need advice please!

[angy]

I have searched and searched ..and have found many posts about overfilling the oil..but none to this extreme so far - 18 quarts total in the car. I didn't realize it would even hold that much?? If I have overlooked something I apologize.

I bought this car in Feb - 2008 M3 e90 MT - has 90K miles. I took it to have the oil service about 8-9 days ago. I noticed on the drive home the idle was rough.. did not have as much power. I checked the oil level and it said over the max. There was no control check message - just showing high level. I called the shop who changed the oil and took it back the next day. They said they checked the level.. drained a little.. and I was good to go. I checked the level and it was still showing over the max. - they said it was probably a bad sensor.

It seem to run a little smoother (at first) ..but continued to get rougher. It also started making a weird gurgle sound on warm starts. On Monday I called them back They told me it to bring it back in later that week and they would check it out but it was probably okay to drive since it was the sensor failing - just try to get it soon. So a few days later I dropped it off. They had the car for the entire day... told me that it was for sure the sensor and that also they found a oil leak they needed to track down so I needed to bring it back the first of the next week. And they could not get it to make that sound. (it makes it EVERY time I start it when engine is warm).

I asked a friend who owns a scanner to check the codes for me.. nothing showed up. Car was still driving like crap .. actually seemed to be getting worse. So yesterday I called the BMW dealer service dept asked for a 2nd opinion. The verdict - they drained 18 quarts of oil from my car. The valve cover gaskets are both leaking (and a few other things that are probably not related to oil.. will list if it helps)

I have been researching and find over and over again articles & posts stating that overfilling can cause the gaskets to fail. but the BMW tech is saying that would not be the cause in my car. The first shop is saying there is no way they overfilled it. But cannot explain to me why the sensor now working just fine when they told me it was bad multiple times and the oil level was good. They told me it was just a odd coincidence.

Has anyone else experienced anything like this? Or know enough about these cars to help me understand what the potential damages could be? If there are any that is? I just don't know what to do at this point and am getting extremely frustrated - I know that other than my friend reading codes, no one else has touched the car. So what happened...? Oil fairies?? grrr.

I was trying to keep it short but it was hard to do without omitting the details so forgive the long post.. Thanks so much in advance

[SYT_Shadow]

18 quarts??

I'm surprised that is even possible. Holy moly that's a lot of oil!

[M3Mongo]

How is 18 quarts even possible? It’s more than double the amount of oil the car supposed to have. I don’t think Any Mechanic can to be that stupid. With that kind of oil pressure it would burst any weekpoint There is.

It didn’t come spewing out of the top of the motor, out of the oil cap? I would imagine that much oil you wouldn’t get far without oil dripping everywhere .

This thread reads like an April fools joke

[BOOF-M3]

Originally Posted by M3Mongo

How is 18 quarts even possible? It’s more than double the amount of oil the car supposed to have. I don’t think Any Mechanic can to be that stupid. With that kind of oil pressure it would burst any weekpoint There is.

It didn’t come spewing out of the top of the motor, out of the oil cap? I would imagine that much oil you wouldn’t get far without oil dripping everywhere .

This thread reads like an April fools joke

Has to be.

[kscarrol]

Well OP did say it was a dealer that reported 18 quarts coming out of the engine... That may be part of the problem! Otherwise it sounds like a dealer setting the OP up for a big repair bill due to the "18 quarts" of oil in the engine. And yes, I'm a bit jaded when it comes to dealer service...

[///M Power-Belgium]

Originally Posted by BOOF-M3

Has to be.

18 US quarts are 17 liters !
Well...His S65 sounds like the Magic box of David Copperfield to me ..

[delirium330]

Who did the initial oil service?

[BOOF-M3]

Originally Posted by ///M Power-Belgium

18 US quarts are 17 liters !
Well...His S65 sounds like the Magic box of David Copperfield to me ..

Hello Phil, long time no talk. I hope you have been well and the weather is behind you. Must be nice to be able to saddle her up on any given day now. Luckily here in Florida it's never an issue for us.

[MaximusB]

If this is all true then I bet you the shop forgot about draining the oil and just added 9L of fresh oil in.

[angy]

I wish I were joking. I really do. But yes.. 18 quarts. and I had them document it for me. :/

[BayE30]

i have heard this before, Jiffy Lube double filled my friends WRX, had to pay for a new engine as it blew.

[angy]

There were no other symptoms .. rough idle, less power, weird noise, and a tad hot. That was it. No smoke. No oil slinging everywhere. I would be happy to post a photo of the invoice and notes from BMW if it helps?

[spazzyfry123]

Classic. Didnt drain and added new. Oil change shop did the same to my mom's Infiniti some years back. She also drove hers for a little bit until it popped the oil cap and spewed all over.

Sorry man, but these types of mishaps create great strain on mechanical bits. While you may not run into immediate issues, I'd put money that the life of your engine just got cut seeing that you put some revolutions through and no oil lost. Big pressure build ups.

