Early F13 M6, pitfalls?
Discussion
I'm currently leaning towards picking up a M6 of the early F13 variety, probably 2012-2013, and Sakhir Orange ideally.
This won't be my primary car (although it may be for a short while during the covid situation when miles are low and lugging family around can work with my wife's car) but let's say it would be used 50% of my driving time.
I've had a 640d GC before, loved it, but this will be a bit older and obviously an M car, and a coupe.
Are there any major pitfalls I should be looking out for in a car such as this?
Thanks
This won't be my primary car (although it may be for a short while during the covid situation when miles are low and lugging family around can work with my wife's car) but let's say it would be used 50% of my driving time.
I've had a 640d GC before, loved it, but this will be a bit older and obviously an M car, and a coupe.
Are there any major pitfalls I should be looking out for in a car such as this?
Thanks
There are a number of stories of the V8TT in the F10 M5 and F06/F12/F13 M6 letting go, but I think the majority have been pretty reliable.
When the MAFs start to go you'll get a lumpy idle especially when cold, you can either clean them with MAF cleaner or replace.
Oil consumption can be an issue, it depends how the engine was used for the first 50 miles or less. Consumption varies between 1L per 1,000 miles or worse (1L per 1,000km is the spec) to nothing.
They are pretty heavy cars so brakes wear quickly unless you have the Carbon Ceramics. Carbon Ceramics can squeal a lot and once in a while when wet will give you brown underpants due to almost no stopping power for 1/2 a second. They can also be chipped if changing a wheel carelessly.
There was a 'quality enhancement' on the turbo cooling pipes to add some insulation, worth checking it's been done.
There was a faulty batch of air con condensers (common part with the F10) and most cars have had a replacement.
Due to charging on regeneration only the batteries can fail at a relatively young age, if garaged keep on a trickle charger.
The DCT gearbox pump can fail, giving poor gear change.
That's about all I've heard off, but much of the running gear is common with the F10 M5 so any issue with that will probably also be potential M6 issues. Back seats in the M6 are of course almost useless.
They look great in Sakhir, not that I'm biased at all.
When the MAFs start to go you'll get a lumpy idle especially when cold, you can either clean them with MAF cleaner or replace.
Oil consumption can be an issue, it depends how the engine was used for the first 50 miles or less. Consumption varies between 1L per 1,000 miles or worse (1L per 1,000km is the spec) to nothing.
They are pretty heavy cars so brakes wear quickly unless you have the Carbon Ceramics. Carbon Ceramics can squeal a lot and once in a while when wet will give you brown underpants due to almost no stopping power for 1/2 a second. They can also be chipped if changing a wheel carelessly.
There was a 'quality enhancement' on the turbo cooling pipes to add some insulation, worth checking it's been done.
There was a faulty batch of air con condensers (common part with the F10) and most cars have had a replacement.
Due to charging on regeneration only the batteries can fail at a relatively young age, if garaged keep on a trickle charger.
The DCT gearbox pump can fail, giving poor gear change.
That's about all I've heard off, but much of the running gear is common with the F10 M5 so any issue with that will probably also be potential M6 issues. Back seats in the M6 are of course almost useless.
They look great in Sakhir, not that I'm biased at all.
RichardM5 said:
As above, watch out for the CC brakes if wet and cold. Typical scenario would be a motorway trip in the wet, 30 min or more without touching the brakes then someone pulls out in front of you, the initial lack of retardation can be somewhat disconcerting.
Yup, they need a "heat cycle" going through them before they work properly in their operating window. Well that was an amazing drive home! I can’t say I put many revs in due to the weather and o ended up taking the back roads home not the motorway, however I didn’t seem to have a braking problem, they worked well from first press, but equally I wasn’t using huge braking effort so that’s probably why.
Quite normal. The fans and pump for coolant around the turbos can run for some time after you switch off. Can keep you nice and warm on a cold day while refuelling, but also puts additional stress on the battery.
Edit:
If you put the throttle in sport plus then the coolant temp drops quite a bit.
Edit:
If you put the throttle in sport plus then the coolant temp drops quite a bit.
I did consider it but for various reasons I decided that I wanted it to be a second car, fuel costs, the fact that the GC is not quite practical enough for everything (we do long trips to Europe with lots of stuff). I do agree the GC looks good, maybe slightly better than the coupe but there was no need for me to have it and I wanted something different. I will be getting a second estate for those long family trips, maybe another CLS shooting brake like I used to have, loved that car.
Technoholic said:
I only have one question/issue with the car that maybe someone can answer.
When I got home and got out I noticed it feeling quite hot around my legs that were out the car first. The fans were running and I remember my coolant temp was about 102 I think.
Is this normal?
Yeah, totally normal. When you stop and turn off, the car does its best to continue to dump all its heat. When I got home and got out I noticed it feeling quite hot around my legs that were out the car first. The fans were running and I remember my coolant temp was about 102 I think.
Is this normal?
I once had someone ring my doorbell to tell me i'd left the engine running! It was just the noise of the fans
Congratulations OP!
When I bought my M6, my buddies proceeded to tell me how it would have no feel, i'd get bored of it and that it is too fast. Granted, I haven't had mine long but I absolutely love driving it and it feels special.
I have a feeling that my MAF is on the way out as my idle is a bit lumpy - took it back to the dealer but they were unhelpful as no fault codes. Mine is also one of the ones that does like to drink oil; this doesn't seem unusual but it is somewhat annoying.
Mine is garaged but I don't have power in the garage - is the battery going to be a nightmare over winter?
When I bought my M6, my buddies proceeded to tell me how it would have no feel, i'd get bored of it and that it is too fast. Granted, I haven't had mine long but I absolutely love driving it and it feels special.
I have a feeling that my MAF is on the way out as my idle is a bit lumpy - took it back to the dealer but they were unhelpful as no fault codes. Mine is also one of the ones that does like to drink oil; this doesn't seem unusual but it is somewhat annoying.
Mine is garaged but I don't have power in the garage - is the battery going to be a nightmare over winter?
olliete said:
Mine is garaged but I don't have power in the garage - is the battery going to be a nightmare over winter?
I know they had a lot of issues wit them in the US. I think they blamed the US driving profile of long highway trips with no braking and hence little charging of the battery. They were replacing them routinely under warranty at every service, then when warranties ran out the owners found their batteries quickly died.Any way you can run an extension to the garage? If not, maybe an old battery and inverter, charge the old battery once a week at home. It really does help a lot to keep them on a trickle charger.
How long are you not going to be driving it for worrying about battery problems? I intend to drive mine all year but with Covid obviously there will be longer periods of not driving it and while I have power outside, there’s no garage to store it in. Wondering if I need to worry about a week or 2?
Technoholic said:
How long are you not going to be driving it for worrying about battery problems? I intend to drive mine all year but with Covid obviously there will be longer periods of not driving it and while I have power outside, there’s no garage to store it in. Wondering if I need to worry about a week or 2?
I think you need to worry even if you drive it every day. This is not a typical "battery drain causing a flat battery" issue, it caused by the eco friendly "charging only on overrun or when the battery is flat" mechanism designed solely to reduce the CO2 emissions as much as possible. The "when battery is flat" part is too aggressive (CO2 emissions are far more important), so unless your journey involves a lot of time coasting with your foot completely off the accelerator, your battery life will be shortened without using a trickle charger.Gassing Station | M Power | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff