Dead Battery or Worse? PLEASE HELP!

[X2 Monstah]

Originally Posted by JimD

I doubt there is an alternator issue.

Thanks, Jim. Waiting to hear from the dealership. Fortunately, they said if it is the battery, they'll replace it free of charge since the battery is only two years old and just went out of warranty last month. Fingers crossed.

[Esteban]

Originally Posted by BSM F30

Thanks, Jim. Waiting to hear from the dealership. Fortunately, they said if it is the battery, they'll replace it free of charge since the battery is only two years old and just went out of warranty last month. Fingers crossed.

That would be nice. Let's hope it's that.

[bmw1racer]

Originally Posted by BSM F30

Waiting to hear from the dealership. Fortunately, they said if it is the battery, they'll replace it free of charge since the battery is only two years old and just went out of warranty last month.

That would be great.

My stealership tried to rip me off for a battery replacement after only three years of use.

[X2 Monstah]

All done. Bad battery. Replaced free of charge by BMW of Fairfax. Since I was expecting a hefty bill, I went ahead and told them to do an oil change, coolant flush/fill, and rear differential drain/fill. I asked about a transmission flush/fill/filter and they recommended against it. Anyone have any opinions on that? Car is just about at 60,000 miles.

[Esteban]

Originally Posted by BSM F30

All done. Bad battery. Replaced free of charge by BMW of Fairfax. Since I was expecting a hefty bill, I went ahead and told them to do an oil change, coolant flush/fill, and rear differential drain/fill. I asked about a transmission flush/fill/filter and they recommended against it. Anyone have any opinions on that? Car is just about at 60,000 miles.

BMW says lifetime fluid, others say different. Some places sell DCT service kits that include new fluid. Maybe they're just trying to make a buck. Personally, I think there is no fluid that lasts a lifetime.

PS - glad they replaced your battery free of charge.

[X2 Monstah]

xxx In fairness to the dealership, I am deleting this latest post until they have an opportunity to work things out XXX. If you replied, may I ask that you edit your post to at least remove the name of the dealership? Thanks.

[Esteban]

Originally Posted by BSM F30

UNBELIEVABLE! I stopped going to BMW of xxxxxxx for a reason. Now I remember why - Incompetence. The service advisor was very polite and professional and I received the free battery and paid for the other services and waited for my car...and waited...and waited. 30 minutes later, I was told they lost my key FOB. They now have to order a new one from BMW and it won't be here until at least Saturday. Waiting to hear back from the General Manager now. The SA did offer a free oil change and interior detail, but I think that is unacceptable. I understand mistakes happen, but this has really been a major inconvenience and now my wife is without a car and I have to once again take time out of my day because of their mistake. Frustrating!

No loaner, at the very least?

[X2 Monstah]

Originally Posted by Esteban

No loaner, at the very least?

Yeah, they offered one for tomorrow (along with a free interior detail that I don't need), but I had my other car with me at the time. I was planning to drop it off for an oil change when I picked up the wife's car. She was not with me, so if I want the loaner I need to go back. Just an inconvenience. What sucks is the SA will probably be held responsible and it really wasn't his fault. What pisses me off is they didn't show much sense urgency over the situation. The porter was asked if he had my keys and he said "nope". The SA was not happy, but it didn't appear anyone was going to be held accountable.

[________]

Why are you so mad? They offered you a loaner while your car is waiting for the key, no?

If so, you're in the wrong here... not sure I follow your complaint...

[X2 Monstah]

Originally Posted by OnerDriver

Why are you so mad? They offered you a loaner while your car is waiting for the key, no?

If so, you're in the wrong here... not sure I follow your complaint...

Yeah, maybe I shouldn’t be so mad. The dealership is trying to do the right thing, but it’s just frustrating. I waited 3 full days to get the car diagnosed with a dead battery and was ready to get the car back. Nobody prefers a loaner over their own car...unless they want to loan me that M5 they have sitting in the showroom! But come on, you wouldn’t be pissed if the dealership (or anyone else) lost your keys?

[________]

Originally Posted by BSM F30

Yeah, maybe I shouldn't be so mad. The dealership is trying to do the right thing, but it's just frustrating. I waited 3 full days to get the car diagnosed with a dead battery and was ready to get the car back. Nobody prefers a loaner over their own car...unless they want to loan me that M5 they have sitting in the showroom! But come on, you wouldn't be pissed if the dealership (or anyone else) lost your keys?

Tell you my story:

Called them to replace the tie-rods. "We have ir in stock, bring the car X hour"
Took the car to the dealer for a replacement of the tie-rods and alignment.

Decided to wait for the service to be done, as it should be around 2 hours.

I'm sitting in the waiting room, watching videos, listening to music, masturbating etc.

About 40 minutes later the SA comes to me and says: "there has been a problem"

At that moment I'm really shocked lol

He continues:

"The tie rods we have here are not for your type of vehicle. And we have already sawed-off your tie-rods" (they were seized, reason for replacing)

He hands me the key to a 330i and points to the car that has already been moved to the front of the store and is left on warming up.

I took the key and drove the car home... waiting patiently for the call.

