N63TU engine plastic pipe crack, oil leak

[taejlee]

Hello Everyone. New user here and I'd appreciate any help if anyone has encountered similar issue dealing with BMW USA (BMW NA)

History of N63TU (aka N63B44O1)
BMW started to produce the first twin-turbocharged V8 engine in 2008 called N63 engine. After series of issues with them, in 2012, BMW introduced an upgraded version of the engine and named it N63TU. One of the noticeable differences between the two engines is the crankshaft valve pipe that runs above the two turbos.

See pictures
Fig 1 original N63
Fig 2 N63TU with black pipe going across the engine (marked in yellow)
Red circle is where the plastic pipe broke off

The problem is that BMW used a thin plastic hose on the N63TU engines which was unable to withstand the extreme heat from the engine. As a result, the plastic hose would just crack and leak oil. BMW took action by extending the warranty of the plastic hose to 10 years, 120k miles and replaced the plastic hose with a durable rubber hose on the N63TU engines built after August 2015. The warranty extension would allow customers to get the plastic hose replaced for free if it breaks.
In my opinion, this problem should have been communicated to the owners and recalled. The owners who were out of the original factory warranty, many may have opted to have it repaired at their local mechanic and paid out of their pocket. BMW quietly added a note for all impacted vehicles so that when customers bring in cars with cracked hose, dealership would replace them at no cost. When you take your vehicle into the dealership, they will pull up the notes from BMW NA for extended warranty and coverages.

If you have the N63TU engine which much manufactured prior to August 2015, you should pop open the plastic cover (takes 5 seconds) and check if you have the plastic hose. If you see traces of oil, the hose is most likely cracked and you should take it to the dealership. Since this is not a recall, BMW will not replace your plastic hose with the rubber hose unless it is broken so you should monitor it closely. Only good news is that this hose is not pressurized so it will not shoot oil all over the engine but the oil will ooze out of the crack and can make a mess if you don’t catch it soon enough. If you had to pay out of pocket to repair the plastic hose, you should seek reimbursement.

Ok… now this is what happened to me
Check engine light came on. I found out it was due to fault code P0171 system too lean (bank1). I lift up the engine cover and immediately notice that the crankshaft hose my 2015 F06 650i (manufacture date 4/2014) has cracked. I took the car into BMW of Buena Park to get it repaired under extended warranty. Without a doubt, service advisor at BMW of Buena Park knows that N63TU engines built prior to Aug 2015 have this faulty hose and it cracks. Service advisor walks the car, perform visual inspection, verifies the problem, checks out the build date of my vehicle and confirms that my engine was built during the time frame when BMW used the faulty part. BUT!!!! They are not able to repair my vehicle because my VIN number is not on the list of impacted vehicles provided by BMW USA. My service advisor is very diligent and contacts BMW NA to let them know that he is looking at the car with the problem but extended warranty for the plastic hose is not noted for my vehicle based on the VIN number.

Car has been at BMW of Buena Park since 2/10 Wednesday 8:15am. BMW NA initially told the dealership that the car is not in their list of impacted vehicles so they can not authorize the warranty work. According to my service advisor, BMW of Buena Park provided the details and reached out to BMW USA every day (except Sat. Sun) for answers. Today is 2/15 Monday but we still haven’t been able to get an explanation nor work authorization from BMW NA. It seems to me when BMW knew that they were at fault, this was the best thing they could do without hurting the image of the company. They quickly discontinued the use of the faulty plastic hose and added a note to all vehicles that were made with the plastic hose so that they are taken care of without costing the customers. However, it’s apparent that either 1) they don’t keep good track of what parts were used on which VIN numbers OR 2) someone at BMW USA just missed to include ALL vehicles impacted by this problem. I’m hoping that BMW NA will step up and fix the problem and compensate me for the time I’ve been left without a car. BMW NA claims that my car is not on their list of impacted vehicles according to their record. I really don’t care what their record shows. I HAVE the plastic pipe that BMW used by mistake and it cracked! And it’s leaking oil. I will update this post with what BMW NA says but if anyone experienced a similar problem or have paid to get the hose replaced, we should come together and seek compensation.

