[GeorgiaTech335coupe]

So, I bring my car into service because it keeps doing this weird thing where the low oil light comes on and then the temperature gauge drops to 120 and does not move. The car is also constantly giving me varying oil level readings from low to full and the low oil light will turn off and on while I'm driving. My SA calls me back to tell me that one of my turbos is leaking oil. This sucks. Thank god it will be fixed under warranty (they said the turbo alone cost about $3k). They hope to have it fixed in a week or less. If your car has these symptoms, take it in immediately!

[GeorgiaTech335coupe]

On a side note, when I was getting my things out of the car today, I opened the trunk and saw about a million pieces of my engine in there including my turbo. I thought I was going to cry...

[Bimmer335i07]

I wonder if yours is the first turbo to go?

I don't recall reading about any turbos going bad.

Hope they fix your car soon.

[GeorgiaTech335coupe]

Originally Posted by Bimmer335i07

I wonder if yours is the first turbo to go?

I don't recall reading about any turbos going bad.

Hope they fix your car soon.

My dealership said this is about the 3rd one to have this problem.

[Rando]

Did you rev it high often when it was cold? (Just curious -- I don't mean to IMPLY anything at all.)

[Tag]

Maybe I'm missing something here...

If it's leaking oil couldn't it just be a seal problem and not anything wrong with the turbo itself

[MrSilver]

I have the same problem... I've had it for some time actually. My dealer told me that it is a known software problem and they are awaiting an update. My car does not appear to be leaking anything.

I'm wondering if your turbo leak is related to the low oil light. I have not noticed any performance issues with the car, despite the fact that I've had the low oil light issue for at least 3 months (if not longer).

[GeorgiaTech335coupe]

Originally Posted by Rando

Did you rev it high often when it was cold? (Just curious -- I don't mean to IMPLY anything at all.)

No, I always let my car warm up before I high revved it and I always let the idle come down when I started my car.

[GeorgiaTech335coupe]

Originally Posted by tag824

Maybe I'm missing something here...

If it's leaking oil couldn't it just be a seal problem and not anything wrong with the turbo itself

I think that would just be a temporary fix.

[HyperM3]

AFAIK, Spool on here had the first turbo to go. His wasnt a leak though, something actually got sucked in and wrecked the fins. Said there was metal fragments even in the airbox.

[GeorgiaTech335coupe]

Originally Posted by MrSilver

I have the same problem... I've had it for some time actually. My dealer told me that it is a known software problem and they are awaiting an update. My car does not appear to be leaking anything.

I'm wondering if your turbo leak is related to the low oil light. I have not noticed any performance issues with the car, despite the fact that I've had the low oil light issue for at least 3 months (if not longer).

Mine started off doing it only very rarely. It progressively occurred more often and now it does it almost all the time. The low oil light and the turbo leaking are related because the car is losing oil through the turbo. As far as performance I thought my car felt slow, but there is a good chance that is because I am just use to the power now.

[Park2670]

oneclean335i has replaced a turbo on a 535 already as well.

Thats always difficult to have a customer see a car completely apart. We had an X5 in the shop that needed a body harness replaced. Everything has to come out, and customers will stare in awe about all the things placed outside the car. We usually make a joke and say "we are gonna find that rattle!"

[bapow1]

Originally Posted by GeorgiaTech335coupe

So, I bring my car into service because it keeps doing this weird thing where the low oil light comes on and then the temperature gauge drops to 120 and does not move. The car is also constantly giving me varying oil level readings from low to full and the low oil light will turn off and on while I'm driving. My SA calls me back to tell me that one of my turbos is leaking oil. This sucks. Thank god it will be fixed under warranty (they said the turbo alone cost about $3k). They hope to have it fixed in a week or less. If your car has these symptoms, take it in immediately!

Take an oil sample and send it to a lab to be analyzed and to look for indicators of coolant in the oil. Reason being is that with my S4 I had coolant in my oil and this caused the seals to fail on the turbos. Oil leaked into the high pressure side of the turbo (fresh air) and ended up in my intercooler and eventually it was burned through the engine. Funny that your oil is leaking outside the car. Did the housing or the connections for the oil crack?

Did you see any blue smoke coming out of the exhaust when you let off the gas from WOT? Make sure they check to see if oil was sucked into the motor because this will cause O2 sensor issues and shortening of the lifetime of the cats. Also, you intercooler will need to be "ultrasonically" cleaned in order to remove the oil and bring the cooling capacity of the intercooler back up to spec.

Another thing that you experienced I also experiened. My low oil indicator kept coming on and off regardless of having the proper oil in the car. The cause? Coolant in the oil was causing intermitten failure of the sensor.

Reason why I had coolant in the oil was because I was chipped and was driving real hard on the autobahn. The motor had a iron block with aluminum heads and when the motor got hot/cool faster then it was designed, the heads and block temporarily warped and allowed coolant to move from the coolant channel to the oil channel. When we tested for this in the shop (high pressure), it was not detected because the warping had gone away.

