Man Down! 2008 M3 Rod Bearing Failed

[anom3]

OP Please clarify... Rod bearings or crank bearing failure?

[Rupes]

OP - what a bummer. I ended up selling both of my M3's out of a fear of bearing failure. Probably a very unlikely scenario, but just wasn't comfortable with the thought of a sudden and very expensive failure. I can stomach just about any repair cost, but $25k was too much of a risk for me. Really unfortunate too because I truly don't feel there is a car out there that will replace the sheer joy I experienced in the e92. Good luck with the repairs, hopeful your warranty company will be easy to work with.

[Killerfish2012]

Originally Posted by sello

At 107k it's an 08 and I drive it like I stole it.. If it breaks it breaks.. But it's been good to me!

+1! No warranty, no nothing, just having fun tracking and driving it.

[Sco Cuddie]

So when will BMW recall these rod bearings? It seems like this happens far too often

[tdott]

Is the OP correct? It says main bearing failure.

[nthretourNAFTW]

It's been a long time since the last post about a B failure, actually.
Funny how some people let psychosis replace rational thinking. Check the OP posting count. Maybe 20% of M3 owners are forum members but 70% join just to report a B failure (which is the OP case). As a result it gets a lot of social media exposure and people get the wrong idea how often this occurs. The answer is still very few.

There is a leaked official B failure rate % from BMW. Don't try to ask me where I got it from, I cannot reveal it. So don't ask, i won't answer.
It's 2-4% including all supercharged and tuned cars (which are evidently more susceptible to engine failure). If you remove SC and tuned cars it's even smaller.

Off course one would like to see a number like 0.2% but 2-4% means 96-98% of people won't be affected. Not perfect but still very reliable.

[FashionablyFast]

Originally Posted by nthretourNAFTW

There is a leaked official B failure rate % from BMW. Don't try to ask me where I got it from, I cannot reveal it. So don't ask, i won't answer.
It's 2-4% including all supercharged and tuned cars (which are evidently more susceptible to engine failure). If you remove SC and tuned cars it's even smaller.

First time I've heard of a leaked official failure rate percentage from BMW.

I do agree with the numbers because if it were higher, BMW would have legal issues on their hands without a recall.

....Now back to this leaked failure rate from BMW. How "official" are we talking here?

[nthretourNAFTW]

Originally Posted by OhSoCal

First time I've heard of a leaked official failure rate percentage from BMW.

I do agree with the numbers because if it were higher, BMW would have legal issues on their hands without a recall.

....Now back to this leaked failure rate from BMW. How "official" are we talking here?

BMW Germany.

[Gossypiboma]

It will be interesting to see if a 3rd party warranty company puts up a fight.

[IIAp3x]

As of Friday afternoon, the damage appears to be either the crank or the rod bearings but is definitely one or the other- according to the service writer... She was rather vague with her answer, but she did state that it appeared to the technician that the bearings had failed upon removal of the oil pan for inspection... I have not confirmed which bearings failed as of yet...

[FashionablyFast]

It's just so odd that a report from just 1,000 miles ago showed very little lead in the oil then shortly after, it's toast. Could Blackstone have mixed up the reports? It's just hard to think the wear happened so suddenly...and if so, something had to set it off. I always thought bearing wear was a slow wear process. If it is a slow process, then where was the lead hiding at the time of the report only 1,000 miles earlier?
I'm sure these analysis reports are not a 100% predictor but has anyone else heard of a similar situation where an analysis looked good then shortly after the bearings go bad?
I'm no proponent of these reports but I was really hoping it's a reliable way to monitor what's ahead.

[nthretourNAFTW]

Originally Posted by OhSoCal

It's just so odd that a report from just 1,000 miles ago showed very little lead in the oil then shortly after, it's toast. Could Blackstone have mixed up the reports? It's just hard to think the wear happened so suddenly...and if so, something had to set it off. I always thought bearing wear was a slow wear process. If it is a slow process, then where was the lead hiding at the time of the report only 1,000 miles earlier?
I'm sure these analysis reports are not a 100% predictor but has anyone else heard of a similar situation where an analysis looked good then shortly after the bearings go bad?
I'm no proponent of these reports but I was really hoping it's a reliable way to monitor what's ahead.

Did previous owner replace pre 2011 bearings with lead free oem bearings (post 2011) ?

[///M Power-Belgium]

Originally Posted by OhSoCal

It's just so odd that a report from just 1,000 miles ago showed very little lead in the oil then shortly after, it's toast. Could Blackstone have mixed up the reports? It's just hard to think the wear happened so suddenly...and if so, something had to set it off. I always thought bearing wear was a slow wear process. If it is a slow process, then where was the lead hiding at the time of the report only 1,000 miles earlier?
I'm sure these analysis reports are not a 100% predictor but has anyone else heard of a similar situation where an analysis looked good then shortly after the bearings go bad?
I'm no proponent of these reports but I was really hoping it's a reliable way to monitor what's ahead.

