hansen

Here's Mr Brown's response he recieved and I'm surprised, because BMWNA stated it was a known defect. BMWNA still takes no action. Must be alot more people with N52 motor problems.


I started with the local BMW dealer and got confirmation that THIS IS A KNOWN PROBLEM with N52 engines. Next I connected with customer service at BMW North America. I worked my way up from first level customer service rep to manager --- same result --- acknowledged that this is a known problem. BMW will cover repairs if under warranty or, in some cases, will cover under "customer goodwill" if recently out of warranty.

Here is my gripe; BMW knows that this is a design problem (versus a maintenance issue) but refuses to repair. If repaired at a BMW dealer shop, it is a $3,000 to $4,000 repair. OUCH!!

hansen

The N52 block was designed for weight reduction. Magnesium block was used to shave off a considerable amount of weight. The design and ideal are great innovations, however the longevity of the product suffers from real world use. Aluminum screws and bolts were used though out the motor. If steel bolts were used and mounted to magnesium, corrosion would occur. I have looked at the BMW?s repair manual for the bolts in question and torque recommendations also require torque angle. In my opinion, it is not a great ideal to put extreme tension on the heads of aluminum bolts. Most of the torque angles required at the end are 90 to 180 degrees. This causes an excessive amount of stretch and pressure on the bolts. What surprises me is that some of the less critical bolts have a steel core. This should have been done on the four head bolts or they should have been made with high grade aluminum bolts.

The M54 is not affected as far as I know. I have a 335i and so far I have not had to crack that open.

I just shared Mr. Brown's experience, because I know there are many others with this same problem who most likely paid for repairs that should have been taken care of by BMWNA whether the vehcile is under warranty or not.

om51015

I have heard same stories, I recently started a post because i have heard the N52 engine has more issues in the long run (around 100k+) so i have been contemplating a potential retirement before any large issues arise. Im curious how many miles Mr. Brown and yourself had on the engine when it began to give you issues with the aluminum bolts?? Here is the post i began not to long ago: https://5series.net/forums/topic/117...0-almost-100k/

hooch999

I'd never guess.

Ask your mummy to pay for extra reading comprehension lessons at your school, so that when you reply on forums normal people can understand what the f..k you talk about, moron.

pjinca

3 months to work with and THAT's the best response you could come back with? Wow, you take the terms "EPIC fail" and "Loser" to a whole new level, congrats

hansen

LOL, come on you two with the toyota/lexus..., lets move on.

To answer om51015, as far as any problems with the BMW prior to the break down, none. My mileage was just shy of 85K. I did notice some slight oil leakage in the front of the motor where the head and block met. It was around the vanos area. This the spot where the broken bolts are located. About 6 months earlier when I did an oil change, I noticed the broken bolt by the number cylinder near the intake manifold. This is the only aluminum head bolt located outside.

As for Mr. Brown, he had problems with an oil leak which was caused from the broken/defective aluminum bolts. He was a little more fortunate and the broken bolt heads did not make its way up the chain getting caught in the exhaust gear. He cracked open his valve cover and observed his bolts broke in the same fashion and area as my bolts did. Mr. Brown recieved a better response from BMWNA, than I did. BMWNA admitted there was a problem and it would be covered under the factor or CPO warranty. In "some" cases, it would be covered out of warranty.

I knew this was a wide spead problem and it was known. A limited production of their N52 motor which recieved numerous awards????

Transporter

Mr Hansen, I too have a 530i 2006 which I believe has an N52. Is it possible for a novice/medium grade mechanic/owner ( ) to open the hood and with a few minutes inspect for the warning signs for this issue of the aluminum bolts?

In other words, are the bolts reasonably accessible? Can the damage be observed gradually? Can I take a look without having to do mayor disassembly?

I have not experienced a problem yet, but I wonder if I can take preventive action on this. Either alone or with BMWNA.

hansen

Transporter,

There is only one aluminum bolt visible with out removing the valve cover. The replacement aluminum head bolts come in a 4 pack. Part number 15E11-12-0-392-547. There are three screws about 2 1/2 inches and one that is about 1 1/2 inches. These three screws are only visible if you remove the valve cover. The shorter one is next to the chain guide. (drivers side under valve cover) The other two are located in the front part of the block and they mount through the cylinder head into the block. (look under the exhaust and intake cam gears.) The last one can be inspected without disassemblying anything. It will be right by the intake runner. (Cylinder number 1)Look on the block near the oil filter. Move up to the block and the first intake runner and it should be there. If it is broken, you will see a recessed area that is machined out and remenance of a broken bolt.

If you have CPO, look for an oil leak in the front section of your block. Have BMW deal with it. There was alot of work involved. The strut bar was removed, air cabin filter and all of the plastic components under it. Wipers and the plastic shrould under it, wire harness brackets taken off, coils, a few hoses. This was to make room lift the valve cover and to get access to screws holding the valve cover.

pjinca

Still love my Bimmer

porsche911targa

Hello beautiful folks. After years of trouble-free driving, it was recently discovered that one of my head bolts is broken. After talking to BMW NA, they agreed to go 50\50 with me for a total cost to me of $1000 since the car has 82k miles and has been out of warranty for a while.

Today I got an email that now that the car is apart, they can see that the broken bolt ended up in the oil pan and stated that to remove the oil pan it will take an additional 13 hrs. of labor at an additional $1700 cost. They offered to take care of 60% and my 40% will cost me $1450.

All in all I think it's a fair proposition, even though I strongly believe that BMW should own up to their design flaw and take care of the whole affair.

Anyway, my question to the knowledgeable owners is: how essential is it to remove the broken bolt from the oil pan? If they can see the bolt in the oil pan, shouldn't there be a way for them to remove it without removing the oil pan?

Now that I know, I will never touch another car that has magnesium anywhere in it. Thanks folks!