Oil Everywhere

[AW8]

[quote=""CondorX5thing (I think). ""]I might phone BMW Emergency tomorrow instead and arrange for collection of the car on Wednesday morning, what do you all think?[/quote]

I would arrange collection for tommorow & then follow up with a call to dealer first doors Weds to confirm you're near top of the pile. Depends how quick you want it sorted.

Glad links of use & pleased to hear non dire findings on back of you prior visually checking what I would.

[x555]

+1 sorry to hear this condor and hope it all gets sorted under that super dooper oem warranty
I would phone asap even if you only get an answer machine as you then have a record of getting in touch with them....where as the later you leave it the longer they will be able to put you off
I have to say mind that when i had the bmw warranty on my other x they were very good/efficient............it was just my local stealership that was a bag of shi@e
Personaly i think that you have broken the beasts (king of the roads)heart by putting on them ugly skinny wheels and that there oil is either engine blood or simply machine tears .........just teasing hope you get it sorted pronto and let us know how the warranty performs.

[CondorX5]

Update: BMW Emergency are sending a "specialist technician" out this afternoon around 4pm to see if he can sort it out where its parked up at home. If he can't, it will be recovered to dealer tomorrow morning and redelivered back to me when repaired I suppose its a lot better than not having the BMW warranty and having to rely on the RAC/AA......... but I'm still devastated. I'm very fortunate to have the Audi S8 in reserve - I had to sell either the S8 or the old Rangie, decided to keep the S8, it started first time and is purring away, even if its door sensors are up the creek and think that 3 of the 4 doors are open when they aren't. Not quite the same desperation as chucking all its oil out.

x555 - I'm with you on the horrible wheel look, maybe it was just too much for such a good looking beast to bear!! They work jolly well mind you!! Roll on April.....back to the big beautiful 20s........

[ITBarbie]

Hi Condor

Here's hoping it's an easy fix ! Good luck


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[X5Sport]

Any news, or is your baby to go see the BMW Dr. Tomorrow? I lose mine to the BMW Bodyshop to have a new rear end fitted. I think the smashed innards of the fog light mean a new bumper not just a fill, paint & polish

[CondorX5]

Update again: Technician arrived at 3pm, an hour earlier than predicted, so good on Mondial /BMW Emergency, they certainly beat AA/RAC handsdown, no contest, really. That's reassuring and I'm glad that's part of the AUC warranty. Took a while to isolate the leak as it only happens under pressure when the engine is running - it is from the side seam of the oil separator unit itself - the seam has expanded and burst away from the fins, but only leaks under pressure. No grunge in oil or under the oil cap / header tank /on dipstick and oddly enough, I never do short journeys in the X, usually never under 50 miles except once in a while, generally over 70-100 miles per journey. So who knows. Very lucky I expect, not to have blown the valve cover gasket or ended up with a hydrolock and potential engine rebuild.......

So the technician tried to bodge the seam up with metal weld putty to avoid having to get a low loader out to recover the car, but I knew it would never work - sure enough, it just blew through the repair as the putty stuff needs an absolute age in this weather to dry properly. He told me that BMW Emergency would call within the next 30 minutes to schedule the recovery company collecting the car early AM tomorrow, and BMW would have a hire car dropped off by Avis for 2 days - if the dealer is not able to repair within 2 days, they get to provide their own loaner or take over the payment of the Avis hire car - the technician advised having the hire car delivered even if I don't need it as it puts some pressure on the dealer to prioritise the repair or get to pay for or provide, a loaner.
The oil separator will have to be replaced which is easy enough, provided there is one somewhere in the UK. If it has to come from Germany, well, the weather has caused all manner of airport delays there, so will take longer, and if there is a delay in getting the part, then BMW get to pay for the loaner rather than the dealer. Had a call within 15 minutes of the tech leaving, and he also confirmed that the dealer would be advised by email (I'll phone tomorrow anyway!)tonight, of the necessary repairs. Had further call arranging collection for 830am tomorrow morning and Avis arranged drop off of a loaner - no cost, but credit card needed and fuel to be replaced or would be charged. Car will be redelivered to me when repaired and loaner collected.

Pretty good service really, from the Emergency team, glad I called today and its all sorted for tomorrow. Now to see what the local dealer is like......Stratstone Derby.........

Will keep you updated. Watch this space!

[pvr]

Good response so far

[Rusty]

Sounds like good service to me.
Hope all gets fixed sooner rather than later. Is the loaner similar to the X or the usual Renault Clio ?
I know my neibour was given a 3 door Seat Ibiza turbo instead of his Renault High top works van, not so good for his ladders etc, but damn quick...

[535dboy]

So what is the update?

