Blown motors, Rod Bearing failure S65 Registry.

[pbonsalb]

Originally Posted by Petros

actually thinking of doing it. but i don't have access to a lift and it doesn't seem like a floor jack will cut it

You could do it if you had four 6 ton jackstands. The shorter 3 ton stands would be more challenging to use. You would have to do some fiddling to get the car up on the taller stands, going around and raising one click at a time, and maybe using a block of wood on the jack.

[david462]

I was planning on buying an M3 early next year but after lurking on this forum the bearing issue has me worried, especially since I was looking at higher mileage cars.

Maybe my safest option is find one with less than 50k miles and run thinner oil in it, while keeping up with this thread to see if I need to replace the bearings as a maintenance item???

[s85e90]

Originally Posted by david462

I was planning on buying an M3 early next year but after lurking on this forum the bearing issue has me worried, especially since I was looking at higher mileage cars.

Maybe my safest option is find one with less than 50k miles and run thinner oil in it, while keeping up with this thread to see if I need to replace the bearings as a maintenance item???

Your safest option is to understand that the forums only represent a fraction of owners and also people only post negative things on forums. You don't see too many threads titled: My car runs fine! There are still more cars running fine than failing.

[Trout2]

Taken as a percentage, the majority of owners are not on the forum and we have know way of knowing how many of them have suffered failures. If this was a $2000 repair, I'd say people are over reacting worrying about it but that is far from the case. With 2008's selling in the $30K's now, the repair is near 75% of the value and near 50% if you could rebuild it yourself.

Jack

[david462]

Originally Posted by s85e90

Your safest option is to understand that the forums only represent a fraction of owners and also people only post negative things on forums. You don't see too many threads titled: My car runs fine! There are still more cars running fine than failing.

I agree about issue like this one getting blown out of proportion on forums. My problem with this type of issue is that the issue with the clearance is a DESIGN FLAW, meaning they are by design causing failures. It is not the same as other recalls where there was a quality issue for a certain lot of parts, or a certain production run. So I'm concerned all M3's have bearings that are wearing out, although not all are on their way to total failure (or yet at least).

[gatty1303]

Originally Posted by david462

I agree about issue like this one getting blown out of proportion on forums. My problem with this type of issue is that the issue with the clearance is a DESIGN FLAW, meaning they are by design causing failures. It is not the same as other recalls where there was a quality issue for a certain lot of parts, or a certain production run. So I'm concerned all M3's have bearings that are wearing out, although not all are on their way to total failure (or yet at least).

I agree with you. I was in the same boat. Ready to sell my boss 302 until I started researching and hanging around the forums. This bearing issue has caused me to keep my boss a little longer. This is a real issue. Anyone who is minimizing what is going on is just kidding themselves. Of course some cars will never have the issue, but there are cars every single day having problems, some not reporting to this forum.

[SenorFunkyPants]

The number of engine failures of USA/Canada reported on M3post by the end of August 2014 is 33. That includes any type of failure related to failed rods, main bearings rod bearings etc but excludes supercharged cars. That out of a total of USA/Can production of 30,000 cars.
Of course it seems like there are failures every day with the same core of people commented in every thread and a few posters who go near hysterical every time bearings get mentioned.

[///M Power-Belgium]

Originally Posted by SenorFunkyPants

The number of engine failures of USA/Canada reported on M3post by the end of August 2014 is 33. That includes any type of failure related to failed rods, main bearings rod bearings etc but excludes supercharged cars. That out of a total of USA/Can production of 30,000 cars.
Of course it seems like there are failures every day with the same core of people commented in every thread and a few posters who go near hysterical every time bearings get mentioned.

Of what are you thinking at the moment when you approaching the red line ?

[pbonsalb]

And if the bearings do worry you, just change them. Add in the $500 to $2k price to whatever you would pay for the car or as a price of keeping the car if you already have it. If you don't like that added price, buy something else. E46M3 have vanos issues, require valve adjustments, have rod bearing issues, and SMG trans are expensive to repair. E36M3 have cooling system issues, oil pump nut issues and money shift issues. There are lots of cars that have issues. For those that believe every car should be perfect or that you should not have to pay for any repairs or preventative maintenance, stick with new cars under factory warranty and don't mod them since that can jeopardize the warranty.

[kawasaki00]

Originally Posted by SenorFunkyPants

The number of engine failures of USA/Canada reported on M3post by the end of August 2014 is 33. That includes any type of failure related to failed rods, main bearings rod bearings etc but excludes supercharged cars. That out of a total of USA/Can production of 30,000 cars.
Of course it seems like there are failures every day with the same core of people commented in every thread and a few posters who go near hysterical every time bearings get mentioned.

Yet there are 5 supercharged and countless other cars in the Charlotte area that I know of that are not even on the forum. Super charged or not the entire failure rate is absolute worthless data. We have absolutely no idea of failure rates. Only BMW has this data and they are not giving it out.
Yeah it is nice to keep up with what we can based on the people that are on here but other than that none of us have a clue.

[tdott]

Originally Posted by kawasaki00

Yet there are 5 supercharged and countless other cars in the Charlotte area that I know of that are not even on the forum. Super charged or not the entire failure rate is absolute worthless data. We have absolutely no idea of failure rates. Only BMW has this data and they are not giving it out.
Yeah it is nice to keep up with what we can based on the people that are on here but other than that none of us have a clue.

