I may have to find a new BMW Service center...

I was driving a couple of weeks ago up in the North Georgia / Western North Carolina mountains a couple of weekends ago with my wife and a buddy of mine who recently purchased a 2003 M3. We were having a blast (and my 545/6sp was hanging right with that M3, BTW); driving fast and looking at the pretty leaves. As we headed back home towards Atlanta, I heard a very loud "POW" and immediately noticed a 4-5" long vertical crack in my HUD windshield that started from the top weatherstripping on the passenger side. As we continued to drive, the crack took an abrupt outboard turn and as the days passed waiting for my service appointment, the crack got slowly longer.

Anyway, my service appointment was scheduled for this past Monday (1 November). I was going to get the windshield replaced, my squeaky driver's seat looked at, my CCC recoded with v13.3, and my rear parcel shelf rubbing/squeaking looked at. My SA informed me that their glass guy wouldn't be back in until Wednesday (the 3rd), so I wouldn't be able to pick it up until then. No problem; I got a very nice looking BlueWater/Gray X3 2.5 as a loaner that my wife is using as an extended test drive since we're going to pick one up for her via ED next spring (that's a different story).

Anyway, my SA called me Tuesday to tell me that the glass wouldn't be in until Wednesday, and that they would have the car ready today (the 4th). I called yesterday afternoon to confirm when I could pick up the car, and, lo and behold, my SA tells me "You have HUD. Do you know how few cars come in with HUD? We ordered the wrong windshield glass, but there is a HUD windshield in Jacksonville, FL, but we won't get it until Friday."

What the hell? The Vehicle Inquiry report he printed out shows the HUD option, the dashboard has a HUGE cutout for the HUD optics. How tough is it to order the right parts?

Anyway, I'm just a little frustrated with the situation. At least they haven't bashed the door with the diagnostic computer like they did the last time.

-MrB

 

You are right, mrbelk, dealer incompetency is one of the things that we have to deal with. I guess you and I both can thank this forum for calling our attention to the HUD windshield requirement. Too bad our dealer service departments are not registered participants.

 

My suggestion is to review all the work orders thoroughly as written by the SA when you drop off your car. You probably did this already as I do so at least the mistakes can be kept to a minimum.

You'll probably find the same incompetance at most dealers.:bashwall: There's a web site: dealerrater.com for venting purposes. I also posted a previous thread on this topic.

Good luck.

 

i know how you feel, mrbelk. my dealer is probably worse than yours :bashwall:. hope everything turns out smoothly .

 

By looking up your windshield here, it doesnt ask if it has Heads Up or not. Shows one windshield and thats it.

 

So this means it isn't a dealerproblem but a BMW software problem when looking up data of some cars. I experienced the same when ordering a wood trim for my car.

 

 

Without my VIN, how did you know what to look up? I wonder what other inconsistencies exist in the parts lookup system? FWIW, I got the car back with a perfectly installed (HUD) windshield. They didn't fix a nagging rubbing noise from the rear parcel shelf, but they did do something to the driver's seat to stop it from squeaking.

I'm taking it back tomorrow to get the parcel shelf looked at again; and to get the Bluetooth retrofit coding performed (they have to recode the car anyway since the iDrive system froze up on me over the weekend); and to have the fix that addresses the spontaneous audio output from an empty, asleep, locked car applied.

I can't wait to get the new, heavier, AFS feel and the BT activated.

-MrB