  #9  
Old 01-19-2017, 03:27 PM
faz faz is offline
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2011 X5 35i, oil mix with coolant, dealer says oil cooler leak at filter housing

Thank you all for your great replies.

bmrboi2, I believe 2008 is the non turbo version, yes? May be a little different? ( I assume that would be similar to my previous 2007 E90 328i oil filter housing gasket which was a simple procedure). If this is similar to it, definitely not worth $1900. But with cooler change I assume more hoses etc should be removed.

json,
Will check the links provided. THANK YOU!!!

Waiting to hear from the dealership still ( asked for a lower price and some more info, have a 330i loaner right now). Will keep you posted.

Any other feedback on any of the issues above also appreciated.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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Last edited by faz; 01-19-2017 at 03:33 PM.
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  #10  
Old 01-19-2017, 07:22 PM
faz faz is offline
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Thank you all for your suggestions and feedback.

I got a call from the dealership, they agreed to do the full work for $1600 all inclusive (gaskets, cooler itself, parts and labor for all the work), and also including the $210 of diagnostics fee that I had agreed to in advance (to diag the seat belt and the heater issue.)

I am ashamed to report that I asked them to go ahead and do the work. Some reasons that affected my decision:

- already had to pay $210 diag fee, then my indie wanted $900 to do the job, that would be $1100 so far, then it would be the cost/pain of getting a rental car too.

- this being my wife's car, and her driving 30 miles each way every day to work and back, didn't want to take any risks with things going sideways later on as a result of indie making a mistake or ... just wanted this to be done right (hopefully).

- 2 year warranty that this repair will give me, and peace of mind to the next buyer if I choose to sell the car (might happen in the next few months.)

- I should also confess... my wife has already reported to me that she is in love with the 2017 330i that has as a loaner, and that she wants one now! having her drive that car for the next day or two while the dealer is working on fixing her car (and me not having to worry about getting a rental etc.) also played a small role in overall decision of having the dealer do the work.


I will post what the outcome is, and how things go, hopefully no other surprises.

I am now thinking I really need a third car, just so that when issues like this come up, I can do the repair myself and can use all the expertise of various forum members and available info out there, and do the work myself without any time pressure. I miss working on my cars and certainly looking at the videos of this job and the info you have shared, it looks just enough simple/complex to make it a nice little project for me.
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