[boyerizm]

So after 6 weeks of back and forth the dealer is finally going to replace the timing chain due to a recurring low oil pressure light they can't explain. The engine was not making a characteristic noise but I sent them a link to this post:

https://www.bimmerfest.com/threads/l...mptoms.967929/

While they are at it, is there anything else I should have them replace as preventative maintenance?

[chrisca70]

Update on my claim. Got a letter from Gelis today. They said the evidence I provided for oil changes does not meet their requirements. I did all my oil changes DIY. They allowed me one more chance to mail the evidence showing that I adhered to the condition based indicator within a variance of 1000 miles. There is a pre made doc at the settlement website to fill a statement declaring that the services were done, etc. Will send this declaration hoping they will not squirrel out of reimbursing me....

[natesi]

Originally Posted by chrisca70

Update on my claim. Got a letter from Gelis today. They said the evidence I provided for oil changes does not meet their requirements. I did all my oil changes DIY. They allowed me one more chance to mail the evidence showing that I adhered to the condition based indicator within a variance of 1000 miles. There is a pre made doc at the settlement website to fill a statement declaring that the services were done, etc. Will send this declaration hoping they will not squirrel out of reimbursing me....

What do they say you need to provide as evidence? I do my own maintenance as well.

[chrisca70]

Originally Posted by natesi

What do they say you need to provide as evidence? I do my own maintenance as well.

They did not specify, I had provided receipts of oil filters and oil as well dates and mileage for each oil service and they still sent me the letter saying this was not enough. However, by paying attention to their wording, I think they are mainly concerned on adherence to the maintenance interval based on the condition based indicator (CBI). Receipts for filters/oil really do not prove that the service was done or that you adhered to the intervals based on the CBI. So they suggest to submit a declaration (form available on the settlement website) stating why you cannot provide those records (i.e. a dealer/shop receipt) and that you did the maintenance and adhered to these intervals and provide dates and mileages. In my statement I essentially said that I did all the services at X mileages/dates and that I followed the condition based indicator. Man I hope I get my partial reimbursement. In any case this will be my last BMW.

[dave14x28]

Originally Posted by chrisca70

Update on my claim. Got a letter from Gelis today. They said the evidence I provided for oil changes does not meet their requirements. I did all my oil changes DIY. They allowed me one more chance to mail the evidence showing that I adhered to the condition based indicator within a variance of 1000 miles. There is a pre made doc at the settlement website to fill a statement declaring that the services were done, etc. Will send this declaration hoping they will not squirrel out of reimbursing me....

I just received the same letter this week. It was unclear to me what was missing from my documentation, but I came to the conclusion that it must be because the one oil change I had done by a 3rd party instead of by BMW doesn't say on the receipt, in effect, "this was a CBS-driven (and "CBS-compliant", whatever that may mean) oil change". So I think the declaration of adherence is just way to say "on my honor, all oil changes were performed when CBS said to."

But interestingly - there is ZERO info in all my BMW documentation I received with (and after) my CPO X1 purchase which provides a definition of the CBS OCI. The only mention is in one table where it mentions something that needs to be done after 4 oil changes, "after approximately 60,000 miles". There is also nothing about an allowable time or mileage allowable from the CBS OCI; only the lawsuit settlement quantifies it as "within 1000 miles" of the CBS OCI. Except that the CBS OCI itself is a moving target AFAIK. I've seen people report CBS OCI's well over 15,000 miles, and some way under.

[dave14x28]

Originally Posted by boyerizm

So after 6 weeks of back and forth the dealer is finally going to replace the timing chain due to a recurring low oil pressure light they can't explain. The engine was not making a characteristic noise but I sent them a link to this post:

https://www.bimmerfest.com/threads/l...mptoms.967929/

While they are at it, is there anything else I should have them replace as preventative maintenance?

hey boyerizm - any update on your repair? I remember seeing another post from someone somewhere about an N20 motor with unexplainable intermittent low oil pressure; upon disassembly it was discovered that (**gasp of surprise**) bits of broken plastic timing chain guide were partially blocking the pump pickup screen.

[dave14x28]

ummm.... so embarrassed - just checked the link in your post - that's the one I was remembering!

[boyerizm]

Originally Posted by dave14x28

ummm.... so embarrassed - just checked the link in your post - that's the one I was remembering!

Hey yeah so they replaced the timing chain, guides, oil drive chain, tensioner and some other stuff I can't remember. So far, so good. Glad to finally put this behind me.

[BigSticMan]

On 23 Nov at approx 8:30 pm I was on I35N heading home in my 2012 BMW 328i. Out of nowhere I get a low oil pressure light, followed immediately by the Drivetrain malfunction light. I pulled over to the side of the road immediately for safety. I stopped the engine and sat for a couple of minutes to see if the error may have cleared, which it did not. I attempted to restart the engine and it would not start again. I had the vehicle towed to BMW. Upon speaking to BMW today, I was told that the cause of failure was a timing chain malfunction/break which renders the engine inoperative. The cost of a replacement is approx 15k-17k I was told. At no time did I get any indication or warning that something was wrong with the car. The car had been running fine until this incident, now I'm without a car and have to make a tough decision because of it. I've owned this car since it was brand new and never had an issue with it until now.

