JayJay

I just phoned BMW to book in my car to replace all the door seals because of creaking. I also mentioned that IDrive had not bene updated when i last went in because i was told it was the latest version which is clearly not quite true after hunting around on here...

(no perspective view etc)


The service technican said that "im not sure we can actually update idrive.....so erm...... im going to get our chief technician to give you a call back"...

im still awaiting the call..

I am armed with various CIP version numbers. The promise of Mp3 support in september and the LED issue.

Its amazing that BMW have created a car which is a technological masterpiece yet have staff in dealerships who have a lesser understanding of it than some of the customers. (those of us who read these forums anyway)..


Lets hope the guy knows his stuff so i can talk 'shop' with him about what i want and what ive heard. I dont want the LED's to go off so the car is being booked in for the second week of september when 'hopefully' mp3 support will finally be available and the list of bluetooth / tmc etc bugs have been resolved.

Peter530i

yep, I'm used to knowing more about my E60 from this forum then the stupid BMW SA's and TA's.....
Thank god for me to ever find this forum

JayJay

must not forget to talk about sluggish response in Drive too........

subterFUSE

This is only partially true.... there is another aspect to this issue.


I don't know about Europe, but in the United States... the actual BMW dealerships are privately owned. They are not owned or affiliated with BMW AG.

This means they are individualy run business units in themselves. The goal of any business is to make money. A dealership can make money in 2 ways. Selling cars, and servicing cars.

Unfortunately, the dealership does not charge the customer for servicing warranty items on a BMW. It may be possible that the dealership is reimbursed by BMW for the work, but if this is the case.... that reimbursment is not a high-profit proposition. The dealer would do much better in terms of profit if they could set their own prices for the customer to pay out of pocket. Ask your dealership what their typical hourly labor rate is... mine is $120 an hour. THAT is where they make their money, so that is the kind of work they want to do.... not warranty work.

So... at the dealership, they are reluctant to agree to a software update because of the time required to perform the task.... it ties up their service department's capacity and reduces profitablity.

As an idependent operator, a dealership may instruct its employees to lie to the customers about service issues such as software updates. These lies may be anything from: saying there is a charge to activate Bluetooth, saying the iDrive cannot be updated... etc.. I've heard a few people talk about them here on this board.


That said, some dealerships are easier to deal with than others. My dealership has been excellent for me. My car is currently at my dealership for its first service. I have almost 15,000 miles on it, and I typed out a 12 point list of things I wanted fixed before I went in. I gave the service rep my list, and they have been working on every item (most items were fixed by software updates). In my list, I identified which items were software related, and which CIP version fixed them. So they know that I know what the deal is.

They did my software update, free of charge. I pick up my car this morning.


So... my point is.... just do your homework. Make a list of everything that needs to be fixed under warranty. And point out which items are software related and how to fix them. If the dealer won't help you, report them to BMW Customer Care... with the same list.

colejl

It is shocking how little they know about 'their' products...

The software is the new spanner so they need to support it properly!

JayEll

Jay ... how did you convince them they needed to replace seals? i still can't get my dealer to co-operate with this. help appreciated...

JayJay

I phoned up and said 'i bought this car about 2 months ago and its got creakier and creakier. I know this is a common fault on the 5 series and its still under warrenty so i would like it fixed'


she said 'is water leaking in'..i said 'no that isnt an issue. the door seals themselves seem to be creaking a huge amount and its getting worse. its especially apparent at low speed.'

she said 'is it just the front or all of them?'... i replied with 'well passengers have also complained so i can only assume its all 4 seals.'


she just said 'ok no problem'

Olivin530i

Had my "creakier" problem "fixed" temporary when the dealer changed the seals barely 3 months ago

Today, it is still as creaky, creakier and creakiest (if I may coin this word ) especially when the car body flexes.

JayJay

I just talked to the head technician at the dealership and he confirmed the latest CIP was 18 that they had in atm and he wasnt aware of a new one coming out in september but did say that in week 1 of september an update for the 1 and 3 series was coming out...

He said it would be no problem to update it for me and would give me perspective and the toolbar in nav mode.

Additionally i asked him about the door seal and he said that BMW have issued a new part that IS covered under warrenty.

I suggest you hassle your dealer some more and maybe show them : http://www.bmwtis.com/tsb/bulletins/bullet...mp/B510205g.htm


its now the same in europe as NA..

He said they used to apply lubricant but it didnt really work and BMW issued a replacement part. Apparently a fair few owners have taken the car back and had it done and it most definitly is covered under warrenty.

I thanked him and ended call.

Good news really :-)