# Don't buy an n62 powered car!!!



## BMW_Stu (Mar 3, 2008)

DON"T BUY AN N62 V8 POWERED BMW!!! That's all of the "45's" and non turbo'd "50's"

The following rant will list several potential deal breakers if i had known this information before purchasing my 650i:

1. No Dip Stick
There is no dip stick under the hood. The only way to check the oil [if everything is functioning properly] is through the iDrive interface. The problem with checking it through the iDrive is that it takes at least 5 minutes to load and read after you start the car. If you have any reason do believe your oil level has been compromised, you have to run the motor for 5 minutes before you even know, and 5 minutes is more than plenty of time to destroy a perfectly good motor from oil starvation. Should there be any electrical malfunctions that prevent you from reading the oil level, well then you're just up the creek!

2. 9 Quarts of oil
9 FRIGGIN QUARTS! that's more than a diesel truck! a DIY oil change costs me more than $120. Ok, not a total deal breaker, but i just wanted to throw it out there.

3. Battery Registration
No, you can't put your own battery in when it's time for a new one. There is some kind of battery management system in the ECU and the new battery has to be sync'd with the alternator by a BMW dealer. Try and swap it if you like, you'll run into a host of electrical nightmares, including steering and suspension failure!

4. Lubrication system faults
There are several items within the motor's oiling system that are made of plastic and will fali over time. when this happens, tou will be LUCKY to walk away only having to replace the oil pump, that requires dis assembly of the entire front suspension and bottom end of the motor by the way. These are also COMMON faluts, meaning its more likely to happen than not happen, not just ine BMW owner's nightmare.

5. More plastic parts
The Valve covers and timing covers are made of plastic. They warp over time and eventually cause the gaskets to give out. Another COMMON issue, will set you back a couple thousand bucks, only to last just another couple years.

Now that that's out of the way, before folks jump down my back, here's a little background.

This is not my first BMW I have learned the nuances and drawbacks od BMW ownership and i chose to accept that when i purchased my 650i. I understand that things are a bit more expensive and sensitive. I'm prepared to pay a little more when my car needs a something out of the normal routine. I also take very good care of my cars and do everything as recommended by the manufacturer except oil changes, I change every 5-7,000 rather than 15,000 as recommended. i bought the 650i with about 60k on it, I had it checked by the dealer and full diagnostics run, the car had a clean bill of health. now i'm in the mid 70's. A little while after i got the car, i talked to my mechanic about it in casual conversation, all he did was shook his head and promised me i'd be bringing it to him soon for valve covers, without ever having seen the car. He went into detail about the exact points of failure. Sure enough my car is in the shop right now getting an valve cover overhaul because of the exact things we talked about just a few weeks ago. He said he sees it all the time and he doesn't understand why BMW won't make an updated part. I also had a conversation with a BMW tech today, he told me the same story, they always see the same lubrication issues.

I understand that cars break down, cars from any make and any model will have every issue there is to have, but when a car has a known track record for failure, it's a dud in my opinion. BMW isn't making the 300,000 mile beasts that they used to, now they make cars for people to buy new, under warranty, and when the warranty plan is up, they're in the dealer again buying the next new model. That's just the way it is. I'm writing this to help bring to light some of the things you would never know about unless you were an owner, stuff that would potentially have kept my from even buying one. I LOVE LOVE LOVE BMW's and my car has been putting a smile on my face since day one, There's really nothing i'd rather be behind the wheel of, but i'm not forking over 100k for the modern day equivalent of my car, so once the 650i is gone, my BMW ventures may be over.

Don't buy a Bimmer without a warranty. If the warranty isn't within your budget, then consider the car not within your budget.

To all of my fellow n62 owners, I wish the best of luck and enjoyment to you. To all my prospective buyers BEWARE Proceed with extreme caution!!!


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## need4speed (May 26, 2006)

I see your point, but most of your issues (1,2 and 5) also come with most other BMW's. N4S


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## Jimmy Choo (Oct 8, 2011)

I agree very much with the OP. BMW's are no longer like what they used to be, even 10 years ago.

