BMW S55 Crank Hub Failure | Everything You Need to Know | F80 M3, F82 M4, F87 M2C 

I covered a lot in this video so here are some timestamps in case you’re in a hurry: - Spun Crank Hub Explanation: 2:13 - S55 Crank Hub Fix: 3:54 - Crank Hub Failure Caught on Video: 8:43

I don't think it's as widespread as many think. VANOS issue was "common" on the E46 M3, and supposedly BMW fixed it (faulty bolts) for 2005 and 2006 models, and my own 2006 still blew up at 64K. Even so, I never met any other E46 M3 owners that had that issue. Still, I am leaning towards the F80 M3 right now and if I end up in one I will do this "fix" first, only because it's crazy how easy it is to get more power out of that motor!

This crank hub does not particularly fail on stock bmws. I have not seen it fail, I use to work for bmw for 15 years and never seen the hub spin out like that. The only issue I have seen was when the serpentine belt gets shredded into the front crank seal and gets inside the crankcase! I actually took the crank hub out and as long as you properly torque the hub, it won’t spin.

“Aww fuckkk” 😂😂😂😂 1 like = 1 prayer for blues clues to be ready by next weekend 🙏

Some misinformation here. Not related to power but abrupt changes in engine rpm. More hp does not put extra load on the cam train (theoretically it does because cyl pressure is increasing).

Good job 👍🏼👍🏼

I’ve done a poll on this on M3 cutters and searched F80 forums. I’ve found 22 cases of it worldwide. That’s a 0.05% chance of it happening. It’s so so rare. It is mainly caused due to the stalling of engine on gear change (I used S2 logic). Also for some reason BM3 are 75% of them 22 cases. Stick to a good tuner not plug and play boxes for me!

The German that designed the hub was fired, demoted and then sent to the Eastern front.

Great video, very informative, good job on this. However the percentage of spun crank hub is very very small and some companies that offer the fix have their dedicated army of trolls spreading false info on the forums all over about this. It's like cancer you may get it at some point or you will never have it. Just treat your car with mechanical sympathy and everything will be ok. No money shifts for manuals, for DCTs keep your setting in the middle ( i smoke Hellcats on my stage 2 tune with DCT set to 2 bars) , do not overuse stupid lunch control etc. I can beat anyone who uses lunch control with just good old fashion acceleration fashion. Lunch Control is POS as well as Kick down. If you have that mechanical feeling for your car you can feel that most aggressive DCT setting is not really healthy as well as kickdown. There are cars who are very heavily tuned and have over 90k miles on and have no problems. I use Stage 2 91 tune even though i have very good 93 octane gas available just to be safe ( i had subaru STI before my M4 lol). In the case of serious knock event i bet the crank hub can spin or when something is going on with oil pump etc. Do not panic drive your car hard but with mechanical sympathy. If you don't have it ..... well you will need to pay the price, but the chances are slim. This is the best video explaining the problem. Thank you Simply Car Things!

Great intuitive video explaining the S55 crank hub issue. I have a 2016 F80 M3 Dct with a Bootmod3 tune and contemplating the vargas spline lock. What is the pricing for the fix? I was told 4000$ for Maximum PSI to do this fix which I believe is pricey for a preemptive measure. Albeit I dont run my car as much as Blues Clues and I only have 35k on the vehicle. With my low miles and the new G80 awd S58 coming out I would rather trade the F80 in on the new G80 M3 if the crank hub fix is as pricey as the cost of buying a used economy car. I was wondering what happened to Blues Clues. Cant wait for him to put out more content on the f80.

I have a 2020 m4 competition. I was given a jb4. I installed it and then removed it within 200 miles after. I wasn’t comfortable running anything besides stock. I have it away to a fellow m4 owner. I want to enjoy my car and not worry all the time. Also I didn’t like what the jb4 did to my power band. The stock competition tune is amazing, this changed it in a way I didn’t like. I was doing a pull on map 5 and got a misfire at the higher rpms and removed the jb4 that night. Stock and happy again.

While this is a real problem, it's also a very rare problem. It's much more rare than S54 exhaust hub breakage for example. Was there piston-valve contact in your friend's engine?

I ask in number of bmw work shops in europe and only one said they seen this issue in highly modified m3 with over 600hp. Its so rare that when you've got stock car i wouldn't bother , and even with modified car is worth to take a risk imo.

How is this not a recall?

Dude my F80 barely has 8k miles 😳 I need to drive it more. Thanks for this cool video

Amazing video. I am looking at getting an M4, so its great having this information. Thanks!

The hub looks the same as the N54 and they really do not suffer from spun crank hubs with high boost. Why?

When I hear that this problem can happen on standard engine but some high powered tuned engines have lasted a long time it make me think its more down to the people driving the car rather than a massive problem with the crank hub design. How many of these actually fail as a percentage of cars made? Is it really the problem that it's made out to be?

