[Gemazarus]

Hi all. This is my first post here, as I'm had no issues with my beloved F30 for the time I've had it!

Something bad happened, and I've searched the web for ideas and there is nothing that seems to fit.

Here is what I know:-

My wife and I took a trip (around 130 miles) yesterday and on the way home, out of nowhere we had a Drivetrain warning come up, with the advice to continue the journey slowly. This happened several times over the course of a minute or so. I turned the car off at a roundabout and started it again. Upon pulling off, the car shook violently and thick white smoke came out of the exhaust to the point it took all visibility away in the whole area. While this was happening, the car revved by itself all the way to the max before cutting out. As I was in a busy junction I tried to move the car, and it started sputtering and lurching, and then again, it revved all the way to max again and cut out. At this point, I coasted it in neutral and off and parked it up. The white smoke was billowing everywhere but subsided when the vehicle was turned off.

This was yesterday, and I returned to tow the vehicle home. To get power steering and breaks, I started the engine and left it in neutral. Shortly after I got a warning about my oil pressure. The car has not been "driven" since the warning, although it has been switched on for a second at a time occasionally during the journey to "reset" the break fluid.

When I got home, it would appear according to the dipstick that there is no oil in the engine, although there doesn't seem to be a leak and the car never gave a warning about low oil prior and I've never had issues with the car burning oil.

Has anybody experienced this issue? What do we think? On a scale of 1-10 how knackered am I?

Many grateful thanks for anybody who answers. Hope you are all having a better weekend then I am.

Karl.

[cfm56d7b]

While remote diagnostics are not a substitute for a thorough inspection, these details will help start the conversation:

- Are you the original owner
- Model
- Mileage
- Maintenance history
- Do you have a code scanner? If yes - reading all stored codes would be the first step. Your local shop will do the same

[Gemazarus]

Thanks for the response, and I agree, I'm not looking for a thorough inspection. You guys can't do that. Was only wondering if anybody had similar issues. But nether the less.

Here are the answers to your questions.

- I am not the original owner. Car has had 1 owner before me.
- BMW 320D, with N47 engine.
- 141k
- Regular yearly services at MOT time, including oil changes etc.
- No code scanner, but I do know I have an issue with the MAF sensor, and a friend used his and it brought code P115C.

Thanks for the response.

[Enabled]

What month and year of production?

Any modifications done to the car?



I would guess that the turbo seals are leaking oil heavily into the exhaust or possibly suctioned into the intake.
It may be a simple issue or not so much. I would begin by taking the intake pipes off and checking the turbo for play and the intercooler for oil accumulation.

[Gemazarus]

Thanks for that.

Car was registered Jan of 2012. Its a 12 plate. No modifications of any kind.

That interesting about the Turbo though. Sounds like the symptoms I experienced at the time.

Many thanks.

Karl.

[Watsey]

This sounds like a runaway event, where the engine is consuming (as fuel) engine oil.

It’s not necessarily a problem if an engine revs to the redline, but a runaway event can mean that the engine rpms can exceed the limiter because it’s not in a normal fuelling situation (controlled by the ECU).

Engine damage is therefore a distinct possibility.

Just as serious, if not more so, is the lack of oil. Just because there’s no oil on the dipstick it doesn’t necessarily mean that all the oil has been consumed, however, insufficient oil and/or oil pressure could lead to serious engine damage.

Apart from needing to find the root cause of the runaway event I’d also want a technician to drain the engine oil, remove the oil filter and dump, and provide a detailed report of their findings.

[Eddamoo]

Yeah it sounds like your Turbo blew and fired a load of oil into the engines intake causing a runaway.

How long was it revving during the runaway. If it was just a few seconds you should be ok with a turbo change. If it was longer, you may want to get the rod bearings inspected.

[Gemazarus]

Runaway lasted only until it hit the max revs. Then each time it cut out itself thank god.

I'll have a look at the turbo replaced it as needed, and expect the worst. At this point I'm just thankful nobody was hurt. Things could have been a hell of a lot worse.

Thanks so much to you all. It's the not knowing what the cause was that was bothering me, and these are some solid ideas that make sense.

I'll have the oil drained, filter changed and oil replaced, and the turbo checked out.

You guys are legends.