Blown up BMW, wrong engine oil, whose fault?

[Arizona_928]

My mk6 tdi has a sticker under the hood warning to use the right oil or catastrophic engine failure will result.

Same with the mk4 tdi. Lots of documented spun bearings due to wrong oil. But that's beating the horse to death.

[cstreit]

No way would this cause the issue. Proving it is another matter entirely.

Probably low oil level or some oil pressure failure caused this.

Gonna come down to legal or customer service.

[rusnak]

I wonder if there is a BMW equivalent of Durametric? Might show an over-rev situation. And if the rods and rod bolts are not strong enough.....

[flipper35]

The wrong SFI spec maybe could cause it or too thin or way too thick maybe. Dino or synthetic as long as it meets the SFI should be fine at that interval.

[john70t]

Originally Posted by M.D. Holloway

That's a very severe lubrication regime upon start-up. That main bearing most likely has the most stress upon it. Not sure about the BMW but until the bearing has established what is called hydrodynamic film formation its at the mercy of boundary film and that is where the most wear occurs during start-up.

Back in the "good 'ol days".
I heard the ignition circuit was routed though the oil-pressure sensor, so the engine would not start until the parts were pre-lubed.

Makes a whole lot of sense.

[asphaltgambler]

Originally Posted by rusnak

I wonder if there is a BMW equivalent of Durametric? Might show an over-rev situation. And if the rods and rod bolts are not strong enough.....

Yes with the factory scan tool or an Autologic scan tool......

[unclebilly]

Originally Posted by Fast Freddy 944

I don't believe in extending oil changes past 3500 miles, synths and minerals both break down at the same rate. Thinking one is better than the other is just silly, they do the same job. Now I would be nervous about recycled oil, that's just a personal belief of mine. You can go to the nitty gritty and follow the owners manual, that's ok. Of course its a Bimmer, and those things are ragged out by owners on a daily basis. I see bimmer ragging all the time, cutting me off to catch a green light, stupid pricks! LOL!good luck bro!

^^^^^

Proof that not everything you read on them there interwebs is true...

[M.D. Holloway]

There is a very big difference in mineral v. synthetics...without question. I could provide scores of oil analysis results to prove that point in pretty much any application you can think of.

[svandamme]

Why the F would anybody put dino oil in a BMW that's this young, that is just retarded.

There is no Dino oil that meets the BMW LL standards,
only certain Synthetic oils will meet those standards and are approved.

Ffs it's one thing to debate dino vs synthetic in context of 40 year old 911's , it's another thing ignore the owners manual of a 2010 BMW.

[Rick Lee]

Fred, since the warranty co is stepping up, would you mind naming them? Mrs. Lee is shopping for an extended warranty.

[M.D. Holloway]

The approved oils for LL in the the US are:
Castrol Syntec European Formula SAE 0W-30
Mobil 1 SAE 0W-40
Pennzoil Platinum European Formula Ultra SAE 5W-30
Valvoline SynPower SAE 5W-30

For M:
Castrol TWS Motorsport SAE 10W-60 Synthetic Engine Oil
Castrol Formula RS SAE 10W-60 Synthetic Engine Oil

[M.D. Holloway]

BMW Longlife-98 (BMW LL-98)
Special long-life engine oil, approved by BMW. Also meets ACEA A3/B3, API SJ/CD, EC SAE 5W-40. Usually required for BMWs manufactured before MY 2002. Obsolete since 2009.

BMW Longlife-01 (BMW LL-01)
Special BMW approval for fully synthetic long-life oil. Product meets ACEA A3/B3 and API: SJ/CD EC-II. Usually required for BMWs built after MY 2002. Can also be used where a BMW Longlife-98 oil is recommended.

BMW Longlife-01 FE (BMW LL-01 FE)
Fully synthetic long-life oil with fuel economy properties. Oils meeting this specifications must have a low HTHS viscosity to meet the manufacturer's fuel economy requirements. These oils are only suitable for the following engines: N1x, N2x, N54, N55, N63, N74.

BMW Longlife-04 (BMW LL-04)
Special BMW approval for fully synthetic long-life oil. Viscosities are SAE 0W-30, 0W-40, 5W-30 and 5W-40. Usually required for BMWs equipped with a diesel particulate filter (DPF). Can also be used where a BMW Longlife-98 or BMW Longlife-01 oil is recommended.

BMW Longlife-12 (BMW LL-12)
Special motor oil for certain approved gasoline engines and the following diesel engines only: Nx7K1, Nx7U1, Nx7O1 from model year 2013. Not suitable for engines with 2 or 3 turbos.

BMW Longlife-14+ (BMW LL-14+)
Special motor oil for the following gasoline engines only: N20, Bx8 from model year 2014. Not allowed for diesel engines.

[M.D. Holloway]

here is a typical oil that meets the LL spec:

Viscosity, cSt (ASTM D445)
@ 40°C 75
@ 100°C 13.5
Viscosity Index 185
MRV at -40°C, cP (ASTM D4684) 31,000
HTHS Viscosity, mPa•s @ 150°C, (ASTM D4683) 3.8
Total Base Number (ASTM D2896) 11.8
Sulfated Ash, wt% (ASTM D874) 1.3
Phosphorous, wt% (ASTM D4981) 0.1
Flash Point, °C (ASTM D92) 230
Density @15.6 °C, g/ml (ASTM D4052) 0.85

The high temp high shear viscosity is a property and TBN set it apart, a high viscosity index speaks to its ability to have less variation in viscosity over a wide temp range. The higher the better.