Thank god we have the n55 That one is pretty much trouble free I always say its best to leave it stock. And take good care of it offcourse

Sucks to hear what a great engine the s55 is at the same time “ don’t push it too hard” my car is stock and to hear it happens on stock cars really upsetting

Stage 2 VF tune, full bolt ons and exhaust....CSF intercooler....no issues 76,000miles

I heard kickdown causes the crank hub failure

Was it and up shift or down shift cause it sounds like he shifted up not down

Maybe a stupid question, but can you just weld the whole thing together?

8:43 Crank Hub Spins RIP

It has like 100 radiators ! Love the s55

Do you know if the crank bolt was still tight after spining the crank hub

If I just want the GTS Start Up Roar and Burbles and I get catless downpipes would I have to worry about this too much? I am not a crazy power head I just want it to sound good.

S55 is one of my fav engines so much tech

Please correct me if I'm wrong but I think there is a much cheaper solution to this, there is a lock that you can put on and it protects the hub from spinning. And I think it cost only 100-150$.

@Simply Car Things I just bought M4(non comp) with 28.000km, on how much i must replace crank hub i don’t want to tuned my car.?

Are there any cases of stock/non-tuned s55 spinning crank hubs?

the crank hub fix is a must when tuning this egine beyond stage 2 but the fail rate of it happening when just driving with a tune is below 1%. so it could also be just an factory failure on less than 1% of the cars world wide so just do the simple fix and you should not worry to push beyond 600hp

do we know what markets this hub part was installed in? in other words, has this part been installed in all s55 engines, or just the North American market?

What’s the cost to upgrade the crankhub

Only thing that needs to be fixed is the best exhaust note lol. M2 N55 is my favorite turbo sound

2019 m2c with 17k miles ready to go stage 2. Should I upgrade my crank hub? Thinking +120-150hp. I read that after 2016 bmw fixed the issue but i cant find more info

Hey did the car re start after??

Going stage 2+ with MHD next week and I am absolutely terrified of this happening haha

What about some approximate prices for all these fixes and issues, like how much did it cost your friend to fix his spun crank hub? Or how much for the preventative fixes? That would’ve helped

Yeah definitely needs to be addressed just like the faulty charge pipes on our cars.. not that that really compares though even though it's the most common issue with f22s that I've found.. charpe pipe is such a simple fix compared to a crank hub

Estimated cost of replacing the hub? (Prior to failure and damages)

What exactly did your bluesclues friend have to do to fix his spun crank hub? Would you mind providing specifics?

What do you know about the VTT Spline lock i want to get mine done but don’t want to pay so much is it reliable?

Can the crank hub spin at idle?

I had a choice - M2 LCI with the N55 engine or M2C with the S55. Obviously this issue wasn't publicly known at the time. I chose the M2 LCI and I'm glad I did.

is it common with n55 also?

Where are you bro?

Who the hell designs a free spinning set of two gears that could cause a complete engine failure ? Designed to fail on purpose ? Unbelievable and I was thinking of purchasing a second hand M4,not anymore.

Appreciate the video dude but the explanation by rsr is not very clear at all. Think about someone who doesn't know much about engines and this is the first time the crank hub issue is being explained to them.

The background drumbeat all the way thru the video...OMG. Why? WHYYYY???

Great vid thx!! Also, get some better wheels for your sexy car

The reason why not much on line as it doesn't really happen. Maybe if you put 700+ ft lbs through the crank it might. but your video doesn't show the incident just you refering a garage that can fix a problem that doesn't exits. !!

Anyone know what a job like that costs ?

How much does it cost to fix?

I feel like all car manufacturers purposfully create these stupidly designed engine parts which are supposed to break so they can nake more money on fixing

How the fuck does BMW get something so basic so wrong

BMW can't make a reliable engine since the 2000's...Way too many timing chain issues and so..(gasoline AND diesel). Kind of crazy those issues are not solved 10 years after they started.

Why the fuck does BMW build such a great engine and then take a shit on it with parts like this. wtf

If it’s not a 94 Toyota Celica it’s unreliable.

no matter some what this product doesn't hold value

Was für ein blöded Geschwätz Es gibt bei keinem BMW Motor irgend welche Probleme dir sind so stabil dasd die niemals kaputt gehen klar!!!!!

This is one of the only things preventing me from buying an M4

"wide spread" aka less than 1% of thousands and thousands and thousands of cars sold.

Just skip this generation of m3 m4. doesn't sound good anyway. wait for the s58

Save yourself the headache. Get an Audi 👍🏽

Isn't this like less than 1 in 1000 cars or something? There's so much hyperbole on the internet. Very few actual reported cars with this problem imo.

Basically, avoid kickdowns at all cost and be sure to be in the correct gear for racing. This ensures that your torque delivery will be smoother rather than praying on a kickdown. The 2018 and up M3/M4’s have proven to be better in terms of not spinning the crank hub due to harmonic dampening that BMW utilizes. I’ve been on a 100 octane tune for almost a year with 40,000 miles on my 2018 and thank God I’ve had no issues.

