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      11-13-2014, 07:29 AM   #1
mahlerbeatdown
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Attention! Owners Of N51 Sulev Engines!

I have a 2009 128i w/ an N51 SULEV engine (if you're not sure, you can do a VIN check online) and my car was idling pretty rough. Sure enough, the "Service Engine Soon" light came on. Even though it says "service", it's actually the equivalent to a CEL. I read the code and I was having constant misfires on Cylinder 5. All research shows that either the plug(s) need to be replaced or the coil pack(s). Since my car has about ~63,000 miles, I went ahead and bought Genuine plugs ($50) and Genuine coil packs ($100). After the work the car fired up and felt much better, but I still had the SES light. I cleared the code, but it would come back after a few seconds. The only thing that's noticeable is the slight degradation of pick up from the start. And that's hardly noticeable. After everything, I'm thinking my fuel injector for cylinder 5 is bad and needs to be replaced. After looking for the part online, I noticed it was SULEV specific and much harder to find than the normal non-SULEV version.

Anyways, after doing some research I found out that BMW, by law, has to give you 15 years or 150,000 miles on SULEV components. This is valid for cars registered in Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and DC. I'm not sure of the exact components covered, but it's pretty extensive. A lot of parts are covered, but I'm not sure exactly. I found a listing of SULEV parts, but for an older 2004 m56 based vehicle. I think a lot of the things in our cars match the SULEV compliance... See the link below (hope it's not blocked)

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/att...6&d=1362158650

My car is well out of warranty, but I was ready to tackle the job myself, but since it should be covered, I gave a dealer near me a call. After explaining the situation and the SULEV coverage, the technician had NO IDEA what I was talking about and somewhat gave me an attitude as if I was talking down to him, even though I wasn't. He had to put me on hold for quite a few minutes but came back and said "If your car is registered here in NJ and IF the part that's causing the problems is the fuel injector, then yes, you are covered."

So just letting people know that N51 engines do have pretty adequate coverage, but sometimes it's hard deciphering what's covered and whether or not your local dealer has any idea that it exists. I've heard horror stories where people w/ SULEV engines had their gas tanks replaced w/ integrated pumps that would of set them back $6-8k, but found out online they were covered, costing them NOTHING! Sorry if this is old news, but there doesn't seem to be many cases where people take advantage of this coverage.


Just to give you where this all started and WHY some cars are SULEV... all comes down to a manufacturers TAX credit if they meet certain quotas :-/. Downside is, a lot of the SULEV components are harder to find and more expensive, therefore the LAW covering us w/ the 15yr/150K warranty.

From Wiki:
In California, manufacturers of SULEVs can be given a partial credit for producing a Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) and so a vehicle of this type can be administratively designated as a Partial Zero-Emission Vehicle (PZEV). In order to qualify as a PZEV, a vehicle must meet the SULEV standard and, in addition, have zero evaporative emissions from its fuel system plus a 15-year/150,000 mi (241,402 km) warranty on its emission-control components.

Last edited by mahlerbeatdown; 11-13-2014 at 08:15 AM.. Reason: added wiki cite
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      11-13-2014, 07:46 AM   #2
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15 years or 150,000 miles emissions warranty on SULEV car...

Quote:
Originally Posted by mahlerbeatdown View Post
Sorry if this is old news, but there doesn't seem to be many cases where people take advantage of this coverage.
Thanks for posting!

Most people/owners(and dealers for that matter) have no idea that these parts are covered for 15 years. Its something that the customer needs to ask for, since most dealers think the car is out of warranty.


PS: Your spark plugs and coil packs are covered too. You might want to send BMW NA a letter with a copy of your parts receipts - they might reimburse you.
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      11-13-2014, 07:53 AM   #3
mahlerbeatdown
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dackelone View Post
Thanks for posting!

Most people/owners(and dealers for that matter) have no idea that these parts are covered for 15 years. Its something that the customer needs to ask for, since most dealers think the car is out of warranty.


PS: Your spark plugs and coil packs are covered too. You might want to send BMW NA a letter with a copy of your parts receipts - they might reimburse you.
WHAT?! really?! I figured since they weren't SULEV specific that they wouldn't be covered. Ugh, thanks for the tip. I got great deals on genuine BMW parts, about $150 for everything, but if they'll pay me back I'd take it

I'm sure there are plenty of people that dish out a lot of $$ for parts they otherwise shouldn't be paying for.
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      11-13-2014, 08:09 AM   #4
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Yea I hate when dealers don't know this stuff. I remember someone had said the SULEV components are covered for an extended warranty, but only in California. Good to know other states (especially PA!) are covdered too.

Would the labor having them installed be warrantied though?
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      11-13-2014, 08:13 AM   #5
mahlerbeatdown
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Chrisar82 View Post
Yea I hate when dealers don't know this stuff. I remember someone had said the SULEV components are covered for an extended warranty, but only in California. Good to know other states (especially PA!) are covdered too.

Would the labor having them installed be warrantied though?
From what I read, yes. People have had their bills zero'd out... so I think it's completely covered. It's confusing because it's called the "California Emissions Law" (or something along those lines), because that's where they originated from. But over the years many states have been added, and I believe even cars purchased BEFORE the states were added are now covered in the new states. Whether you're original owner or not and whether the car has moved states, as long as it's currently registered in one of the states you are good. I'll let you know how it goes as I'm bringing mine in tomorrow. Hope it IS the fuel injector or something that IS SULEV based, because I'll be good to go!
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      11-13-2014, 09:33 AM   #6
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SULEV's...