That's why I am seriously considering the Lexus when I next change my car. Some may say it's just another Toyota. So what? The Japanese car manufacturers really aim for zero defects. I have a friend who has a Corolla. In 4 years he clocked more than two hundred thousand kilometres, and never once had to send it in for repair. He only sent the car in for its usual regular maintenance.

My only issue with the Lexus is that the front of the car is so ugly! It looks like Predator, to which Arnold Schwarzenegger uttered, "You are one ugly MF!"


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## u3b3rg33k (Jan 14, 2015)

My n62 550i has a dipstick...


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## BMW_Stu (Mar 3, 2008)

I don't think i have that but it will be a pleasant surprise if i do! I'll have to check once my car comes back.


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## u3b3rg33k (Jan 14, 2015)

I honestly didn't notice it when I bought the car, until after my first oil change. I was having issues with the electronic oil level sensor, and nearly took it to the dealer for a new one. once I ran it long and hard my problems went away (probably a moisture issue). Now that I have located the dipstick, I can verify oil level (useful for checking fill when using bulk containers for oil changes or verifying the level at the track) if I have problems, but they have not recurred.

If there's anything I'd recommend re: N62 motors, it would be drive them hard often, or stay away. They seem to do better when they've had a good bit of operation running at temp.

re: #1, when the car is OFF, the oil level sensor is supposed to show it's best effort guess on oil level (i.e. is it safe to start my engine?) instantly. 
EDIT: I just went out and looked. here's the procedure:
turn ignition ON (DO NOT START ENGINE)
go to service info, and go to oil level
it will display "oil level OK" and a green sump. it will not display the oil level bar graph. 

as for #2, more oil generally means better oil temps, so that's probably a good thing. it costs me about $100 total for an oil change, including UOA. Plenty of diesel trucks (real ones anyways) that hold way more than 8.5 qts.

regarding #3, I had my coding guy help me remotely with that. took about 5 minutes extra to take care of. my new battery type is set for 90Ah AGM, since there isn't a setting for 100Ah.
All this does is tell the ECU what voltage curves to use (for AGM it is important to restrict maximum voltage or the water will be off-gassed and the battery damaged), and it also resets the learning curve for how many Ah the battery has. 

if you replace a battery with exactly the same type and capacity, it shouldn't cause any problems, at least as far as I understand things.


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## BMW_Stu (Mar 3, 2008)

on number 1, i think the "OK" you are referring to strictly deals with mileage till next oil change.

2 and 3, yes, i know there are ways of dealing with this, however they are still major annoyances in my opinion. 9 quarts of oil would not exactly stop me from buying a car, but something as simple as swapping a battery made into a complicated process would have thrown a major red flag that this machine is more than high maintnence... what else is going to surprise me down the road? does the dealer need to reset my fuel level everytime i buy gas" (exaggerated, yes i know, but do you get my point?)


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## u3b3rg33k (Jan 14, 2015)

it's literally this, without the bar graph. I'm 100% certain it's referring to the oil level for safe operation, not oil life - that's on a different page. 









I would rather an engine held more, rather than less oil. 8 quarts down two? you've got 6. NBD. 4 quarts down two? you've got 2. that's sketchy.

EDIT:
www.bimmerfest.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=421475&d=1391806757

explains the pictures and what they mean.


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## Edgy36-39 (Jan 29, 2008)

Sympathize with your position. IMO the only two ways to own an out of warranty BMW are to DIY things yourself, or be so wealthy these recurrent problems don't bother you.

I don't know how this can be a surprise however -- these issues have been extensively covered over the past few years. The BMW trade off used to be better driving dynamics in exchange for more maintenance. In recent years that equation seems to have gone out of whack. BMWs are arguably not more engaging than competing brands (see all the recent comments re latest 3 series vs. E90), and reliability problems have escalated.

BMWs are now large computers with wheels. Of course you can say much the same about most modern cars. But it seems true BMWs are not designed to last 200K anymore, even with loads of preventative maintenance. (Before someone debates, yes you can keep any car on the road with an unlimited budget)

You can argue all day about why that is -- changing market, changing buyer, pressure from gov't regs. Only thing for certain is that nothing will change as long as BMW sales keep increasing.

