Need advice about blown Turbo/Warranty

[mmorrison]

I bought an N54 135i and less than 48 hours later i got the engine malfunction - reduced power light. The dealer said it gave the 30ff code and that it need two new turbos. They said someone had rerouted the vacuum lines, bypassing the waste gate putting the turbos at maximum boost and thus they would not replace the turbos under the 8 year/82k warranty.

The dealership I bought it from refuses to assist in any way. I hired an attorney whom says I have a viable legal case because the vehicle was represented differently than it was in actuality.

My questions if anybody knows:

Can I bring the car to a different dealer now that the lines are properly routed and get it fixed under warranty, or is there a computer system I am logged into that will show I have already gone?

Second, does the mechanics of what was explained to me above sound accurate? Would something like that actually wreck the turbos? I'm new to forced induction so I'm admittedly a bit clueless here.

Any insight or advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks gang!

[LeoBurr]

This sounds unreasonable. If the waste gates were completely nonfunctional, either they would be fully open or fully closed. If they're fully closed as the tech suggests, then you should be getting detonation due to a lean condition, and you would have OVERBOOST codes.

I would take it to another dealership and tell them that you used a code puller to pull the code and think you've got a wastegate actuator issue. If they concur but will do nothing, I'd call BMW first before seeking the legal route. The waste gate failures are well-known. Further, BMW's having lots of issues with N20 and N55 turbos having seal failures...something that might be because of the 15k mile recommended OCI. My local dealership is already pushing 7k5 as the new recommended OCI.

At any rate, the explanation seems inaccurate and lazy. You'd have -tons- of other codes and drivability issues if your waste gates were permaclosed. Hope this helps.

[ilikebmxbikes]

You bought it from a BMW dealer? Or a used car dealer? Unless flagged you should be able to take it to another dealer but it may already be documented.

I personally would go after the dealer who sold the car with the lawyer. I personally would be water of buying any car that has that type of issue so soon. Who knows what else was molested.

How many miles does the car have?

[mmorrison]

Thanks for the information guys.

I bought the car from a Nissan dealership about 5 1/2 hours from where I live.

Geoff,

Thanks for the technical aspect of things. I figured something would be much further off if it were at full boost all of the time. I'll try another dealership and get the ol' second opinion...and hey if they want to cover it under warranty? Well, that would be just fine by me!

In reading forums I haven't seen where anyone has tried to bypass waste gates be rerouting vacuum lines but maybe I've missed something...

[mmorrison]

and the car has 46k btw

[Ski Killset]

Get your money back and walk away from that car.

Most states have an implied or "good faith" warranty that covers purchases for a few days. Some are three some are seven.

I once had to force a dealer in Oregon to refund the price of a car I bought that had been a theft salvage in california and was sold with a clean title here which is fairly common.

[geeyore]

"the vehicle was represented differently than it was in actuality."

Not a lawyer, but that might be a breach of warranty. The lawyer Steve Lehto who writes for Jalopnik discussed this exact topic recently in "Been Ripped Off? Breach Of Warranty Is A Better Claim Than Fraud."

[e36addict]

Sounds like your dealer is full of it. It's literally not even possible to route vacuum lines where it has "maximum boost". Sounds like someone is too lazy to do turbos.. They call me "Turbo Tim" over here at my dealer, bring that bish to me and i'll hook it up! Haha.

[mmorrison]

Thanks for all the replies gang.

Here's the update:

Brought it to another dealer for a second opinion and they replaced both turbos due to wastegate rattle immediately. The low pressure fuel pump had to be replaced as well. Apparently the genius that owned this car before me installed a "boost fooler" so i also had them remove that. Now the car drives like a dream!

[Dackelone]

I think you might shoot Steve Lehto an email...

http://oppositelock.jalopnik.com/how...ork-1606491159


These SIB's might help you...

[mackie]

^ FYI Hpfp is extented to 10yrs or 200k only in Canada

[darkrom]

Originally Posted by mmorrison

Thanks for all the replies gang.

Here's the update:

Brought it to another dealer for a second opinion and they replaced both turbos due to wastegate rattle immediately. The low pressure fuel pump had to be replaced as well. Apparently the genius that owned this car before me installed a "boost fooler" so i also had them remove that. Now the car drives like a dream!

Really have me curious what a "boost fooler" is.