[Azlar]

Hi All, I have a 09/2020 M8C.
Back in June I got a low oil pressure warning and had my car recovered and taken to the garage, they were advised by BMW to remove the sump and oil pressure control valve and check the gauze and oil quality. I was told that they did that and all was OK and it was more than likely a communication error. Now last week I get the same error come up and had it recovered again. BMW have said that the car is out of warranty and it looks to be 'driver error' as I do not, in their eyes drive enough miles. I do small journeys of around a mile to and from work, then every other weekend I will do 2 x 10 mile journeys. Has anyone else heard of 'moisture in the oil' ? This is a £100k+ car and I am now being told that it is in all essence not fit for purpose. The garage that did the work last June now say they found some technicians notes that there was in fact residue in the sump and the oil was a little mirky. The car has only done 4600 miles in total, and only 700 since the last new oil. Any advice is very welcome.

[Seaford]

Originally Posted by Azlar

Hi All, I have a 09/2020 M8C.
Back in June I got a low oil pressure warning and had my car recovered and taken to the garage, they were advised by BMW to remove the sump and oil pressure control valve and check the gauze and oil quality. I was told that they did that and all was OK and it was more than likely a communication error. Now last week I get the same error come up and had it recovered again. BMW have said that the car is out of warranty and it looks to be 'driver error' as I do not, in their eyes drive enough miles. I do small journeys of around a mile to and from work, then every other weekend I will do 2 x 10 mile journeys. Has anyone else heard of 'moisture in the oil' ? This is a £100k+ car and I am now being told that it is in all essence not fit for purpose. The garage that did the work last June now say they found some technicians notes that there was in fact residue in the sump and the oil was a little mirky. The car has only done 4600 miles in total, and only 700 since the last new oil. Any advice is very welcome.

I have heard of cars that ‘live’ near the sea being prone to attracting small amounts of water into the oil….something to do with the salt in the air as i recall. There is a Wheelers Dealers about an S Type Jaguar that covered this. They also talked about how to get an oil analysis done which may be of use.

Like you I don’t do many miles and mainly short journeys…I had to have the particulate filter purged a couple of weeks ago as a result. Tye learning for me was to give it a good run out occasionally!!

Hope you get it sorted.

[Broccoli-mobile]

I too make short trips where the car doesn't get up to full operating temperature daily. It is good for the oil to get up to full temp as this allows any moisture to evaporate and get sucked into the PCV system and burned in the engine. Short trips can prevent this from happening resulting in increased moisture in the oil.

[crabman]

One thing I'll venture here is that your first visit during the warranty period should grandfather it even though they would love for you to think that isn't the case.

If needed, at least get a consultation with an attorney, before making decisions.

[AP]

Yeh I thought short journies were bad for this very reason.
I’m not a mechanic put have picked up these things
When engine is cold you may see water coming out of the exhaust , if the car doesn’t get up to temperature then this doesn’t burn off leaving moisture in both the oil and the exhaust system

I also think it’s reasonable to think that because you logged the issue whilst it was under warranty and that they did not resolve it, they should continue to do so without any cost to you .

I’d argue that first without resorting to the legal route personally

[AP]

Not sure which engine you have but my m550 takes 20 minutes before the oil is at 100c

[crabman]

No, for sure you work the dealership first, then you escalate if needed. As I said; if needed...

I can say for sure my wife had a 5 series that blew a trans right after the warranty expiration, and we had it in for tranny slipping just before the warranty expired. They said they couldn't duplicate; a result I still doubt, but in any event we took the car home and the tranny then failed a few weeks later on the expired warranty.

They tried to say the warranty was expired and refused to budge. Gave it to an attorney, and it was resolved a few days later; the transmission was repaired under warranty.

My attorney told me this is a fairly common warranty issue across brands, you have an ongoing problem but the warranty expires before the issue is fixed. Because it was documented in the warranty coverage period the warranty is still in effect on that documented issue but the rest has expired. In other words if my wife had had a power mirror, or some such, stop working she couldn't get that fixed under warranty; the extension only applies to issues that occur during the warranty period.

I'm not an attorney but it may be we have one here who could explain it better, I'm just relating my experience and parrating what I can recall.

[danibear]

May I also recommend to put a good dehumidifier in the garage? I have one setting @ 50% RH.

[Azlar]

Hi All,

Thanks for all the replies and advice.

My main issue with the garage is this e-mail I received when it was taken in there in June with the original oil pressure error.

