OIL problem
 

My wife just told me that Oil warning came on and after that Stop Car warning came on. I checked dip stick and it is dry. I just put in a gallon of Mobil One and dip stick was still dry. It just had a service II several months ago and of course dealer service dept is closed. I am parking it but I am assuming that there is some bad news headed my way with 70,000 miles on it.
Fred

Hey DocFred...
not good to read, but maybe, just maybe, the idiot stlr did a really short fill on
that marvey InspII deal. The gallon of oil you added still leaves you 4 qts low,
so maybe that's why the dip stick is still dry...as to where the "orig. 8 qts" went,
that is the wonderment. I hope it was just a lack of oil fill screw up by the stlr.

I would think you or wife would have seen some oil drippings or coating over this
time, but who knows.
GL,mD

engines hold 7-8 litres, over 1&1/2 gallons.if crankcase vent oil sepparator or diagphram breaks the oil can be sucked through air intake using lots of oil,part costs £40 uk 30 mins-1 hour fix,car should be ok if this is problem.same problem usually makes car run rough from cold start. you can test vaccum pressure if you take care working in proximityto cooling fan, start engine-then undo oil filler cap-slightly lift filler cap and if suction is strong then this confirms problem. proper testing uses light pressure vaccum gauge on oil filler.

David I have had short fills before but this happened all of a sudden without warning. After putting in the gallon I can see the oily mess on the ground underneath. There was no dripping prior to this as a warning.
Fred

similar things happen regularly,either something broke or drain plug worked loose. good luck with that.

DocF: Ugh...:(
GL at the Stlr on Monday...
GL,mD

Wouldn't life be simple if it turns out that easy to fix? I'm not holding my breath though with this car. I'll be in your nek of the woods at the end of the month. I have reserved a 40 foot cruiser and we are going to find Nessie on Loch Ness for a week. My daughter and son in law will be flying up from Exeter to join us for the expedition and having fun going through the locks.
At the end of the week we are driving back to Edinburgh to spend 3 days there. My wife is already making reservations for Mary King's Close. I also hear they make a little whiskey there so we might sample some.
Fred

sounds like the drain plug was not tightened properly or a cracked oil pan - any loud bangs during the last ride?

She says that the check oil message came on all of a sudden without any sounds or warning. Then the oil pressure, stop car warning came on. Heres
hoping something simple.
fred

Could just be a blown seal and no real damage depending how long it was driven. Sounds like it all happened realitively fast.:thumbup:

That would be nice if it were that simple. She only drove it a block to my office when the warnings started.
fred

:thumbup: dont forget yer midge repellant , tell nessie i said hi .have fun .:cool:

Thanks-my wife just got off the computer and said it has been raining every day there with temps 52-60 so we will pack warm. Five years ago we did a similar trip in Ireland on the Shannon where we rented a cruiser in Banagher
and headed north stopping each night along the river to enjoy the adjoining pubs and sights.
Fred

READY TO SPIT
 

I just got off of the phone with the service manager and they are getting prices in the parts department. He said that the engine oil cooler rusted out
and it is at least $1200 for that part besides labor. Another major problem after the warranty-I am really pissed with only 75,000 miles on the X5.
Fred

oil cooler? what oil cooler? I don't recall ever seeing an oil cooler.

I don't either, but I have a 3.0 and forget what engine DocFred has...
1200 bucks? Jeeshh, I thought I got ripped when I just bought a new
oil cooler, with braided lines for my old '75 Shovelhead, for $200.

I realize it is hard to drag it away, but it sure would be interesting to hear
what an Indie garage had to say...what a freaking rip.
GL,mD

And, a couple of quick peruses around the web shows oil coolers
for a few BMW cars, (at less than $375 each from BavAuto), but
no real "cooler" as I know it, for X5s...hmmm.

Someone here ought to know, but it sounds like the Stlr was
"misspeaking" as they say in the non-warranty, mark it up game.

I am certain the new E70 4.8s have a cooler...but, dunno about
the E53s...
GL

call from service writer
 

Engine oil cooler=$1200
cooler line $177
cooler line $257
with labor, etc. $2200

un efin believable.

I asked how many of them has he replaced and he said very few on X5's

He will have the service manager call BMW tomorrow to see if any could be
goodwilled-here's hoping.

Fred

cross your fingers and go to sleep tonight chanting "c-mon goodwill!"

I find it interesting that on both boards that I posted this situation that other people have not had this problem. Mike Miller had this to say:

I have never before heard of a BMW that rusted out as badly or as quickly as this 2004 X5.

He also was aware of the fuel lines rusting out several months ago. The climate may be part of the problem but the dealer has not had any other of their customers with this at low mileage. Since this is my wifes' car she washes it every week over and under unlike my 3 series which gets washed when it rains.

The dealer has sent the warranty history on this vehicle to the area manager to see if they will help.

Fred

:iagree:

Doc:
Is this a 3.0 or 4.4 engine? Ask the dealer for the oil cooler part number.

4.4 It just came in by fedex this morning to the dealer.

Fred, my memory is eroding...
did you buy your X new or, used?
BR,mD

Ouch. I don't know your location or what currency you are quoting but real OEM list the part at $764. Any indication whether the cooler rusted out from the inside or outside? If it rusted out from the outside they should have noticed it during the inspection.

Wow, that's a pretty serious oil cooler for an oem part. Huge markup the dealer's charging on the part.

and thats just the part price w/o labor
 

The 4.4 was purchased new in November 2003 and I almost lemoned it right from the start after it nearly killed my wife twice. I just had a Service II several months ago and one would think that they would have seen the rust
buildup especially after replacing the rusted out fuel lines. Northern New York weather sucks, but it appears I am the only one with these problems.
Fred

No luck on the goodwill warranty? If I were in your position, I'd just look for a used one. There's a guy parting out his totaled X5. Check with him, I'm sure you could get it cheap. Check with bmrparts.com.

At the very least, buy a new one at a reasonable price from Morristownbmw, etc.

That sucks, DrFred...I was thinking that maybe it had been slightly used
and had gotten a salt spray bath, early on, before you got it. I recall the
scary stuff with your wife driving.

A real quality "Inspection II"; how do some of these stlrs look in the
fookin mirror?

Nice margin on the parts and labor too...at least they could give you
a kiss.
GL,mD

Just heard from the dealer
 

Could be much worse. BMW will pick up 1/2 of the cost of the problem. I still have not heard about anyone else having this problem at this mileage.
So in the last couple of months I have had the fuel lines go, the transmission leak and now the oil system. I can't wait for whats next.
Fred