Hi Everyone, My son's 1 series with just over 40,000 miles on the clock suffered engine seizure whilst on motorway. Cause was fragmentation of plastic timing chain guide which fell into sump and blocked oil pump intake. My guess is that the chain tensioner did not do its job and the slack chain thrashed the plastic guide to pieces. No warning lights, engine starved of oil despite being fully oiled up. It was instantly and easily diagnosed by independent specialist by looking in oil filler cap! He said he had seen several previous examples. So if you have this engine (also I believe used in 3 series and Mini ) do yourself a favour and have it checked out. The engine is a write off and tab for a new one is £7000 plus and so this is a bit of disaster for my son, I feel guilty because having had three great BMWs of my own 323i E46, 530i E39 (the best), and 335i E92, all relatively trouble free, I recommended the 1 series to him. Doh! If you want to read about (and have a laugh at) my attempts to get BMW to take some responsibility for this in my view unfit for purpose engine, please have a look at my blog http://maxmbanks.wordpress.com/2014/10/13/hope-or-despair-in-bmw-1-series-horror-story/ I remain hopeful that by spreading the word of this issue BMW take notice and do something about it. If you have a similar or connected experience please let me know.