Even BMW won't have it for the cars out of warranty.

[SenorFunkyPants]

Originally Posted by kawasaki00

Yeah it is nice to keep up with what we can based on the people that are on here but other than that none of us have a clue.

What we do have is a clue about is the rate of failures reported here...it is absolutely not "every single day" its barely even one a month.
There is certainly an issue that seems to mostly affect NA cars in warm states but not cars in cooler Northern European countries (where a similar number of cars have been sold).
Whatever is the problem lets at least try and keep it in perspective.

[djdiplomat]

Would be interesting to find out what it took for BMW to recall the issue on the E46 platform. I wonder how many examples are enough for someone to take the case and rattle BMW's cage.

[s85e90]

Originally Posted by djdiplomat

Would be interesting to find out what it took for BMW to recall the issue on the E46 platform. I wonder how many examples are enough for someone to take the case and rattle BMW's cage.

IIRC it took lawyers to get things done.

[djdiplomat]

Originally Posted by s85e90

IIRC it took lawyers to get things done.

Yes, but how many incidents is enough for someone to take on a case. That's my question.

[aus]

What's really concerning to me is, nearly everyone who had their bearings changed out had excessive wear, meaning they likely would have blowed too. Then you add in the early failures in cars with the newer, harder bearings, and it's definitely concerning.

[///M Power-Belgium]

Originally Posted by djdiplomat

Yes, but how many incidents is enough for someone to take on a case. That's my question.

I think the time has come to clarify some facts of this bearing 5H1T !!!
Is this thread not more than enough prove of it ?
NO ?.......
Ok, so here we goooooooooo......
Well I think the time has come right now to share my secret.................
BTW....actualy we don't need any prove , because almost every single day they are involved in the bearing problem of the S65's !
The bearing problem of the S65 is a 10 year old nightmare for the well knowed brand !
And for all the members on here that are wondering why I'm exhibiting sometimes with extreme reactions on here ,and I know some people are evading me for this , and I...I'm just try to be honest !
From a very good German source I personal know that in the last 3 months more than "120"... S65 engines Worldwide have been replaced ?!?!
So let's count it's quite simple...3 months = 120 days and that is the same number of the replaced S65's , that's why I said above....every single day !!!
And I'm not angry about the 120 , but the more that they are doing just like nothing ever was happened !
And exactly that's why i'm that angry ?!?!
They are very glad for the moment that we are (with our funny S65's) almost forgotten , because the new child is born , and so out of sight ?!?!
Some are counting with % rates , actualy it's very funny almost BS ...because like I was saying...every single day Worldwide 1 bearing failure , that's my way of rating and fact !!!
So indeed it's only Internet hysteria and of course over rated........BS !!!
If someone or anyone want to know more ?....I'm here PM me , because I was saying already too much on here .....

[dry87]

Hi im new to this forum, im from indonesia. In indonesia population m3 is less than 50 unit and the highest odometers is only 50k km or 32k miles. i planing to buy 2011 M3 mDtc with 19k mileage
My question is, how to prevent bearing problem? Is there any symptoms beside clanking sound ?

[4corners]

[Helmsman]

Nice....going strong I bet, any major repairs mate?

Cheers

[4corners]

Originally Posted by Helmsman

Nice....going strong I bet, any major repairs mate?

Cheers

Cross my fingers, no. Brake pads, oil changes, spark plugs, air filters, tires, fix things, front under belly, low fuel pressure sensor $90, window washer pump leaks, I have a new one to go in, so far so good.

I analyse my oil. This period: 110k-120k, is 50/50 Castrol 10-60 and Mobil 1 0-40. Will send in soon.

[JPH704]

Originally Posted by ///M Power-Belgium

I think the time has come to clarify some facts of this bearing 5H1T !!!
Is this thread not more than enough prove of it ?
NO ?.......
Ok, so here we goooooooooo......
Well I think the time has come right now to share my secret.................
BTW....actualy we don't need any prove , because almost every single day they are involved in the bearing problem of the S65's !
The bearing problem of the S65 is a 10 year old nightmare for the well knowed brand !
And for all the members on here that are wondering why I'm exhibiting sometimes with extreme reactions on here ,and I know some people are evading me for this , and I...I'm just try to be honest !
From a very good German source I personal know that in the last 3 months more than "120"... S65 engines Worldwide have been replaced ?!?!
So let's count it's quite simple...3 months = 120 days and that is the same number of the replaced S65's , that's why I said above....every single day !!!
And I'm not angry about the 120 , but the more that they are doing just like nothing ever was happened !
And exactly that's why i'm that angry ?!?!
They are very glad for the moment that we are (with our funny S65's) almost forgotten , because the new child is born , and so out of sight ?!?!
Some are counting with % rates , actualy it's very funny almost BS ...because like I was saying...every single day Worldwide 1 bearing failure , that's my way of rating and fact !!!
So indeed it's only Internet hysteria and of course over rated........BS !!!
If someone or anyone want to know more ?....I'm here PM me , because I was saying already too much on here .....

I personally know of four cases since May. Ironically... None of those are on this forum and its all from the same zip code.