Fourth and Fifth Problem. Sad Day. Opening communication with BMWNA

[Robert]

Update:

Problem is from cylinder 5 misfiring and there is no solution besides a battery reset. Dealer said this will not cure the problem, hopefully will receive BMW support before problem manifests itself again. In addition, dealer said there are few other 135i suffering from the same problem. I am not confident that BMW will solve the problem as they still haven't solve the chirping noise problem from 2 months ago.

Here's technician's note verbatim

5585 interrogated control modules, dme 29d1 stored, cylinder #5 misfire INTERROGATED CONTROL MODULES, DME 29D1 STORED MISFIRE CYLINDER # 5, PER GT-1 TEST MODULE CHECKED FUEL DELIVERY PRESSURE, INTERCHANGED IGNITION COILS CYL 4 TO CYL 5, INTERCHANGED SPARK PLUGS CYL 4 TO CYL 5, FAULT CONTINUE TO SET ON CYLINDER #5, CHECKED IGNITION AND INJECTION ENGINE HARNESS FROM DME TO COIL AND INJECTOR, RECALIBRATED ALL SIX INJECTORS, CLEARED ADAPTATION VALUES AND PERFORMED A BATTERY RESET. FUALT NO GONE. SEE TC CASE #19874837

[ARES45]

Damn, sorry to hear this. If you lemon it, do you get another 135i or just the money you paid for the car?

[Robert]

I haven't decided since the lemon process may take awhile. I do want to get back into a 135i perhaps in tii form. There are couple other cars coming out in 2009 period that I am interested in, Z4M coupe/convert for one. Or I may get an used s2k for the meantime, something reliable and fun.

[one-35]

There's the 335d coming out next month... I thought I read 420+ ft-lb of torque and 30+ mpg!!!

[Dr_Jones]

This suqs to read. Good luck hope you end up in a new ride

[BMWNA]

Originally Posted by robert

Guys, today has been a bad day. Those of you who followed my last thread know that my car was taken to dealer for SRS failure light and long cranks. The result was a replaced switch, a brand new 3rd generation fuel pump, and an software update. I was ecstatic about the progress they made but celebration soon ended

I did a late pick up from dealer (service dept is off for the night,) and the first thing I noticed is I lost the auto up capability on my driver side window while passenger side auto up and down feature is still functional. I quickly deduced this is not a feature of new software but a bug. However this is a minor flaw I can wait till the weekend.

As I am driving home on the freeway, I noticed engine rattles and shudders a lot during acceleration in 6th gear around 65. But if I down shift to 5th and accelerated from 65 the rattle was still there but more subdued. Subsequently I tried acceleration with different combinations of speed and gear. The problem can be duplicated and most noticeable from accelerating at taller gear. (For example, going 35mph and accelerate to 60 in 6th.)

All of sudden the car went into limp mode with service engine light on, the dot matrix display showed a half shaded engine and the iDrive said engine malfunction. Now the engine shakes at every gear and speed under acceleration. Good thing I was half a mile from home. I parked my car in the garage and scheduled a tow tomorrow. No way I will risk driving it back to dealer..


I am extremely disappointed with the car, not BMW, and it's a huge letdown when the car just serviced runs into problem before I arrived home. I am calling BMWNA tomorrow to open a dialogue to lemon the car. Four dealer visits within the first 6 month of ownership is unacceptable and I can't fathom the problems I would encounter after warranty expired. I hope BMW will do the right thing otherwise I will be really disappointed with the company. I am not sure if I would get straight into another 135i yet. Maybe another car with BMW later. I still have my civic commuter in the meantime.


Anyone care to speculate what the problem is? I can provided additional information if needed. The car is stock, no modification besides clearbra on the hood for paint protection.

I’m with BMW of North America, LLC. Check your inbox for our offer of assistance.

[Robert]

Thank you! Looking forward to hear from you.

[3toM]

Originally Posted by robert

Thank you! Looking forward to hear from you.

Hope they're able to help to your satisfaction! You'll have to let us know how it all turns out.

[imported_mega]

woohoo for bmw NA

It's sooo nice to see a manufacturer actually care about enthusiast forums

[AchtungF80]

subscribed!

[Robert]

It's been awhile and I have a lot to update, but I don't have much time so here are the Cliffs.

