My 35k mile service and HORRILBe dealer experience
03-28-2009, 11:00 AM
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So I am also a firm believer that bmw service is complete b.s with their 20k mile oil changes. I had leased my car so did not care as much but decided to buy it so every 5k is now happening. Anyway my car was due for brake fluid flush, I paid for an oil change, I also paid for their fuel system flush/clean for 140 bucks. They run fluid and cleaner pressurzed through your fuel system all the way through the injectors etc. I got my drive belt replaced and my timing pulley.
I also cleaned my MAF myself with that cleaner everyone talks about on here. Was actually really easy as I just unscrewed the MAF and the exposed wire/sensor was right there and just sprayed/cleaned it.
Overall everything is smoother, quicker and will have to see how gas mileage is effected. I main am only concerned with longevity of the engine so I was not expecting or hoping for any acute changes but am pleased to find the smoothness come back. It feels so much more like my car when it was new and the new loaner I had all week. I am very pleased.
First off all the inside of my car was filthy, a wrench was found in my backseat, a piece of guck was on the outside of my door that they had to have someone with paint stripper or something come and remove. Ok fine, if that was all no big deal.
So another thing I asked them to check was a vibration coming from the exhaust. I have an supersprint muffler on the rear and first he tried to tell me it was too heavy and was causing the problem. Then I told him it was actually lighter. They did not figure out the vibration and said they were sure it was from the aftermarket muffler "not fitting correctly to the OEM and putting strain on the OEM system" I accepted that. Then I put my car on jacks and looked under there and the superspring fits perfectly, hangers are perfect and absolutely no strain is bein gplace. However they completely put the rubber mounts on the wrong parts of the hangers and my muffler was vibrating so much more. I looked and then fixed this and the muffler was tight as can be rather than loose and shaking. I find this frustrating since I asked them to solve my vibration problem and they end up not finding it and on top of that worsening it by not putting my muffler back on correctly.
Then I opened my hood again today and randomly realized they had opened my air box for some reason. They had no reason to open it anyway and clipped it back on completely wrong. They had the bottom of the airbox not in its slots and there was a 1 inch gap exposing the filter at the bottom-basiclaly was not clipped in properly-so had to fix that myself.
Oh ya, forgot to mention I had noticed the timing pulley or some pulley was not right and causing the drive belt to be riding off center. TWO people at service told me it was normal and within normal limits. I pushed to have it replaced and they refuse. Then I got a call back mid week saying the tech actually compared it to 10 other cars and realized it is not supposed to be like it was and ended up replacing it.
Now the worst one. I was driving my car today and noticed my heat was coming on very fast and hotter than it ever. I opened my hood and noticed my engine was relallly hot after a short drive and the radiator fan was not going. No I have no clue if this pulley that was fixed did something, they hit my radiator somehow andd it is broken or they did something else to cause my engine to overheat. OR my engine was not heating properly before and now it is heating properly. Of note my heat was taking an inordinately long time to heat up so I have no clue.
Anyone have the link to the checking engine temps and know what is the proper engine temp?
I also cleaned my MAF myself with that cleaner everyone talks about on here. Was actually really easy as I just unscrewed the MAF and the exposed wire/sensor was right there and just sprayed/cleaned it.
Overall everything is smoother, quicker and will have to see how gas mileage is effected. I main am only concerned with longevity of the engine so I was not expecting or hoping for any acute changes but am pleased to find the smoothness come back. It feels so much more like my car when it was new and the new loaner I had all week. I am very pleased.
First off all the inside of my car was filthy, a wrench was found in my backseat, a piece of guck was on the outside of my door that they had to have someone with paint stripper or something come and remove. Ok fine, if that was all no big deal.
So another thing I asked them to check was a vibration coming from the exhaust. I have an supersprint muffler on the rear and first he tried to tell me it was too heavy and was causing the problem. Then I told him it was actually lighter. They did not figure out the vibration and said they were sure it was from the aftermarket muffler "not fitting correctly to the OEM and putting strain on the OEM system" I accepted that. Then I put my car on jacks and looked under there and the superspring fits perfectly, hangers are perfect and absolutely no strain is bein gplace. However they completely put the rubber mounts on the wrong parts of the hangers and my muffler was vibrating so much more. I looked and then fixed this and the muffler was tight as can be rather than loose and shaking. I find this frustrating since I asked them to solve my vibration problem and they end up not finding it and on top of that worsening it by not putting my muffler back on correctly.