[adhrp]

Originally Posted by BigSticMan

On 23 Nov at approx 8:30 pm I was on I35N heading home in my 2012 BMW 328i. Out of nowhere I get a low oil pressure light, followed immediately by the Drivetrain malfunction light. I pulled over to the side of the road immediately for safety. I stopped the engine and sat for a couple of minutes to see if the error may have cleared, which it did not. I attempted to restart the engine and it would not start again. I had the vehicle towed to BMW. Upon speaking to BMW today, I was told that the cause of failure was a timing chain malfunction/break which renders the engine inoperative. The cost of a replacement is approx 15k-17k I was told. At no time did I get any indication or warning that something was wrong with the car. The car had been running fine until this incident, now I'm without a car and have to make a tough decision because of it. I've owned this car since it was brand new and never had an issue with it until now.

Sorry to hear! How many miles on your car?

[Spyder3]

@BigSticMan that is really awful news. Having a 2013 328i myself, with no issues at 65K miles, this really makes me think whether I should pre-emptively replace the timing chain and guides, or just sell the dang thing.

Anyway, thanks for sharing, you have our condolences.

[bavarianride]

Originally Posted by BigSticMan

On 23 Nov at approx 8:30 pm I was on I35N heading home in my 2012 BMW 328i. Out of nowhere I get a low oil pressure light, followed immediately by the Drivetrain malfunction light. I pulled over to the side of the road immediately for safety. I stopped the engine and sat for a couple of minutes to see if the error may have cleared, which it did not. I attempted to restart the engine and it would not start again. I had the vehicle towed to BMW. Upon speaking to BMW today, I was told that the cause of failure was a timing chain malfunction/break which renders the engine inoperative. The cost of a replacement is approx 15k-17k I was told. At no time did I get any indication or warning that something was wrong with the car. The car had been running fine until this incident, now I'm without a car and have to make a tough decision because of it. I've owned this car since it was brand new and never had an issue with it until now.

Yikes sorry to hear about the ordeal, how many miles do u have on your 328i? Your engine may still be fully/partially covered by BMWNA per N20/N26 timing chain settlement terms provided the mileage is still below 100k miles at time of diagnosed timing chain issue.

[bavarianride]

Originally Posted by Spyder3

@BigSticMan that is really awful news. Having a 2013 328i myself, with no issues at 65K miles, this really makes me think whether I should pre-emptively replace the timing chain and guides, or just sell the dang thing.

Anyway, thanks for sharing, you have our condolences.

I did sell my 2013 N26@80k miles in Q2 of this year and got 42% of OTD paid for the car brand new in 2012. Given the resale prices are strong, it may not be a bad route to just sell for peace of mind.

[TravelingLight]

Does anyone have the chart with the sliding scale of reimbursement amounts for those over 70K miles? I'm fighting with BMW right now after I had to pay $5500 for this issue on my 2013 328i with 90K miles. They're saying it was capped at 7 yrs/70K but I know it covers more than that, at a reduced percentage, but now I can't find the SIB with the percentages on it. I'd like to find it to have in front of me when I call them back.

This is after the dealership said it wasn't covered because the chain stretching is what's covered, not the guides being broken (which is what happened on mine). I was like yeah, the guides broke because the chain stretched and slapped the hell out of the crappy plastic guides until they broke!

Thanks for any assistance. Been chasing this a few months and literally joined this forum for this issue after finding this thread.

[F30lolz]

Originally Posted by BigSticMan

On 23 Nov at approx 8:30 pm I was on I35N heading home in my 2012 BMW 328i. Out of nowhere I get a low oil pressure light, followed immediately by the Drivetrain malfunction light. I pulled over to the side of the road immediately for safety. I stopped the engine and sat for a couple of minutes to see if the error may have cleared, which it did not. I attempted to restart the engine and it would not start again. I had the vehicle towed to BMW. Upon speaking to BMW today, I was told that the cause of failure was a timing chain malfunction/break which renders the engine inoperative. The cost of a replacement is approx 15k-17k I was told. At no time did I get any indication or warning that something was wrong with the car. The car had been running fine until this incident, now I'm without a car and have to make a tough decision because of it. I've owned this car since it was brand new and never had an issue with it until now.

Sorry to hear this news. Is it at the same dealer you purchased the car new? Ask for a goodwill repair and once they’ll shoot that down, ask for assistance. If that fails and if you still want to keep the car, have it towed to an indy shop which would be at most $7-$9k depending on your location. Lettuce know and GL.

