Engine trouble - "Tach Jump" causing power loss - ANY IDEAS?

[BlackjackMulligan]

Originally Posted by Mark M

The very least you should gain is having them cover one month's payment on your car. You lost use of it for a month, it depreciated during that month. You should be entitled to one month's compensation in the form of them covering one of your auto payments.

You might also hit them up for courtesy oil changes or if you want to dump the car, hit them up for special deal on something else.

Absolutely, I would think that they'd make a months payment for you without question.

[Night1]

Originally Posted by Mark M

The very least you should gain is having them cover one month's payment on your car. You lost use of it for a month, it depreciated during that month. You should be entitled to one month's compensation in the form of them covering one of your auto payments.

You might also hit them up for courtesy oil changes or if you want to dump the car, hit them up for special deal on something else.

Originally Posted by BlackjackMulligan

Absolutely, I would think that they'd make a months payment for you without question.

The only bad thing is I paid off most of the car so my note is very small and wouldn't be representative of the monthly payment most people would have. Maybe they can figure out what a fair payment would be.

Or maybe I should try to a get a good deal on something else like you're saying. Maybe an M3.

[SV Concepts II]

I'm glad to hear they finally figured out the issue. I bet you're stoked to get the 1er back.

This reminds me of that time I thought my PC was dead and after replacing 2 power supplies and a motherboard I realized the power strip was unplugged from the wall. Sometimes the most obvious culprit is the most over looked.

Originally Posted by gnpower

Are there many signs of a clutch slipping? Buddy of mine seems to have lost power throughout the entire powerband of his wrx. Nothing major, but he says noticable.

Boost leak?

[ronnyek]

I say good luck just telling them to keep the car and expect to get a new one... its not a lemon if one thing goes bad and people dont diagnose it right away.

[imdanomite]

wow...just wow.

i guess i can't speak for every tech out there. what dealership is this? i must find out who worked on this car.

[akak1997]

Congrats on finally figured out what's wrong with your car. Hope you get something out of it.

This is exactly the reason why when I've a problem, I post it on the internet for help before I go to the dealership. Who knows how long it'll take them to figure it out!

[Night1]

Originally Posted by Ali@Jlevi SW

I'm glad to hear they finally figured out the issue. I bet you're stoked to get the 1er back.

This reminds me of that time I thought my PC was dead and after replacing 2 power supplies and a motherboard I realized the power strip was unplugged from the wall. Sometimes the most obvious culprit is the most over looked.

I have mixed feelings right now. On one hand, I can't wait to get it back, on the other I'm worried that other things will start failing on the car as well.

Pretty funny about the computer though!! :biggrin:

Originally Posted by ronnyek

I say good luck just telling them to keep the car and expect to get a new one... its not a lemon if one thing goes bad and people dont diagnose it right away.

We'll see how this goes. It might be ready for pickup this weekend.

Originally Posted by imdanomite

wow...just wow.

i guess i can't speak for every tech out there. what dealership is this? i must find out who worked on this car.

I don't know if I want to sell out the dealership just yet. Let me see how they treat this problem first....

Originally Posted by akak1997

Congrats on finally figured out what's wrong with your car. Hope you get something out of it.

This is exactly the reason why when I've a problem, I post it on the internet for help before I go to the dealership. Who knows how long it'll take them to figure it out!

I hear ya, I just wished they would've listened to all of you in the first place!! That's the problem. They don't trust the customer, and they're bound to follow the long and ridiculous protocol so they will get reimbursed by BMW.

Thanks again to all for the responses, btw. It was nice having everyone here, especially while the dealership was taking forever and was so noresponsive. I definitely couldn't have survived this long without my friends on the board!! :headbang:

[gnpower]

I'm not sure if BMW would go for a payment, but you might be able to get some extra performance parts for compensation. CF pieces, exhaust, steering wheel, nose protector. It never hurts to ask. You definitely deserve more than a returned car.

[123D-M]

Hey, so now that they finally agree it's the clutch slipping, have they identified the cause?

In my case it was oil getting between the clutch plates during gear changes.

If they just replace your clutch without addressing the cause it will happen again.

[jeremyc74]

Originally Posted by 123D-M

Hey, so now that they finally agree it's the clutch slipping, have they identified the cause?

In my case it was oil getting between the clutch plates during gear changes.

If they just replace your clutch without addressing the cause it will happen again.

This sounds like the most reasonable cause to me. It would take some pretty good abuse to actually wear one out this soon. Another possibility is something wrong with the hydrualic system that's preventing it from fully clamping. Hopefully they'll realize what's going on now that they're finally off the damn ECU and actually turning wrenches!

I'm still trying to get over the software update to fix a slipping clutch.