[CondorX5]

Hi everyone, sorry about the late update......BMW Emergency were excellent - they had arranged recovery for 830am this AM, arrived just after 8am very slick and efficient - local recovery firm used were excellent. I set off to work in my S8 feeling rather bereft, and before I even arrived, the BMW dealer was on the phone confirming the car had arrived and confirming some details with me. By lunchtime I had a call to say the oil separator was available from BMW UK and would be in Derby tomorrow, and the X will be home with me on Friday........
The BMW Emergency team had also arranged a 48 hour loaner (free except for fuel used) via Avis, which arrived at home this evening dropped off by Avis - not quite an X, but a brand new 60-reg automatic Vauxhall Insignia Elite, which is ok. If only I'd arranged to wait in for it this morning........

That's about all that was good today..... ........ after a fantastic blast up the motorway this morning in the way that only the S8 can go, I set off home this evening after work and I was about halfway home tonight when the alternator or voltage regulator failed and no BMW Emergency this time, just the absolutely diabolical RAC. I was "prioritised" to the "top of the list" as a vulnerable female on a dark rural road (in a dark car with no electrics!) and it still took them 2 and a half hours to get to me....the chap was very helpful and pleasant and apologetic - not his fault the RAC just don't employ enough staff - , alternator simply not charging at all, so he cobbled up all five spare batteries he had in his van and his booster pack, and drove behind me all the way back home, about 20 miles..... He was very anxious to get the S8 moving and back home as there was apparently a ...wait for it......10 HOUR WAIT for a recovery truck (the S8 is auto and big and needs a big low loader like the X does) So I was very grateful he managed to line up some batteries and enough jump leads connecting them sufficient to get the big power-devouring beastie home and am now sufficiently defrosted at home, after sitting for hours in a cold, damp, dark car, to write this update. As for having it repaired, well I'll have to find an auto electrician who'll visit her at home I guess!

Update on the X5 again tomorrow.......BMW Emergency - verdict, absolutely brilliant service, worth every overpriced penny of the AUC price.
Dealer so far very efficient too, and very expensive repair even though there is no engine damage (thank heavens - this has been confirmed by them) - will get the full details once its repaired!
I'm exhausted now and tired of poorly cars........maybe a Ford Fiesta isn't such a bad idea after all!!! (only joking!)

[gobiman]

Condor,
Sorry to hear about your problems just at the wrong time of year too!
When you get the X5 back, could you ask the dealer what it would have cost without AUC warranty.
I kept on the Emergency Service (recovery bit) when my warranty expired a year and a half ago(cost around £150 versus AA/RAC around £100 from memory) but decided not to extend the warranty itself for £1,500 and take a calculated risk/have a notional sinking fund approach.
I'm curious as to what a repair like this should/would cost.
For the Audi, I'm sure that there must be an good local indy and there are similar forums to this to find one (although not as good!)- I had an S4 a year or so ago. You could charge it up from the X5 to get it there.

http://www.audifans.net/

Good luck

[CondorX5]

Thanks for the link Gobiman, I'll piggyback and extra battery to the S8 to get her to a local indy, I guess - no point trying till next week sometime!!!

Update on the X - RESULT!!! Dealer phoned lunchtime to say X was out of hospital following transplant of oil cooler plus nice new clean "blood" and ready to whoosh around again. I'll take the loaner Insignia back early AM tomorrow and swop for my beloved X as dealer is closing early for New Years Eve and I haven't got space for the X AND the loaner on the drive, luckily I have a few hours off tomorrow. Yippeee.....

I'll ask dealers to print out a list of work done on warranty to date - its quite a bit actually - I had a new Bluetooth module and parking sensors a while ago on warranty, now this, and there is an unresolved parking sensor issue which will probably result in a new control module - and the oil cooler isn't a cheap repair, so far its been a few grand in repairs and recovery etc. I'll keep getting the warranty and emergency assistance as long as the car qualifies, methinks....... even if its pricey. 3 Hours in a cold dark car on a foggy freezing night on a rural road last night wasn't a lot of fun, and that was on a "priority" basis RAC is just awful, its not the guys fault, they just employ far too few patrols. Doesn't matter what time of day or year you call, they are always "unprecedentedly busy" with waits of hours and hours - its not safe for people to be left in these conditions at roadside breakdowns. I'm happy to pay a bit more and get decent service rather than cutprice rates and awful service .

Will post on the dealer experience at Stratstone Derby once I collect the car tomorrow.

[535dboy]

Pics and write up on loaner?

[CondorX5]

The fogs so thick outside you won't see the loaner.....will try again tomorrow! The Insignia is quick - very quick. Quite nice handling and screams at you "I WANNABEE A SPORTS CAR". More later!

[X5Sport]

I know what you mean about the 'bereft' feeling. I only lost my baby yesterday and miss it terribly. We then had the X5 battery die so had to switch to the E46 - which I don't drive - to get SWMBO up and running again to do her Avon rounds.

So I'm stuck with nowt! I guess the difference between the X6 and the Insignia is that the X is pretty close to being a real sports car, even in diesel trim.. It sure goes like one...