[Walt White Coupe]

This link should get you to the actual BMW Warranty Document:

https://testing-public.carmd.com/Tsb...0B01%2012%2018

From what you posted, your car falls into the category manufactured between 7/3/12 and 2/27/15 and is covered no matter what your VIN number is. Looks like they are jerking you around.

This link should get you to a thread about the same issue:

https://www.6post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1713561

[AccordTR]

Originally Posted by taejlee

Hello Everyone. New user here and I'd appreciate any help if anyone has encountered similar issue dealing with BMW USA (BMW NA)

History of N63TU (aka N63B44O1)
BMW started to produce the first twin-turbocharged V8 engine in 2008 called N63 engine. After series of issues with them, in 2012, BMW introduced an upgraded version of the engine and named it N63TU. One of the noticeable differences between the two engines is the crankshaft valve pipe that runs above the two turbos.

See pictures
Fig 1 original N63
Fig 2 N63TU with black pipe going across the engine (marked in yellow)
Red circle is where the plastic pipe broke off

The problem is that BMW used a thin plastic hose on the N63TU engines which was unable to withstand the extreme heat from the engine. As a result, the plastic hose would just crack and leak oil. BMW took action by extending the warranty of the plastic hose to 10 years, 100k miles and replaced the plastic hose with a durable rubber hose on the N63TU engines built after August 2015. The warranty extension would allow customers to get the plastic hose replaced for free if it breaks.
In my opinion, this problem should have been communicated to the owners and recalled. The owners who were out of the original factory warranty, many may have opted to have it repaired at their local mechanic and paid out of their pocket. BMW quietly added a note for all impacted vehicles so that when customers bring in cars with cracked hose, dealership would replace them at no cost. When you take your vehicle into the dealership, they will pull up the notes from BMW USA for extended warranty and coverages.

If you have the N63TU engine which much manufactured prior to August 2015, you should pop open the plastic cover (takes 5 seconds) and check if you have the plastic hose. If you see traces of oil, the hose is most likely cracked and you should take it to the dealership. Since this is not a recall, BMW will not replace your plastic hose with the rubber hose unless it is broken so you should monitor it closely. Only good news is that this hose is not pressurized so it will not shoot oil all over the engine but the oil will ooze out of the crack and can make a mess if you don't catch it soon enough. If you had to pay out of pocket to repair the plastic hose, you should seek reimbursement.

Ok… now this is what happened to me
Check engine light came on. I found out it was due to fault code P0171 system too lean (bank1). I lift up the engine cover and immediately notice that the crankshaft hose my 2015 F06 650i (manufacture date 4/2014) has cracked. I took the car into BMW of Buena Park to get it repaired under extended warranty. Without a doubt, service advisor at BMW of Buena Park knows that N63TU engines built prior to Aug 2015 have this faulty hose and it cracks. Service advisor walks the car, perform visual inspection, verifies the problem, checks out the build date of my vehicle and confirms that my engine was built during the time frame when BMW used the faulty part. BUT!!!! They are not able to repair my vehicle because my VIN number is not on the list of impacted vehicles provided by BMW USA. My service advisor is very diligent and contacts BMW USA to let them know that he is looking at the car with the problem but extended warranty for the plastic hose is not noted for my vehicle based on the VIN number.

