Brought my car in today to get the brakes fixed under the recall thinking that everything would be covered. Received a call from my SA a few hours later and said the Vacuum pump is not covered under recall. Replacement to cost almost 1K. So I called BMWNA to see if it truly was not covered and they said it is NOT covered under recall. I think that it should be covered because that's where part of the leak occurs as well. Maybe we need to start a class action suit to get this fixed. Long story short, I am out 1k for this so called free brake recall.

 

so what exactly is covered under this recall?

sorry to hear about this tho...that's unfortunate...

 

Only the brake booster and master cylinder replacement is covered under recall. Oh, they also gave me a rental. That is covered. Whooopeeee.

 

Unless you are still under warranty, don't do the vacuum pump replacement at the stealership. The vacuum pump is a $400 part and the replacement should take less than a couple of hours. There are 3 torx screws holding it on to the engine block. Undo those and a couple of vacuum hoses and you are home free. I am planning on doing this soon too just as a precaution. I am thinking first thing next year after I get my tax refund. I know I am going be out of a lot of dough for the holidays. You are welcome to come to my place to do it at the same time.

 

Are you saying that when I take my car in to get the recall fixed, I will be required to replace the pump as well? Can I just have the affected parts replaced and not the pump?

 

I don't even have an affected car, but if you guys need help - let me know, I'd be happy to head over and lend a hand

 

WHAT?!?!?!?!?! I got the recall letter in the mail, i have an appointment tomorrow at the dealership to get it fixed or replaced. Since my warranty expired, i should expect to pay for a manufacturer recall? Thats some Bullshit!! I mind as well cancel the appointment!!!

 

thats whacked, i thought the pump oil leakage was the root cause of the problem, am i wrong? what are they going to do, just replace the components that get filled with oil and not fix the root cause....stooopid!

if this be the case, i'm not taking my car in.

 

the vacuum pump is immersed in oil inside. a leaking cover has no effect on the brakes. the vacuum pumps have a shitty oring used on the cover that loses its elasticity and causes leaks.

just do what i did, and take the cover off, clean the mating surfaces with brake cleaner, and apply rtv silicone over the original oring, and reinstall the cover. the pump itself doesnt really wear out.

 

This post is one of the reasons I really appreciate this site and others like it. Easy repairs like this can save us all a lot of money. I had a similar issue with my wife's e39 528i a while ago. It was making some noise on start up near the right wheel well. I searched on line and found it was the air pump which only runs briefly after start up. I pulled the pump and found that the cheap aluminum rivets had become loose. I drilled them out, replaced them with machine screws and the pump was good as new. It took about an hour to do it. I never checked the price with BMW, but I'll bet I would have dropped close to $1k for their fix. Thanks!