- No new problem surfaced but waiting for BMW engineering to resolve the existing problem.
- Car runs fine.
- BMW offered Extended Warranty
- I will keep the car for now
- Overall experience B- to B


Here are some details:

The process it took me to secure the extended warranty has left me disappointed, and I doubt I will buy another BMW after this. (I may... we will see but there are so many competitors now, GTR, Supra, Challenger, etc..) Those of you who think I am demanding, let me explain.

Recap what i went through, My 135i had some minor bugs within first 4 months of ownership; window doesn't fully retract; weird bird-like chirping like from the engine bay, which went away by itself but was confirmed by mechanic; and long cranks. Then my SRS system failed from a faulty switch. Dealer replaced switch and fuel pump. The car went into limp mode on the freeway the same night I picked up the car and car was diagnosed with misfire.

I called a BMW rep to explain my situation but she couldn't see any of my service invoices. Turned out their service system and customer rep system aren't connected. (Fire the IT guy!) At that point I was ready to lemon my car and I wrote a 6 page letter to BMW NA including photocopies of my invoices.

Got a call from someone with more authority and can make a decision. I had to explain my situation again because she was confused with the difference between the car runs for now versus the root cause is still unresolved. Anyways, she was at least attentive and after some negotiation she offered me a "good will" extended service. (I still chuckle at the "good will" part) To complete the transaction, I would need to contact the service manager for a final check up and arrange a check for the warranty.

Here's what really annoyed me but I will not disclose the name of dealership or the names of people involved because there are some employees there who are truly helpful and I am gracious of their professionalism. (I will answer questions on PM tho.)

Following procedures I scheduled an appointment for the following week and left the service manager know that I will be in that day to also take care of warranty. (Corp told me to speak to the manager.) A week later I showed up at the dealership. First I had no clue what the final inspection was for. I thought it was required in order to get the warranty. Turned out, there was a still a big confusion between waiting for engineering to resolve the problem vs. the car is currently non-operational

Long story short, I got major attitude from the manager from the get go. I could sense he was annoyed that I am even in his office. I introduced myself and he gave me a stare. What are you talking about I don't know who you are. So then I gave him my car model and my full legal name (I am chinese and lived here since I was 10.), and he said something to the extend, how am I suppose to know who you are if you don't give me the real name. (Sir, I called you last week and on the first page of my case file on his desk there was a post-it note with my American name on it.)

Okay minor problem, I do not care. I just needed to get my warranty. So he asked me, "is there a problem with your car?" "Uhm well.. ," I said. He got even livelier, "DO YOU HAVE A PROBLEM, YES OR NO." "YES" I said. He escorted me to a SA desk and left me there. When he returned, I explain everything in detail with him, AGAIN. (As if the hours I spent on the letter was not sufficient.) I also told him I am not there to cause inconvenience but to have the problem resolved and get the warranty. Now he gets the point and told me he would talk to finance and get the numbers.

(WHAT the heck! I gave your dealership my business. I got a product that caused me grief and time. I spent good time informing BMW the problem and I am getting attitude. What is wrong with the picture here.)

He promised he would call me when everything is ready. I left a vm on his number the next day to check on status. Nothing, stone walled. I called the lady at corporate the next day, and she told me it takes time for finance to clear the numbers and he should get back to me in a week. (Okay fine, should have called me or left me a short vm and I would feel a lot better. Oh btw, it has been 3-4 weeks since I was promised the warranty. Couldn't the paper work started when I scheduled the appointment?)

A week and half later. Nothing. No calls. No check for warranty. No warranty. I finally went in today. Sat in his office for him. Again, I could tell he think I am there to cause him more work. He asked what he can do for me. I reminded him the situation and he asked me if I spoke to the guy. I said I am not sure who you are referring to but I spoke to you last. He stood up and walked me over to finance and asked the guy to take care of me and give him the number afterwards.

Oh my goodness. I think if I did not go in today the whole situation would have accidently disappeared, and I would never get my warranty. I thought getting the number from finance was suppose to take place a week and half ago. Why couldn't he take me to finance last time. Is there something sinister here that I am being jerked around to jump through the fire rings so somehow they wouldn't take the loss? Or is it as ridiculous as it's forgotten. I think next time I will take the minor performance hit and go Lexus or Supra because BMW is too high maintenance.

[imported_mega]

so wait, your buying the warranty yourself?

Why did you have to go through all of that just to buy a warranty ?

[Robert]

Originally Posted by mega

so wait, your buying the warranty yourself?

Why did you have to go through all of that just to buy a warranty ?

