[dhillont]

Gentlemen,

This is the quick and dirty. I was driving my car in the left lane of a major highway last week when all power to the car was cut. At the time i was doing about 70mph in the left lane and the car had enough momentum to allow me to get over to the right side of the highway. At the time I tried to restart the car but the engine wouldn't turn over. The lights and everything came on with just the engine not turning over. I had the car towed to BMW of Westchester. They've had the car now for a week and came back to me this morning saying BMW Engineering had a look at it and I'm at fault for an over rev.

Now, I've been driving a manual for years and have never had an issue like this previously. I understand what an over rev is and the dangers but as I was traveling at a constant speed and not dicking aroud driving agressivly i was not shifting, nor down shifting to slow down or get around anyone. I find it hard to believe i cause this by an over rev. BMW says they won't cover it and I have to pay an ungodly amount of money. I've called BMW Customer Service who were no help as they said i have to pay and or try and get a second opinion from another dealer which will cost me money cause i'll have to pay for the tow (which i had too for the first one cause i was on a major highway and BMW road side said they couldn't come out.).

I would like to ask you guys what my options are as i'm not getting many from BMW. I know writing a letter to BMW at this point won't get much done but i'd like too anyway, should i just simply write to the address in woodcliff lake? Who do i address it too?

I'm just feeling really lost right now as to what my remedies are outside of paying 15k to get the car fixed. As a note, the car was picked up in June 2012 as a lease and the car currently has 5k miles on it.

I'm sorry if this is a repost or if the issue has been brought up previously but i couldn't find something like this in the previous threads.

Thanks for any help

[eric@helix]

Aaah the ol' money shift. Did they tell you why they thought you 'over revved' the motor?

[mcpcolas]

Ask for the data it seem the engineer dump the car ECU. If he says the engine was over rev then it was over rev . Ur best bet is "when" it was over rev, and since u only had the car for 5k it was probably over by the previous owner . Cause sometimes when u over rev an engine it doesn breakdown right away, but it creates a weakness and over time breaks down due to that over rev. So see at what mileage they car was over rev and if u had own the car by then . Best of luck

[dhillont]

I just went down there and they said they pulled the data from the car and have it hitting 7800. I find that to be wildly amazing considering i was traveling at a constant speed and not shifting. 7800 i would also feel and would be a gross missed shift. I've confered w/the gentleman that was in my car w/me at the time if he felt any jolt or slow down or if i was driving agressively and thats not that case. At this point they are saying they've put in a claim w/their local bmw rep and are waiting to hear back but beleive nothing good will come of it.

they've instructed me to call my insurance which i believe will do nothing considering the vehicle was not in an accident

[dhillont]

mcpcolas: i've been the only owner of the car and it literally only has 5k miles on it. They said they pulled the data and it showed an over rev. I'm feeeling i'm just f'd here. 15k still seems like a significant amount of money.

[mcpcolas]

Originally Posted by dhillont

mcpcolas: i've been the only owner of the car and it literally only has 5k miles on it. They said they pulled the data and it showed an over rev. I'm feeeling i'm just f'd here. 15k still seems like a significant amount of money.

sorry I misread I thought the car just got return from a lease when u picked it up. but I figured they read the ECU and with that data and its gonna be tough to put a fight . If they not willing to help ur cheapest option is a second hand engine

[jetvet]

Stupid question but aren't there rev limiters to safeguard against over revving conditions? If so, shouldn't that have prevented that from happening?

[taranonline]

In a manual if you put a smaller gear at high speed, the transmission calls for engine braking and thus over revving.

[jetvet]

Originally Posted by taranonline

In a manual if you put a smaller gear at high speed, the transmission calls for engine braking and thus over revving.

Makes sense (told you it was a stupid question).

[techwhiz]

Ouch!!

[Tom K.]

Originally Posted by jetvet

Makes sense (told you it was a stupid question).

It is often called the "money shift". It can't happen on an automatic, but the direct mechanical connection between crankshaft and drive wheels on a MT makes it possible. For example, redlining in 3rd and then mis-shifting down to 2nd unstead of up to 4th would cause the motor to spin over 8,000 RPM.

Tom

[E9TOU]

I think your best bet is to try and find an indie shop that will do it for cheaper. Doesn't look like the dealership or BMW NA is going to budge. Sorry about your predicament.

[DrAmazing]

if you swear you have never over revved it, maybe it was over revved before you even purchased it.

EDIT: I mean... by someone at the dealership

[derrick603]

Does the ECU track the mileage on the car when the over-rev occurred, and if so, do you remember an over-rev happening at that point in the car's life?

[PSEE]

there's only over-rev protection when accelerating - mis-shifting has no such
over-rev protection.

it was a common issue with the E36 M3 when they first came out - and those
"more connected" cowboys that mis-shifted from 5th or 4th to 1st instead of
3rd blew up many engines...

[weaksauce]

The OP mentioned he was not shifting though. If not shifting, the rev limiter would prevent an over rev. That being said OP, could it be that you over rev'ed in the past but your car just broke down at this time? Or, do you feel that you have never over rev'ed?

[dmatre]

You haven't said what the actual damage to the engine is...

Busted crank? Bent valves? Hole in the block? For $15k, it's gotta be more than something simple. What did they say needs to be repaired?

[dhillont]

BMW hasn't told me exactly whats wrong. I asked my service rep and the head of service for a copy of the report and they claim BMW Engineering took it. That i find hard to believe considering he was able to call me up and claim some 15k in damages and that i need a new engine. I've asked for the ECU data as well. They are giving me very little info. Its possible i over revved the engine on a downshift earlier in the day, but i dont' believe it went anywhere near 7800. It would be a stark occurance and something one would take note of.

I've contacted GEICO, my insurance provider and they're looking into it and will likely fight with BMW about it as i have mechanical breakdown insurance. Not sure what the outcome is going to be but i've sent a letter off to the BMW NA CEO. Not that, that'll do much in the near term but i want to let them know how much i feel BMW of Westchester is terrible at conveying issues and giving any solutions other than the one they want. Regardless, i'm not sure i'll be using this dealership in the future.

[dhillont]

regarding the ecu and the mileage count, i'm not sure. I don't even know what the output from the ECU looks like or if its in order of operational history.

[kiwi29]

Over reving the motor? I over rev'd once and it blew out my secondary cats. I paid 1200 for new cats from a local retailer and that fixed all of the problems. When I plugged an obd2 scanner in, it said I revved to 8,400 rpm. It was ridiculous and sent my car into an automatic limp mode

[El Cheapo Loco]

$15k is for a new engine. Take it to an indie and have them check the extent of damage. They may be able to repair the engine. Even if you need to replace the engine, you can get a used one put in for half that.

[Vegetable]

Originally Posted by dhillont

Its possible i over revved the engine on a downshift earlier in the day, but i dont' believe it went anywhere near 7800.

Could you explain what happened when you "may" have over revved the motor earlier that day? e.g. 4th to 1st above 40 MPH?