BMW 2017 335D - I'm Worried

[Vulusmaximus]

Guys
Your wise counsel is sought.

2 months ago I bought a 2017 BMW 335D. It came with a service history and although it had only done 7,151 miles since it's last oil change I decided to baseline where the car was and get it serviced again. On a whim I decided to get an oil analysis done by Motul here in the UK.

The results that came back were not good, so after speaking with the analyst I opted to do another oil change only 789 miles later. I had two samples taken, 1 before an engine flush was added, and a second after the flush was added and then the full change done (I hope that makes sense).

Here is the oil change history to date.

No	Date	Mileage	Miles Since Last Change	Age of Oil Mths	Brand	Viscoity	Life	Notes
1	18-Dec-18	10,771	10,771	15.5	BMW	0w30	LL04	Confirmed history.
2	09-Jun-20	20,241	9,470	18	BMW	0w30	LL04	Confirmed history.
3	24-Oct-22	35,807	15,566	27	BMW	0w30	LL04	Suspected, but not confirmed.
4	25-Apr-23	41,268	5,461	6	BMW	0w30	LL04	Confirmed history.
5	22-May-24	48,419	7,151	13	BMW	5w30	LL04	Confirmed history.
6	12-Jun-24	49,208	789	1	Motul	5w40	LL04	Confirmed history.

This is the Motul report I received today showing the 3 samples.

So, just to recap, the sample taken on 22 May was after 7,151 miles and the two samples taken on 12 Jun were after a further 789 miles.

This gives me a ppm chart as follows:

Your thoughts would be much appreciated.

Kind regards to all
Ian

 

[Bailes1992]

Do you know if the engine has had a new oil cooler, turbo, any oil lines, timing chain etc replaced recently?

Often new parts will leach small amount of metals into the oil.

I'd get some mileage on it, keep sampling and see what happens. There's not a lot else you can do.

 

[GMBoy]

Keep running with it and monitor it is all you can do.

 

[Vulusmaximus]

Do you know if the engine has had a new oil cooler, turbo, any oil lines, timing chain etc replaced recently?

Often new parts will leach small amount of metals into the oil.

I'd get some mileage on it, keep sampling and see what happens. There's not a lot else you can do.

As far as I am aware nothing has been done to the engine.

I've gone back and added in a chart extrapolating the data into a ppm per 10,000 miles. From the little I know, an acceptable rate per 10,000 can be around 75. Any thoughts on whether this is correct ?

It would seem that the rate is going up, which is the scary bit... I'm thinking I need to get it into an engine specialist to dismantle it before it disintegrates...

 

[Vulusmaximus]

Keep running with it and monitor it is all you can do.

I've gone back and added in a chart extrapolating the data into a ppm per 10,000 miles. From the little I know, an acceptable rate per 10,000 can be around 75. Any thoughts on whether this is correct ?

It would seem that the rate is going up, which is the scary bit... I'm thinking I need to get it into an engine specialist to dismantle it before it disintegrates...

 

[Bailes1992]

As far as I am aware nothing has been done to the engine.

I've gone back and added in a chart extrapolating the data into a ppm per 10,000 miles. From the little I know, an acceptable rate per 10,000 can be around 75. Any thoughts on whether this is correct ?

It would seem that the rate is going up, which is the scary bit... I'm thinking I need to get it into an engine specialist to dismantle it before it disintegrates...

If it's driving well and not making any noises then hold off before you waste a ton of money.

I bet something has been replaced internally recently and that's why the figures are high. Go put 3k on it and test again.

 

[atikovi]

And therein lies the rub in OA. People freak out about questionable results when there is really nothing you can do about it. Are you going to tear apart a perfectly good running 49,000 mile engine based on this? No of course not. You wait until something breaks, or at least wait until it starts to have running issues or makes unusual noises. And that might not be for another 200,000 miles. If it really bothers you, sell it off while it's still a low mileage late model car and is still worth good money.

 

[Vulusmaximus]

And therein lies the rub in OA. People freak out about questionable results when there is really nothing you can do about it. Are you going to tear apart a perfectly good running 49,000 mile engine based on this? No of course not. You wait until something breaks, or at least wait until it starts to have running issues or makes unusual noises. And that might not be for another 200,000 miles. If it really bothers you, sell it off while it's still a low mileage late model car and is still worth good money.

If it breaks its a £6k bill, if I get it looked at now it will be £3k. It's still under warranty, however the warranty is limited to a £2k payout per incident. Whether the warranty company will accept the oil results as sufficient evidence something is going wrong is another question all together...

