I own a bunch of vehicles made between 1998 and 2007. They all have the typical and expected problems. But this was a crazy failure mode. I’ve also heard the same about Porsche engines of that era. So to answer the OP, I always wanted to try a cool roadster car made by high-end manufacturer such as BMW, Porsche, etc. What a mistake.
That sentence makes no sense to me. What broke and got ingested into where? How?
What’s usually termed the “serpentine belt” is wholly external to the engine. While the entire oil system, including the intake is wholly interior to the engine. No connection that I can see.
Care to help a brutha out?
My son drives a newish used M4. While cleaning it he discovered a decent amount of debris in the lower grill piled-up against the lower radiator - mainly leaves and pine needles. Evidently the previous owner never cleaned out that area, nor Carmax, where he bought it. We soon figured out why - I say “easy! - you just have to remove that lower grill!” Bzzzt! No - that lower grill is not snapped into place, such that you can push it in gently and it comes out - nooo! It’s screwed in, to the backside of the bumper. Upon further online research, my son determined the only way to clean out the lower grill was to remove the bumper! We improvised a vacuum nozzle and just sucked everything out of there. Whenever he discovers some quirk with that car he mutters “German engineering.” It is a fun car, tho!
As far as I can tell, it was a unique problem for certain BMW engines of that era. Google BMW belt sucked into engine for more info.
After they belt broke, I replaced it. Drove fine. And then the oil pressure light came on. I replaced the oil pressure sensor. Oil pressure light was still on. I asked a guy on FB (who moderates a BMW discussion group) about it. In all caps he said, “DO NOT START YOUR ENGINE. THE BELT GOT SUCKED INTO IT.” I was like, “Belt got sucked into engine?? WTF??” I then Googled it. Ugh. Stupid BMW engineers.
Basically, it comes down to the stupid design of the crankshaft pulley: there is a gap between the part of the pulley w/ the groove for the belt and the engine. When the belt breaks, the belt gets trapped and wedged in this gap. It then gets chewed up and - I kid you not - forced through the crankshaft seal and into the engine. It’s an insane failure mode that I had never heard of.
Couldn’t they have an air fryer?
There is a tradeoff between performance and reliability. And I learned the hard way that certain “high end” manufactures of sports cars design for performance at the expense of reliability. I think this is most true for European manufacturers.
You have just decimated the average US kid’s fond memories.
Insane failure mode I’d never heard of either. Thanks for the complete and patient explanation.
I had an early 2000s 325 that ate a serpentine belt one hot summer day. Instant loss of water pump and near instant overheat warning. Never had any follow-on consequences. Whether a different design or I just got lucky and my belt failed outwards not inwards I can’t say.
This is very confusing to this multi-BMW owner. That engine uses a timing chain, not a belt. It is inside the engine, though. The external serpentine belt can shred, break or set itself on fire and it is NOT going to get into the oil intake (in the oil pan).
Perhaps what you are referring to is the timing chain tensioner? They are often made of tough plastic. If that shredded it could possibly get into the oil.
Incorrect. It’s a real thing, unfortunately, for some BMW engines of a certain era. I would never had bought this damn car had I known about this vulnerability. Google BMW belt sucked into engine for more info on this idiotic and inexcusable failure mode. And I am referring to the (external) serpentine belt being forced into the engine.
I am sure they’ve fixed the problem. Doesn’t matter to me… it’s so crazy & insane that I’ll never buy another BMW.
“Fooling around’ while ‘saving water” is fun, tho.
Not the stuff we got in the Canadian restaurant in Epcot.
where we got a
Poutine is Canadian Chili Fries. It is hot, tasty and good event food. Made with real cheese it aint bad (in either case) , By no means- with the exception of Epcot, and i am sure a few other places- is it gourmet food.
Yep.
There was a time when my family owned German cars exclusively: One BMW, two Porsches, two VW bugs, and a VW bus. My dad was a pretty good shade tree mechanic (worked in a garage through high school) and did almost everything himself. My brother and I, of course, were pressed into service helping him once we were old enough to distinguish a wrench from a not-a-wrench. Every so often, Dear Old Dad, usually when deep under one of the cars, would mutter, “Goddamn fucking Kraut engineering!” After we got old enough, we learned that German engineers sometimes design their cars to be maintained by people with two elbows in their left arm to reach certain parts (or similar physical impossibilities).
My favorite is that on a 2012 VW Passat, the black battery cable is positive and the brown is negative.
Who the f**k thought that would be a good idea to sell in the US? Black is negative for cars in the US.
Apparently the German engineers thought they were special or something.
Especially when it’s at night and a guy going for a walk almost trips over you.
I have never been in a German car where the climate controls/symbols made any sense.
The error in that thinking is in this bit: “design their cars to be maintained”.
Nope. Designed to be built then driven; never maintained. Oh, maintenance was quite necessary. But designing as if facilitating maintenance was a goal? Not necessary.
In one sense BMW has gotten a lot better about design for maintenance in the last 10-15 years. OTOH, cars have gotten more complex and the componentry under the hood has gotten more denser more faster. End result: working on any modern car is a bitch, but BWM is still a leader in that unhappy pack.
In my experience, BMWs are fun cars to drive that tend to have lots of expensive maintenance issues. The number of inventive ways they can fail is astounding.
My first new car was a 1992 BMW 325is that I bought in Germany through a military sales program and shipped back to the U.S. (It met U.S. specifications.) It was an awesome car to drive, but was an absolute lemon maintenance-wise. It cost me thousands of dollars in repair costs, which appeared to be getting exponentially worse before it even hit 100K miles. I sold it and was glad to see it go.
So I am not at all surprised that a 16 year old BMV would have problems.
That BMW turned me off German cars for good (after previously having driven a VW and an Audi). I switched to Toyotas and haven’t looked back.
Adding to the burger joint talk, both Sonic and Jack in the Box had big openings in the Chicago region and both weren’t worth the wait. Sonic was eh and JitB was actively awful.
Looks like Mt. Rushmore hasn’t been mentioned. It was one stop of many on a trip out west many years ago - Grand Canyon, Sequoias and redwoods, San Francisco, Olympic Peninsula, Glacier NP, Badlands, etc., etc., all of which are worth visiting - but if you’ve seen a picture of Mt. Rushmore, that suffices. Seeing the real thing really doesn’t add much.
For starters, I wouldn’t call a 20lb watermelon small 
But having lived in Delhi, I suspect they may have been selling the jackfruit as a vegetable. It only becomes sweet when it is fully ripe. I can highly recommend the unripe version, and once you fry up the flesh, it is quite meaty and delicious and can be used in a number of Indian dishes. Just Google ‘katthal’
Eta: it is excellent for vegans