Car has been at BMW of Buena Park since 2/10 Wednesday 8:15am. BMW USA initially told the dealership that the car is not in their list of impacted vehicles so they can not authorize the warranty work. According to my service advisor, BMW of Buena Park provided the details and reached out to BMW USA every day (except Sat. Sun) for answers. Today is 2/15 Monday but we still haven't been able to get an explanation nor work authorization from BMW USA. It seems to me when BMW knew that they were at fault, this was the best thing they could do without hurting the image of the company. They quickly discontinued the use of the faulty plastic hose and added a note to all vehicles that were made with the plastic hose so that they are taken care of without costing the customers. However, it's apparent that either 1) they don't keep good track of what parts were used on which VIN numbers OR 2) someone at BMW USA just missed to include ALL vehicles impacted by this problem. I'm hoping that BMW USA will step up and fix the problem and compensate me for the time I've been left without a car. BMW USA claims that my car is not on their list of impacted vehicles according to their record. I really don't care what their record shows. I HAVE the plastic pipe that BMW used by mistake and it cracked! And it's leaking oil. I will update this post with what BMW USA says but if anyone experienced a similar problem or have paid to get the hose replaced, we should come together and seek compensation.

Crank case breather lines, well documented issue for years. In fact bmw changed out the plastic ones to rubber ones mid cycle. Anyone with plastic ones can definitely get them swapped for free when they fail. Tons have including myself

[Derekz4]

Never been much of a fan of BMW of BP (ShellyBMW) I agree with the others, it should be covered. Try Crevier BMW down the road if you feel the need to use a dealer or go to Funfzehn Automotive in Orange by the Stadium. The kid is brilliant.

[taejlee]

Called BMW NA. Customer service agent told me that there is nothing she can do since the dealership's warranty department is working with the BMW NA field rep. I told the customer service agent that the dealership hasn't heard from BMW NA for a week. Customer service agent advised that I talk to the Service manager (not service advisor) from the dealership to get the ball rolling. I got a hold of a service manager at the dealership and he told me that the only thing he can do is ask for assistance from the field rep to reduce the repair bill but I will have to pay the remaining balance. I called BMW NA again and explained the situation again citing the warranty letter (SI B01 12 18) <- thx to Walt. Customer service agent will escalate my case to the case manager. I should hear back within 24 hrs. I will update when I hear back.

[Walt White Coupe]

The incompetence of these service departments is incredible. The warranty letter couldn't be clearer about which cars are covered. How can they be that stupid? You'd think that English was a fourth language.

[taejlee]

BMW NA assigned case manager to research my case. Case manager called me to let me know that my vehicle's VIN was indeed part of the impacted vehicles. He said the car was at the Crevier BMW back in Feb 2018 for this exact problem and 3 rubber insulators were replaced as part of regular factory warranty. (Remember that BMW NA didn't announce this problem until July 2018) Therefore, BMW NA can not authorize another repair. I had more questions after this statement but was only told that BMW NA can not share further details. Case manager told me that BMW NA will cover the cost of the parts as a sign of good faith but I would have to pay for the labor cost. I found out from my service advisor at BMW of Buena Park that the labor cost will be $550
Question1: Record shows that Crevier BMW replaced 3 rubber insulators which appears to be part of the crankshaft ventilation pipe assembly. It does not indicate the pipe itself was replaced. Even if it was replaced, it was replaced with the same problematic plastic pipe. (that's what I currently have on my car right now and that's what broke)
I don't blame Crevier BMW for this since this was before BMW NA admitted a problem with the plastic pipe and ordered the dealerships to replace it with the rubber hose.
Question2: BMW NA adds note to DCSnet to inform the dealership about extended warranty. When cars come in with problems, dealership checks DCSnet to see if the problem is mentioned. No one from the dealership believes that the record on DCSnet gets removed when work is performed by the dealership. If what case manager told me is true, why is the crankshaft vent pipe extended warranty not showing up for my vehicle in the DCSnet record?

I think I've spent enough time explaining my situation to BMW NA. I think it's time for me to take this to social media and/or start looking for a class action lawyer.