 

[Vulusmaximus]

If it's driving well and not making any noises then hold off before you waste a ton of money.

I bet something has been replaced internally recently and that's why the figures are high. Go put 3k on it and test again

No noises at the moment, although big end failure (from what I've read) happens without any warning.
Yes an option is to run it for say another 750 miles and then test again.

 

[atikovi]

Whether the warranty company will accept the oil results as sufficient evidence something is going wrong is another question all together...

No manufacture's warranty, letalone an aftermarket warranty, is going to pay for a repair until the actual part breaks or at least shows symptoms like noise or a running issue.

 

[wavinwayne]

Fellow BMW diesel owner here, mine is a 2016 535d N57. Good advice has been given so far. Continue to monitor UOA results but otherwise enjoy the car!

 

[Bailes1992]

No noises at the moment, although big end failure (from what I've read) happens without any warning.
Yes an option is run it for say another 750 miles and then test again.

750miles just isn’t enough.

And you need to also bear in mind that a UOA is for deciphering the quality and suitability of the lubricant. It cannot and should not be used for fault diagnosis unless you have long term and plentiful UOA to monitor trends.

 

[Vulusmaximus]

750miles just isn’t enough.

And you need to also bear in mind that a UOA is for deciphering the quality and suitability of the lubricant. It cannot and should not be used for fault diagnosis unless you have long term and plentiful UOA to monitor trends.

So your view is I shouldn't be concerned at this ppm value and that it doesn't signify excessive wear is taking place ?

 

[Bailes1992]

So your view is I shouldn't be concerned at this ppm value and that it doesn't signify excessive wear is taking place ?

I would look through the history of the car and even look under the bonnet for signs that major work has been completed which would explain the elevated metals.

If you can’t find anything, there’s no abnormal noises, no oil usage and no driving issues then do a decent run on the current oil before another UOA.

I have seen ex police 330d’s advertised on Autotrader as having new big end bearings and timing chains with 50-70k on the clock.

Maybe the previous owner ditched the car with an issue and the dealer you bought it off rectified the issue before you bought it? That would explain the elevated metals in the UOA.

But I certainly would not be ripping my engine apart because of some elevated levels on a UOA.

 

[Vulusmaximus]

Fellow BMW diesel owner here, mine is a 2016 535d N57. Good advice has been given so far. Continue to monitor UOA results but otherwise enjoy the car!

I was enjoying the car, now I'm wondering if I made a big mistake selling my ultra reliable Audi A5 2.0 TDI Black Edition .
Have you done any UOA on yours ? If so what ppm value are/were you showing ? Share a pic of your 535d please

 

[Vulusmaximus]

I would look through the history of the car and even look under the bonnet for signs that major work has been completed which would explain the elevated metals.

If you can’t find anything, there’s no abnormal noises, no oil usage and no driving issues then do a decent run on the current oil before another UOA.

I have seen ex police 330d’s advertised on Autotrader as having new big end bearings and timing chains with 50-70k on the clock.

Maybe the previous owner ditched the car with an issue and the dealer you bought it off rectified the issue before you bought it? That would explain the elevated metals in the UOA.

But I certainly would not be ripping my engine apart because of some elevated levels on a UOA.

There is no indication of any work being done in the history or under the bonnet. The reason for the last owner selling on to the dealer was not related to the condition of the car.
Yes I'm now seeing this about the big end bearings and chains as well...
I drive the car pretty gently most of the time and don't push it at all until the oil is up to working temperature. I don't know how its been driven before me though of course...

Anyway, thanks for your thoughts, much appreciated.

 

[wavinwayne]

I was enjoying the car, now I'm wondering if I made a big mistake selling my ultra reliable Audi A5 2.0 TDI Black Edition .
Have you done any UOA on yours ? If so what ppm value are/were you showing ? Share a pic of your 535d please

View attachment 225875

I haven't done a UOA and probably won't, it would just be something else for me to worry about. Here's a picture of my dirty 535d. She has 75k miles on the clock.

 

[atikovi]

So why/how can BMW and Mercedes still sell diesels here but not VW/Audi? Just the reputation from dieselgate?

 

[wavinwayne]

So why/how can BMW and Mercedes still sell diesels here but not VW/Audi? Just the reputation from dieselgate?

BMW hasn't sold diesels in the USA since 2018 or 2019. No idea on MB

 

[fantastic]

The short mileage on last test may be part of the problem showing higher wear. Run it 8,000 km's & re-test. If it comes back ok then run it to 12,000 km's retest again & then plan to change. Everything well then resume your intervals.