Note for the chipped drivers--this could possibly happen with our engines also. Given the fact that the head and block are longer than on the V6, it may be more likely to occur. However, the fact that the heads and block are both aluminum, the metals will heat/cool at closer rates than with the iron/aluminum combination which could greatly decreases chances of a leakage.


Just my $0.02

[OTK_KART]

Does the engine needed to be pulled to fix the turbo?

[F32Fleet]

Originally Posted by bapow1

Take an oil sample and send it to a lab to be analyzed and to look for indicators of coolant in the oil. Reason being is that with my S4 I had coolant in my oil and this caused the seals to fail on the turbos. Oil leaked into the high pressure side of the turbo (fresh air) and ended up in my intercooler and eventually it was burned through the engine. Funny that your oil is leaking outside the car. Did the housing or the connections for the oil crack?

Did you see any blue smoke coming out of the exhaust when you let off the gas from WOT? Make sure they check to see if oil was sucked into the motor because this will cause O2 sensor issues and shortening of the lifetime of the cats. Also, you intercooler will need to be "ultrasonically" cleaned in order to remove the oil and bring the cooling capacity of the intercooler back up to spec.

Another thing that you experienced I also experiened. My low oil indicator kept coming on and off regardless of having the proper oil in the car. The cause? Coolant in the oil was causing intermitten failure of the sensor.

Reason why I had coolant in the oil was because I was chipped and was driving real hard on the autobahn. The motor had a iron block with aluminum heads and when the motor got hot/cool faster then it was designed, the heads and block temporarily warped and allowed coolant to move from the coolant channel to the oil channel. When we tested for this in the shop (high pressure), it was not detected because the warping had gone away.

Note for the chipped drivers--this could possibly happen with our engines also. Given the fact that the head and block are longer than on the V6, it may be more likely to occur. However, the fact that the heads and block are both aluminum, the metals will heat/cool at closer rates than with the iron/aluminum combination which could greatly decreases chances of a leakage.


Just my $0.02

Great post

[jsh139]

This happened on a stock car?

Also, how could it be a software problem? Just curious.

[voltron1011]

Originally Posted by bapow1

Take an oil sample and send it to a lab to be analyzed and to look for indicators of coolant in the oil. Reason being is that with my S4 I had coolant in my oil and this caused the seals to fail on the turbos. Oil leaked into the high pressure side of the turbo (fresh air) and ended up in my intercooler and eventually it was burned through the engine. Funny that your oil is leaking outside the car. Did the housing or the connections for the oil crack?

Did you see any blue smoke coming out of the exhaust when you let off the gas from WOT? Make sure they check to see if oil was sucked into the motor because this will cause O2 sensor issues and shortening of the lifetime of the cats. Also, you intercooler will need to be "ultrasonically" cleaned in order to remove the oil and bring the cooling capacity of the intercooler back up to spec.

Another thing that you experienced I also experiened. My low oil indicator kept coming on and off regardless of having the proper oil in the car. The cause? Coolant in the oil was causing intermitten failure of the sensor.

Reason why I had coolant in the oil was because I was chipped and was driving real hard on the autobahn. The motor had a iron block with aluminum heads and when the motor got hot/cool faster then it was designed, the heads and block temporarily warped and allowed coolant to move from the coolant channel to the oil channel. When we tested for this in the shop (high pressure), it was not detected because the warping had gone away.

Note for the chipped drivers--this could possibly happen with our engines also. Given the fact that the head and block are longer than on the V6, it may be more likely to occur. However, the fact that the heads and block are both aluminum, the metals will heat/cool at closer rates than with the iron/aluminum combination which could greatly decreases chances of a leakage.


Just my $0.02

I've heard this before regarding I-6 engines since the block and head (and gasket) are so long, the chance of warping are much greater. Especially when the engine is heated up to quickly and unevenly...

[Alias]

Sorry for slightly drifting off topic, but are you sure 3k per turbo is accurate? I recall reading on here last week and someone mentioned that each turbo was around $1,800.00 ish each

anyone?

[ezatnova]

I'm a little confused as to why your readings would fluctuate up and down for oil level if it were leaking....should only go down I'd think. Did you ever see puddles or drops under the car or smell burning to make you believe it was leaking?
I would just be concerned they are dismantling your whole engine when it's just the software bug fix that was discussed here.

[AJ M2 comp]

I had the same problem however they just replaced my oil level sensor and the problem went away……. Guess I got off lucky 6K miles and counting with no problems….

[TurboFan]

Originally Posted by bapow1

Take an oil sample and send it to a lab to be analyzed and to look for .....nation which could greatly decreases chances of a leakage.


Just my $0.02

Excellent post. Thanks for taking the time. Very good to know. I agree with your assessment about similar metals - we are less likely to see the thermal expansion differences.

[7586]

Why the heck are the pieces in your trunk! That would have flipped me out