Iissue with the timing chain which I understand to be a common problem with many BMW's drivetrain malfunction warning light came on and I had a loss of power along with low oil pressure warning light.took the car the a BMW dealership for a diagnostic and the results were the timing chain needed replacement along with cam adjuster solenoids and phasers. Estimated cost almost $5K. Car is currently sitting in my driveway for the past 40 days. My understanding is that this is/has happened to many BMW owners of 2012-2015 cars.

- Danville, CA, USA

Car was giving the powertrain service message, while driving it would start to power down the car apart of built in mechanism. Took to BMW dealership to have looked at. They came back to me and informed me that the timing chain links were folding over on itself, and the chain was confirmed to have excessive play. Timing chain guides have failed, causing exhaust camshaft to unsync from crankshaft. Can cause catastrophic failure if valves contact piston. Recommendation is to replace entire motor at cost just under $15,000. Car is under 7 years old with 98,000 miles on it. Warranty was "extended" to cover this issue in 2018 out to 7 years, 70,000 miles. This has occurred throughout spring of 2020.

- Westminster, MD, USA

BMW engine N20B20 known timing chain issue. The car in question is 2013 BMW 528I xdrive, 4 cyl. Turbo engine, automatic, all wheel drive, sedan. I was at work and started driving home, got out on the highway, hit 65 mph and immediately notified by the instrument display that there is powertrain issue and to pull over and call service. I had to tow the car home and then again to the service since it would not start. I had 77130 miles on the car at the moment. I got call from the service this morning 05/29/2020 where they stated: Car had 3 quarts of oil instead of 5 which caused mechanical damage and wear. Plastic lead for the timing chain broke and chain is loose. Camshaft I believe is broken. They also stated that the fix is engine replacement $11,000. I asked is there any other solutions beside whole engine replacement they said no except for getting used engine instead of new. Now I have one more BMW (2007 328I, N52 6 cyl. Engine, 6 speed manual, rear wheel drive - still in great shape, never left me on the side of the road 176000 miles and counting), I am enthusiast, I take great care about my cars. Always full synthetic oil every 5000 miles, always mann filter(s), always BMW spec ll-01 for us, always castrol made in belgium. All the parts genuine, best tires. With all that care I know the weakness - oil thirsty engines. The car that's in problem got it's oil checked that morning or day before and showed up max. Those new engines have electrical oil reader (no stick anymore) so I have to rely on that. I am heavily disappointed in BMW and how they are handling this issue. They should offer remedy and full reimbursement or recall for this well known problem.

- Blasdell, NY, USA

My car stopped running while I was on the road (crossing over rt 29 in malvern, pa). A message on the screen in my car said drivetrain malfunction. After the mechanic looked at it he said the timing chain broke and the whole engine needs to be replaced. This car doesn't even have 100K miles on it.

- Phoenixville, PA, USA

My engine oil pressure light came on in the car and then the drive train malfunction light.I tried to run a self diagnostic on the car as this is a feature built in and the engine oil check would only go up to 15% and cut off. I took it into BMW of bloomfield for service mentioning this to them. They changed the oil and cleared the codes got the car back. Fast forward to just a few weeks ago, I am driving on the highway and the engine oil pressure and drive train malfunction light come on and the car stops on me. Just purchased the vehicle 1 month ago and the dealership is advantage BMW of houston

- El Paso, Tx, TX, USA

Engine's timing chain failure after 6 years and 65000 miles.

- Jersey City, NJ, USA

Car was in motion broke down on highway

- Freeport, NY, USA

Bought used 2013 BMW 528I xdrive 0N 4/2018 with over 94K mikes. Car in great condition and always serviced. At 123K miles, warning signals came on ("oil pressure low, drive train malfunction, stop immediately and tow to dealer"). was driving about 30 mph on street in neighborhood and pulled over and as I coasted to stop, the engine shut off prior to my stopping. Wheels locked upon stop. Towed to repair shop. Timing chain jumped off track and ruined the engine. No signs leading up to this event. Remanufactured engine will cost between $12-15,000. Cost more than car. I had to scrap it. (can provide documentation from repair shop when/if you need it).

- Sag Harbor, NY, USA

A catastrophic problem occurred with my BMW, a 2013 528I model, while I was driving on a busy expressway. A warning message indicated the oil pressure was low. As I attempted to navigate to the shoulder, another message stated there was a drive-train malfunction. The car proceeded to decelerate, .shut down and the engine completely fail.