Then I opened my hood again today and randomly realized they had opened my air box for some reason. They had no reason to open it anyway and clipped it back on completely wrong. They had the bottom of the airbox not in its slots and there was a 1 inch gap exposing the filter at the bottom-basiclaly was not clipped in properly-so had to fix that myself.
Oh ya, forgot to mention I had noticed the timing pulley or some pulley was not right and causing the drive belt to be riding off center. TWO people at service told me it was normal and within normal limits. I pushed to have it replaced and they refuse. Then I got a call back mid week saying the tech actually compared it to 10 other cars and realized it is not supposed to be like it was and ended up replacing it.
Now the worst one. I was driving my car today and noticed my heat was coming on very fast and hotter than it ever. I opened my hood and noticed my engine was relallly hot after a short drive and the radiator fan was not going. No I have no clue if this pulley that was fixed did something, they hit my radiator somehow andd it is broken or they did something else to cause my engine to overheat. OR my engine was not heating properly before and now it is heating properly. Of note my heat was taking an inordinately long time to heat up so I have no clue.
Anyone have the link to the checking engine temps and know what is the proper engine temp?
03-28-2009, 11:35 AM
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Originally Posted by 545OH' post='829156' date='Mar 28 2009, 03:00 PM
So I am also a firm believer that bmw service is complete b.s with their 20k mile oil changes. I had leased my car so did not care as much but decided to buy it so every 5k is now happening. Anyway my car was due for brake fluid flush, I paid for an oil change, I also paid for their fuel system flush/clean for 140 bucks. They run fluid and cleaner pressurzed through your fuel system all the way through the injectors etc. I got my drive belt replaced and my timing pulley.
I also cleaned my MAF myself with that cleaner everyone talks about on here. Was actually really easy as I just unscrewed the MAF and the exposed wire/sensor was right there and just sprayed/cleaned it.
Overall everything is smoother, quicker and will have to see how gas mileage is effected. I main am only concerned with longevity of the engine so I was not expecting or hoping for any acute changes but am pleased to find the smoothness come back. It feels so much more like my car when it was new and the new loaner I had all week. I am very pleased.
First off all the inside of my car was filthy, a wrench was found in my backseat, a piece of guck was on the outside of my door that they had to have someone with paint stripper or something come and remove. Ok fine, if that was all no big deal.
So another thing I asked them to check was a vibration coming from the exhaust. I have an supersprint muffler on the rear and first he tried to tell me it was too heavy and was causing the problem. Then I told him it was actually lighter. They did not figure out the vibration and said they were sure it was from the aftermarket muffler "not fitting correctly to the OEM and putting strain on the OEM system" I accepted that. Then I put my car on jacks and looked under there and the superspring fits perfectly, hangers are perfect and absolutely no strain is bein gplace. However they completely put the rubber mounts on the wrong parts of the hangers and my muffler was vibrating so much more. I looked and then fixed this and the muffler was tight as can be rather than loose and shaking. I find this frustrating since I asked them to solve my vibration problem and they end up not finding it and on top of that worsening it by not putting my muffler back on correctly.
Then I opened my hood again today and randomly realized they had opened my air box for some reason. They had no reason to open it anyway and clipped it back on completely wrong. They had the bottom of the airbox not in its slots and there was a 1 inch gap exposing the filter at the bottom-basiclaly was not clipped in properly-so had to fix that myself.
Oh ya, forgot to mention I had noticed the timing pulley or some pulley was not right and causing the drive belt to be riding off center. TWO people at service told me it was normal and within normal limits. I pushed to have it replaced and they refuse. Then I got a call back mid week saying the tech actually compared it to 10 other cars and realized it is not supposed to be like it was and ended up replacing it.
Now the worst one. I was driving my car today and noticed my heat was coming on very fast and hotter than it ever. I opened my hood and noticed my engine was relallly hot after a short drive and the radiator fan was not going. No I have no clue if this pulley that was fixed did something, they hit my radiator somehow andd it is broken or they did something else to cause my engine to overheat. OR my engine was not heating properly before and now it is heating properly. Of note my heat was taking an inordinately long time to heat up so I have no clue.
Anyone have the link to the checking engine temps and know what is the proper engine temp?
I also cleaned my MAF myself with that cleaner everyone talks about on here. Was actually really easy as I just unscrewed the MAF and the exposed wire/sensor was right there and just sprayed/cleaned it.