What about BF with 6K on it and built end of 2013 ?
What about that some people had not once but twice BF ?
BTW...When BMW is replacing a S65 even under warranty it's never a new engine , it's always a rebuilt S65 that had BF .

[IIAp3x]

Just confirmed with BMW that it was indeed a rod bearing that failed...

[FISH22]

OP, was it a complete engine failure (locked up), or was it just the rod knock?

Anxious to see how things go with the warranty company.

[IIAp3x]

One thing to also note: in the last 5k miles, the car only burned about a 1/2 liter of TWS of which I topped off... In the 2 days prior to the knocking sound, the oil level dropped from MAX level to the half way mark in under 48 hours... That tells me that the bearing was likely spun or about to spin, as it was super hot and cooking the oil...

[OneSickM]

Originally Posted by nthretourNAFTW

It's been a long time since the last post about a B failure, actually.
Funny how some people let psychosis replace rational thinking. Check the OP posting count. Maybe 20% of M3 owners are forum members but 70% join just to report a B failure (which is the OP case). As a result it gets a lot of social media exposure and people get the wrong idea how often this occurs. The answer is still very few.

There is a leaked official B failure rate % from BMW. Don't try to ask me where I got it from, I cannot reveal it. So don't ask, i won't answer.
It's 2-4% including all supercharged and tuned cars (which are evidently more susceptible to engine failure). If you remove SC and tuned cars it's even smaller.

Off course one would like to see a number like 0.2% but 2-4% means 96-98% of people won't be affected. Not perfect but still very reliable.

Can you please elaborate this? would tuning the engine increase bearing failure? I thought these kind of tune is just canned tune.

[///M Power-Belgium]

Originally Posted by IIAp3x

Just confirmed with BMW that it was indeed a rod bearing that failed...

Feel really sorry about your luck , and I really hope that they are replacing your engine under warranty .
Sadly I saw also that you add. your car in the blown engines thread.
But you are not the first and certainly not the last that's for sure..
The S65 is a great engine , but the bearings are f@cked up by BMW and Worldwide !

[IIAp3x]

I don't think it was a complete engine failure but rather a rod bearing and/or bearing and snapped rod... The engine was still running when I pulled into the dealership despite a intermittent knocking sound emanating from the engine... The response from the service writer was a little vague, as to be expected... Could the engine be salvaged? Possibly... BMW dealers are likely to always pitch replacing the engine rather than just replacing the rod bearings... Indy shops are more likely to try to save an engine for a customer... I can't really see a BMW dealer doing just the bearings, but who knows! So far, the total expenses are north of $15K and still counting! I hope this warranty company does not screw me...

[///M Power-Belgium]

Originally Posted by IIAp3x

One thing to also note: in the last 5k miles, the car only burned about a 1/2 liter of TWS of which I topped off... In the 2 days prior to the knocking sound, the oil level dropped from MAX level to the half way mark in under 48 hours... That tells me that the bearing was likely spun or about to spin, as it was super hot and cooking the oil...

Do you had visual more exhaust fumes than usual ?

[FISH22]

Originally Posted by IIAp3x

I don't think it was a complete engine failure but rather a rod bearing and/or bearing and snapped rod... The engine was still running when I pulled into the dealership despite a intermittent knocking sound emanating from the engine... The response from the service writer was a little vague, as to be expected... Could the engine be salvaged? Possibly... BMW dealers are likely to always pitch replacing the engine rather than just replacing the rod bearings... Indy shops are more likely to try to save an engine for a customer... I can't really see a BMW dealer doing just the bearings, but who knows! So far, the total expenses are north of $15K and still counting! I hope this warranty company does not screw me...

Yeah, I wouldn't trust any dealer to do a complete engine overhaul. I haven't seen a dealer do this with engines coming in with bearing failure. They probably understand the risk, and it's probably more cost effective to just replace the entire engine assembly.

[nthretourNAFTW]

Originally Posted by ///M Power-Belgium

What about BF with 6K on it and built end of 2013 ?
What about that some people had not once but twice BF ?
BTW...When BMW is replacing a S65 even under warranty it's never a new engine , it's always a rebuilt S65 that had BF .

what took you so long mister tuned M3 ? I could anticipate your post in advance Doesn't matter that recent year model can also fail, the failure rate is still very low. But i know you're not satisfied unless it's 0.5%

The one or two person who had twice B failure should play the lottery. But on a more serious note, it shows correlation with driving style. And it's the opposite of what most people think, those engine need to be driven hard as often as possible to keep the oil undiluted with fuel. Not babied. Oil looses its lubrification performance the more it's diluted with gas. Especially 10% ethanol fuel which is what 99% people will find in usa.