Oil Leak on My New M3

[2009M3]

Finally bought my dream car last July, a 2009 M3 with M-DCT, Silverston II, Black Novillo leather, 19" wheels and Navi package. I've only put 5K miles on it, followed all break-in instructions from manufacturer and haven't tried the launch function yet. Needless to say, I babied my dream car.

To make the story short, around September of last year, the dealer called me and told me that my car sent them a message that it needed its first oil change. I didn't even know that this car can do that. The car had less than a 1000 miles. A few days after the oil change, I noticed that it was leaking oil so I brought it back to the dealer. I thought it was an easy fix, something like a loose drain plug; to my surprise, my service guy called me and told me that the oil pan gasket had to be changed and they have to keep the car until they get the part. I gave them the benefit of the doubt, since the car was under warranty but I knew in my heart that they were just trying to rip-off BMW because this car was brand new and wasn't leaking until they changed the oil. This weekend, I noticed that the car is still leaking oil. I took it back today and they told me that it is leaking between engine blocks and are asking the headquarters for the solution on how to fix this problem. The car had 5000 miles. I have a 1996 328i and my son drives a 2001 330i and none of these cars leak oil.

To say the least, I'm not happy. I don't know if I'm getting jerked around or what. Did this ever happen to anyone?

[duk]

same thing happend to my friend, needed oil on a brand new m3 in less than 500 miles... after adding oil, the problem came back again but he was stuck on road, he ended needing a new short block, 9k in damage, covered under warranty

[BCA]

Man, I was thinking stripped drain plug bolt or something, but this sounds worse. At least it will be covered. Good luck.

[saeedg48]

bring it to a different dealer, it's as simple as that.

[JCtx]

Originally Posted by 2009M3

Did this ever happen to anyone?

Man, this is the first time I EVER hear of this particular problem; that's weird indeed. However, I've heard many times of the oil cap not being properly installed (gasket bunches up), which is not hard at all to do due to a crappy design. When gasket is not perfectly seated on the cap (a light oil film takes care of that, like if it was an oil filter), oil is thrown everywhere since the gear-driven cam's gear throws oil right at the cap. This problem is quickly diagnosed by having a royal oil mess on your hood, and all over the cap area, flowing down to the pan/floor.

Even if the oil leak's location was right, the timing is very suspect indeed. Having said that, only cause could be a freak accident they're not telling you, because just changing the oil can't trigger an oil leak from that area. Both drain bolts are at the bottom of the pan, and oil filter is on top of the engine. And I don't think techs are that stupid to confuse a leak from the oil filter or oil cap above for an engine block gasket leak.

At any rate, your best bet is to maybe ask for a new engine. The damage of messing with your new car is already done. Just make sure they don't screw something else after they're done, as dropping the engine on this car is a huge deal IMO. Good luck, and please keep us posted.

[Neil McRae]

so after 1000 miles it will flag for the run in service.

A number of people have reported that the seal around the oil fillter is crap and the fix is to put the E46 M3 cap on it.

[Socale92]

ive been having the oil leak problem, just ordered a cap for the e46 m3, will see how it goes

[Trier Germany]

Thats some real bullshit! I hate stealers i mean dealers

[bobbyd1961]

Originally Posted by saeedg48

bring it to a different dealer, it's as simple as that.

i agree bring to a different dealer. my first oil change (1500 mile) they failed to drain the 2nd pan which resulted in overfilling and then didnt put the oil cap on properly . oil everwhere. i brought to another dealer and they took care of everthing plus cleaning all oil underneith. had the car up and checked for leaks everwhere. thank goodness no leaks just a stupid service department.

[Socale92]

the e46 m3 oil cap solved the problem for me - the rubber seal on the e9x really is crap...

[WCH]

I know someone who had a similar problem with a X5M. It turned out to be a manufacturing defect (part not machined correctly). They had to put a dye in the oil to find the leak and ended up replacing the parts and rebuilding the engine.

I'd let the dealer work through the problem and see if it solves it. It would be worth getting an extended warranty for the trouble as a starting point.

[Jack's dad]

I had the same problem - turned out to be a bad cap. Replaced the cap and the problem went away. Only issue I have had with the car in 2 years/20K miles - most trouble free car I have ever owned.

[tifosi360]

Originally Posted by 2009M3

To make the story short, around September of last year, the dealer called me and told me that my car sent them a message that it needed its first oil change. I didn't even know that this car can do that. The car had less than a 1000 miles. A few days after the oil change, I noticed that it was leaking oil so I brought it back to the dealer. I thought it was an easy fix, something like a loose drain plug; to my surprise, my service guy called me and told me that the oil pan gasket had to be changed and they have to keep the car until they get the part. I gave them the benefit of the doubt, since the car was under warranty but I knew in my heart that they were just trying to rip-off BMW because this car was brand new and wasn't leaking until they changed the oil.

The exact same thing happened to my Z4 M Coupe. The probably f'ed up the drain plug and the pan during the oil change. Then they also forgot to put the oil cap on tight. Imagine the mess. And every time I went in for an oil change they always over filled my oil because they don't know the difference between liter and quart. Of course, I warned them each time, but you are nothing but a stupid customer.

[py0413]

i have 48000kms on my car now and overfill engine oil happened to me twice from 2 different dealerships plus one of them needed to replace my oil cap to stop oil leak. funny thing is both service department couldn't tell the overfill message from the computer. i had to get the owner's manual and show them how the message looks like. I wonder how those monkey get paid so much working there. this is just sad. i love the m but the bmw service is by far worse then lexus or m-benz

[quality_sound]

This is what happens when you only put 5K on a car in 9 months.