Why and how do injectors go bad?

[ShocknAwe]

Misread

[135iam]

So at 37,000 miles I brought my 2010 135i in for its last service before its out of warranty next month.

It has been stumbing while idling cold and I assumed it needed new spark plugs so I requested them. I just go the call to come pick up my car, its running perfect they said, and they installed 6 new injectors and left the spark plugs in it.

Does that make sense?

Should I change the spark plugs on my own or wait? Going FBO in the next month.

[Dackelone]

Originally Posted by 135iam

So at 37,000 miles I brought my 2010 135i in for its last service before its out of warranty next month.

It has been stumbing while idling cold and I assumed it needed new spark plugs so I requested them. I just go the call to come pick up my car, its running perfect they said, and they installed 6 new injectors and left the spark plugs in it.

Does that make sense?

Should I change the spark plugs on my own or wait? Going FBO in the next month.

You should change your own spark plugs now. Once you add the tune, you will start to blow out(the spark) and have misfires. Best to do it now on a stock tune.

Its good they gave you new injectors. I think new injectors and vanos(both units) are replacement parts on our cars along with spark plugs.

[dcaron9999]

Originally Posted by SDS135

Just took my car in due to a leaking fuel injector on cylinder 2. My SA told me I have the old style injectors and they don't produce or stock then any more and that they would need to replace all 6. Problem is I have third party extended warranty through coverage one. I didn't think it would be an issue since the SA told me he has gotten this claim through multiple time.

Coverage one adviser comes to inspect the car (repair is $3600 plus tax) and then tells my SA to send the injectors to get rebuilt/refurbished by some third party to save money. I tried to argue that they should follow what my SA says as he is the expert but they are not giving in.

My SA told me when they return these refurbished injectors that he will perform a rigorous test to see if they are up to par. I was going to replace plugs but not anymore because I don't want these rebuilt injectors I want the new ones.

Hope I'm not ranting but Coverage one is not easy to deal with and my SA said they have never had to do this for any other N54... Looks like I'm their science project.

Anyone had any experience with this? Once it's over I'll provide an update.

God I hate third party warranties. This is so typical for them to try to salvage outdated & badly designed parts, to try to save a buck. In the mean time, your car is disabled ...

[Freon]

I would recommend people just self-insure on this type of stuff. Extended warranties like this are little more than insurance policies. On average buyers pay more than they get out to pay for the underwriter's employee salaries, computers, office space, and profit for the owners. It's not a great deal. And when dealers resell the policies during F&I I've seen them marked up over 100%.

And, as SDS135 found out, they're going to fight any big bills, just like any insurance company. After all, they need to average less payout than pay in. They're going to squirm like this if they found out they screwed up and didn't charge enough so they don't go out of business. $3600 is pretty big, probably close to or more than they charged for the policy.

Insure your house, your car, and maybe anything of particularly high value that would ruin you financially if you were to lose. Otherwise, take all the money you'd be paying into all these little insurance policies on relatively small stuff (say, like anything worth less than 1/10th your salary) and put it into savings so you can cover it yourself. You'll end up way ahead of the game.

[MZWIE]

^^ Well put. All those silly warranties that Best Buy offers, extended warranties, etc. make me crazy.

I suppose I have been fortunate that in over 40 years of driving I've never had such a repair that would break the bank. I've had a few clucth replacements and even a transmission replacement. But the most I have ever paid for any one repair is $4000.

If I had payed for all those extended warranties I could probably buy a new car with the same money by now.

Having said that. I do maintain my cars very well. Not a fanatic, but vigilant enough.

[Freon]

Yeah the Best Buy (or similar) warranties are the worst. Pick up a copy of Consumer Reports for a few bucks instead and buy a reliable product. Insuring every $50 small electronics or small kitchen appliance you own is just insane.

I think service contracts may be worth it. You need car service to matter what--that's not a risk in itself. If you don't want to or cannot do your own service and the contract is giving you a discount for paying all up front (and you're not financing it and paying interest on it, which might easily eat any discount), that very well could be worth it on something like a car with a very expensive maintenance and service regiment.

[MZWIE]

Service contracts and extrended warranties are two different things.