Spun rod bearing on N63TU

[jackliu0527]

So while ago as I was driving down the highway I notice pining sound in my engine bay, sounds like hammer on nails, which puzzled me because I have no check engine light or any sorts of warning in car, pulled over, popped the hood and yep, its definitely coming from the engine, which I proceeded to drive to the nearest mechanic.

upon complete engine disassemble (as per request of the 3rd party warranty company) it is was discovered that one of the rod bearing has let go and was free spinning on one of the cylinder, which gave the piston enough room to hit the head, they guess the problem was:

1. low oil, the car did not warn about low oil, however there were oil level sensor codes which was only able to be seen when plugged in to the computer, as well when they drained the engine, it was about 2 qts short.

2. the previous owner(s) did the BMW recommended oil change interval, since the oil they drained was black and I had just changed it 3000KMs ago

Long story short, after quite a bit of admin back and forth since it was such a big job, they approved for a long block replacement which included the head and oil pan, as well as both intercoolers, and radiator (it was said that would be near impossible to flush metal clean out of those parts), they are willing to take a risk on not replacing the turbos.

The new motor (re-manufactured) runs like a dream, my oil motor was buring about a qt per 3000KM, and the new one so far has burnt 0 in 3000KM, as well on a post install inspection, my mechanic jacked up the vehicle to check for leaks, said it was dry, as in NOTHING was leaking, which according to him is actually strange, it is rare that a motor that leaks nothing what-so-ever.

Overall I was quite happy with the outcome, even though I have to shell out a couple grand out of my own pocket for the job for certain parts which they would not cover, and on top of that every fluid in the vehicle was changed such as diff, trq converter, etc. I am very surprised that the vehicle did not post any warning during such a catastrophic failure, and part of the cause to this failure was no warning on the oil level sensor .

This is by no means a complain post, just letting people know what could possibly be the cause if anyone ever runs in to similar issues, I love this car, its got the looks, the power, the versatility of x-drive, decent passenger room, and pretty much all the techs you can ask for, imo it is the best all rounded vehicle in this price range, in terms of reliability, comon, this thing is essentially a computer on wheels, just look at all the wire bundles and piping, as well that V8 is pretty much tetris in to the engine bay, u r going to have issues, especially heat dispersion, any small faliures in the engine bay could result in high amounts of labour, I work on aircrafts (not them mini 2 seaters), I think it would it would be an easier time to install an aircraft engine than this, would def not recommend owning one out of warranty.

[The0pportunist]

Car did not warn about low oil - that's worrying!

Glad its all fixed

[EL Jeffe 5]

Thanks for posting

[Flying Ace]

what model year car was this on? Who was the warranty company? Who did the work?

[AmooManiak]

Nice. What extended warranty company do you have?

[Spinner6996]

I have to say...I have never had a low warning light, but on 2 occasions when checking the level it was low!! What's up with that?

[upstate650]

Originally Posted by jackliu0527

So while ago as I was driving down the highway I notice pining sound in my engine bay, sounds like hammer on nails, which puzzled me because I have no check engine light or any sorts of warning in car, pulled over, popped the hood and yep, its definitely coming from the engine, which I proceeded to drive to the nearest mechanic.

upon complete engine disassemble (as per request of the 3rd party warranty company) it is was discovered that one of the rod bearing has let go and was free spinning on one of the cylinder, which gave the piston enough room to hit the head, they guess the problem was:

1. low oil, the car did not warn about low oil, however there were oil level sensor codes which was only able to be seen when plugged in to the computer, as well when they drained the engine, it was about 2 qts short.

2. the previous owner(s) did the BMW recommended oil change interval, since the oil they drained was black and I had just changed it 3000KMs ago

Long story short, after quite a bit of admin back and forth since it was such a big job, they approved for a long block replacement which included the head and oil pan, as well as both intercoolers, and radiator (it was said that would be near impossible to flush metal clean out of those parts), they are willing to take a risk on not replacing the turbos.

The new motor (re-manufactured) runs like a dream, my oil motor was buring about a qt per 3000KM, and the new one so far has burnt 0 in 3000KM, as well on a post install inspection, my mechanic jacked up the vehicle to check for leaks, said it was dry, as in NOTHING was leaking, which according to him is actually strange, it is rare that a motor that leaks nothing what-so-ever.

Overall I was quite happy with the outcome, even though I have to shell out a couple grand out of my own pocket for the job for certain parts which they would not cover, and on top of that every fluid in the vehicle was changed such as diff, trq converter, etc. I am very surprised that the vehicle did not post any warning during such a catastrophic failure, and part of the cause to this failure was no warning on the oil level sensor .

