545nightmare

I bought the car as a CPO in 2007 and am out of warranty. I went to get an oil change and the mechanic told me my transmission is leaking and it looks like my pan is warped. He gave me a quote for $800. I called Valencia BMW (same dealer I bought the car) here in Southern California and the SA quoted me $665 with tax. I choose the dealership because of the price, reassurance it would be repaired right, and I would get a loaner while my car was worked on.

They diagnosed my car as having a leaking mechatronic sleeve. Because of that I was low on fluid in the transmission. So I authorized the repairs. They changed the sleeve and pan gasket, as well as adding fluid. I drove off and was on the freeway heading home. I was at a steady pace and needed to get in front of a car so I accelerated gradually (not aggressively) and then it almost seemed like the car didn't know what gear to keep me in. It would shift then not shit then the RPM just jumped up and i got the "Transmission Malfunction" error on my screen. The car locked me into the gear (i believe 4th gear). I couldn't manually change the gears with the shifter so I pulled over. I turned off the engine and sat and turned the engine back on. The problem went away and I was able to drive home. I called my SA and scheduled an appointment.

The mechanic at the dealership said the code that was being thrown was "tran slipping clutch e." The SA told me they noticed the transmission pan leaking from it being warped. They said to replace the pan, filter, and fluid, it would be $788. I should note that the SA explicitly stated that this repair will fix my problem. This service is what I originally brought my car in for but they diagnosed it as just the mechatronic sleeve the first time. I authorized the repair and got my car back 3 days later. I went home and on the way there it happened on a surface street. Same error code and same locking of the gears.

I dropped off the car at the dealer AGAIN and they told me that whatever they did is covered under a 2 year warranty, but if they find out it's something else, then "we'd go from there". I told them, that it wasn't acceptable, and that I would not agree to paying anything additional, and that I need them to fix what they broke. They took me to the Service Manager, and he told me I can count out me getting a new transmission or fixing anything they feel they didn't do. He told me that my car had 100k miles on it, so it's been through a lot. I told him 100k is not suppose to be a lot for any modern car and to stop treating it like an antique automobile. I told him that I came here with a working transmission and only wanted the leak to stop. I authorized the repair that they suggested. I authorized the second repair that they suggested to remedy this problem. The problem still persists, they've misdiagnosed my transmission, and possibly damaged my transmission beyond repair. The manager also told me they would take the $1400 in repairs into "consideration" if the car requires a new transmission. I'm assuming he felt that I would pay the difference. I told him that I don't agree with that. We ended it shortly after and the SA wrote me up for the diagnosis and loaner.

They called me a week later and told me that I need a new transmission. They said a new transmission from BMW would cost $10,000, but they spoke to someone from BMW and told me they would do it at warranty cost which is $7000. I said I'm not paying $7000 for a transmission they broke. They said they did nothing to cause the failure so I'm pretty much S.O.L. I said I need my car ready tomorrow to pick up.


What are my options? Can I take them to court? I feel like I just paid $1400, and now I have a car that's not safe to drive. They don't seem to have a problem losing me as a customer. All in all, I feel like throwing up after this whole experience. Thank you for the advice.

v8power

Take to a bmw specialist indy shop for a second opinion . Could be a simple reset or small problem. Mechanics these days frightens me. Some will fix your problem, most will make it worst.
Example: in for alignment, no ones looking , takes blade , slice cv boots " hey your cv boots are leaking.

umichchris

research your state laws as they pertain to diagnosing and fixing automotive/repairs problems. some states (like michigan) have strict laws in place to protect consumers so they dont get taken to the cleaners.


beyond that, launch a PR campaign with BMWNA and the dealership. elevate the problem. connect with the manager of the service department. ask to talk to the general manager of the dealership. once you find out what legal recourse you have, inform (not threaten) them of your options but preference to keep things private rather than official/in the court. file a complaint with the BBB, BMWNA corporate, connect with the NTHSA and see what info they may have on record as far as transmission failures/complaints/requests for recall etc.


do your homework from all angles. knowledge is power. once you have the knowledge you will have the ability to fight the situation.


as for your immediate issues, i would def consider obtaining a second opinion as there could be another solution beyond replacing the trans.


i really feel for you man, before i got in an accident, my beloved 545i was having trans problems. luckily my dealership stood behind me and was helping me figure out the issue. turns out it just needed to be fully reprogrammed, something about the shift parameters or along those lines. point is....i thought i needed a new trans, hell initially they thought it would need a new mechatronics at the minimum, but we took all the diagnostic info and sent it to BMWNA in Jersey and the techs there came up with a software solution instead...stay positive, do your research (from all viable angles) and please keep us posted man

kneemah

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545nightmare

Thank you for the advice. I will be picking up my vehicle tomorrow morning. I will ask to speak to the general manager and speak to him in regards to my vehicle. I did find out California does have a Bureau of Automotive Repairs, which is part of the Department of Consumer Affairs.

There's a form I have ready to fill out online in the case they don't restore my vehicle to its previous condition. I will also file a complaint with the BBB. While they were diagnosing my car, I called BMWNA and asked if there was anything they could do. They said since the dealership is independently owned and the vehicle is out of warranty, there's really nothing they can do about it. I will try calling them one more time tomorrow and asking about filing a complaint against this dealership.

bmw545

Just wanted let you know I had exactly the same issue back to 2010 Oct in one of BMW dealers locate in Santa Clara area.
I had a little bit transmission fluid leak and asked for a repair. End up the fxxxed my transmission.
Every morning the transmission faulty light will come on and lock the gear at 3rd. Their excuse was because transmission was leaking and damaged was already exist.
It is totally BS but what I can do?
Fortunately, I still had 3rd party warranty. The warranty company sent some guys to the dealer to look at the problem twice and decided to pay for the repair.
Ended up I got a 18K rebuilt transmission. I will need to pay like 2K more if i want a new one.

It took like 3 weeks to go over it. Such a nightmare to me.

Good luck to you on your issue.