Overall everything is smoother, quicker and will have to see how gas mileage is effected. I main am only concerned with longevity of the engine so I was not expecting or hoping for any acute changes but am pleased to find the smoothness come back. It feels so much more like my car when it was new and the new loaner I had all week. I am very pleased.
First off all the inside of my car was filthy, a wrench was found in my backseat, a piece of guck was on the outside of my door that they had to have someone with paint stripper or something come and remove. Ok fine, if that was all no big deal.
So another thing I asked them to check was a vibration coming from the exhaust. I have an supersprint muffler on the rear and first he tried to tell me it was too heavy and was causing the problem. Then I told him it was actually lighter. They did not figure out the vibration and said they were sure it was from the aftermarket muffler "not fitting correctly to the OEM and putting strain on the OEM system" I accepted that. Then I put my car on jacks and looked under there and the superspring fits perfectly, hangers are perfect and absolutely no strain is bein gplace. However they completely put the rubber mounts on the wrong parts of the hangers and my muffler was vibrating so much more. I looked and then fixed this and the muffler was tight as can be rather than loose and shaking. I find this frustrating since I asked them to solve my vibration problem and they end up not finding it and on top of that worsening it by not putting my muffler back on correctly.
Then I opened my hood again today and randomly realized they had opened my air box for some reason. They had no reason to open it anyway and clipped it back on completely wrong. They had the bottom of the airbox not in its slots and there was a 1 inch gap exposing the filter at the bottom-basiclaly was not clipped in properly-so had to fix that myself.
Oh ya, forgot to mention I had noticed the timing pulley or some pulley was not right and causing the drive belt to be riding off center. TWO people at service told me it was normal and within normal limits. I pushed to have it replaced and they refuse. Then I got a call back mid week saying the tech actually compared it to 10 other cars and realized it is not supposed to be like it was and ended up replacing it.
Now the worst one. I was driving my car today and noticed my heat was coming on very fast and hotter than it ever. I opened my hood and noticed my engine was relallly hot after a short drive and the radiator fan was not going. No I have no clue if this pulley that was fixed did something, they hit my radiator somehow andd it is broken or they did something else to cause my engine to overheat. OR my engine was not heating properly before and now it is heating properly. Of note my heat was taking an inordinately long time to heat up so I have no clue.
Anyone have the link to the checking engine temps and know what is the proper engine temp?
My operation temp after driving 30-40mph for 20 minutes was around 100?C.
03-28-2009, 12:06 PM
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03-28-2009, 01:03 PM
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Originally Posted by 545OH' post='829156' date='Mar 28 2009, 03:00 PM
So I am also a firm believer that bmw service is complete b.s with their 20k mile oil changes. I had leased my car so did not care as much but decided to buy it so every 5k is now happening. Anyway my car was due for brake fluid flush, I paid for an oil change, I also paid for their fuel system flush/clean for 140 bucks. They run fluid and cleaner pressurzed through your fuel system all the way through the injectors etc. I got my drive belt replaced and my timing pulley.
I also cleaned my MAF myself with that cleaner everyone talks about on here. Was actually really easy as I just unscrewed the MAF and the exposed wire/sensor was right there and just sprayed/cleaned it.
Overall everything is smoother, quicker and will have to see how gas mileage is effected. I main am only concerned with longevity of the engine so I was not expecting or hoping for any acute changes but am pleased to find the smoothness come back. It feels so much more like my car when it was new and the new loaner I had all week. I am very pleased.
First off all the inside of my car was filthy, a wrench was found in my backseat, a piece of guck was on the outside of my door that they had to have someone with paint stripper or something come and remove. Ok fine, if that was all no big deal.
So another thing I asked them to check was a vibration coming from the exhaust. I have an supersprint muffler on the rear and first he tried to tell me it was too heavy and was causing the problem. Then I told him it was actually lighter. They did not figure out the vibration and said they were sure it was from the aftermarket muffler "not fitting correctly to the OEM and putting strain on the OEM system" I accepted that. Then I put my car on jacks and looked under there and the superspring fits perfectly, hangers are perfect and absolutely no strain is bein gplace. However they completely put the rubber mounts on the wrong parts of the hangers and my muffler was vibrating so much more. I looked and then fixed this and the muffler was tight as can be rather than loose and shaking. I find this frustrating since I asked them to solve my vibration problem and they end up not finding it and on top of that worsening it by not putting my muffler back on correctly.
Then I opened my hood again today and randomly realized they had opened my air box for some reason. They had no reason to open it anyway and clipped it back on completely wrong. They had the bottom of the airbox not in its slots and there was a 1 inch gap exposing the filter at the bottom-basiclaly was not clipped in properly-so had to fix that myself.
