Timing belt issue BMW N47 engine in Toyota

Funnyonion79

Hi,

I have a 2015 Toyota Verso which has been serviced every year and passed the NCT in march of this year. The engine light has come on in the car (orange light) so I brought it to a mechanic who checked the code and he said it’s coming up as a timing belt issue.

The car has about 60,000km and has a BMW N47 engine in it and I’ve heard about timing belt issues with the N47 engines.

The 3 year Toyota warranty ended last year (2018) but do you think it’s worth me contacting Toyota and seeing if they’ll give me any goodwill towards it?

The car has no symptoms at all of any issues - no knocking sound, no idling, no oil leakage etc...

Also any idea of what it would cost to replace the timing belt/chain?

Thanks!

MEGA BRO WOLF 5000

Anywhere from €800 to €1800 depending where you go.

sumo12

Definitely contact Toyota dealer. There has been at least 1 recall on this engine for timing chain issue already. Not sure if your model is affected.

If you've had the vehicle serviced outside Toyota network, you'll need to produce evidence that you've used correct oil, there is a very specific grade required for this engine.

Funnyonion79

sumo12 wrote: »

Definitely contact Toyota dealer. There has been at least 1 recall on this engine for timing chain issue already. Not sure if your model is affected.

If you've had the vehicle serviced outside Toyota network, you'll need to produce evidence that you've used correct oil, there is a very specific grade required for this engine.

Thanks sumo12.

It has been serviced by Toyota themselves every single year apart from this year, but I have a detailed invoice from the garage, who assures me that all the parts/oil that were replaced are all Toyota-approved. I will give Toyota a ring tomorrow and see what they say. Thanks for the information.

brener.c

Timing chain problems
Edit
The N47 engine family is prone to excessive timing chain wear and premature failure.[3] Rattling noise from the rear of the engine is indicative of the condition. Timing chain failure may call for engine replacement or a costly repair. The most seriously affected units which require the most extensive repairs were produced from 01.03.2007 to 05.01.2009.[4] However there have been frequent reports of timing chain failure in 1, 3 and 5 series BMW engines manufactured from as early as 2004 until at least 2011 in both the petrol and diesel versions (and hence not just necessarily in the N47 engine). At times the failure has resulted in a dangerous cut out of the engine while the vehicle was being driven - sometimes at relatively high speed. A “Quality Enhancement” was issued by BMW for some, but not all vehicles, but has since been discontinued.

Funnyonion79

Just to update you on this...we rang Toyota and they said they’d have to run the car through the diagnostic which would cost €107. They said we could try our luck and battle Toyota to get them to cover the cost of the diagnostic but they needed to run it anyway to see what the problem is.

We brought the car up and Toyota rang us to say that apparently at the service they did for us last year, they had put some sort of tracker/alarm thing on the timing chain as they were aware of issues with it on the BMW N47 engine. That’s why the light came on. They are going to replace it and cover the whole cost including the diagnostic check so happy days! Delighted with this. Dropped the car in on Monday and should have it back this Friday. They have given us a replacement car to use in the meantime. So relieved 😌 Thanks for all the responses and help.

CJhaughey

Funnyonion79 wrote: »

Just to update you on this...we rang Toyota and they said they’d have to run the car through the diagnostic which would cost €107. They said we could try our luck and battle Toyota to get them to cover the cost of the diagnostic but they needed to run it anyway to see what the problem is.

We brought the car up and Toyota rang us to say that apparently at the service they did for us last year, they had put some sort of tracker/alarm thing on the timing chain as they were aware of issues with it on the BMW N47 engine. That’s why the light came on. They are going to replace it and cover the whole cost including the diagnostic check so happy days! Delighted with this. Dropped the car in on Monday and should have it back this Friday. They have given us a replacement car to use in the meantime. So relieved �� Thanks for all the responses and help.

That's very good of Toyota, I bet a lot of p1ssed off BMW owners haven't been treated this well by BMW.
I always found Toyota to be excellent for after care, way better than many other marques including some so called prestige marques.