[bavarianride]

Originally Posted by TravelingLight

Does anyone have the chart with the sliding scale of reimbursement amounts for those over 70K miles? I'm fighting with BMW right now after I had to pay $5500 for this issue on my 2013 328i with 90K miles. They're saying it was capped at 7 yrs/70K but I know it covers more than that, at a reduced percentage, but now I can't find the SIB with the percentages on it. I'd like to find it to have in front of me when I call them back.

This is after the dealership said it wasn't covered because the chain stretching is what's covered, not the guides being broken (which is what happened on mine). I was like yeah, the guides broke because the chain stretched and slapped the hell out of the crappy plastic guides until they broke!

Thanks for any assistance. Been chasing this a few months and literally joined this forum for this issue after finding this thread.

The chart is on post#742 of this thread.

Broken guides are covered by the N20/N26 TC settlement.

When was your failure diagnosed, and at what mileage?

The Effective/Settlement Date of the settlement should be late June, 2021.

If failure is diagnosed past 7 yrs/70k miles(N20/N26 TC ELW coverage), then it needs to be prior to 8 yrs/100k miles pre Settlement Date, or prior to 100k miles post Settlement Date(and within 1 yr of that date), in order to be covered by the settlement.

[dave14x28]

Originally Posted by TravelingLight

This is after the dealership said it wasn't covered because the chain stretching is what's covered, not the guides being broken (which is what happened on mine). I was like yeah, the guides broke because the chain stretched and slapped the hell out of the crappy plastic guides until they broke!

That's such BS the dealer is giving you.

If you haven't seen it already, wind back to post #1088 - photo evidence (mine, and someone else's) of how a loose chain begins to break the guide(s).

Guess you're gonna have to fight. Call BMWNA if your dealer isn't helping. Many many posts reveal that different dealers respond differently. It may have to do with any given dealership's profitability (moving product versus warranty & goodwill).

Best of luck, keep us posted!

[gameson]

Originally Posted by Billfitz

The tool would be stiffer because its intent is to measure the maximum chain deflection. Putting that same pressure on the chain constantly while the engine's running would likely be as bad as not enough pressure. But I don't see BMW making the new tensioner stiffer than the old if it wasn't an improvement. Since the new tensioner is backwards compatible with the old, and with the old chain, I'd be inclined to make that change.

is it hard to change the tensioner? my car is 2015, so i assume it has the latest timing chain change, but i assume the tensioner is the same?

thanks.

[dave14x28]

Originally Posted by BigSticMan

On 23 Nov at approx 8:30 pm I was on I35N heading home in my 2012 BMW 328i. Out of nowhere I get a low oil pressure light, followed immediately by the Drivetrain malfunction light. I pulled over to the side of the road immediately for safety. I stopped the engine and sat for a couple of minutes to see if the error may have cleared, which it did not. I attempted to restart the engine and it would not start again. I had the vehicle towed to BMW. Upon speaking to BMW today, I was told that the cause of failure was a timing chain malfunction/break which renders the engine inoperative. The cost of a replacement is approx 15k-17k I was told. At no time did I get any indication or warning that something was wrong with the car. The car had been running fine until this incident, now I'm without a car and have to make a tough decision because of it. I've owned this car since it was brand new and never had an issue with it until now.

@ BigSticMan -

Had you been officially notified (or otherwise aware of) the class action lawsuit again BMW for the N20/N26 engine timing chain failures?

Sounds like your 2012 could be in the "affected class", but maybe yours is prior to some production date cutoff...

Anyway, tons of resource material on this post (and elsewhere) should you choose to push for warranty coverage or some assistance with the repair cost.

Keep us posted if you don't mind.

[sspade]

Originally Posted by gameson

is it hard to change the tensioner? my car is 2015, so i assume it has the latest timing chain change, but i assume the tensioner is the same?

thanks.

Wastegate actuator is in the way… in theory, no it shouldn't difficult to install as long as you can access bolts holding actuator so that you can "flip it out of the way" (it does not need to be disconnected completely).

[dave14x28]

Originally Posted by gameson

is it hard to change the tensioner? my car is 2015, so i assume it has the latest timing chain change, but i assume the tensioner is the same?

thanks.

DIY tensioner change writeup by XBU @ Bimmerfest, based on a 8/2014 X4 (F26), here:

https://www.bimmerfest.com/threads/n...1012721/page-9

Doesn't look too complicated, but you have to be *a little* handy. And not alter the wastegate solenoid positioning in the process.

If you're going to do it, you can also buy the chain checking tool 2 411 399 from BMW and follow procedure 11 31 540 which will show you how close the tensioner is to being "at the end of its rope" for max allowable extension.

I have one, and plan to check in the spring when inspection comes around (which will be about 1 year since I had the timing chain service done).

[dave14x28]

and by the way that writeup will show you that you can tell by the tensioner head (which is visible) if you have the updated one or not. Big round of applause for BMW on that... or not.