[angy]

thanks spazzyfry123 ~ that was what I am concerned with the most. that their mistake will cost me big time down the road. Oh.. and I'm a wo-man lol. Which is probably why they did not take me seriously when I kept insisting something was not right. But I actually did a lot of my own repairs on my 328 - including my own oil changes. Was worried I would screw this one up so instead paid 200 bucks to let someone else screw it up it seems !

[spazzyfry123]

Originally Posted by angy

thanks spazzyfry123 ~ that was what I am concerned with the most. that their mistake will cost me big time down the road. Oh.. and I'm a wo-man lol. Which is probably why they did not take me seriously when I kept insisting something was not right. But I actually did a lot of my own repairs on my 328 - including my own oil changes. Was worried I would screw this one up so instead paid 200 bucks to let someone else screw it up it seems !

As sad as it is, I bet the female aspect is a contributing factor for their denial. For whatever reason, women don't understand how mechanics work? One of the best engineers that I work with is a woman!

Best of luck to you. I work in the power transmission industry as a manufacturer. While it's not an automotive engine, the similarities are great. #1 cause of failure of our drives? Ill lubrication (whether too much or too little).

[Mvy]

Thats terrible. I cant believe they did that. It really reminds me, wtf was BMW thinking not putting a dip stick on this motor? It would make it a one second thing to make sense of whats going on oil level wise. The sensor should have been telling you to stop asap and turn off the motor. So I would say there really is something wrong with the sensor, and now unfortunately possibly the motor.

[m3jala]

Given you have documentation that there was 18 quarts, then I think you need to put your yelling hat on and go back to the shop that did the work with that documentation. Given the concern about damage to the engine, which is difficult to handle after the fact, what do you think about prepping for the conversation with your lawyer. I guess the fact you at least have a lawyer involved may cause them to take you seriously.

I would be fuming mad. Keep us posted, and please go get the lazy piece of ** that did this. That's my vote. The car service industry really needs to be held accountable.

[K-M3]

Wowzie .... someone up there beat me to it .... sounds like they filled it without draining it first

[angy]

Originally Posted by spazzyfry123

As sad as it is, I bet the female aspect is a contributing factor for their denial. For whatever reason, women don't understand how mechanics work? One of the best engineers that I work with is a woman!

Best of luck to you. I work in the power transmission industry as a manufacturer. While it's not an automotive engine, the similarities are great. #1 cause of failure of our drives? Ill lubrication (whether too much or too little).

well I am far from an expert for sure. my dad was a body man so I grew up spending lots of time in a shop so I am not oblivious either. For some it's the smell of baked cookies that remind them of childhood.. for me it's the smell of Bondo lol!

But yes.. I think being a female it's tough to get taken seriously when it comes to some things .. cars being top of the list. Unfortunately this is based in some truth - I can only think of one female friend that even knows how to check the oil in a car.

thanks for the luck... I am going to need it probably! and that's for your input. It sounds like I have valid reasons for my concern based on what happened to your mom's car.

[BOOF-M3]

You are a female Angy? Props to you for owning and understanding the M3. DreamTime is a female owner and role model for young girls out there who are into fast cars.

[notouching]

Brutal. I'd go ahead with a small claims court immediately.

[angy]

Originally Posted by m3jala

Given you have documentation that there was 18 quarts, then I think you need to put your yelling hat on and go back to the shop that did the work with that documentation. Given the concern about damage to the engine, which is difficult to handle after the fact, what do you think about prepping for the conversation with your lawyer. I guess the fact you at least have a lawyer involved may cause them to take you seriously.

I would be fuming mad. Keep us posted, and please go get the lazy piece of ** that did this. That's my vote. The car service industry really needs to be held accountable.

I wasn't angry . at first. I am getting there. When I contacted them I guess I expected there to be a conversation that consisted of more than there is no way we did this so it's not our problem. You are right.. I probably should be contacting a lawyer tomorrow and find out what my options are.. if I have any. They are saying that it wasn't them .. and I know it wasn't me.. but how do I prove this? When I talked to them this evening he said I should be happy.. sounded like BMW resolved my issue and all was good now. now THAT did make me angry. I still have 2 valve cover gaskets leaking. And have driven the car for 9 or 10 days now with double the oil in it -- who knows what that has done. have taken at least 15 hours off work.. and this oil change has cost me almost 700 bucks this week so far.

You are right.. they should be held accountable - I have been hopeful they would hold themselves responsible... guess that is not going to be the case. And that just sucks because they were super nice .. and we all make mistakes.

I guess now I need to find out exactly what all could go wrong due to this .. find out if there is a way to test / inspect for it.. and get someone who is certified to attest to this in writing..?

Thank you so much for your thoughts on this... I appreciate it and will certainly keep posted.