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BMW 5-Series Engine Questions
A good friend leased a new 2007 525 in early Fall last year. A few months later he notice a bad knock in this engine. BMW ended up replacing his engine. My friend now tells me that this is not an isolated incident, and that BMW is trying to keep it quiet. I'm currently looking to replace my 2004 525, and am a bit concerned. Has anyone heard anything, or worse, had a similar situation?
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The engine in the 2007 525i has been on our roads for nearly two years now and I've yet to hear of a single engine failure, err, with the exception of one in your friend's car. Said another way, with the way such news travels around here at Edmunds, consistent engine failures from E90 325i and 325xi and E60 525i and 525xi models would practically be front page news.
Best Regards,
Shipo
He's been told that other engine failures have occured, and have resulted in repairs, replacements and in some cases, the car being bought back by BMW USA.
I recall BMW having some trouble when they introduced the new 7's.
For what it's worth, I'm in the Chicago area.
Best Regards,
Shipo
He maintains that his dealer's mechanic, who worked on his car, says other new cars with 6 cylinder engines have come back with problems.
I'm scared to pursue a new 5 series at this time. I'm still looking for any feedback here. Thanks.
:surprise: :surprise: BMW just got a V8 in the mid 90s??? I did not know that. :surprise: That kind of makes me want to rethink wanting a 550i.
Best Regards,
Shipo
Best Regards,
Shipo
Jacques
Fact of life, a certain (small) percentage of new engines fail. Many years ago Toyota decided to stop QC testing their engines at the factory because it was WAY cheaper to replace the odd field failure than to test every engine. To this day that's exactly what they do, a practice that has been adopted by most of the worlds car manufacturers.
Best Regards,
Shipo
I was interested in replacing my 2004 525 with a new model, but am now looking at alternatives.
Best Regards,
Shipo
There's a lot to be accounted for when it comes to sentimentality. No matter how cheap or expensive a car (or its engine) is, once it has to be replaced, most people will feel like they now have a flaky heap of junk. They'll always wonder when the next thing will go wrong. In the consumer's mind, peace-of-mind is worth diamonds. When that peace-of-mind is compromised, we want to be compensated.
Said another way, if the owner of a car that has experienced a catastrophic failure of a major component gets a new car, it's more a matter of good will than anything else.
Best Regards,
Shipo
That makes for a very unpleasant ownership.
Sorry, not buying. I've never seen any evidence to suggest that a factory reman engine is anything other than as good as a factory new engine. Other problems? Not buying that either.
"Not to mention the hit it takes for resale/trade-in. Honestly, in your heart of hearts, would you want to buy a car that you know has a remanufactured engine?"
A "Factory Remanufactured" engine? I'd buy it in a heartbeat. A "Rebuilt" engine? Probably not. The difference is that the Factory Reman is a known quantity, the Rebuilt is not. That and the fact that there are fewer miles on the engine than on the car means that, to me at least, it's a pretty good deal.
Best Regards,
Shipo
Regardless of our point of view, on a new car is definitely sucks to have to do this--even if it eventually turns out right. It just sours the experience from the get-go. I'm sure I'd get over it, but I'd grumble.
This should be encouraging to jacquesl.
My friend says he will reconsider BMW in a few years; after they address these reliability issues.
I started reading the string of email messages by coincidence this evening and am not sure what to do. Is the pronounced valve lifter noise a sign of imminent failure? Should I take the car back to the dealer and ask for repairs or replacement? I would appreciate any information on this topic. Thanks!
Best Regards,
Shipo
I think you need to contact your dealer. According to what I was told, BMW does have a suggested repair. It's worth a try.
If you want I can put you in touch with my friend.
Many Thanks!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjGdBmgVDuE
we are not alone with the problem
While this is my work week driving routine (going 2+ miles to the train station and back), it doesn't sound reasonable for a BMW engine to have this "normal" sound. I do noticed that when it is driven longer distances on a normal basis, the noise is no longer there during start up or any other point. It does come back during the week with my short trips to the train station.
Anyone else hear of this explanation and think it has merit? More importantly, is this normal or is it going to have a negative affect on engine/car life?
As my dealer can't fix it, I would like to be able to tell them of a fix if anyone has one.
As BMW has been hearing about this issue quite a lot, they have redesigned the value heads that can be replaced if none of the other fixes work. This is a very expensive solution ($9K+), but after many failed tries, I finally got it and seems to be working just fine (repaired 10 days ago). Thankfully, I didn't have to pay for this as it was under warrantee.
Best Regards,
Shipo
There has been (as you know) problems with valve noise on these engines and there are directives for fixing it...supposedly....but it sounds like you had some issues that were a bit more serious than valve lifters sucking in air.
I'd say if the noise does not re-appear then you might consider keeping it.
What did the temperature gauge say at this time?
If you are gushing steaming hot water out, you should not be driving this car ONE FURTHER INCH.
We have the same problem and at first the dealer said this is normal and all BMW's have this problem. Second time the preformed the recommended BMW fix and that lasted about two days. Any detailed information would be appreciated.
If you want i can give you my e-mail address.
Should i go with the Cold air intake or just K&N filter and keep it stock?
What is better and what would give me better sound and power, longer life what is better for engine?
tx Joe