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I am looking for a new car and confused on what to buy. Although 350 is not comparable in size to X5, I have heard several negative posts about BMW in cold weather, steering problems etc. I have not owned either BMW or Lexus in the past. I am looking for some help... I love the X5 shape and heard BMW has great engineering.
Thanks.
:confuse:
It was very cold this morning when I started my vehicle - 40C and let it run for 10 minutes. After driving for about 10 minutes. I saw smoke coming from the vents and oil dripping from the bottom of the car. My mechanic has taken all the covers off from the bottom of my car and came to the conclusion that it is a gas kit.
I am driving it now. He wants me to drive it in to find out if it repeats it again. Burning smell has definatley decreased. Do you think this is a oil separator issue??
I usually park my car in a under ground heated parking but unlucky me the coldest night I park it outside the North Agricom in Edmonton Alberta, Canada.
Please help. Thanks
It does sound like it could be the oil separator issue. The easiest way to tell is to place a piece of cardboard or similar under your engine after you park your car. When you come out in the morning, you will be able to see how much oil you are leaking and where it is leaking from. Give your mechanic a general area where it is leaking from and he will know where to look.
It is also possible that the very cold weather caused the gasket to shrink enough to cause a leak and once it warms up it will no longer leak. This would surprise me a bit if this was the case but it is possible.
By the way, a little trivia for you: -40C is the same as -40F. After that the temperatures diverge again. :P
To be honest when ever I park the car for a longer period of time in my parking area I always check for the oil drops when I move the vehicle. It is little bit dirty to begin with, I will try this Card Board technology which you suggested.
Yeah, one more thing he tightened the gasket bolts. Just in case.
It surprised me a bit too but metal could shrink little bit in this kind of cold weather. Actually it went to -46C with chill I heard that night.
So you think I should just sell this :lemon: or don't worry about it??
This is a great website and I have started to like it lot. Thanks
Just yesterday I bought a 2010 X5 xDrive35D, and it will be delivered next month. We live in Utah, and have a heated garage, but it sometimes gets pretty cold here. Rarely below 10 F, but sometimes below 0 F. Our shortest drive would be 15 minutes or so one way, down, then up the mountain.
So, is the diesel engine subject to the OS problem? Will the sort of driving we do ... perhaps to go out for dinner on a cold night ... be a problem?
Thanks ... and wish me luck with my new car!
Please advise.
Thank You.
Goog Luck
Sounded odd and as I am a female I don't always trust what service suggests. Any thoughts please.
to me it sounds like the only true fix is to have the oil separator replaced and not fixed. I had the dealership pick up the tab on the repairs after a report from the bmw field representative. I called BMW of North America and asked for one to look at my x5. It is a MANUFACTURER defect whether they admit it or not. One doesn't pay that much for a car to have a manufacturer balk at simple repairs.
On January 20, 2011, my wife was driving the same vehicle home from work at 11:30 pm when it stopped in the middle of a busy and dangerous intersection in Fargo, North Dakota. The temperature outside was -22F. She must have driven the car about 2 miles when she saw a huge white smoke coming out of tail pipe and within a few minutes the vehicle completely stopped. We got it towed to the same service station as before and called my insurance agent the next morning. The agent did some investigation and advised us to get it towed to another service station in Moorhead MN that works mostly on imports. This service station knew what the problem was as they had fixed five to six others in the last couple on months. They got the parts from the BMW dealership, fixed the probelm and I got the vehicle back yesterday. They also mentioned that somebody had tried fixing the problem earlier but did not finish it. We are the original owners of it and have always taken it to Motorweks BMW in Minneapolis for all work. The total without the two towing was $1084.
I have read that other BWM owners living in cold places with high humidity have the same problem. I am scared to have any family member drive the vehicle. Have others had the same problem? Can it happen again? What should be done?
Thanks.
Also call BMW of North America – ask for a supervisor in customer care. I apologize but I cannot post phone numbers or names on this blog.
I have filed a formal complaint with the NHSA. You need to have your VIN number, the approximate mileage when the problem first occurred and the current mileage on your vehicle.
I have also filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, and the Ohio State Attorney General's office.
Make no mistake about it: this is a design flaw with BMW and a major safety issue.
I have had 4 oil separators go bad over the last 4 years. The only way this issue is going to be escalated from a "service bulletin" to a full blown recall is to call the National Highway Safety Administration! Please do it NOW!
This problem greatly depreciates the resale value of our vehicles not to mention the out of pocket costs due to repairs, lost wages, and towing to mention a few. None of us in good conscience could sell our vehicles in a Northern Climate and pass this problem on to the next owner - we need to unite and pass the problem back to the source: BMW.
The solution:
Wrap the oil separator with an insulating tape or insulating sleeve to help protect it from frozen climates and also to help the oil to get up to operating temperatures.
This is what is recommended by another X5 owner.
Cheers!
MahoganyX5 owner
I have heard the ongoing issues with the x5 cold weather start, Exploding Oil separator ( had this happen to my wife s bmwx5. Had it taken care of under warranty but its still an issue. I had a oil pan heater installed and it helped but if you travel over night or take it to work or go shopping its kind of hard to plug it in every where you go. Will never buy another BMW will only recommend to friends not to buy BMW products. Something tells me BMW doesn't care about the customer ( what a HUGE MISTAKE) I live in Maine and it can get in the -30F on occasion . The X5 doesn't like it when it gets around 10F. _ have an old GMC pickup that only cost me 18k when new, starts every time, bmw cost me almost 50k, not a very good value.
I have had the same problem couple of weeks ago. I drive a 2005 530i (has the M54 engine) and while on the highway driving @ 60 mph in a cold night, white smoke bilowed out of my exhaust. Other cars behind me alerted me by flashing their beams . I was able to stop safely and find out checking the dipstick that there was no oil left in the pan - all had gone thru the enigne and burnt thru the exhaust. The exhaust was dripping oil... I towed the car to the BMW service center. The dealership diagnosed the problem as a frozen oil separator that pulled the oil into the engine. They fixed the problem for ~$1300 but they cannot guaranty against any future engine or exhaust failures from that incident. It is disappointing that BMW knows about this issue for so many years and haven't informed customers to replace it before major damage happens. I contacted BMWNA and waiting to hear if they will reimburse me for this charge. I find it highly irresponsible for BMW to let people have such terrifying incidents while they know that the original oil separator in M54 engines will eventually fail at cold weather states. Unacceptable.
Before I found out my engine oil separator on my 2005 X5 had seized up, I was told that something had broken inside my engine and I needed a new engine which would cost me $5400. I asked that shop if they were willing to meticulously dismantle the engine to attempt the find a less severe, less costly issue. They were unwilling to do so but were quick to tell me it was necessary to dismantle the engine to complete failure so they could apply for the BG (aftermarket) engine warranty. (I then found out they have several complaints against them for falsifying warranty claims.) I quickly pulled my vehicle from that shop and tow it to another shop. That shop found the separator problem and can repair it for $1300. I was planning on driving this vehicle for a looooong time! In 2 years, I've put an additional $7000 into repairs of the vehicle. I believe the shop that was originally doing the work on my vehicle actually raked me over the coals on repairs. I have known them since I was 14 so I'm very disappointed. I spoke with the BMW service department and they didn't even tell me there was a technical service bulletin on this problem. I believe I have some recourse somewhere and I'm not going to stop until I get it! I would advice anyone NOT to purchase a BMW!