- Houston, TX, USA

Was driving from memphis to pcb last Friday when I lost power in the middle of the highway near birmingham. First the 'oil pressure low' warning light came on, immediately followed by the 'drivetrain' warning light. Pulled over and got towed to the dealer in B'ham, where they told me that the engine was blown and a new engine would be roughly 15-17K. They didn't visually inspect the timing chain...just a hunch by their lead mechanic based on the ticking he heard when attempting to get the engine to start. They offered to do a deeper dive into the issue for an additional $1000, which I declined. I'm having the car towed back to memphis, where I will look into finding a second-hand engine for replacement. I will be tracking the lawsuit. My car (2013 528I xdrive) only had 74K miles, and I owe what they quoted me for a new engine, so that's not a consideration. I have been religious with maintenance, with all work done at the dealer.

- Collierville, TN, USA

I was driving my vehicle on the highway and a drive train malfunction indicator was displayed on the screen. The car immediately lost all power and I was forced to pull over on the side of the road. I towed my vehicle to the closest certified repair shop. After the repair ran their diagnostic test, they informed me that I needed a new engine because it had seized. They also quoted me at $9,900 for a new engine. My car currently has approximately 111,000 miles.

- Palmetto, FL, USA

Drivetrain malfunction error message appeared and car went into limp mode. Replaced air pump to control engine vacuum, made car driveable, cost $1200. Did not stop drivetrain malfunction error message from coming on. Took car in for routine service and had them look at the issue. Timing chain is about to go out. Car is not running properly, and there is no way to know when the timing chain will completely fail. I googled the issue to see if it is common and found out it's extremely common with the N20 engines. The error message comes on every single time I drive my car, and it has affected the performance.

- Trussville, AL, USA

Pre mature timing chain and vanos failure.

- Lynchburg, VA, USA

While driving on the interstate at 70 mph, the car, without warning, gave an error message that the oil pressure was low and then another message that said drivetrain malfunction. The car went into neutral on its own and wouldn't go back into drive. In traffic on a 4 lane highway, I had to immediately pull over (dangerous), and get the car towed. The belly pan had to be removed in order to manually engage the car in neutral so the car could be towed(dangerous to do on a busy highway). After the car was taken to a BMW dealership, I was told the engine was locked and the replacement was $18,000! this car has been serviced and was full of oil, so the dealer could not tell me what the issue was unless they tore it down. I complained to BMW North America (corporate) that there was obvious an issue with this vehicle, and they only came back with giving me the warranty rate of $12,000 and they would pick up 15% of the cost. This is not good enough on a vehicle that cost $$60,000 and does not hold its value. After further research, I found out that total story about these cars. BMW's who have the N 20 or N26 engines have a timing chain that have a systematic defect. My vehicle has a N 20 engine. Once these vehicles approach 70,000 - 100,000 miles, the timing chain will break which will cause extensive damage to the engine. BMW is aware of this issue, but have refused to do a recall to install the repair kit. This is most likely due to the cost of the replacement kit, but BMW would rather compromise one's safety and for over priced repairs. Instead, BMW issued an extended warranty on the drivetrain unit up to 70,000 miles. However, BMW is aware that the timing chain will break after 70,000 miles. In the vehicles with these engines, it is not a matter of if the chain will break, it is a matter of when it will break. I will never purchase another BMW product.

- Liberty Township, OH, USA

This incident happened on April 19th. Whilst climbing an uphill on a multi lane road, I felt I was losing power, confused and worried, I pushed on the gas pedal harder and harder only to realize I was rapidly slowing down, and the engine had stopped revving! looking at the dash, the transmission automatically had shifted to neutral and the car was coasting uphill steadily losing speed. Was in the center lane, hit the hazard lamps and tried to change over to the right lane in an attempt to get over to right shoulder for safely. Car in the adjacent lanes parallel to me, not being able to see all flashers going were not friendly at first to let me change and thank god, I somehow forced my way in and jumped over to the shoulder. Enough to say, I and my family in the car were scared of being rear ended or side swiped and would have been in a multi car collision that was all avoided from my quick thinking on my heels and bit of luck on my side. I towed my car to BMW dealer. Dealer found low oil pressure codes, on further debugging found broken timing chain guide, and informed me that engine was damaged from the broken timing chain guide. Only solution now is to switch to a new engine costing approximately $17K. Since I have 120K miles. I leant about my warranty extension for timing chains and oil pump. My request for any assistance under warranty extension has been declined by BMW because the car has 120K miles vs. 70K miles warranty period. While I understand and appreciate that, I am baffled at the fact that, BMW knew this problems and possible engine damage but did not notify the customers of possible sudden loss of power and catastrophic engine failure. If I had know I would have replaced the timing chain at my cost and potentially saved the engine. At least they should have updated the maintenance schedule to inspect the timing chain degradation.

