[whoismorggan]

I'm at 93,000 miles now and have been doing some reading about the timing chain issue.

Anyone else have any experience with it?

[sspade]

Originally Posted by rolltidealumni

I'm at 93,000 miles now and have been doing some reading about the timing chain issue.

Anyone else have any experience with it?

What year is your engine?

[whoismorggan]

Originally Posted by sspade

What year is your engine?

2013

[sspade]

Edit. I see it now on build thread.

2013

You shouldn't necessarily be worried per se but I would definitely change your oil/filter every 5k religiously.

You do have the old part numbers involved in the extended warranty (like a lot of us).

Also do not use start/stop function. But you already knew that!

[sspade]

Im at 64k and counting on my 2014.

Will be approaching your mileage in a years time which makes sense for our vehicle age.

Just pay attention to high pitched whining and read codes regularly.

[whoismorggan]

Originally Posted by sspade

Edit. I see it now on build thread.

2013

You shouldn't necessarily be worried per se but I would definitely change your oil/filter every 5k religiously.

You do have the old part numbers involved in the extended warranty (like a lot of us).

Also do not use start/stop function. But you already knew that!

I see! Yea, every time I start the car I disable the start/stop function. Isn't it possible to upgrade the guides to the new version?

[bavarianride]

Originally Posted by rolltidealumni

I see! Yea, every time I start the car I disable the start/stop function. Isn't it possible to upgrade the guides to the new version?

Specifically, there is no new part# change for the plastic guides. There is new part# for oil pump chain after ELW cutoff date of 2/2015, but BMWNA/BMWAG does not disclose if that is the culprit.

The TC + guides + OC + oil pump is around $2k at local indies.

Do listen for high pitch whine and visually inspect TC links for excessive rubbing. My take is that with 6k-8k oil change with BMW LL01FE 0w30 from the beginning it is unlikely your TC will have issues.

[sspade]

Originally Posted by rolltidealumni

I see! Yea, every time I start the car I disable the start/stop function. Isn't it possible to upgrade the guides to the new version?

You could also code off permanently with BimmerCode. Just an FYI.

[Marlinman]

Is there a specific time when the whine occurs? I.e. during stop only or running or anytime?

[IraHayes]

Originally Posted by Marlinman

Is there a specific time when the whine occurs? I.e. during stop only or running or anytime?

No specific time per se. Many of the cars that exhibited problems harken back to when BMW was recommending 15k OCI. The TSB BMW released (in 2017 I believe?) states cars with build dates of 3/2013 and earlier are the ones affected. That doesn’t mean that newer cars can’t exhibit the issue, but it makes me wonder if that is around the time where they went back to the 10k OCI. Regardless, I’m with spade. Change your oil more frequently as the longer OCI is believed to have been a contributor to the problem. I say “believed,” because nobody really seems to know for sure. BMW has never really released any type of official statement regarding the issue, so it is all speculation. I change my oil every 6k myself.

I recently also emailed BMW AG asking about this. So far, no reply and I don’t expect I will get one either.

[whoismorggan]

Originally Posted by IraHayes

No specific time per se. Many of the cars that exhibited problems harken back to when BMW was recommending 15k OCI. The TSB BMW released (in 2017 I believe?) states cars with build dates of 3/2013 and earlier are the ones affected. That doesn’t mean that newer cars can’t exhibit the issue, but It makes me wonder if that is around the time where they went back to the 10k OCI. Regardless, I’m with spade. Change your oil more frequently as the longer OCI is believed to have been a contributor to the problem. I say “believed,” because nobody really seems to know for sure. BMW has never really released any type of official statement regarding the issue, so it is all speculation. I change my oil every 6k myself.

I recently also emailed BMW AG asking about this. So far, no reply and I don’t expect I will get one either.

Damn, my prod date is 2013-03-22.

[jh_f30]

Originally Posted by sspade

You could also code off permanently with BimmerCode. Just an FYI.

This.

Code it to have auto start/stop off as default.

So is this only an N26 thing?

[Billfitz]

Originally Posted by IraHayes

BMW has never really released any type of official statement regarding the issue, so it is all speculation.

+1. No one really knows what causes it to happen. It's not like there's a dash cam inside the engine recording the series of events that results in the failure. All that's known for sure is that enough of them break to result in the issuance of the extended warranty, not enough of them break to result in a recall.

[bavarianride]

Originally Posted by IraHayes

No specific time per se. Many of the cars that exhibited problems harken back to when BMW was recommending 15k OCI. The TSB BMW released (in 2017 I believe?) states cars with build dates of 3/2013 and earlier are the ones affected. That doesn’t mean that newer cars can’t exhibit the issue, but It makes me wonder if that is around the time where they went back to the 10k OCI. Regardless, I’m with spade. Change your oil more frequently as the longer OCI is believed to have been a contributor to the problem. I say “believed,” because nobody really seems to know for sure. BMW has never really released any type of official statement regarding the issue, so it is all speculation. I change my oil every 6k myself.

