[F30lolz]

So a few days before Christmas I was driving down Collins Ave in North Miami Beach at night, raining cats and dogs with limited visibility. Came to a stop as several cars were stopped in the middle of the street only to find out I stopped in a middle of a flood. Car stalled, tried to re-start and quickly died. Stuck for about 5-6 hours in the car but thankfully the water level never reached the lower part of the doors. Had the car towed to a indy shop while they and the insurance adjuster determined that the engine would need to be replaced.

Total will be $7.6k parts/labor for:

Used engine - 2015 x1 2.8i (1 year warranty, currently engine has 89k)
Turbo w/seals
Coolant
Oil/oil filter
Brake fluid
Spark plugs
Air filter
A/C evacuate/recharge

Mad at myself for what happened but that’s what comprehensive insurance is for. I’m going to assume the worst that this N20 was built before 03/2015 so again I’ll have to worry about TC/guides. Again, engine has a 1 year warranty and I still have a Maxcare warranty as well. When both expire I plan on purchasing a drivetrain warranty or may just purchase the $550 TC/guides kit from FCP and have an indy install eventually.

Should get the car back within 2 weeks as the engine has to be ordered. Haven’t been driving that much, since 1994 but never expected to be stuck in a flood. Anyone experienced anything like this before? Can’t wait to get the car back but the 335i is getting extended use as I’ve turned down a rental.

[frazervalley]

Sorry to hear the bad news. Hope the replacement engine process is quick for you.

[435MSport6Speed]

Sorry to hear. Good luck with repair.

[bimmer456]

$7k engine replacements parts and labor seems pretty reasonable and it's covered by insurance. Surprised they didn't total it.

[F30lolz]

Originally Posted by bimmer456

$7k engine replacements parts and labor seems pretty reasonable and it's covered by insurance. Surprised they didn't total it.

Adjuster told me off the bat that he didn’t do an appraisal on the car (ACV) as he said it wasn’t necessary. FL law states that if the repairs exceed 80% of the ACV, the car would be totaled. Currently the car has 77k miles and the ACV could be near $20k. $16k or more for repairs could have deemed the car a total loss. Someone please correct me if I’m wrong but in a way glad it wasn’t totaled as I lost a 320i almost 3 months ago and would hate to go through another similar process again.

[NormanConquest]

Glad they can save your car, had to go thru a similar experience with my wife nissan a few years ago and it was just a headache to have it replace.

[vgore]

Sorry to hear that but I have a question. Why did you not go to BMW dealer especially when you had Maxcare warranty or insurance coverage?

[F30lolz]

Originally Posted by vgore

Sorry to hear that but I have a question. Why did you not go to BMW dealer especially when you had Maxcare warranty or insurance coverage?

Maxcare coverage won’t cover for water damage as I was doing all my research while in the car waiting for the tow. Also, dealer would recommend a remanufactured engine which I’ve heard can be near $20k which would have totaled the car. I was reading other threads about BMW selling N20’s for $3-4K but didn’t want to gamble. Again, didn’t want the car to be totaled.

[vgore]

Originally Posted by F30lolz

Maxcare coverage won’t cover for water damage as I was doing all my research while in the car waiting for the tow. Also, dealer would recommend a remanufactured engine which I’ve heard can be near $20k which would have totaled the car. I was reading other threads about BMW selling N20’s for $3-4K but didn’t want to gamble. Again, didn’t want the car to be totaled.

Got it. Props to you for trying to save the car. I hope it all works out for you. Good luck.

[Desertnate]

How did the engine ingest the water? If the water wasn't up to the bottom of the doors and the intake is in the upper corner of the kidney grills, I would have thought there would be enough height to keep water out of the engine.

Did you come up on the water unexpectedly and get a huge bow wave that went over the hood of the car?

[jackstrath]

Are they a low intake ? i thought the intake was up near the headlight? If the water level didnt come up to the doors thats surly still lower than where the turbo sits? Cant believe its sucked up water tbh unless you went charging into it at the stop sign?