- Dublin, CA, USA

This incident happened on April 19th. Whilst climbing an uphill on a multi lane road, I felt I was losing power, confused and worried, I pushed on the gas pedal harder and harder only to realize I was rapidly slowing down, and the engine had stopped revving! looking at the dash, the transmission automatically had shifted to neutral and the car was coasting uphill steadily losing speed. Was in the center lane, hit the hazard lamps and tried to change over to the right lane in an attempt to get over to right shoulder for safely. Car in the adjacent lanes parallel to me, not being able to see all flashers going were not friendly at first to let me change and thank god, I somehow forced my way in and jumped over to the shoulder. Enough to say, I and my family in the car were scared of being rear ended or side swiped and would have been in a multi car collision that was all avoided from my quick thinking on my heels and bit of luck on my side. I towed my car to BMW dealer. Dealer found low oil pressure codes, on further debugging found broken timing chain guide, and informed me that engine was damaged from the broken timing chain guide. Only solution now is to switch to a new engine costing approximately $17K. Since I have 120K miles. I leant about my warranty extension for timing chains and oil pump. My request for any assistance under warranty extension has been declined by BMW because the car has 120K miles vs. 70K miles warranty period. While I understand and appreciate that, I am baffled at the fact that, BMW knew this problems and possible engine damage but did not notify the customers of possible sudden loss of power and catastrophic engine failure. If I had know I would have replaced the timing chain at my cost and potentially saved the engine. At least they should have updated the maintenance schedule to inspect the timing chain degradation.

- Dublin, CA, USA

Had 100,000M warranty. Around 110K notice "engine oil pressure" light for first time. Added a bit of oil and light went away. Came on again, took it into dealer. They replaced an oil gasket and another gasket. Light came back on within 5 blocks of dealer. They kept my car for 3 weeks, said engineers at headquarters said I need a new engine. Now, I drive cars until 260K miles and then someone else drives them after me. Needing a new engine at 110K miles is awful. They want to put in a new 'short engine", cam shaft position sensor, cam follower, and turbocharger. I've had my oil changed as often as I should, now tell me, how is this needing all of that my fault?? I still owe 2.5 years on car. This is a landfill problem right here and needs to be corrected by BMW.

- Lees Summit, MO, USA

Transmission total failure and was replaced around around 55,00 oil chain pump & timing chain resulting in a total motor failure at 72000 car has been non op for a year

- Malibu, CA, USA

I have got the vehicle around December and I only had the car for two days thene I start experiencing problems. I contacted the dealer immediately they told me they had no problems with the car before which is hard to believe. The car purchase was a guy that worked at the dealership. After I started calling for questions the guy ended up disappearing and nobody would help me. They also false advertise the vehicle saying it was a 528 X dr, gave me the incorrect mileage and I was supposed to give me a warranty but I didn't receive any help. So I contacted the BMW dealership got it towed there and they told me I need a new engine. I will be driving in the car would just shut off sometimes then the dashboard tells me drivetrain malfunction. So I had to continuously crank the car and in about 3 to 5 minutes it would start. One day on the way to work I was driving in the whole car just shut off it was saying low oil pressure and drivetrain malfunction try crack the car wouldn't crank. Let it shut for a while one day I sprayed some starting fluid in a air flow sensor it crunk but still has a hard knock and noise it says low or pressure and drivetrain malfunctions.

- Louisburg, NC, USA

I was driving my vehicle on the highway and a drive train malfunction indicator showed up, then I lost all power and had to pull on the side of the road. I eventually got it towed to BMW of vista, ca. They told me I needed a new engine because it had locked up. For no apparent reason. I wasn't due for an oil change not was it low on oil. They quoted me at $13,500 for a new engine when seemingly it wasn't me neglecting the vehicle. It seems that BMW should fix something like that if it just happened out of nowhere. My car currently has approximately 107000 miles and has been well taken care of.

- Vista, CA, USA