[AccordTR]

Originally Posted by taejlee

BMW NA assigned case manager to research my case. Case manager called me to let me know that my vehicle's VIN was indeed part of the impacted vehicles. He said the car was at the Crevier BMW back in Feb 2018 for this exact problem and 3 rubber insulators were replaced as part of regular factory warranty. (Remember that BMW NA didn't announce this problem until July 2018) Therefore, BMW NA can not authorize another repair. I had more questions after this statement but was only told that BMW NA can not share further details. Case manager told me that BMW NA will cover the cost of the parts as a sign of good faith but I would have to pay for the labor cost. I found out from my service advisor at BMW of Buena Park that the labor cost will be $550
Question1: Record shows that Crevier BMW replaced 3 rubber insulators which appears to be part of the crankshaft ventilation pipe assembly. It does not indicate the pipe itself was replaced. Even if it was replaced, it was replaced with the same problematic plastic pipe. (that's what I currently have on my car right now and that's what broke)
I don't blame Crevier BMW for this since this was before BMW NA admitted a problem with the plastic pipe and ordered the dealerships to replace it with the rubber hose.
Question2: BMW NA adds note to DCSnet to inform the dealership about extended warranty. When cars come in with problems, dealership checks DCSnet to see if the problem is mentioned. No one from the dealership believes that the record on DCSnet gets removed when work is performed by the dealership. If what case manager told me is true, why is the crankshaft vent pipe extended warranty not showing up for my vehicle in the DCSnet record?

I think I've spent enough time explaining my situation to BMW NA. I think it's time for me to take this to social media and/or start looking for a class action lawyer.

It literally takes 10 mins to swap them. There is even YouTube step by step videos. Get the parts and do it yourself. The parts are all or nothing. There is no way they replaced it with a new combo part. Either they replaced it with an old style plastic or someone scammed your vin to get theirs fixed. If you have pics I can tell you.

[Walt White Coupe]

These people are really morons. This first pic is my original piping and I had a leak at the exact same point as you.



And I assume these are the three rubber insulators.


And here is the warranty replacement rubber tubing.


Now they said a repair was done in Feb 2018 that added those 3 rubber pieces. That is NOT what the warranty repair does. The warranty replaces those vent hoses completely. They are not related.
The "Warranty SI B01 12 18" wasn't issued until Sep 2018. So how in the world could any repair done in Feb relate to a Service Bulletin that didn't come out until Sep of that year??? If they had replaced the piping they would have a point but they didn't. I'm pulling out my hair and it's not even my car. There should be a special place in hell for these people.

[Opie55]

Originally Posted by AccordTR

It literally takes 10 mins to swap them. There is even YouTube step by step videos. Get the parts and do it yourself. The parts are all or nothing. There is no way they replaced it with a new combo part. Either they replaced it with an old style plastic or someone scammed your vin to get theirs fixed. If you have pics I can tell you.

10 minutes is bit of an exaggeration, but it's not hard if you are a competent DIY person. The only trick is knowing that the two large connections on the valve covers are bayonet mounts - you have to rotate them about 20 degrees towards the firewall before they will pull out. And the plastic holders for the O2 sensor wires may be brittle and shatter.

[Opie55]

Originally Posted by taejlee

BMW NA assigned case manager to research my case. Case manager called me to let me know that my vehicle's VIN was indeed part of the impacted vehicles. He said the car was at the Crevier BMW back in Feb 2018 for this exact problem and 3 rubber insulators were replaced as part of regular factory warranty. (Remember that BMW NA didn't announce this problem until July 2018) Therefore, BMW NA can not authorize another repair. I had more questions after this statement but was only told that BMW NA can not share further details. Case manager told me that BMW NA will cover the cost of the parts as a sign of good faith but I would have to pay for the labor cost. I found out from my service advisor at BMW of Buena Park that the labor cost will be $550
Question1: Record shows that Crevier BMW replaced 3 rubber insulators which appears to be part of the crankshaft ventilation pipe assembly. It does not indicate the pipe itself was replaced. Even if it was replaced, it was replaced with the same problematic plastic pipe. (that's what I currently have on my car right now and that's what broke)
I don't blame Crevier BMW for this since this was before BMW NA admitted a problem with the plastic pipe and ordered the dealerships to replace it with the rubber hose.
Question2: BMW NA adds note to DCSnet to inform the dealership about extended warranty. When cars come in with problems, dealership checks DCSnet to see if the problem is mentioned. No one from the dealership believes that the record on DCSnet gets removed when work is performed by the dealership. If what case manager told me is true, why is the crankshaft vent pipe extended warranty not showing up for my vehicle in the DCSnet record?

