Advice needed: Break-in service issues

[g222leav]

Here's the cliff notes first:

- The night before scheduled appointment for 1200mile break-in on 08/26, I discovered a rather large screw in tire tread and got a warning for low oil level (oil spill found on garage floor)
- Was told I needed to replace tire and it needed to be ordered. Minor Oil leak discovered, possibly due to a bad gasket that also needed to be ordered.
- Informed today (9/6) that the gasket didn't stop the leak and that it was now coming from the back, so they now need to drop the tranny to get at it.
- No ETA on completion....should I be concerned about the oil leak? should I contact BMWFS for payment adjustment?


Here's the long version:

The night before my scheduled break-in service (08/26), I noticed a rather large screw in my tire tread. While driving, I received a warning that my oil level was low. Since it was a Sunday, I had no luck finding any 10w60 oil in the local auto stores but felt lucky that I was bringing it in for service in the morning anyways. My initial thought was that it was burning the oil, but that's when I went to check my garage. So I check my garage floor and low and behold I have a fresh oil spill on my garage floor. It wasn't a huge oil spill but it was enough to initiate a warning on the car's computer. I jacked her up and couldn't find any obvious causes of the leak but I did see that there was fresh oil on a metal part of the bottom of the engine (which I didn't get a good look at in the dark but possibly the drip pan?), I checked the engine bay and the oil cap which all seemed pristine. I had scheduled the break-in service weeks ago since I was having the dealer powdercoat my wheels black (arranged at date of purchase). So I knew I was going to have to leave it there for at least a few days and I knew I was going to get a loaner, I brought her in with about ~1500 on the odometer.

So they gave me a 3.28i which isn't to bad, but it sure as hell isn't an M3. Eventually I get an update that:
a) The screw in the tire punctured the tread in the valley and had to be replaced, furthermore it needed to be ordered.
b) They confirmed a small leak which the technician suspected was a bad gasket on a seal, which also needed to be ordered.

I figured with the powdercoating, ordering parts, maintenance it would be a good week so I wasn't really freaking out. I've been getting regular updates, but today (9/6) I call to check (hoping to have my car back for the weekend) and they say they replaced the gasket; drove it around a bit but it was still leaking oil. The technician suspects its coming from the rear now and they need to drop the tranny to get to the leak.

Other than the tires, this is all covered under warranty (so i've been told) and there doesn't seem to be any indications of any shenanigans. I'm not upset or anything, I've chalked it up to one of those things that happens. I am pretty disappointed with not having a 'broken-in' M3 (seeing how I just got to that milestone). I've tried not to go stir crazy over a new car having issues already, I'm crossing my fingers that it's just initial bad luck and I hope to have a relatively problem-free ownership experience.

Anyways, its been suggested that I contact BMWFS for a payment adjustment since I will essentially be out of the car for 1/2 a month (i've seen similar suggestions on this board for other threads).

-Should I be concerned about a small oil leak so early?
-Would/Should asking BMWFS be a viable/reasonable thing to do?
-If not now, at what point?

I don't usually demand things like this, but at the same time I don't want to be ass-raped. I just want to be an educated consumer.

Any feedback is welcome!
-

[GB///M]

good luck! i'm sure they'll take care of it. I'm curious, as to which dealer is doing your service, Perillo?

[g222leav]

Originally Posted by GB///M3

good luck! i'm sure they'll take care of it. I'm curious, as to which dealer is doing your service, Perillo?

Yes, it is at Perillo. Keeping in mind that my sales experience was wonderful, and that I had already set up to have my rims powdercoated. To their credit, my service agent has been nothing but friendly and helpful. He seems genuinely empathic to my plight of not having an M3 for over 2 weeks. Fair-weather days are now numbered in Chicago and it'll turn before I know it.

[GB///M]

i hear that their service has gotten much better over the years. I actually have an appointment for monday morning for an oil change there.

but to answer your questions im sure they'll fix it good as new. if they have it for 2-3 weeks i would try and get bmwfs to pay at least half the monthly bill. If more than that the whole month, but im sure they're going to take care of it before that.

[g222leav]

So I got the my car back this morning. So far so good, and i'm being cautiously optimistic.

Apparently, they initially thought the leak was coming from the oil pan (I did too) and they replaced the oil pan gasket. They took it for a quick drive and found it was still leaking between the oil pan and the transmission. So they had to drop the transmission and they replaced the crankshaft radial oil seal and that seems to be doing the trick. My SA seems to think it was from the factory...perhaps they were rushing to complete the last M3's...lol

Well, all in all, i''m happy to have her back...here's a quick phone pic with the new rims.

[GB///M]

she's lookin good! hopefully everything is good now. I also got my car back yesterday from there for an oil change.

[N1COM3]

Nice. Hopefully, thatll be the end of it. I want to powder coat my wheels too.

[slicer]

The car looks good!

[g222leav]

[09.30.13] - Update -

After having the car back for a couple weeks with no distinguishable problems, while I was filling up gas today I noticed that the oil level indicator dropped midway between the MAX and MIN levels. The oil level was at MAX when I picked it up from service.

After running a couple errands with my wife's car, I had to move my car in the garage to get some working space and I discover this:



This is a fresh oil spot and significantly larger than the previous leak. Originally I wasn't too concerned since I didn't have evidence of leak as I've been checking my garage floor daily and oil levels periodically since i've been paranoid.

I drove it around to check the oil level and notice it dipped slightly again



Gonna have to bring her in tomorrow to see what's going on...*crossing fingers*

[elm3]

Make sure that they put the copper washers on the drain plugs. And also, they probably did not torque the drain plugs properly. See if the oil is coming from around the drain plugs. Also, make sure that your oil filter canister is not leaking.

[InterJon]

I am sorry for your troubles. Please keep us updated.

[RS4now]

please keep us posted!

[g222leav]

Picked her up today. Seems to be driving fine (although that was never the issue), i'm cautiously optimistic that this is behind me.

Apparently the problem was a faulty valvetronic actuator. The service reports "oil leak found lots of oil in coolant valley area"...they had to remove the intake and the starter to inspect the like which was coming from the rear area of the motor vanos actuator

I've never heard of this, but i'll keep you guys updated if anything changes.