I had to go through all that to get a free warranty from bmw. I bet it will take me 15 mins if I bought it myself

[one-35]

Originally Posted by robert

I had to go through all that to get a free warranty from bmw. I bet it will take me 15 mins if I bought it myself

Robert,

PM me about other car choices; I'll be checking out the LA Auto show in 2 weeks. We were at the LB meet (Yard House). I have 3200 miles on my 135i now, and I'm fortunate to only have had 'minor' issues... all warrantied (but with some hassle).

I've owned (incl. my family) Nissan, Mazda, Acura (Honda), Cadillac, Oldsmobile, Buick, VW, Lexus, Mercedes, Toyota, BMW, and even DATSUN.

Let me say... you cannot beat Toyota or Honda reliability. Nissan customer service is the BEST. Mazda MX-5 is the most fun to drive. BMW makes great performance cars, including the 135i (if you get a good one... by chance).

But my '04 Acura TSX is the LOWEST MAINTENANCE, headache-free car I've ever owned/driven. It's 5+ years old with 82K miles, and I've spent only about $1600 TOTAL on all maintenance/services (including 20 oil changes, air/cabin filter changes, all fluid changes, alignments, brake pads/rotor re-surf., and 2 sets of high-performance tires)! Best part... its KBB private party value is still 50% of new retail price!

I really, really like my 135i, but if you lemon this car and choose something else... the Lexus IS350 or any Acura will give you less grief over the next 5 years. Expect at least minor problems with any new intro. model though... i.e.: new Supra.

[I-One-Da?]

I am sorry to hear that you have been going through this much grief with BMW.

I am in the early stages of the same process you just went through. Last Friday I had the Regional Engineer inspect my car. We will see if I go through the same headaches you went through.

It just seems to me that BMW would be smarter then this. All the bad publicity they are getting from your story and mine has to hurt peoples view of BMW. I have had tons of PM's from people on here and other forums I have posted my story on saying that they are glad they read my story. They were possibly in the market for a new BMW and are now waiting to see if the outcome of my situation is acceptable. If not, they tell me that they will not buy a BMW:iono:

It does sound like the dealership was who gave you the most grief Robert. That does not mean that BMW is off the hook in my opinion though. They need to make sure the dealerships are keeping people happy because it is their name on the front of the building:iono:

Good luck

[AchtungF80]

Yeah Robert, its like that when it comes to anything free from the dealer or the service dept after the sale of the car. (with the exception of my local Jeep dealer)

I had the same run-around getting my ext warranty transferred to the new owner of my Z and I got all sorts of run-around from the finance manager, returning calls, losing paperwork, getting paperwork, faxing or not faxing things to me, and then setting up appts late in the week, just to find out he's off!

[Robert]

Originally Posted by I-One-Da?

I am sorry to hear that you have been going through this much grief with BMW.

I am in the early stages of the same process you just went through. Last Friday I had the Regional Engineer inspect my car. We will see if I go through the same headaches you went through.

It just seems to me that BMW would be smarter then this. All the bad publicity they are getting from your story and mine has to hurt peoples view of BMW. I have had tons of PM's from people on here and other forums I have posted my story on saying that they are glad they read my story. They were possibly in the market for a new BMW and are now waiting to see if the outcome of my situation is acceptable. If not, they tell me that they will not buy a BMW:iono:

It does sound like the dealership was who gave you the most grief Robert. That does not mean that BMW is off the hook in my opinion though. They need to make sure the dealerships are keeping people happy because it is their name on the front of the building:iono:

Good luck

I hope all goes well on your end too. The goal when I wrote this post was to document my experience and to help others who may be in the same situation. As a consequence it may reflect badly on BMW but that was not my objective. I think communication is so prevalent now a company need to consider each case carefully and treat customer with more respect. It's great but also has its negatives.

Originally Posted by AchtungE30

Yeah Robert, its like that when it comes to anything free from the dealer or the service dept after the sale of the car. (with the exception of my local Jeep dealer)

I had the same run-around getting my ext warranty transferred to the new owner of my Z and I got all sorts of run-around from the finance manager, returning calls, losing paperwork, getting paperwork, faxing or not faxing things to me, and then setting up appts late in the week, just to find out he's off!

You and I are all professionals in what we do and it amazes me how inefficient and poorly performed some of these workers are. Maybe it's a personal issue maybe their company incentives are aligned so they are rewarded most for saving money.