I think I also got a discount on the service.

Never got mad. Shit happens, I make mistakes, who am I to expect people won't?

You got a loaner and your story didn't quite add up: you could've still left your 328i there and driven the loaner home, and then back with your wife, just the same you would have done had the 128i been serviced correctly.

Obviously don't know you and mean no offence, but you came off like a spoiled person no one wants to do business with.

Now that you're a little more calm, analyze not their mistake (which can and will happen) but rather how they react and reacted to it.

Facts (not feelings, which matter; you'll know if you felt like they were trying to make it right):

- you weren't left without a car
- you'll get a discount
- you'll get a detail
- your next interactions with them will certainly be more special because they'll forever try to make it up to you (mine are here)

Cheers

EDIT: forgot to mention they had to order the tie-rods from another province and would take a day or two to have it and perform the service

[X2 Monstah]

Originally Posted by OnerDriver

Tell you my story:

Called them to replace the tie-rods. "We have ir in stock, bring the car X hour"
Took the car to the dealer for a replacement of the tie-rods and alignment.

Decided to wait for the service to be done, as it should be around 2 hours.

I'm sitting in the waiting room, watching videos, listening to music, masturbating etc.

About 40 minutes later the SA comes to me and says: "there has been a problem"

At that moment I'm really shocked lol

He continues:

"The tie rods we have here are not for your type of vehicle. And we have already sawed-off your tie-rods" (they were seized, reason for replacing)

He hands me the key to a 330i and points to the car that has already been moved to the front of the store and is left on warming up.

I took the key and drove the car home... waiting patiently for the call.

I think I also got a discount on the service.

Never got mad. Shit happens, I make mistakes, who am I to expect people won't?

You got a loaner and your story didn't quite add up: you could've still left your 328i there and driven the loaner home, and then back with your wife, just the same you would have done had the 128i been serviced correctly.

Obviously don't know you and mean no offence, but you came off like a spoiled person no one wants to do business with.

Now that you're a little more calm, analyze not their mistake (which can and will happen) but rather how they react and reacted to it.

Facts (not feelings, which matter; you'll know if you felt like they were trying to make it right):

- you weren't left without a car
- you'll get a discount
- you'll get a detail
- your next interactions with them will certainly be more special because they'll forever try to make it up to you (mine are here)

Cheers

EDIT: forgot to mention they had to order the tie-rods from another province and would take a day or two to have it and perform the service

I hear ya and I admit I over-reacted a bit. Thanks for your feedback.

[N54Yankee]

Originally Posted by BSM F30

Thanks, Jim. Waiting to hear from the dealership. Fortunately, they said if it is the battery, they'll replace it free of charge since the battery is only two years old and just went out of warranty last month. Fingers crossed.

I'd be concerned why a 2 year old unit just up and dies prematurely. Perhaps a faulty battery but I wonder if there's a draw somewhere in the electrical system.

[JimD]

Not a bad idea to think about a reason for the battery failure. I have a multi-tester somewhere that will measure small current loads. You can disconnect the battery and put the meter in line with the connection and measure what the load is with the car off. I've done it before. BMWs load is fairly high even when they are working normally, however.

I also think batteries are like some other electrical devices, a significant number fail relatively quickly and others last longer than they really should. My wife's 128i needed a battery at about 4 years - early but not terribly surprising - and mine is still working fine at 9+ years. I started carrying the jumper cables, however. If I ever get around to looking for my programming cable and get the software up and running again, I might just go ahead and replace the battery. But my point is there doesn't seem to be much consistency in battery lifetimes.

[zx10guy]

I'm a bit shocked by your experience with BMW of Fairfax. I had taken my car there numerous times to get an out of cycle oil change. Wanted documentation in case I had to file a warranty claim (both factory and extended).

Now another dealership I take my car to which is closer has done some accidental things to my car. I still go there because in the end they made it right and they've always worked with me on things. You have to pick your battles.

The two things they happened to my car was a crack in the plastic lens for the gauge cluster. They replaced the entire cluster without harassing me about who was at fault. I found a scratch on the hood of my car from when the tech replaced the wiper blade. They sent my car to their detail shop and buffed out the scratch. Oh, I remembered another issue which was minor. I found scratches on the plastic tow cover on the rear bumper. They also took care of that.

Crap happens when your car goes into a shop some times. It's what they do rectify the situation is what matters. Now if they crashed my car through gross negligence, that would be a different story.

[JimD]

I change my own oil and brake pads and other simple things. I have done more complex things too but prefer at this stage in life to avoid the more complicated car things. But experiences like you cite is a reason. The simpler one that is also true is it takes me more time to take the car somewhere for an oil change than it takes to just do it. During the time I got "free" maintenance, the threads on the oil plug got a little rough and the plastic cover the drain plug in the under tray went missing.

Long way of saying the only way to avoid some of the little issues is to just do it yourself. Which isn't always a reasonable option.

[NorthernDancer]

I keep my keys on a cloth lanyard, about 18 inches long. Pretty easy not to misplace that. Plus, if I'm carrying things to or out of the car, just hang fob around my neck.