Police vehicle engine failures - N57 series

[X5Sport]

Interesting article from BBC News this morning…..

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cumbria-64471386

If the facts are as reported then it suggests some Police Forces may have had some potential for blame as they didn’t like the guidance from BMW about servicing. As others have said on the Forum, ignore CBS and change your oil in time based.

Don’t leave engines idling and then blat off up the road it seems. But fixes were offered. Money does at least appear to be part of the issue.

As my X6 has the N57S engine, I am already changing the oil more frequently. I’ll consider going from 0w30 to 5w30 in light of this too.

[jaynana]

I had an experience with my 6 series convertible, 640i, although I believe I had an N55.

Car had a battery warning at start, so when mrs wanted to stop at some corner shops I sat in the car with engine running. And Mrs took her own time of course. After idling for a while longer than expected, where I casually kept an eye on the temp gauge which stayed perfectly normal, we drove off.

Within a few secs engine picked up a coughing fit and the temp gauge sky rocketed!! It was no more than 30mph and I slowed down further. And gradually the temp came down.

All was normal since then as if nothing ever happened.

[StuBeeDoo]

Interesting(?) reading.

However - at the risk of sounding smug - I have never let any vehicle I've been driving idle any more than absolutely necessary.* Before anyone had ever heard of Auto Stop Start, I was in the habit of switching-off at any traffic lights I knew to be "long-winded". ......And from the day I bought my F25 I have serviced it every 6k miles, using 5w30 oil.

* I have noted before BMWUK's references to "UK police forces unique operating conditions".

[X5Sport]

I’m with you, I don’t leave engines idling for any length of time, more so knowing the challenges we diesel owners have with soot and DPFs.

In the 1980s, the Police Force that I worked with serviced their vehicles at 3,000 mile intervals. Not just because oil wasn’t as good as it is today (or is it?) but in order to allow them not to have to MOT cars aged over three years. Traffic vehicles on the motorways had a ‘no expense spared’ approach to maintenance but then it was all in house, and if I remember correctly, motorway vehicles were 50% funded by central government. These days the Highways Agency has its own Traffic Officers. I don’t remember any incidents of catastrophic engine failures with the 2.8i Granadas or Range Rovers due to idling, but everything was petrol then. That might be part of the issue.

[jaynana]

Well you’d have been ruining the starter motors as those weren’t designed for frequent start/stops. Not to mention strain on battery. btw I only idled on start because of the battery warning.

Whilst on the move I hate start/stop to the extent I start BMWs with two fingers, first finger pushes the start, second pushes the start/stop, disabling it. (I even tried to code it to be off by default but that didn’t work).

[StuBeeDoo]

At my last place of work, one of the (few) perks was that we were allowed, in our own time, to use the vehicle washing facilities.
One of the lads habitually drove the 50mtrs from the car park to the wash and left his car idling the entire time he washed, dried, and detailed it. Then he drove the 50mtrs back to the car park.

[Leslie]

Going to cost them dear when that case gets to court

[X5Sport]

And BMW no longer supply UK Police with vehicles, though they still do elsewhere. UK forces just won’t buy them any more. Volvo seem to be our local favourites (XC90 and V90) . The N57 has long gone (replaced by the B57) but the damage has been done