Engine is dead - BMW says I overreved it

[shoman22]

This post's for loyal BMW fans like myself. This past August, I purchased a 2016 M3 with 6MT. Two weeks later I was driving down the highway, my service light came on and the car came to a complete stop. I towed it to the nearest dealership. I had complained to the dealership that I felt something was off with the vehicle I’d only driven for 2 weeks and my gut feeling was right, the engine gave out and I was left without a car.

They took the car in the next day and a week later they call me saying the car needs a WHOLE NEW ENGINE and -the best part- BMW didn’t want to cover any of it. Apparently, the car was “over reved” so they wouldn’t cover it, despite being 2 weeks old with less than 5,000 miles. I had the car towed to the dealership I bought it from, assuming I’d get better customer service, but instead I wasn’t even given a loaner car. I was thrown in circles from the case manager to the dealership and at last, they have a solution! They want to give me $5,000 towards a $40,000 repair. My warranty is 50,000 miles or 4 years….neither that I had reached.

So here’s the dilemma: I had a brand new car for 2 weeks, that brand new car has been sitting at the dealership for 2 weeks (except now they want me to pick it up because it’s taking up space and they don’t want it there) not the dealer or the corporate office have a solution, and I’m still left without a car. I had read a similar case where the owner did get his car fixed so I’m reaching out to all of you to help me out and give me advice. What next steps should I take?

[gblansten]

Did you over rev the engine?

[sandwi54]

Did you over rev the engine and did the dealership show proof that you did?

[shoman22]

bmw is saying that i did but i did not. the i was driving home on the freeway in 5th gear when it happened to me just check engine light suddenly and the car came to complete no power mode

[Arcades]

If you have a MT and you did over-rev then...

Ask them to provide proof that you over-revved. If they do then you're screwed.

[gblansten]

Originally Posted by shoman22

bmw is saying that i did but i did not. the i was driving home on the freeway in 5th gear when it happened to me just check engine light suddenly and the car came to complete no power mode

Did someone else drive your car?

[shoman22]

no proof was shown all the are saying is that their "management team" that i never met and requested to know and hear from them said so. i even contacted NA and they said that they arent allowed to release that information

[gblansten]

Take it to an independent shop and get a second opinion. If the second opinion agrees with BMW you are screwed.

[Arcades]

Originally Posted by gblansten

Take it to an independent shop and get a second opinion. If the second opinion agrees with BMW you are screwed.

I don't think an independent shop will matter if they also have to go through BMW NA as well.

If OP is a MT (which he still hasn't said yet) then you never know. If he just red lined.

[BimmerBahn]

Ouch!

A couple things... it wasn't a brand new car, it had ~5000 miles on the clock. Who knows how it was treated by the first owner. Any idea if proper break-in was performed?? Was it an executive demo/mgr car?

I'd make them prove the over-rev'ing was done during your ownership. And either way, I find it hard to believe that even a ran hard ///M engine that followed the correct break-in procedure would grenade after ~5000 miles on the clock.

The $5000 credit toward the service is a slap in the face.... I'd politely tell them unless they can prove the damage was done during your ownership, you expect the repair to be covered by the 4 year/50,000 mile warranty.

I'd also call BMW NA directly and voice your displeasure....apply whatever pressure you can to get it resolved to your liking. You are your own best advocate.

Good luck!

Cheers,

[dzvero]

Any mods?

[gblansten]

Originally Posted by Arcades

I don't think an independent shop will matter if they also have to go through BMW NA as well.

If OP is a MT (which he still hasn't said yet) then you never know. If he just red lined.

I was thinking a second opinion would give some peace of mind over the direction to pursue.

[MadZarBMR]

Something seems off here. 2 weeks with less than 5k miles. Assuming you are over 4K that is a lot of miles for 2 weeks. Did you buy it new? Did/does it have a tune?

[shoman22]

i am the first owner i bought the car in august myself thats what i meant by less than 5k. i purchased it with 4 miles on it and yes performed the break in service at 1200..

also the shocking part is that NA themselves are who are treating me with so much disrespect no customer service at all it took the rep 1 week to call me back just to answer one question and when he called back he gave me the same answer which was for me to deal with the dealership not them!!.

i just feel like both ends are playing me and im stuck with it i bought it literally 1 month ago brand-new !!

[BimmerBahn]

Originally Posted by shoman22

i am the first owner i bought the car in august myself thats what i meant by less than 5k. i purchased it with 4 miles on it and yes performed the break in service at 1200..

also the shocking part is that NA themselves are who are treating me with so much disrespect no customer service at all it took the rep 1 week to call me back just to answer one question and when he called back he gave me the same answer which was for me to deal with the dealership not them!!.

i just feel like both ends are playing me and im stuck with it i bought it literally 1 month ago brand-new !!

You bought new w/ 4 miles on the clock, had the 1200 mile service done, had a catastrophic engine failure and the car now has ~5000 miles...all within 2 weeks of ownership??

something's off with this timeline.....

[dzvero]

He didnt say it was used car but its possible, 5000 miles for 2 weeks seems a lot

[shoman22]

i bought the car august 29th and it happened oct 20th i was commuting to work everyday 200 mies roundtrip :/ i know lots to put on an m3 but it really is

[kadify]

Ask for proof. If i remember correctly in a similar case, the dealership/BMWNA had an exact record of when the engine was over revved. If they can provide you with that, it's game over for you and you'll have to fix the car. If they can't provide that then I'd contemplate lawyering up because they're rejecting warranty repairs without valid reason.

[MadZarBMR]

Sorry - 20 days is really 3 weeks and your commute should still only get you to 1500 miles in three work weeks so I guess the other 1800 miles were joy riding. I think most of us here will agree that seems reasonable given our passion for these cars.

Anyway - Is it MT or DCT?

EDIT: I could have sworn your earlier post said your commute was 100/day. Now it's 200/day. This smells more and more...

[kadify]

Also is the car a manual or dual clutch? If it is a dual clutch then it is almost impossible that if the engine overrevved it was your fault. IF it is a manual than I suppose it would be possible but BMW still needs to provide undeniable proof before denying a warranty claim.

[TTG]

Dealer can easily pull out an over rev report from the ECU with exact time, duration and mileage on the car. In the Porsche world it is called the DME report.

Have them download the report and show it to you

If the ECU registered bunch of over revs for no reason you might be in trouble, however, if you were minding your own business and all of a sudden the engine blew up, I would expect them to cover it.

You might want to consult with a lawyer before shelling out $40K for a new engine.

To me something sounds odd.

[shoman22]

regardless of where and when the car shouldn't fail on me and thats not the point lol!. i drove it smooth and not stupid at least!. and im asking for advice not for you to evaluate my driving pace...

its a 6MT