This is by no means a complain post, just letting people know what could possibly be the cause if anyone ever runs in to similar issues, I love this car, its got the looks, the power, the versatility of x-drive, decent passenger room, and pretty much all the techs you can ask for, imo it is the best all rounded vehicle in this price range, in terms of reliability, comon, this thing is essentially a computer on wheels, just look at all the wire bundles and piping, as well that V8 is pretty much tetris in to the engine bay, u r going to have issues, especially heat dispersion, any small faliures in the engine bay could result in high amounts of labour, I work on aircrafts (not them mini 2 seaters), I think it would it would be an easier time to install an aircraft engine than this, would def not recommend owning one out of warranty.

what year is your car, and how many miles on it when this happened?

Thanks for sharing!

[jackliu0527]

Its a 2013 650iX grancoupe, this happened at just a little after 70000KM (about 43000miles), i had the engine work done in a local shop who specializes in German 4S vehicles such as BMW, Benz, Audi, VW, etc, because i live in a remote area where the closest dealer shop is over an hour away, also i was a bit skeptical about letting a small town BMW do the engine work since they are most likely inexperienced in such work due to small volume of repairs, i had a steering wheel job done by them and because they used the wrong size screw which cause something to break off internal to the steering wheel, resulting in rattling sound when i turn the wheel, granted they fixed the issue later on, but this had lead to the skepticism i had for them to do the work, if it were a big city BMW dealer i would have prob when with them since they have more volume and more experience, i rather my local shop (non BMW) who has experienced and certified mechanics to do the work rather than someone just reading it off instruction manual, and not to mention it would mean over an hour of travel if i want to follow up in person with the progress, so far it has proven to be great, the engine runs fine, and so far no leaks (oil, coolant, other fluids) what-so-ever.

As for warranty company i dont remember it off the top of my head, ill have to look in to my paper work, but i am in Canada dont know if there are same warranty in the states, but i paid about $6000CAD which is about $5000USD for the warranty, tbh, best warranty/insurance i have purchased in my life

[ShakeDaddy]

Easy to check oil level in IDrive, I do it every month.

Gives me something to do.

[Spinner6996]

I know it's easy to check....but it sure would be nice if there was a light or something when it dipped below the minimum!

[jackliu0527]

fyi, when the failure occurred no oil level warning came to at all, I add based on my weekly measurement, and it averages about to 1qt per 3000km at that time, the problem here was the rod was spun under no low level light conditions, and as i said i measure it about once a week since i know my engine is prone to burning oil.

Long story short, either the engine threw the rod under acceptable engine oil conditions, or it threw the rod because i had below acceptable conditions and i didnt know about it due to a faulty oil level sensor (which also did not throw warnings on the dash, only some codes when diagnostic computer was plugged in)

[Walt White Coupe]

2 quarts low on a 9 quart system was not the problem.

[Booie]

I have owned Infinti's for the last 10 years and I never had a problem with them. My 2014 650ix burns a qt. every 450 miles! I can't believe they call there cars the ultimate driving machine. Joke! I know what I'll be buying next and it definitely won't be german. Most overrated cars in the world IMO.

Booie

[jdsaengine]

My 2013 650x vert will be out of CPO warranty Aug 2018, so I would sure like to know who the warranty company was. Surfing around and ALL have bad reviews. I have no clue who to get, but I know I better get somebody. Mine has 26K miles so I know I'm good for at least 20K miles before it blows up

[jdsaengine]

Originally Posted by Booie

I have owned Infinti's for the last 10 years and I never had a problem with them. My 2014 650ix burns a qt. every 450 miles! I can't believe they call there cars the ultimate driving machine. Joke! I know what I'll be buying next and it definitely won't be german. Most overrated cars in the world IMO.

Booie

I traded a near perfect Infiniti M35X for my current 2013 650x vert. We also own an Infiniti SUV, all have been great cars. While the 650 has been fun and we love the convertible, I'm a little worried about it being long term problematic. It also uses about a quart of oil every 1000 mi. so I'm checking it every couple of weeks. My wife was thinking we should take the 650 on a long summer cross country drive this year. I'm leaning toward taking the SUV so we have no problems.

[Booie]

Originally Posted by jdsaengine

My 2013 650x vert will be out of CPO warranty Aug 2018, so I would sure like to know who the warranty company was. Surfing around and ALL have bad reviews. I have no clue who to get, but I know I better get somebody. Mine has 26K miles so I know I'm good for at least 20K miles before it blows up

CNA National Warranty in Phoenix Az. You have to buy there warranty thru a dealership. I have heard good things about them unlike BMW's.
Good luck,
Booie

[jdsaengine]

Originally Posted by Booie

CNA National Warranty in Phoenix Az. You have to buy there warranty thru a dealership. I have heard good things about them unlike BMW's.
Good luck,
Booie

Thanks for the info, I'll check into them.