X1 Low Oil Pressure/Engine Failure

[kgsd]

Hi Everyone,

I have a 2011 X1 28i with N20 engine that I purchased in 2014 with approximately 30,000kms. It now has approximately 155,000kms. I have kept up with regular services and inspections and the car has been largely trouble-free up to earlier this year when it started blowing dark smoke on start-up. This issue was fairly quickly diagnosed by my mechanic as an oil leak in the turbo line(s), which I understand is somewhat of a common problem.

At the same time my mechanic performed the turbo line upgrade to fix the oil leak/smoke blowing issue he also replaced the pressure converter, vacuum pump and valve cover diaphragm, and also did an oil change (amongst various other non-engine related service work).

I got the car back last week and all seemed to be working well – dark smoke on start-up issue was gone, and car generally drove better. A few days later, I happened to have my driver's window open while I was driving up a hill and noticed a metal vibrating sound coming from the engine bay that seemed to correspond to engine revs (it got more pronounced as the engine revved higher). It was only noticeable if I had the window open, stereo turned down, and listened somewhat carefully. This happened on a Friday, so I drove the car over the weekend and while the vibrating sound was consistently present, the car otherwise drove totally fine and didn't activate the check engine light or any other error messages. I'm now calling this the 'blissful ignorance' stage.

I took my car back to my mechanic earlier this week expecting that something in the engine bay or under the car would need to be tightened (to stop the vibration) but instead I got a call today that my engine is toast. According to my mechanic, he found a 'low oil pressure' code stored in the car's computer (that wasn't present when he was working on my car the week prior, and that didn't activate the check engine light or any other visible error codes while I was driving), which led him to open the valve cover to inspect the engine. There he discovered that oil wasn't being distributed through the engine as it should, and the engine was starting to break down (he showed me pieces of metal from the engine in the oil filter as well as discoloured/sludgy oil). Interestingly, he said that the timing chain and guides both appear to be fine – it seems like most of the N20 engine issues I have read about are related to these components as opposed to my low oil pressure issue.

This is of course very frustrating and I'm currently trying to decide whether to proceed with an engine swap (I've been quoted $7-8K for a used engine and labour to install) or abandon ship. Other than the failed engine, the car is in pristine condition aesthetically and mechanically (as far as I know), and I've just spent over $8K on the above noted repairs as well as various other suspension/brake work so it seems like a shame to just part it out.

A few questions:
- My mechanic has said that this issue is due in large part to the way the engine was designed and the fact that it revs so low so much of the time that oil doesn't necessarily circulate as well as it should. This seems logical in the way it is described but I haven't been able to find many other references to this problem. Has anyone else encountered a similar issue? Are there signs/symptoms that I missed?
- I had my oil and filter changed a couple weeks ago by the same mechanic and there were no issues (oil looked fine and there wasn't any metal debris in the filter). At the same time as the oil change, he also did the turbo line upgrade and replaced the pressure converter, vacuum pump and valve cover diaphragm. It seems like an odd coincidence that this oil-system related work was done and then my engine fails a week later due to low oil pressure. Am I just imagining things?
- Has anyone had any experience or are you aware of any threads re: swapping an N20 engine in an X1 that would be useful for me to review while I try to decide how to proceed with my car? It seems like my X1 is a bit of an oddball as it was manufactured in Spring 2011 and sold in November 2011 – most North American literature and non-BMW-specific engine diagnostic equipment seem to only reference 2012 and newer X1's.

Thanks in advance,
KD

[Chicone]

Wow that’s a tough spot you’re in. It’s a mighty nice looking and apparently very well maintained X1. Interesting that you have a 2011 in North America, there must be something about Canada getting them before the US?

I feel for you as the repair is so expensive and you’ve already waded so far in. I have some regrets about opting not to fix the transmission on my last car, it had been with me so long and I had made many improvements and it was great. Sometimes the best but hard thing to do is move on. In your area Autotrader shows a 2012 for $12,000, and you could part out yours or take the engine from this one to at least recoup some of the money. Anyway sorry about this, good luck with whatever you decide to do.

[kgsd]

Originally Posted by Chicone

Wow that’s a tough spot you’re in. It’s a mighty nice looking and apparently very well maintained X1. Interesting that you have a 2011 in North America, there must be something about Canada getting them before the US?

I feel for you as the repair is so expensive and you’ve already waded so far in. I have some regrets about opting not to fix the transmission on my last car, it had been with me so long and I had made many improvements and it was great. Sometimes the best but hard thing to do is move on. In your area Autotrader shows a 2012 for $12,000, and you could part out yours or take the engine from this one to at least recoup some of the money. Anyway sorry about this, good luck with whatever you decide to do.

THANK YOU for your thoughtful comment and advice. Your recommendation is what I would give to anyone else, but the stubborn perfectionist in me has forced the decision to proceed with an engine swap - stay tuned for (hopefully positive) updates.