I recently also emailed BMW AG asking about this. So far, no reply and I don’t expect I will get one either.

FYI, the cutoff dates of ELW are 2/2015, so production dates of 3/2015 and beyond are not covered/affected.

Since there is no new part# for TC, it is fair to assume oil is a part of the issue and solution. One rumor is that 3/2015 was when BMWAG started to factory fill N20/N26 with LL01FE 0w30(and later also LL14FE 0w20), but there is no official clarification from BMWNA/BMWAG.

[Billfitz]

Originally Posted by bavarianride

Since there is no new part# for TC

The chain used since 01/01/15 is different. There are pictures of the old and new versions in one of the timing chain threads. It's also suspected that the chain tensioner might have something to do with it. A new version of that went into use 8/15/16

[IraHayes]

Originally Posted by bavarianride

One rumor is that 3/2015 was when BMWAG started to factory fill N20/N26 with LL01FE 0w30(and later also LL14FE 0w20), but there is no official clarification from BMWNA/BMWAG.

That's interesting, I need to look that up. My understanding was that they stayed with a 5w30, but switched from using Castrol to Pennzoil as their OEM supplier/factory fill.

[IraHayes]

Originally Posted by Billfitz

The chain used since 01/01/15 is different. There are pictures of the old and new versions in one of the timing chain threads. It's also suspected that the chain tensioner might have something to do with it. A new version of that went into use 8/15/16

Do you have a link for that thread Bill? I've looked, but only been able to find one for the new vs old oil pump chain.

[Billfitz]

Originally Posted by IraHayes

My understanding was that they stayed with a 5w30, but switched from using Castrol to Pennzoil as their OEM supplier/factory fill.

The latest oil, LL-14 FE, is 0w-20. They didn't go to that for better protection, they went to it for better gas mileage. I think the current supplier is Pennzoil, but they change that all the time, based not on who makes the best oil but who sells it to BMW at the best price. I don't know where the timing chain pictures are, but it was in an old thread.

[bavarianride]

Originally Posted by Billfitz

The chain used since 01/01/15 is different. There are pictures of the old and new versions in one of the timing chain threads. It's also suspected that the chain tensioner might have something to do with it. A new version of that went into use 8/15/16

The timing chain and plastic guides do not have new part#.

There were online posts that showed the structure of the new oil chain, but the timing chain is still the same old design part# 11318648732.

This part diagram shows a new chain tensioner starting 10/2016.

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/show...diagId=11_4773

And this one shows a new oil chain starting 5/2015 and 2/2016(two revisions).

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/show...diagId=11_4778

[sspade]

Soo...

Can we summarize exactly who is most likely to experience a failure, build date wise?

[Billfitz]

Timing chain 11317584084 is listed used from 09/01/2010 — 02/06/2015, with 11318648732 used from 01/01/2015. It's confusing when you look at the applications for 8732, as it shows it for various models going back to 2005, anything with an N20/26. As best as I can tell that just means those are the engines that you'd use it in now, not necessarily what those engines came with. It gets more confusing when you look at the applications for what it superseded, 4084, and what 4084 superseded, 6074. I think the applications chart is AFU, that 8732 wasn't used until 01/01/2015. I guess you'd have to find a BMW parts catalog from 2014 or earlier to be sure. Another option would be to see if anyone with a car built mid 2015 or later is on the extended warranty list.

[bavarianride]

Originally Posted by Billfitz

Timing chain 11317584084 is listed used from 09/01/2010 — 02/06/2015, with 11318648732 used from 01/01/2015. It's confusing when you look at the applications for 8732, as it shows it for various models going back to 2005, anything with an N20/26. As best as I can tell that just means those are the engines that you'd use it in now, not necessarily what those engines came with. It gets more confusing when you look at the applications for what it superseded, 4084, and what 4084 superseded, 6074. I think the applications chart is AFU, that 8732 wasn't used until 01/01/2015. I guess you'd have to find a BMW parts catalog from 2014 or earlier to be sure. Another option would be to see if anyone with a car built mid 2015 or later is on the extended warranty list.

One thing to note is that, 4084 is only listed for one model(M235) per realoem, and it showed ending date of 1/2015. But my guess is that 4084 was used for N20/N26 till 2/2015, it is just that realoem does not correctly list 4084 as "ENDED" for all models(except for M235).

So 8732 was introduced since 1/2015, and it would be a new part# that lines up ELW cutoff dates of 2/2015.

Is there is picture that compares 4084 and 8732 side by side?