The additional images and videos while explaining are awesome

Have a buddy who works for BMW and he was pretty insistent that it isn't as bad as the internet has made it out to be. My local BMW dealers have seen zero spun hubs to date. So I'm not sure what to believe. No issues on my M3 with mods and it gets driven. Just avoid those money shifts and the kick down function on DCT's.

I never heard of this happening in the N54, and it's pretty much the same design, not sure what's so hard to maCHINE A FKN gUIDE PIN!! BMW!!!

I've only ever seen this on two cars, both were mis-shifted and mechanically over-revved. Both had a new hub installed and running again in a couple days. I'm have a suspicion BMW engineered the hub like this on purpose to try to prevent valve to piston contact in the event of a mechanical over rev.

This has gotta be one of the biggest myths in BMW communities. Yes the design is shitty, but the true cause of this is most likely kickdown shifts caused by the DCT. If you have a manual car there’s no reason to upgrade. This same design has been fine in 700whp+ N54 and N55 cars.

Question, if this is an issue with it coming loose why doesn't anyone just re-torque it every other month or so? Simple tq wrench slides under car, sets tq, boom! Save you 6K

Is there any way of knowing the crank shaft has been upgraded from previous owner or prior?

Super interesting video; I appreciate the conciseness as well! That footage was heart wrenching even with the heads up, lol.

Widespread? Wow, how many have they sold and how many have failed?

Important to add that new B58 and S58 engines does have integrated crank hub's

the worse desing for a hub ive ever seen!!!!

Literally just purchased my first BMW today, a 2015 Alpine White M3 w/the 6-spd manual. This bad girl has 47k miles & is in immaculate condition. I love shifting thru the gears in this beast already, the shifter is like buttah, that's a compliment. My sales dude straight up told me about this design problem(he owns an M4) but your vid really laid it out in great detail. I'm going to practice smooth, deliberate shifting for a while before getting "raw" with her & pushing the limits. Man, this engine is just amazing! Just wants to pull & pull! Great vid.

I would’ve also mentioned that probability and the percentage of cars that it has happened. Yes if you’re anywhere above 600whp 100% do your crank hub. But if you’re tuned and you drive like a normal person with a brain then you should be just fine. Spun crank hubs happen to people who rapidly shift down to first gear or really just push the car like an idiot without taking proper precautions.

I can't fathom why it was designed like that.

You can't really say that this is an "issue" from BMW UNLESS you are seeing many cases of crank hub failures on stock S55's. From what I have read and gathered, these crank hub issues are coming from modified S55's. Sometimes parts from the factory just aren't made in regards to buyers putting in hundreds more hp and tq than what it came with from the factory. I wish all manufacturers would make parts heavier duty knowing buyers will modify them, but that's just always the case. So this isn't in my eyes, a BMW fail. Its just not made for the extra power.

goin on the BMWCCA forums, you never hear of this outside seriously modded cars pushing way more horsepower than stock. I feel save with my M2C which is de-tuned compared with the M3/M4.

Great video Omar if you are running stock your crank hub should be okay very rare to fail but if you are going big BHP hub fix is essential S55 is a great engine very underrated sorry to hear about your friends BMW hope it gets fixed soon 😎😎

That sucks... I still want a F82 after the E92 335i hits 700whp, crank hub fix will be the first mod lol

I test drove a M4 the other day, it felt like a boat compared to my M235i

I’ve been pushing 600whp (e85 custom tune and Bolton’s) with stock crank hub for 20k miles with no issues. My car is a manual. I don’t overrev the engine or make “money shifts”.

Seriously- who in the fuck would design such a fuckin' turd? ... AND THEN, who in the fuck would sign off on said turd, as a "job well done"? "Good job, Klaus- We'll put it into production!" * Incidentally, "Klaus" was also responsible for the rod bearing thickness and material on the OTHER "M" engines.

When it spun, did he use the paddle shifters or the kick down when you quickly stomp on the gas pedal ? Or did he over rev and up shift at a very high rpm? Can’t really tell what’s going on in the video

Did BMW ever address the issue? About to get a 2020 M4

Sold my m3 e92 to avoided the rod bearing issue and got a 2020 m4 cs now is the crank hub !!!!! Might be is time to stay away from BMW

Here’s the thing to know. A great car under warranty. A money pit outside of the warranty. BMWs are not long term reliable. They are short term ego boost. End of lesson.

Absolute scam on stock cars that are not messed with.

how bad was the engine damage on the m3 video you experienced? fixable or new engine?

Had this thing happen on my n54 with upgraded twins, luckily it was very minor, just be slipped timing slightly and didn't bend any valves. Got the spline crank hub and retimed engine. Stupid, bmw could of designed this way better for practically no extra money.

Maximum psi??? Ha ha ha that's where I take my e60n54 535xi to get serviced!!! They even offered me a job once Im done with UTI!!!!

heavily tuned M3, 100k miles, what can possibly go wrong?

Wtf? BMW engineers will never learn.

The CS and GTS both run a maximum of 442lb/ft torque on this stock crankhub . Way less than a stage 1 flash. BMW know its limits.