A further low oil pressure/blown engine update: Very interestingly - a consistently-random 'Engine Malfunction - Reduced Power' error message has rarely presented itself in certain situations where I would be driving up an incline for the past 4+ years, especially in extreme heat. I've had two different BMW service centres as well as my own local mechanic try to diagnose the problem but no one was ever able to figure out what was causing the error message, and no error code has ever been present when my car was scanned. Based on the wear in the engine due to lack of oil pressure that my mechanic has uncovered, it appears the low oil pressure issue has been a problem for a long time, and the engine malfunction error message may have been the cry for help.

[kgsd]

[QUOTE]

Originally Posted by Chicone

Wow that’s a tough spot you’re in. It’s a mighty nice looking and apparently very well maintained X1. Interesting that you have a 2011 in North America, there must be something about Canada getting them before the US?

I feel for you as the repair is so expensive and you’ve already waded so far in. I have some regrets about opting not to fix the transmission on my last car, it had been with me so long and I had made many improvements and it was great. Sometimes the best but hard thing to do is move on. In your area Autotrader shows a 2012 for $12,000, and you could part out yours or take the engine from this one to at least recoup some of the money. Anyway sorry about this, good luck with whatever you decide to do.

Also, yes - I've recently learned that X1's came to Canada before the US, and that they started to be sold sometime in mid- to late- 2011. When I bought my used X1 (from a reputable Audi dealership) it was actually advertised as a 2012. I had checked the date it was originally sold and it was November 2011, so I always assumed it was an early 2012 model.

[monicaportugal89]

Originally Posted by kgsd

Hi Everyone,

I have a 2011 X1 28i with N20 engine that I purchased in 2014 with approximately 30,000kms. It now has approximately 155,000kms. I have kept up with regular services and inspections and the car has been largely trouble-free up to earlier this year when it started blowing dark smoke on start-up. This issue was fairly quickly diagnosed by my mechanic as an oil leak in the turbo line(s), which I understand is somewhat of a common problem.

At the same time my mechanic performed the turbo line upgrade to fix the oil leak/smoke blowing issue he also replaced the pressure converter, vacuum pump and valve cover diaphragm, and also did an oil change (amongst various other non-engine related service work).

I got the car back last week and all seemed to be working well – dark smoke on start-up issue was gone, and car generally drove better. A few days later, I happened to have my driver's window open while I was driving up a hill and noticed a metal vibrating sound coming from the engine bay that seemed to correspond to engine revs (it got more pronounced as the engine revved higher). It was only noticeable if I had the window open, stereo turned down, and listened somewhat carefully. This happened on a Friday, so I drove the car over the weekend and while the vibrating sound was consistently present, the car otherwise drove totally fine and didn't activate the check engine light or any other error messages. I'm now calling this the 'blissful ignorance' stage.

I took my car back to my mechanic earlier this week expecting that something in the engine bay or under the car would need to be tightened (to stop the vibration) but instead I got a call today that my engine is toast. According to my mechanic, he found a 'low oil pressure' code stored in the car's computer (that wasn't present when he was working on my car the week prior, and that didn't activate the check engine light or any other visible error codes while I was driving), which led him to open the valve cover to inspect the engine. There he discovered that oil wasn't being distributed through the engine as it should, and the engine was starting to break down (he showed me pieces of metal from the engine in the oil filter as well as discoloured/sludgy oil). Interestingly, he said that the timing chain and guides both appear to be fine – it seems like most of the N20 engine issues I have read about are related to these components as opposed to my low oil pressure issue.

This is of course very frustrating and I'm currently trying to decide whether to proceed with an engine swap (I've been quoted $7-8K for a used engine and labour to install) or abandon ship. Other than the failed engine, the car is in pristine condition aesthetically and mechanically (as far as I know), and I've just spent over $8K on the above noted repairs as well as various other suspension/brake work so it seems like a shame to just part it out.

A few questions:
- My mechanic has said that this issue is due in large part to the way the engine was designed and the fact that it revs so low so much of the time that oil doesn't necessarily circulate as well as it should. This seems logical in the way it is described but I haven't been able to find many other references to this problem. Has anyone else encountered a similar issue? Are there signs/symptoms that I missed?
- I had my oil and filter changed a couple weeks ago by the same mechanic and there were no issues (oil looked fine and there wasn't any metal debris in the filter). At the same time as the oil change, he also did the turbo line upgrade and replaced the pressure converter, vacuum pump and valve cover diaphragm. It seems like an odd coincidence that this oil-system related work was done and then my engine fails a week later due to low oil pressure. Am I just imagining things?
- Has anyone had any experience or are you aware of any threads re: swapping an N20 engine in an X1 that would be useful for me to review while I try to decide how to proceed with my car? It seems like my X1 is a bit of an oddball as it was manufactured in Spring 2011 and sold in November 2011 – most North American literature and non-BMW-specific engine diagnostic equipment seem to only reference 2012 and newer X1's.

Thanks in advance,
KD

Hi,

I have the same exact car as you but 2012 (also came from Canada)
And have the same issue of low oil pressure. My oil level is good since it was just changed. Any updated on your car? After changing the engine you car is doing good?
I asked my mechanic if the oil pump from my car should be changed and he said that in those cars they normally dont do that, so I dont know what should I do. Did your mechanic tell you what to do if your engine didnt fail?
If you have any info it would help me A LOT.

Thank you!