DriveTrain Malfunction on 16k miles BMW

[Flameinthefire]

I have a 2015 640i with 16k miles on it. Two days ago i was driving and i put the car in sport mode and punched it, 5 seconds later there was a drivetrain malfunction error that popped up and the engine started to shake. I pulled over to the side and noticed white smoke with smell coming out of the exhaust. I shut off the car right away and let it sit for 5 mins to see if the error would go away but it did not. Then 20 mins later the car wouldn’t start anymore. I had the car towed to my house. It’s so frustrating to see a car with 16k miles break down. Unfortunately for me, it couldn’t have come at a worst time as the warranty on it expired few months ago.

What do you guys it could be? Fuel pump?, injectors? Any suggestions in terms of what i should do? I’m planning to tow it to the dealer.

[AccordTR]

Originally Posted by Flameinthefire

I have a 2015 640i with 16k miles on it. Two days ago i was driving and i put the car in sport mode and punched it, 5 seconds later there was a drivetrain malfunction error that popped up and the engine started to shake. I pulled over to the side and noticed white smoke with smell coming out of the exhaust. I shut off the car right away and let it sit for 5 mins to see if the error would go away but it did not. Then 20 mins later the car wouldn't start anymore. I had the car towed to my house. It's so frustrating to see a car with 16k miles break down. Unfortunately for me, it couldn't have come at a worst time as the warranty on it expired few months ago.

What do you guys it could be? Fuel pump?, injectors? Any suggestions in terms of what i should do? I'm planning to tow it to the dealer.

Eek hate to be the bearer of bad news but white smoke is often a major failure. Obviously I haven't seen the car but white generally means coolant is leaking into the combustion chamber. This could mean blown head gasket, cracked block, etc. The thicker the smoke the bigger the issue... Could definitely be the end of the motor. If it was a very light white smoke it could be less painful. The fact it won't turn over is concerning.

[Flameinthefire]

Originally Posted by AccordTR

Eek hate to be the bearer of bad news but white smoke is often a major failure. Obviously I haven't seen the car but white generally means coolant is leaking into the combustion chamber. This could mean blown head gasket, cracked block, etc. The thicker the smoke the bigger the issue... Could definitely be the end of the motor. If it was a very light white smoke it could be less painful. The fact it won't turn over is concerning.

Oh man reading this made me depressed. I don’t know what to say, i still have a huge loan on this car. When you say end of the motor what does that mean? How can a major failure occur with 16k miles on the car! What are my options here given the fact that it’s no longer under warranty.

[itzjoker]

Did you pull any codes? Did the dash say fuel supply? Hate to say it but AccordTR may be right

[Flameinthefire]

Originally Posted by itzjoker

Did you pull any codes? Did the dash say fuel supply? Hate to say it but AccordTR may be right

I think it said misfire from all the cylinders

[Bigjule1111]

Wow.. this is disturbing..keep up posted on what happens...I ended up with a 640 over the 650 just to avoid some of the know bmw 8 cyl issue ..but reading this is disturbing, especially at those miles

[Wanwansuii]

Yes, this is extremely odd. I hope it's not as bad as it sounds, but sadly I fear for the worst given the details. Highly unusual for a low-mileage N55

[Russbmw]

At only 16k miles, I'd hazard a guess this has full BMW service history?

Hard as it is, try not to panic just yet!

Personally I'd not be touching it and speaking to BMW first. Such low mileage , having done nothing wrong or driven it under any abnormal circumstances and for it to have thrown a complete fit, I would wager they'd sort it out goodwill.

It may take a few well worded letters/emails to your local dealership or even higher up the BMW chain (ie: one of BMW's flagship models, full history, only 16k miles, etc), but here in the UK at least, they are pretty good like that if the car has just shit itself in a completely unexpected way for a car of that mileage and as you say, only having failed slightly outside of the warranty period.

This is all assuming it's not modified in any way, as that will throw a spanner in the works.

FWIW, I had my gearbox and flywheel replaced under goodwill on my 70k miles e39 that was some 10 years or so old at the time. I only paid the labour, which was about £400.

On a seperate note, 16k miles on a 2015 ?! that's crazy low.

[Qsilver7]

Take a deep breath...get the car to the dealer to find out whats wrong.

Then, educate yourself about BMW's "goodwill" in case the story starts to go off the rails. Keep this "card" in your pocket in case it isn't mentioned or offered by your local dealer first.

[Flameinthefire]

Originally Posted by Russbmw

At only 16k miles, I'd hazard a guess this has full BMW service history?

Hard as it is, try not to panic just yet!

Personally I'd not be touching it and speaking to BMW first. Such low mileage , having done nothing wrong or driven it under any abnormal circumstances and for it to have thrown a complete fit, I would wager they'd sort it out goodwill.

It may take a few well worded letters/emails to your local dealership or even higher up the BMW chain (ie: one of BMW's flagship models, full history, only 16k miles, etc), but here in the UK at least, they are pretty good like that if the car has just shit itself in a completely unexpected way for a car of that mileage and as you say, only having failed slightly outside of the warranty period.

This is all assuming it's not modified in any way, as that will throw a spanner in the works.

FWIW, I had my gearbox and flywheel replaced under goodwill on my 70k miles e39 that was some 10 years or so old at the time. I only paid the labour, which was about £400.

On a seperate note, 16k miles on a 2015 ?! that's crazy low.

Yes, only 16k miles but i'm the second owner, bought it back in 2018 when it had 14k miles on it. As for modificaion, nothing has been done to the engine. I have however modified the exhusuaat with the officially m-sport one that i got directly from bmw. I have sbs Rims on it but that's about it. It's a CPO so the warrenty expired in feb of this year which would make it 5 years but I heard BMW is now extending that to 6 years so i'm wondering if that would apply to my car? I'm just really depressed about the whole situation. I have been texting the adviser and he said "i'll see what he can do, i'll have to charge you $180 for the dignostics then i'll see what's wrong with the car and go from there"

[Flameinthefire]

Originally Posted by Qsilver7

Take a deep breath...get the car to the dealer to find out whats wrong.

Then, educate yourself about BMW's "goodwill" in case the story starts to go off the rails. Keep this "card" in your pocket in case it isn't mentioned or offered by your local dealer first.

Thank you. I'm trying to stay calm but i have a feelings they're going to tell me that it's a major failure and i wouldn't know what to do at that point. Could I and should i get in touch with BMW headquaretes at that point? I don't think the dealer would do anything.

[Flameinthefire]

Also guys, I don't go to the dealer that I bought my car from because they had incompetent mechanics. I found another bmw dealer who I've been going to get all the services done.

[Flameinthefire]

I want to be prepared for when i get there to drop off my car. Should i ask to speak to a manger and see if they can waive the diagnostics fee? Any tips would be helpful.

[AccordTR]

Originally Posted by Flameinthefire

I want to be prepared for when i get there to drop off my car. Should i ask to speak to a manger and see if they can waive the diagnostics fee? Any tips would be helpful.

Get it towed in and do not try to start it in anyway. Let them do a full diagnostic and post your findings here. If the the motor is done, cracked block, damaged cylinder wall, etc then yes speak to service manager. BMW North American can and does 'help' in major failures in low mileage cars. They usually will not cover the whole cost but will often eat the labor and/or reduce the parts cost. Be calm but also be prepared for a large initial bill. A replacement engine with labour is about $15k. Start there and see if they will 'work' with you on some coverage. It is impossible to diagnosis over the internet when there is no codes and we obviously can't see the car. This is one rare time I would say dealership trip. I generally do my own work or go to an indy shop. This type of symptoms thou is dealership diagnosis.

[Flameinthefire]

Originally Posted by AccordTR

Get it towed in and do not try to start it in anyway. Let them do a full diagnostic and post your findings here. If the the motor is done, cracked block, damaged cylinder wall, etc then yes speak to service manager. BMW North American can and does 'help' in major failures in low mileage cars. They usually will not cover the whole cost but will often eat the labor and/or reduce the parts cost.

Got it but i would have to start it to try to put it in neutral because I believe that’s the only way to do it? I will definitely post my findings here and i do have a bad feeling about all of this. I don’t understand how the motor can go bad or crack. Jesus Christ, just the thought of getting the engine replaced scares me. I really hope I don’t have to do that and I’m not ready to spend 15k on it.