BMW asked the technician to remove the sump and oil pressure control valve to inspect the gauze and oil. Pleased to report both items were looking nice and clear. They advised to renew the oil and ensure a thorough road test is completed at operating temperature to confirm all is well. We will place some premium fuel in the car for you in order to do this as it is a little low at present.

With no permanent faults and no issues on the tests performed, this is most likely a communication issue. ,

So after a conversation with the garage and asking them to pull the technicians report from June it turns out it was actually noted there was residue in the sump and the oil was 'mirky'.

This is my argument, if I was told the full story back in June then I would have either sold the car or changed my driving habits.

BMW have washed their hands of it as it is out of warranty, I am guessing they think the garage told me of the issues and not that was nothing wrong .

I had a phone call today from the garage saying the oil was contaminated and the filter was blocked after only 700 miles of driving. They said they were going to change the filter and the oil but surely if there is residue this time in the sump then the oil will just get tainted again. Also, how do they know if the oil pump is working OK and this is not what is causing the pressure warning.

The guy I was dealing with at the garage is back on Wednesday so I will know more then.

Hopefully it will get sorted out amicably.

[Moopai]

This is bullish*t... They knew what the problem was from the first visit but since your warranty was about to expire, they told you all good it's a communication error... I would go back to the dealer and even reach out to BMW directly. WOW... What the hell happened to a good customer service???

Originally Posted by Azlar

Hi All, I have a 09/2020 M8C.
Back in June I got a low oil pressure warning and had my car recovered and taken to the garage, they were advised by BMW to remove the sump and oil pressure control valve and check the gauze and oil quality. I was told that they did that and all was OK and it was more than likely a communication error. Now last week I get the same error come up and had it recovered again. BMW have said that the car is out of warranty and it looks to be 'driver error' as I do not, in their eyes drive enough miles. I do small journeys of around a mile to and from work, then every other weekend I will do 2 x 10 mile journeys. Has anyone else heard of 'moisture in the oil' ? This is a £100k+ car and I am now being told that it is in all essence not fit for purpose. The garage that did the work last June now say they found some technicians notes that there was in fact residue in the sump and the oil was a little mirky. The car has only done 4600 miles in total, and only 700 since the last new oil. Any advice is very welcome.

[jargon]

As stated earlier, it’s important to reach operating engine temps when you start up the car. Not doing so could also give your oil a ‘milky’ look to it.

I am unaware of any damages that might be done if this is done repeatedly.

[ChiefM]

Master mechanic here, so I will try to keep this as short as possible. When you drive your car engine gets hot. As the engine cools any water vapor inside the engine from the PVC system will “condense”, think the opposite thing that happens to a cold glass of water, water condenses on the inside as opposed to the outside. This happens after every drive cycle depending on the temperature and humidity. This is why it is so important to get your car up to full operating temp every time you drive it. Further more, the worst thing you can do to a car relatively speaking is to not drive it. Drain the oil, change filter and drive for at least 30 mins 3 times a week. It is unlikely you caused any damage, but as I stated, short trips and lots of sitting will cause your symptom. Not to put insult to injury, but seriously, transmissions take much longer to get to full operating temp, if you had milky oil in your engine, your transmission will be worse.
Hope this helps.
BLUF (bottom line up front for the none military types) drive your car, 30 mins minimum to burn off condensation, your engine and transmission will thank you .

[Azlar]

Hi ChiefM,

Thank you for your reply. I will certainly have to drive it more if I decide to keep it.
Really strange that our other car is an Audi S5 and last had an oil change 3 years ago ( 2500 miles ), does the same journeys and the oil in that is just fine.
Here are the pictures the garage sent to me.
Still can't believe it is like this after just a few hundred miles even with only doing a run every couple of week.

[ChiefM]

Originally Posted by Azlar

Hi ChiefM,

Thank you for your reply. I will certainly have to drive it more if I decide to keep it.
Really strange that our other car is an Audi S5 and last had an oil change 3 years ago ( 2500 miles ), does the same journeys and the oil in that is just fine.
Here are the pictures the garage sent to me.
Still can't believe it is like this after just a few hundred miles even with only doing a run every couple of week.

Wow that seems excessive. Do you live in a very humid or damp climate? Did they mention anything about inspecting the PCV system?

[Azlar]

I just live in Leicester in the UK, certainly not humid, sometimes damp when it rains for a week solid but no more than anywhere else to be honest.

I already suggested they looked at the PCV last week so will see what they say tomorrow.