[F30lolz]

Originally Posted by Desertnate

How did the engine ingest the water? If the water wasn't up to the bottom of the doors and the intake is in the upper corner of the kidney grills, I would have thought there would be enough height to keep water out of the engine.

Did you come up on the water unexpectedly and get a huge bow wave that went over the hood of the car?

Originally Posted by jackstrath

Are they a low intake ? i thought the intake was up near the headlight? If the water level didnt come up to the doors thats surly still lower than where the turbo sits? Cant believe its sucked up water tbh unless you went charging into it at the stop sign?

About 10 minutes before the engine gave up the ghost I went through a huge puddle that splashed water all over the hood and windshield. Car kept on going with no signs of stalling or anything. When I was forced to stop due to other cars blocking the road the water didn’t seem that high compared to the previous puddle. Car stalled and after trying to start the car again it would quickly die. Transmission wouldn’t go into neutral as I was thinking of ways of pushing it out but plenty of cars had to be towed. Saw a newer 5 series that also got hydrolocked maybe 30 feet from me. Even after I was stuck it kept raining like crazy but kept opening my door hoping the water level never reached the doors. Eventually the rain stopped. Pics of exactly where I stopped.

[amancuso]

Sorry man. Hope it all turns out well.

[bimmer456]

This guy with a YouTube channel called autovlog had his c63s AMG get hydrolocked in a similar situation. The car sold at auction with salvage title and he got a one model year newer car through insurance. The engine needed a new connecting rod and was good as new though Mercedes had quoted $70k for a new engine.

[smass]

See if you can get the vin of the car the donor engine is coming out of. You can then determine build date. Or run carfax to see about oil changes. Carfax is always incomplete but better than nothing.

[F30lolz]

Originally Posted by smassey321

See if you can get the vin of the car the donor engine is coming out of. You can then determine build date. Or run carfax to see about oil changes. Carfax is always incomplete but better than nothing.

Not sure if the engine block itself has the VIN stamped on it? Can anyone confirm this? Either way I’ll text the adjuster Thursday to see if he can provide the VIN number and do my homework. I’ll assume this n20 got 15k mile oil changes so I’ll probably do 5k mile oil changes if CarFax confirms this. Also I just googled and the e84 (x1) ceased production 06/2015 so the chances of this N20 being built after 03/2015 are slim. Funny how last month I had a dealer replace the chains/guides all under warranty, plus I had no symptoms. All junk now

BMW does offer a two year/unlimited mileage warranty on service work IIRC so if my chain (assuming the used N20 is prior 03/2015 built) started to whine within that period I could bring it back and say hey, wtf is going on? But that would be fraud on my part, no bueno. Thus the reason why I’ll purchase another warranty after Maxcare runs out and I’ll buy the kit on FCP.

[F30lolz]

Minor update. Was informed that I need another turbo so it has pushed the total to around $7.6k.

Will update the first post.

[Fliplegend]

Any chance the shop could upgrade the chain prior to the install? Would be a thousand times easier.

[F30lolz]

Originally Posted by Fliplegend

Any chance the shop could upgrade the chain prior to the install? Would be a thousand times easier.

I’m going to swing by the shop Monday and check the status of the car. Just text the adjuster regarding the VIN # (TBH totally forgot haha) and I’ll go from there.

[F30lolz]

Oil filter

[F30lolz]

So I got an update from the shop and this is what they said:

We requested a supplement for the evap system that had excessive water in the system, and the oil pan which is damaged, those items are to be replaced once approved. The coolant we use is OEM.

Not really happy that the used engine that was sourced by my insurance had a damaged oil pan. I mean, yeah things can happen upon shipping but at least I’ll have a new oil pan/gasket. Hope to get it back next week.

[Chihuahua]

Originally Posted by F30lolz

Not really happy that the used engine that was sourced by my insurance had a damaged oil pan.

Likely happened when the engine was being placed on a pallet for transport to the dealer. It's not unheard of, LKQ engines are not packaged and shipped with the same level of care as a new one from BMW.