Good luck with your car. I wrote about this issue in 2010, and I continue to be amazed its on the first page of Google when you search "BMW and Quality" Give it a try, or see here:

http://chrisparente.com/2010/08/05/bmws-quality-crisis/


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## BMW_Stu (Mar 3, 2008)

Thx again for the share Uberg33k. I will try that as well, once my car gets back.

@edgy, i'm sure these things have been brought up before, i'm just getting my say and POV in, highlighting the things that might have stopped me in my tracks from buying "The ultimate money pit. I really dont mind putting money in something to improve it, but constantly dumping funds into a poorly designed machine is just a crappy situation.


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## BMW_Stu (Mar 3, 2008)

Another update, I did some more speaking with my mechanic today about these common fatal issues. He said a lot of this can be mitigated by doing 7000 mile oil changes. 15,000 mile recommended oil changes are really killing these cars. 

Any prospective buyers, if you are looking at high mileage cars with no kind of warranty, don't. Just dont. If you find something less that 80k, take it under serious consideration, have the car inspected by BMW BEFORE you buy, it will be worth the $150, and buy a warranty plan.


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## u3b3rg33k (Jan 14, 2015)

Funny, I'm doing a 15k OCI, but I drive a lot more than the average bear.


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## BMW_Stu (Mar 3, 2008)

What's OCI?


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## u3b3rg33k (Jan 14, 2015)

Oil Change Interval.


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## BimmerBoi550 (Sep 30, 2020)

BMW_Stu said:


> DON"T BUY AN N62 V8 POWERED BMW!!! That's all of the "45's" and non turbo'd "50's"
> 
> The following rant will list several potential deal breakers if i had known this information before purchasing my 650i:
> 
> ...


Another lazy poorly educated BMW owner who blames the car rather then their inability to take care of a car such as this. All BMWs have issues electrical and heating. The N63 is soooooo much worst it's basically this engine with two turbos. The biggest determining factor is the OWNER ; and his or her lack of ability to proper provide maintenance. Top of the line models are produced for individuals who don't ask AMOUNTs. So if your penny pinching do not buy this car. If you dnt have disposable income do not buy this car. If you can't afford a good mechanic..DO NOT BUY. Just don't buy this car if you can't do some work yourself.


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## ppointer (Sep 29, 2010)

BimmerBoi550 said:


> Another lazy poorly educated BMW owner who blames the car rather then their inability to take care of a car such as this. All BMWs have issues electrical and heating. The N63 is soooooo much worst it's basically this engine with two turbos. The biggest determining factor is the OWNER ; and his or her lack of ability to proper provide maintenance. Top of the line models are produced for individuals who don't ask AMOUNTs. So if your penny pinching do not buy this car. If you dnt have disposable income do not buy this car. If you can't afford a good mechanic..DO NOT BUY. Just don't buy this car if you can't do some work yourself.


+1 on most of this. I probably wouldn't have dissed the OP, but you have to go into German car ownership with eyes wide open and a willingness to over-maintain your car. A prospective buyer MUST do their due diligence on the model they're considering. Take the known N63 issues. Or the headbolt problems of the Mercedes M156 motor. If you cannot commit to researching prior to purchase and then being overly aggressive with preventative maintenance after the purchase, you're going to be very unhappy. That said, all of my BMWs (4) are older, but they are way more enjoyable to drive than the ES350 we have in the family. Or the Infiniti or Cadillac. Or my friends' various Tesla models. Or the Lincolns I have rented. I guess the Lexus doesn't have so much maintenance drama, but I don't look forward to taking it anywhere.


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## anthonyk56832 (Sep 28, 2017)

BMW_Stu said:


> DON"T BUY AN N62 V8 POWERED BMW!!! That's all of the "45's" and non turbo'd "50's"
> 
> The following rant will list several potential deal breakers if i had known this information before purchasing my 650i:
> 
> ...


correction the N62 has a dipstick my 2007 750i has one and 9 quarts of oil is pretty normal even Toyotas 5.7 V8 has a capacity of 8.5 quarts. all these issues you listed like the valve cover gaskets and that do not go bad until 100k+ the n62 is the most reliable modern BMW v8


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## u3b3rg33k (Jan 14, 2015)

I'm at 211k miles now. Good advice on not asking "how much", because the answer is "a lot". still fun though!


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