2006 BMW 530I

WHILE CHANGING MY OIL, NOTICE THAT OIL HAS BEEN SLOWLY LEAKING AROUND THE VALVE COVER. LOOKED ON ONLINE FORUMS AND FOUND THAT THERE ARE MANY PEOPLE WITH THE SAME ISSUE. I INSPECTED THE AREA WHERE THEY HAVE STATED COMMON BROKEN VALVE COVER BOLTS AND SURE ENOUGH THE BOLTS WERE BROKEN. THEY LITERALLY JUST SITTING IN THE VALVE COVER WITH NO PURPOSE. THEY CAME RIGHT OFF WHEN I PULLED THEM UP BY HAND. *TR

MY 530I BMW HAS AT LEAST ONE BROKEN CYLINDER HEAD BOLT. THIS IS A VERY COMMON PROBLEM WITH THE BMW N52 ENGINES. I WAS QUOTED $4500 FOR THE REPAIR. AS I MENTIONED THIS IS A VERY COMMON PROBLEM, A KNOWN PROBLEM BY BMW, BUT BMW ISN'T WILLING TO OFFER ME ANY ASSISTANCE. I FEEL A NEED TO REPORT THIS EXPENSIVE AND COMMON PROBLEM, AND BMW'S UNWILLINGNESS TO RESOLVE THIS PROBLEM. I HAVE SPENT HOURS WITH BMWUSA AND MY LOCAL BMW STEVENS CREEK DEALERSHIP AND SO FAR ALL I HAVE DONE IS WASTED MANY HOURS OF MY TIME. BMW NEEDS TO ASSUME RESPONSIBILITY FOR SOMETHING THAT IS OBVIOUSLY A DETECT IN THEIR DESIGN. *TR

ALL 3 ALUMINUM HEAD BOLTS WERE BROKEN CAUSING AN OIL LEAK WHICH COULD RESULT IN A FIRE. BOLTS WERE FOUND IN OIL PAN WHICH COULD HAVE DAMAGED ENGINE AND CAUSED FAILURE. THERE ARE NO WARNING LIGHTS OR MESSAGES THAT INDICATE A PROBLEM. THE ONLY WAY TO KNOW THERE IS A PROBLEM IS AN OIL LEAK BENEATH THE CAR. THIS WAS FIXED OUT OF WARRANTY AT A COST OF $2131.78. THE SAME PROBLEM OCCURRED AGAIN 2.5 YEARS LATER ON MARCH 27, 2013 AT 105,135 MILES AND A COST OF $2236.47. BMW DOESN'T THINK THIS IS A MAJOR PROBLEM AND SAYS IT IS "TYPICAL" OF A "HIGH PERFORMANCE" ENGINE. TO ME, THIS IS NOT A NORMAL MAINTENANCE ITEM, NOT TO MENTION THE POTENTIAL FOR FIRE AND POSSIBLE INJURY. THERE APPEARS TO BE ONLY ONE OTHER COMPLAINT WITH YOUR OFFICE FOR THIS SPECIFIC PROBLEM FOR THIS SPECIFIC CAR, BUT I THINK YOU WILL FIND SIMILAR PROBLEMS FOR ALL BMW'S WITH 3.0 LITER AND OTHER ENGINES WITH ALUMINUM HEAD BOLTS, INCLUDING THE 325, 330, 528, 730, ETC. *TR

WE HAVE OWNED THIS VEHICLE SINCE 2007 AND HAVE NOT HAD TOO MANY ISSUES WITH IT. HOWEVER, RECENTLY IT DEVELOPED AN OIL LEAK WHICH BMW HAS REFUSED TO FIX. WHAT HAS HAPPENED IS THAT FOUR ALUMINUM BOLTS THAT HOLD THE TOP OF THE ENGINE BLOCK ON TO THE ENGINE HAVE BROKEN FOR NO APPARENT REASON. ACCORDING TO THE REPAIR SHOP I TOOK IT TO, BMW KNOWS THIS IS A DEFECT. THEY SHOULD HAVE NEVER USED ALUMINUM BOLTS AS FASTENERS FOR THIS ENGINE. I HAVE HAD TO SPEND $2900.00 TO HAVE THESE BOLTS REPLACED BY AN AUTHORIZED BMW REPAIR SHOP. THIS HAS STOPPED THE LEAK. THE DEALER WANTED $4300.00 TO DO THE SAME REPAIR. THIS IS NOT RIGHT. MY MECHANIC SAID THAT THIS OIL LEAK COULD HAVE CAUSED AN ENGINE FIRE IF I HAD LET IT GO. ANY HELP YOU CAN BE ON THIS MATTER WOULD BE GREAT. *TR

MY SON WAS DRIVING THE CAR TO WORK AND IT ONLY GOT ABOUT 8 BLOCKS FROM OUR HOUSE WHEN THE CAR STALLED AND LOST COMPLETE POWER. HE COASTED TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND FROM THE LOOKS WHEN I ARRIVED THE SERPENTINE TENSION BELT HAD BROKEN WE TURNED THE KEY OVER AND THE ENGINE WAS IN A FREE SPIN. WE HAD IT TOWED TO A LOCAL SERVICE SHOP AND THEY REPLACED THE BELT BUT STATED THE ENGINE HAD NO COMPRESSION TOWED CAR TO A SECOND SHOP AND GOT THE SAME OPINION THE ENGINE HAD NO COMPRESSION. THERE WAS NO WARNING LIGHTS OR MESSAGES ON THE DASH. THE CAR JUST STOPPED OPERATING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD AND GAVE NO WARNING. *TR