High mileage and the M57 engine - twin turbo

[Alan Gunn]

Had mine done last Thursday.
Fluid that came out didn't look that bad but the difference is well it's so smooooth now and it was ok before i thought.

[X5Sport]

Sealed for life = BMW life = 3 years (until the warranty runs out).

[henrym3]

Isn’t there a group of people in Ireland taking BMW to court because of the number of engine failures (N47) Sure I read that in this months BMW car club magazine

[X5Sport]

I think it’s wider than just Ireland.  Unfortunately it’s the same old story.  In the US BMW lost a class action over the failure of the autobox used in a number of models - including the E53 - whilst in Europe they could deny any kind of problem existed.

Here proving design flaws across any industry is unbelievably difficult and expensive and with many failed units being replaced with new and the failed units being returned to the manufacturer the evidence just vanishes.

[IanP]

[quote="moggyboy"]
So how do you pre-empt the inevitable ash clog up?
Does it make economic sense to have it cleaned /replaced before it becomes problematic?
[/quote]

A friend of mine cleans DPFs in situ using some sort of gas generator. Now bear in mind I am cynical as the next guy, but I have not seen it fail yet in the hundreds of vehicles he has done, including taxis and HGV.
Vehicles come in with EM lights on, and blocked filters, after an hour or so with this machine they can regenerate, hopefully before the turbo has failed.

[moggyboy]

Well, partly as the result of this thread but because I simply love my 2010 35d and want it to run forever I'm going to splash some cash on what I hope is sensible preventative maintenance. Engine oil just changed at 10k as usual not as recommended. Gearbox, transfer case and both diffs fluid/oil change and gearbox reprogrammed. Two new thermostats, six new glow plugs and controller, swirl flaps removed (if they still have them), DPF cleaned if needed.

[X5Sport]

Swirl flaps they definitely do have - spawn of Satan invention  >:(

[Alchemist]

Not an X5 but my E46 engine (with the same M57 engine, single turbo) has done 180k and runs like silk. If I didn't need a bigger car I'd easily hang on to it and expect to see 250k miles from the engine.

At the last MOT its emissions were clean. Superb engines IMO if looked after (I change my oil every 5k).

[weaselchops]

[quote="Alan Gunn"]
Had mine done last Thursday.
Fluid that came out didn't look that bad but the difference is well it's so smooooth now and it was ok before i thought.
[/quote]

Had mine done today. OMG, the difference! 
Like you say, soooooo smoooth now! Although I was suffering from some intermittent lurching on mine.
Mine has done 75k. The garage said that my oil in the box wasn't the cleanest they had seen.  ::)