I blew my engine in November, spoke to lawyer - BMW M3 (E46 M3) Message Board & Forum

last week about the issue because in November, the board was talking about the "clunk" and the diff probs. Anyway, after speaking and getting some evidence from a few people that have had the same engine failure like I did, many strange and fishy stories surfaced....so I decided to speak to my lawyer about it.

The things I am about to mention are the facts in my case, and a few others that I wont mention their names.

In November my engine failed and it was diagnosed by the BMW NA tech as being "right under 8600" RPMS. Therefore NOT COVERED by the warranty. I knew very little at the time of this occurence and after believing what they told me, out of my pocket primarily (dealer helped, they are great btw) I paid for a new engine and traded the car in right away.

Now that I look at the evidence and FACTS!! I realized that it should have been covered TOTALLY by warranty. I KNOW FOR A FACT 3 other people that have been told 8560rpms and have exact data out of the ECU. THAT IS NO COINCIDENCE my friends. BMW will not give me my printout, which by law I should be able to see as I paid for having the engine replaced, that was not covered under warranty! Its EVIDENCE!!

Even if you surpass that major evidence which at the time I trusted them about and said to myself "it happens"!!, other evidence that they might have as well is USELESS.

As we now know, all E46 M3's do NOT stop at 8000 rpms they go well beyond that. So basically, every SINGLE E46 is not covered "legally" under what the warranty booklet describes since you will ultimately always have an "over rev" ! Regardless, the oil starvation we now hear about could be the cause and the "over rev" (I bet would be at 8560 rpms for almost everyone it seems!! Like winning the lottery - TWICE!!) doesnt say when and whether it happened under my "supervision". Furthermore, now I even see SMG's with the engine issue as well! They arent safe either!

I have already passed the issue of fixing it and getting "out" of the car. I HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE now, but I want BMW to come CLEAN with what is going on?

-Is the RPM limit 8000 or not!!??
-How do you explain 3 cars with exact same RPMS as max RPMS on ECU with EXACT same stress points and data! Thats IMPOSSIBLE!
-What's this now about the ECU diagnostics being a "close idea" and not EXACT science. I paid a lot of thousands of US Dollars on a "close idea"??!!
-Why cant they tell me when it happened?! Thats crucial evidence.
-Finally, I want my ECU diag. printout so that I can keep that in my possession and frame it!

Thats why I got my lawyer involved on Friday and he's going to gather info now. He states that the fact that the 8560 # is showing up so much and that these engines have max HP at 7900rpms, BMW can not get you with the "but do you drove the car hard" statement in court! The car is MADE to drive to 8000 rpms, and no judge is going to say that if you took it to 8100 rpms that you should have been "looking at your RPM gadge" while accelerating like an animal and not looking at traffic ahead. The judge will surely have to tell BMW that the RPMS should have been lower then, or a higher "redline".

I spent 3 hours with the lawyer and he said that it sounds like he can even involve the US Consumer Safety agency (deferal level) to do an investigation about the engines, and why the car was originally delayed, etc etc. Research the occurences of "engine failures" in the US and the what percentage of the cars it is. My lawyer even asked me how my driving record is and said we have a good case since I have ZERO points and the court might look at that positively.

Too many "coincidences" are occuring and you're thinkink I might have a problem with BMW, I didnt, but I have one now. I love BMW's and I LOVE my dealer!! However, if they are hiding something, it needs to come out in the open. YOU might be next and tou dont know it

I also want what is rightfully MINE, the money that I spent on paying for a new engine. ALL THE PEOPLE that have had lawyers involved, many on this board, have gotten out clean with an engine or tranny problem once they threatened, THAT'S THE TRUTH. If thats the case, whats BMW HIDING people?

Ohh, I forgot to mention that they stated first that it would take months to get a new engine, and when I stated that I would pay for it and TRADED IN once it had a new engine, PAM, it was delivered in 1 WEEK!!! Another little coincidence - maybe? I have a friend that his engine "malfunctioned" and threatened BMW, first they said 3 months for an engine, after "settling" with BMW, they said 1 WEEK!! for a new engine. What kind of games are these???

Before you post a reply and "bash" me silly, think first that I had my car last April, produced in Feb/March of 2001, and I had one of the first cars made...they should have repaired under full warranty just becasue it was one of the first engines. Many of you have had your car for 3-6-9 months now, or even are still braking it in! NONE OF YOU know the longevity of this S54 engine of the M3, but I have a feeling that with all these stories surfacing, we might very well see a few more. No one knows what will happen even once the next M3's come out in regards to this E46 M3 engine's durability!

I hope all of you have the best of luck with what is a great car on the surfarce, great engine (dont blow it), great tranny (if you dont mind the clunk), great differential (if you havent replaced it once yet). I am being sarcastic my friends, but when one of you find yourselves in my situation, or of many others (my best friend got FULL REFUND from BMW NA after 6K due to tranny probs), dont think that I was only being a "bitchin" kid! 16,000 USD for a new engine is A LOT OF $$$$$, and I should not have settled in November!

idea for a new vanity plate - "8560"

Against my lawyers recommendation, I have spoken out now before we start anything against BMW....but I needed to let people know my situation. Many of you lay out the positives, why are you AFRAID of the negatives!