Quote:
Originally Posted by mahlerbeatdown View Post
From what I read, yes. People have had their bills zero'd out... so I think it's completely covered. It's confusing because it's called the "California Emissions Law" (or something along those lines), because that's where they originated from. But over the years many states have been added, and I believe even cars purchased BEFORE the states were added are now covered in the new states. Whether you're original owner or not and whether the car has moved states, as long as it's currently registered in one of the states you are good. I'll let you know how it goes as I'm bringing mine in tomorrow. Hope it IS the fuel injector or something that IS SULEV based, because I'll be good to go!

I don't know about THAT! I thought that this federal law only applied to cars "built to" this extended "California Emissions Law". So IF the car was built with SULEV specs and sold in CA and then moved somewhere else... the car would be covered. But I have nothing in writing. I would be curious to hear the outcome of this story/saga.

Here is an interesting thread on SULEV's...
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=52608


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      11-13-2014, 09:43 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dackelone View Post
I don't know about THAT! I thought that this federal law only applied to cars "built to" this extended "California Emissions Law". So IF the car was built with SULEV specs and sold in CA and then moved somewhere else... the car would be covered. But I have nothing in writing. I would be curious to hear the outcome of this story/saga.

Here is an interesting thread on SULEV's...
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=52608


Dackel
Hmmm... I don't think it matters where it was built. If the car is SULEV and in one of the states that follows the "California Law" (or whatever it's called) it's covered. Originally, yes. California was the only that followed this law, but many others have jumped on.
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      11-13-2014, 11:25 AM   #8
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I have a N51 engine and the fuel pump replacement price has always bothered me. Thanks for the heads up.
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      11-13-2014, 11:27 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by OneGearAhead View Post
I have a N51 engine and the fuel pump replacement price has always bothered me. Thanks for the heads up.
Yup! The only challenge is to get the dealer to understand the SULEV coverage. The guy I spoke to had no idea, even though he knew about SULEV in general. After he put me on hold and probably found out from someone more senior, he got back to me and was happy to assist.
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      11-13-2014, 11:58 AM   #10
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It would be nice if we could find a printed copy of the SULEV warranty.
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      11-13-2014, 09:26 PM   #11
mahlerbeatdown
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Quote:
Originally Posted by m_thompson
It would be nice if we could find a printed copy of the SULEV warranty.
I got it and will scan into a pdf. It's pretty detailed and should be helpful
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      11-13-2014, 10:32 PM   #12
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This was a nice read

I came in here expecting a horror story!
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      11-14-2014, 10:24 AM   #13
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Interesting and good to know. My car was leased by a Virginia dealership to a couple who lived in Washington DC. I suppose that explains why it's an N51.
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      11-14-2014, 10:28 AM   #14
mahlerbeatdown
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Brake_L8
Interesting and good to know. My car was leased by a Virginia dealership to a couple who lived in Washington DC. I suppose that explains why it's an N51.
Definitely possible. Busy now but will get the complete warranty scanned. It's very thorough and any SULEV part or any part that could fail because of an SULEV part (say it's directly connected) is covered completely, including labor. It even goes into a chart as to what is and what is not covered. And oddly enough, even though it seems people at dealerships rarely know about the coverage, the terms almost advertise it as a positive in comparison to non-SULEV. It shows a chart how the 15yr/150k is vastly longer. As if we need to see it in a bar graph to understand lol
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      11-15-2014, 08:49 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mahlerbeatdown View Post
I got it and will scan into a pdf. It's pretty detailed and should be helpful
Please send this PDF when you get a chance.

Thanks.
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      11-16-2014, 11:11 AM   #16
mahlerbeatdown
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jclaib7 View Post
Please send this PDF when you get a chance.

Thanks.
I'm going to clean up the scan a bit and highlight the important stuff while i'm at work sometime this week, but if anyone wants the PDF now, just shoot me a PM w/ your email address. Oddly enough, even NON SULEV vehicles have extended manufacturer's warranty on SOME parts for 7yrs/70,000 Miles (emissions related, but quite a few things qualify) and this also includes details on that. But the SULEV n51 engines are 15yrs/150K and many more parts. Send me a PM and you'll get it
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      11-18-2014, 06:24 PM   #17
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Big thanks from a fellow N51 owner.

Might come in handy.
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      11-18-2014, 06:25 PM   #18
mahlerbeatdown
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Quote:
Originally Posted by myBimmerisGray
Big thanks from a fellow N51 owner.

Might come in handy.
Did you msg me? I'll send it to your email.
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      11-19-2014, 07:57 AM   #19
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Would really like a copy of the PDF once you have it all cleaned up, no rush!
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      11-19-2014, 08:02 AM   #20
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hey

Quote:
Originally Posted by Brake_L8 View Post
Would really like a copy of the PDF once you have it all cleaned up, no rush!
Just PM me and I'll send it to you. I'm wondering the best place to post it. Stinks you can't just attach PDFs into the forum. Unless I'm wrong? Let me know. I can't get to google drive at work.
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      11-22-2014, 11:48 AM   #21
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So... I'm a Florida resident, stationed in California when I bought my 1, and its registered in FL. Is it safe to assume I'll miss out on the extended warranty on sulev components?
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      11-22-2014, 11:57 AM   #22
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GnarlyMarley
So... I'm a Florida resident, stationed in California when I bought my 1, and its registered in FL. Is it safe to assume I'll miss out on the extended warranty on sulev components?
Unless you move to one of the SULEV states and register your car, then probably so :-/
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