[Night1]

Originally Posted by gnpower

I'm not sure if BMW would go for a payment, but you might be able to get some extra performance parts for compensation. CF pieces, exhaust, steering wheel, nose protector. It never hurts to ask. You definitely deserve more than a returned car.

That would be nice if they did that. And I couldn't have stated it better when you said that I deserve more than just a returned car at this point.

Originally Posted by 123D-M

Hey, so now that they finally agree it's the clutch slipping, have they identified the cause?

In my case it was oil getting between the clutch plates during gear changes.

If they just replace your clutch without addressing the cause it will happen again.

They haven't identified the cause yet, and I agree that it will happen again.

Originally Posted by jeremyc74

This sounds like the most reasonable cause to me. It would take some pretty good abuse to actually wear one out this soon. Another possibility is something wrong with the hydrualic system that's preventing it from fully clamping. Hopefully they'll realize what's going on now that they're finally off the damn ECU and actually turning wrenches!

I'm still trying to get over the software update to fix a slipping clutch.

Yep!!!!! Only the finest from BMW service.... :roundel:

Originally Posted by mvaccaro

Maybe some oil got into the ECU and made the bytes to slip..... LOL

I would mention this possibility to them but then they might keep my car for another month trying to find it! :biggrin:

[Night1]

UPDATE:

The dealership is supposed to be in the process of replacing the clutch. No word from them today though.

I sent them a letter this afternoon, along with a detailed log I've kept of all the calls back and forth this past month. It shows how I had to call most of the time to get updates. It also shows that I told them it was the clutch during the first week in service, and how they finally agreed a month later. The letter also mentions how it has taken them a full month to even diagnose the problem, much less fix it.

I haven't had any response from them yet. I will probably send a copy to BMWNA on Monday.

[Night1]

UPDATE:

Oh wait. I can't give you an update because I haven't heard from the dealership. And they still have my car. And they're still "replacing the clutch."

AND I still have no idea when I will get it back. :iono:

[Night1]

UPDATE:

My car is finally fixed. According to the dealer, the new clutch completely solved the problem. They said the reason it took this long was because the clutch was not showing the typical signs of a failing clutch (I know, I know.....if that were true, how did everyone immediately diagnose it as a clutch problem?) and they had to get a field service engineer to authorize installing a new clutch on the hope that it was causing the problem.

I asked them to identify the cause of the clutch failure. At this point, they are saying the clutch itself was faulty, and it was not a result of oil getting into the clutch, etc. The service manager is supposed to call me to confirm this and explain it in more detail. I told them that the two other similar cases that I've heard of both had new clutches installed followed by eventual failure because they didn't identify and resolve the cause.

In order to make things right, they have offered to furnish and install a new RFT, since one of my tires is almost bald. They will install the new tire shortly, and will probably have everything ready tomorrow. Finally!

[jeremyc74]

Originally Posted by Night1

UPDATE:



In order to make things right, they have offered to furnish and install a new RFT, since one of my tires is almost bald. They will install the new tire shortly, and will probably have everything ready tomorrow. Finally!

They're going to replace ONE tire? That's not a good idea at all once they've got some wear on them. The differences in diameter will do funny things to the stability control readings, and different treadwear could cause inconsitant handling. I'd get a set or nothing at all personally.

Good to hear they got the clutch in though. :thumbup:

[Night1]

Originally Posted by jeremyc74

They're going to replace ONE tire? That's not a good idea at all once they've got some wear on them. The differences in diameter will do funny things to the stability control readings, and different treadwear could cause inconsitant handling. I'd get a set or nothing at all personally.

Good to hear they got the clutch in though. :thumbup:

The recently replaced the front left and back left tires. The new RFT tire will go on the back right. I'll buy a new one for the front right as soon as I get the car back.

And yep, glad we're finally moving forward here!

[Canexican]

Take it from me, get away from that dealer.

I read the first post, got half-way through, and said to myself, "Hey, this sounds like a clutch." I'm not very mechanically inclined and I can't believe that your BMW dealer would be that bad. If I were you, I'd recommend going somewhere else. Not all dealers are the same and getting one that has a good mechanic can make all the difference in reducing the stress level related to your car's wellfare. Its pretty damn easy to diagnose a slipping clutch and them dicking you around for a month is inexcusable.

Having a powerful AWD car, we Evo guys are used to slipping clutches and horrific drivetrain failures - my clutch lasted a mere 20k mi and that is above average. Just be conscious of how much clutch you feed and it should last longer.

[Night1]

I hear ya. I'm going to try the other dealer next time I have a failure like this. I'm glad you told me your story, it sounds like I'm not alone in the world of slipping clutches!

I pick my car up today, we'll see how it goes...... :headbang:

[imdanomite]

now do you wanna tell me the name? hahaha...