I think I've spent enough time explaining my situation to BMW NA. I think it's time for me to take this to social media and/or start looking for a class action lawyer.

I'm not sure what's worse - that you are being jacked around or that they want $550 for that job. Even if you take time to admire all the weird heat shielding on your engine once you remove the airboxes it takes an hour. If you pay me $550 I'll do it for you and then buy you dinner with your own money.

[taejlee]

Originally Posted by Walt White Coupe

And I assume these are the three rubber insulators.

rofl. Are you serious? those round things are what BMW did to remediate the problem before the service bulletin came out? I could have given them some toothpicks to hold it up higher to avoid the heat

[taejlee]

Originally Posted by Opie55

10 minutes is bit of an exaggeration, but it's not hard if you are a competent DIY person. The only trick is knowing that the two large connections on the valve covers are bayonet mounts - you have to rotate them about 20 degrees towards the firewall before they will pull out. And the plastic holders for the O2 sensor wires may be brittle and shatter.

Thank you for your comment. I'm sure I can do this myself. I've done some complex jobs on my other cars which can take days. For me, it's not matter of what I can or can not do myself. It's how BMW is playing with words and jerking around the owners for something so small.

[taejlee]

Here's my final update. Executive case manger from BMW NA called. Basically told me the same story. He has reviewed my case with all of the higher ups at BMW NA and they have agreed that paying for the parts is best they can do. I told Tom that I have nothing further to say to him nor BMW NA and I'll move to my next steps.

[N0_Hesi_F10]

Originally Posted by taejlee

BMW NA assigned case manager to research my case. Case manager called me to let me know that my vehicle's VIN was indeed part of the impacted vehicles. He said the car was at the Crevier BMW back in Feb 2018 for this exact problem and 3 rubber insulators were replaced as part of regular factory warranty. (Remember that BMW NA didn't announce this problem until July 2018) Therefore, BMW NA can not authorize another repair. I had more questions after this statement but was only told that BMW NA can not share further details. Case manager told me that BMW NA will cover the cost of the parts as a sign of good faith but I would have to pay for the labor cost. I found out from my service advisor at BMW of Buena Park that the labor cost will be $550
Question1: Record shows that Crevier BMW replaced 3 rubber insulators which appears to be part of the crankshaft ventilation pipe assembly. It does not indicate the pipe itself was replaced. Even if it was replaced, it was replaced with the same problematic plastic pipe. (that's what I currently have on my car right now and that's what broke)
I don't blame Crevier BMW for this since this was before BMW NA admitted a problem with the plastic pipe and ordered the dealerships to replace it with the rubber hose.
Question2: BMW NA adds note to DCSnet to inform the dealership about extended warranty. When cars come in with problems, dealership checks DCSnet to see if the problem is mentioned. No one from the dealership believes that the record on DCSnet gets removed when work is performed by the dealership. If what case manager told me is true, why is the crankshaft vent pipe extended warranty not showing up for my vehicle in the DCSnet record?

I think I've spent enough time explaining my situation to BMW NA. I think it's time for me to take this to social media and/or start looking for a class action lawyer.

They should’ve honored another repair because the service bulletin clearly states that if the part becomes defective again, it will be covered by the remained warranty. I’m going through the same thing right now. I’m waiting on a case manager to call me. I’ll make sure to point that out.