I'm posting this for a friend who is seeking help to determine if the notorious timing chain or oil pump drive chain issue would have caused oil starvation to the camshaft journals thus destroying the N26 engine on his 2014 328i with 45,000 miles on it. What are your thoughts?
Here's his story:
Had my 2014 328xi (F30) serviced for an oil change by a national chain. The car had no major repair history, 45k miles on it. It worked fine when I dropped it off. When the car was returned to me, the engine stalled when throttle was pressed. Had it towed to dealer service center, they found metal shavings in oil, oil level was low by 2.5 quarts, intake cam was 180 degrees out of TDC and had seized in the bearing ledges, with scars and pits in the journals inside the head. Timing chain was loose. Oil pump screen was clear, no oil leaking or blown back.
Fault codes: 131401, 120408, 1C0102, 135808, 135B11.
The engine needs to be replaced. The techs at the dealer's service center think that the people who changed the oil must have started the car with no oil in it and then tried to cover up their mistake by filling it halfway. They won't submit the repair for coverage under warranty.
The folks who changed my oil inspected the engine and saw that some of the cam caps and journals had more wear/damage than others. They say this means the damage could not have been caused by oil starvation, because oil starvation would have caused uniform damage to all the cam caps and journals. They think the loose timing chain was the culprit, and they are denying any liability.
Here's his story:
Had my 2014 328xi (F30) serviced for an oil change by a national chain. The car had no major repair history, 45k miles on it. It worked fine when I dropped it off. When the car was returned to me, the engine stalled when throttle was pressed. Had it towed to dealer service center, they found metal shavings in oil, oil level was low by 2.5 quarts, intake cam was 180 degrees out of TDC and had seized in the bearing ledges, with scars and pits in the journals inside the head. Timing chain was loose. Oil pump screen was clear, no oil leaking or blown back.
Fault codes: 131401, 120408, 1C0102, 135808, 135B11.
The engine needs to be replaced. The techs at the dealer's service center think that the people who changed the oil must have started the car with no oil in it and then tried to cover up their mistake by filling it halfway. They won't submit the repair for coverage under warranty.
The folks who changed my oil inspected the engine and saw that some of the cam caps and journals had more wear/damage than others. They say this means the damage could not have been caused by oil starvation, because oil starvation would have caused uniform damage to all the cam caps and journals. They think the loose timing chain was the culprit, and they are denying any liability.