[AccordTR]

Originally Posted by Flameinthefire

Got it but i would have to start it to try to put it in neutral because I believe that’s the only way to do it? I will definitely post my findings here and i do have a bad feeling about all of this. I don’t understand how the motor can go bad or crack.

Well a tow truck driver could use dollies that would work. This apparently works but have never tried it myself. It is newtis so it's probably legit.

https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/e...-lock/ETzfShqL

[Flameinthefire]

Originally Posted by AccordTR

Well a tow truck driver could use dollies that would work. This apparently works but have never tried it myself. It is newtis so it's probably legit.

https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/e...-lock/ETzfShqL

Thanks! I did try this when i had to tow the car to my house but it didn’t work. But it’s possible that i was doing it wrong. I’ll give it another shot tomorrow.

[Opie55]

Don't contact BMW yet. Take it a step at a time. Find out what is wrong first. Then talk to the dealer. They often go to bat with BMW for you. Don't end run them unless they are jerks. They can be your friend.

[Russbmw]

Originally Posted by Opie55

Don't contact BMW yet. Take it a step at a time. Find out what is wrong first. Then talk to the dealer. They often go to bat with BMW for you. Don't end run them unless they are jerks. They can be your friend.

Yeah, that's what I meant about talking to the dealership first - absolutely go in "non-aggro" mode first of all and see what reaction you get. If it's not favourable, then you have to ratchet things up a bit until someone with a bit of common sense has to get involved because, as you rightly say, if you get someone in a position of authoriity at the dealership, they are the ones that will front the case with BMW. The first line of service guys aren't going to give you the time of day, I'm sure, but that's where you have to start.

From experience, if there's some major bollock dropped on the car, the best thing to do is not touch it and don't let anyone else touch it - because if there's a way out BMW can use by saying "well you took the car here instead, and therefore they must've done something that contributed to the problem" then they will.

As it stands, you've done absolutely nothing wrong. The car shit itself, you haven't tried starting it more than once (which is reasonable) and you've had it towed home and that's where it's been since.

Personally I'd pay the $180 diagnosis without haggling, as sounds like that is going to be the least of your worries, and it's always best to pick your battles!

[Flameinthefire]

Originally Posted by Russbmw

Yeah, that's what I meant about talking to the dealership first - absolutely go in "non-aggro" mode first of all and see what reaction you get. If it's not favourable, then you have to ratchet things up a bit until someone with a bit of common sense has to get involved because, as you rightly say, if you get someone in a position of authoriity at the dealership, they are the ones that will front the case with BMW. The first line of service guys aren't going to give you the time of day, I'm sure, but that's where you have to start.

From experience, if there's some major bollock dropped on the car, the best thing to do is not touch it and don't let anyone else touch it - because if there's a way out BMW can use by saying "well you took the car here instead, and therefore they must've done something that contributed to the problem" then they will.

As it stands, you've done absolutely nothing wrong. The car shit itself, you haven't tried starting it more than once (which is reasonable) and you've had it towed home and that's where it's been since.

Personally I'd pay the $180 diagnosis without haggling, as sounds like that is going to be the least of your worries, and it's always best to pick your battles!

Thank you both! i will do excatly that and i'm happy to pay the diagnostic fee. I'm taking the car there tomorrow and I plan on being courteous and friendly. I will keep you guys posted and let you know what they say and go forward from there.

[Opie55]

Originally Posted by Flameinthefire

Thank you both! i will do excatly that and i'm happy to pay the diagnostic fee. I'm taking the car there tomorrow and I plan on being courteous and friendly. I will keep you guys posted and let you know what they say and go forward from there.

I totally agree on paying the fee. You have to approach it the best way possible from the position your are in. Just keep in mind that BMW owes you nothing. The car is out of warranty and they are within their rights to simply say "sorry." So you are basically asking for a big favor. Approach it that way. If you bought a new BMW every other year that favor would be easier to get. But I sense that is not the case with you. If you do end up talking to someone at BMW, just remember that they are as sick of the pandemic as you are and have heard the "I'll never buy another BMW" line a thousand times. Aggressive will get you nowhere because you have no leverage. Make them want to help you instead of the last jerk who called.

[Wanwansuii]

Agreed. Being nice goes a long way at these dealerships. They should be bound to assist, especially given the rare circumstances and understanding the effects of the pandemic on everyone.