118i f20 catastrophic failure

Bought a 2012 118i with 8000kms on clock 4 months back.Car literally blew up.
First started with turbo smoking and noisy which cleared up, then warning on dash "drivetrain failure proc...... " Car is now 4000 kms out of motorplan and has motorplan service history. Took car to auto munich, started stripping. Turbo damaged beyond repair, replaced, all pipes including intercooler completely full off thick black oil, smaller pipes blocked solid with thick black gunge. Cleaned all, replaced pipes and turbo and refitted. Now will not start, no fault codes and NO COMPRESSION on any cylinders. Camera reveals valves hit pistons with more thick black carbon build up on pistons, Alan from Auto munich has engineering degree and been in business for more than 30 years has never seen anything so bad with relatively low mileage, going to pull head next.:rage:
Any opinion on such bad condition on an engine that was supposed to have been maintained under motorplan. Evidence would suggest this motor has never been serviced or even had an oil change. Who can I contact at BMW or who can offer some advice. Surely this is a BMW issue due to negligence of motorplan, any help or advice would be appreciated. I am in for a hefty bill here, and have already paid R25 000 on turbo and work thus far, and it seems the serious problems are only just starting.
Cheers . Warren

8000km?

What does the motorplan print out say? 8000km is very low mileage and should at least have been serviced every 18-24 months according to service schedule.

You can return the car to the dealer under CPA.

I suspect it's a typo, PO probably meant 80 000km.




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8000km :skit: must be a typo

80000Kms is the equivalent of 3 oil changes

Why am I not surprised.

If i was you throw the 118i motor away bomb a 335i motor in.
Done and dusted

All I am saying is a "Smokey and noisy turbo" doesn't just clear up. Should have taken the car in by then.

Hello and welcome mgwaiting:

Without knowing the background, I can guarantee you that the previous owner treated the car like shit.
People even attempt to service their own cars while it's still under M/P.
That will be pure and simple a maintenance issue, and nothing to do with reputation/reliability of BMW or even with the Turbo.

Tip/Common Sense - If your car is still in M/P, do not touch or open anything, take it to the agents.

Thanks for that , my mistake typo 80 000 kms. I do agree the car was not maintained properly but all services up to 80 000 kms were done by BMW agents under motorplan, hence my disgust at the state of the internals of this motor.
Got print out of history and car was went for 80 000 kms service before I took delivery.
Do I not have any recourse at all here as far as BMW SA goes.

Warrbmw said:

Thanks for that , my mistake typo 80 000 kms. I do agree the car was not maintained properly but all services up to 80 000 kms were done by BMW agents under motorplan, hence my disgust at the state of the internals of this motor.
Got print out of history and car was went for 80 000 kms service before I took delivery.
Do I not have any recourse at all here as far as BMW SA goes.

Click to expand...

But you do have recourse via CPA within 6 months of purchase :thinking:

NtandoN said:

Warrbmw said:

Thanks for that , my mistake typo 80 000 kms. I do agree the car was not maintained properly but all services up to 80 000 kms were done by BMW agents under motorplan, hence my disgust at the state of the internals of this motor.
Got print out of history and car was went for 80 000 kms service before I took delivery.
Do I not have any recourse at all here as far as BMW SA goes.

Click to expand...

But you do have recourse via CPA within 6 months of purchase :thinking:

Click to expand...

Ok thanks, thought it was 3 months, in that case will go back to dealer.

Whatever you do DO NOT BUY A USED BMW 118 OR 116I (F20)
A quick update , my car is still not fixed. Replaced turbo, intercooler, pipes etc.
Still did not start, stripped head, timing out, damaged tensioner, bent valves, cracked valve guides. This is turning out to be the biggest mistake of my life.
In the last week Auto munich has had 4 of the same vehicles with more or less the same mileage (between 80 and 110 thousand kilo`s on the clock) at their workshop for the same problem.
Turbo direct who replaced the turbo says they do about 10 a month.
Obviously this is a problem motor, perhaps BMW should have stuck to using their own engines instead of the Citroen/ Peugeot crap. By the way they use the exact same motor ( F13 / F 18).
What then does a person buy. The reliable straight six motor is no longer efficient or powerfull by today standards, seems like the only option is 320 d.
What do you guys think/ advise.

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By the way CPA does not cover you if your vehicle is registered under a business name and the business is not under the 2 mill threshold.

Warrbmw said:

What then does a person buy. The reliable straight six motor is no longer efficient or powerfull by today standards, seems like the only option is 320 d.
What do you guys think/ advise.

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I wouldn't touch any of the BMW 4 cylinder petrol engines - at the very least they all burn through their seals well before 100k km.

The diesel engines are great.

:fencelook: I thinks you got a Lemon mate - they not all that bad.

Have you had any luck going back to BMW and CPA ?

Eat some humble pie and approach BMW with the situation sometimes they do what they do a goodwill Policy where you and them go 50/50, sometimes you will get lucky.

Good Luck !

The F20 116i/118i is a lemon as a whole..

It’s not a BMW engine to start off with, instead it’s a PSA engine which means it’s French. That’s all you need to know in order to make a well informed decision and not buy it. This is the awful truth.

I have not heard of a single person with a 116i/118i who hasn’t had problems with the cooling system and/or turbo at stupidly low mileage.

Iceman12596 said:

If i was you throw the 118i motor away bomb a 335i motor in.
Done and dusted

Click to expand...

:withStu:

with the money being spent to fix, I'd rather drop a n54 with gbox in there...
most probably cost around the same?
will be an oem sleeper after that.


on a more serious note. Maybe find a replacement engine if the dealer does not come up to play ball and you need to foot the bill.

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FerdiBotha said:

The F20 116i/118i is a lemon as a whole..

It’s not a BMW engine to start off with, instead it’s a PSA engine which means it’s French. That’s all you need to know in order to make a well informed decision and not buy it. This is the awful truth.

I have not heard of a single person with a 116i/118i who hasn’t had problems with the cooling system and/or turbo at stupidly low mileage.

Click to expand...

+1

"which means it’s French."
that's not a by word for reliability!

Sell it, get a 320d
Cut your losses now...

Thanks everyone for the advice, I also looked at a 320d, but I am now very scared of BMW.