Oh ya, forgot to mention I had noticed the timing pulley or some pulley was not right and causing the drive belt to be riding off center. TWO people at service told me it was normal and within normal limits. I pushed to have it replaced and they refuse. Then I got a call back mid week saying the tech actually compared it to 10 other cars and realized it is not supposed to be like it was and ended up replacing it.
Now the worst one. I was driving my car today and noticed my heat was coming on very fast and hotter than it ever. I opened my hood and noticed my engine was relallly hot after a short drive and the radiator fan was not going. No I have no clue if this pulley that was fixed did something, they hit my radiator somehow andd it is broken or they did something else to cause my engine to overheat. OR my engine was not heating properly before and now it is heating properly. Of note my heat was taking an inordinately long time to heat up so I have no clue.
Anyone have the link to the checking engine temps and know what is the proper engine temp?
I also cleaned my MAF myself with that cleaner everyone talks about on here. Was actually really easy as I just unscrewed the MAF and the exposed wire/sensor was right there and just sprayed/cleaned it.
Overall everything is smoother, quicker and will have to see how gas mileage is effected. I main am only concerned with longevity of the engine so I was not expecting or hoping for any acute changes but am pleased to find the smoothness come back. It feels so much more like my car when it was new and the new loaner I had all week. I am very pleased.
First off all the inside of my car was filthy, a wrench was found in my backseat, a piece of guck was on the outside of my door that they had to have someone with paint stripper or something come and remove. Ok fine, if that was all no big deal.
So another thing I asked them to check was a vibration coming from the exhaust. I have an supersprint muffler on the rear and first he tried to tell me it was too heavy and was causing the problem. Then I told him it was actually lighter. They did not figure out the vibration and said they were sure it was from the aftermarket muffler "not fitting correctly to the OEM and putting strain on the OEM system" I accepted that. Then I put my car on jacks and looked under there and the superspring fits perfectly, hangers are perfect and absolutely no strain is bein gplace. However they completely put the rubber mounts on the wrong parts of the hangers and my muffler was vibrating so much more. I looked and then fixed this and the muffler was tight as can be rather than loose and shaking. I find this frustrating since I asked them to solve my vibration problem and they end up not finding it and on top of that worsening it by not putting my muffler back on correctly.
Then I opened my hood again today and randomly realized they had opened my air box for some reason. They had no reason to open it anyway and clipped it back on completely wrong. They had the bottom of the airbox not in its slots and there was a 1 inch gap exposing the filter at the bottom-basiclaly was not clipped in properly-so had to fix that myself.
Oh ya, forgot to mention I had noticed the timing pulley or some pulley was not right and causing the drive belt to be riding off center. TWO people at service told me it was normal and within normal limits. I pushed to have it replaced and they refuse. Then I got a call back mid week saying the tech actually compared it to 10 other cars and realized it is not supposed to be like it was and ended up replacing it.
Now the worst one. I was driving my car today and noticed my heat was coming on very fast and hotter than it ever. I opened my hood and noticed my engine was relallly hot after a short drive and the radiator fan was not going. No I have no clue if this pulley that was fixed did something, they hit my radiator somehow andd it is broken or they did something else to cause my engine to overheat. OR my engine was not heating properly before and now it is heating properly. Of note my heat was taking an inordinately long time to heat up so I have no clue.
Anyone have the link to the checking engine temps and know what is the proper engine temp?
03-28-2009, 02:35 PM
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Originally Posted by sdg1871' post='829216' date='Mar 28 2009, 05:03 PM
Sounds like it's time to get a new dealer.
03-28-2009, 04:22 PM
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Well good news, I found the temperature readout via my computer and had it read out for an hour drive-it did not hit over 100 degrees and my radiator fan was working-just must have been paranioid due to bad things
03-29-2009, 01:54 AM
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I'm guessing by your user name and assuming you have a 545 which means you are probably out of maintenance warranty by now.
I recommend you to look for a good indy shop. They know more than the stealerships. And a lot cheaper and friendly.
Most of indy shops also provide rental cars(my shop charges $18 a day plus gas of course). Indy shops put more
efforts into it.
I recommend you to look for a good indy shop. They know more than the stealerships. And a lot cheaper and friendly.
Most of indy shops also provide rental cars(my shop charges $18 a day plus gas of course). Indy shops put more
efforts into it.
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