OK well I went back to the dealer today and spoke with the service adviser and it so happened that there was a tech sitting at her desk so I asked them both to clarify why my iDrive now reads 31,000 miles till the next microfilter service and why they reset it to that if they did not change the filter. Keep in mind my car is over 2.5 years old.

So the SA pulled up my records from May and read through it and the Tech was also reading. The first page showed a charge to BMW NA and the SA said to the tech "there's a charge..." Fine whatever... I just sat back and listened to them discuss what they're reading... and then on the next page is where they read that the car only had 14.xxx miles when it was taken in and it was "premature" for a microfilter change. So based off this the Tech tried to tell me because the iDrive was incorrect they needed to re calibrate it and it wasnt really due for a microfilter change and those are usually done at 30,000 miles. I said "OK thats fine... so now why was my car reset to 31,000 miles for the next filter service?" They had no answer for that and tried to tell me to return when its about 30K miles and they'll change the filter for me then. I'm like no way, by then they'll never admit to it. Since I wouldnt budge on that they then tried to tell me they couldnt have changed the filter because BMW wouldnt pay for it since it wasnt due yet even tho the iDrive said so.. ya ya premature yap yap yap... I didnt want to hear it. Then the Tech goes on to say I dont need one because I dont drive the car enough. Dude... I live in LA I sit in traffic more than I drive the car and the AC or fan is on ALL the time when I'm in the car. I dont use windows...

So anyways after all that they said ok we'll reset it to 15K miles countdown. Keep in mind... they billed BMW already for something... I saw it on the first page.. and heard them talk about it... Now I dont know what the bill was for... to reset the iDrive or for the microfilters and just didnt give me new ones I dont know. I mean 9/10 if they skimp out on changing the microfilter no one will know... Usually people dont check these kinds of stuff... I didnt check it... not till 1.5 months later... cuz I assume I get what I take the car in for...

So because of this I wasnt going to take the reset my iDrive to 15K answer... I asked to have new filters. But they said BMW wont pay for them and so I cant get them. So I specifically said Yes I know BMW wont pay for it so now I'm asking XXXX BMW to pay for it because the tech screwed up and caused me the trouble and plus my filters are filthy... of course they didnt like that and told me to go sit at the waiting area while they go ask the master technician, service manager or whomever...

And when the SA assisted me away from her desk I calmly said "you dont want me to leave unhappy, I will take this up with BMW NA and the only reason I came to this dealer for service is because I live close by and wanted to give you guys a chance, now if you cant even get a filter correct how will you expect me to return? " She ended up telling me its ok if I contact BMW NA and its ok if I dont return... I was shocked... I even said "i'm suprised you would say that to a customer..." and walked away to the waiting area...


After waiting 25 mins I was getting irritated... finally the Tech comes back and asks for my keys and said they will take a look at the filters and if they're dirty they will replace them. Another 20 or so mins pass and he comes out saying they're replaced... as good will to the customer... not much else... they didnt want to talk to me anymore... I went back to the SA and thanked her and left...

Now I dont know if I should say that was a good experience or not. In the end they did what they should have but it took some effort. So I just wanted to report back what happened... Ya I know it was long, sorry.

 

well at least it went in your favor.

congrats on your microfilters eric

 

Hahhaaha Thanks I guess... and you know they will try to pawn me off but its not that easy to get rid of me... I'm brighter than that and usually have better arguments than what they're use to...

Next time I'm going to my kitchen and grabbing some coffee filters and shoving it in there... they'll prob work the same right?

I think I'm returning to Long Beach BMW from now on... I'll think about it... I've had excellent service from there and really like the SA Anthony there... although they did screw up before... but they admit to their mistakes and made things right.

 

You know why they replaced the filters.... b'cos they cannot reset your microfilter to 15K miles countdown. Once you have reset the iDrive, you cannot turn bck the clock. you only can reset it to the designated new part mileage. I would definitely make a rport to BMW NA. Its these centers that give other centers a bad name.... shame on them.....

 

Hahah I didn't think they could reset it to 15K miles... damn liars! What I thought was exactly what you said... either reset it to designated new filter mileage or not... but I had no proof so I didn't want to argue that with them.

But I don't know... I don't know if I want to go that far to BMW NA... they did do what I wanted them to do... so they met their end of the bargain even though I had to fight for it. If they didn't... they would never hear the end of me and wished they just replaced them.

Oh and to add to that... after replacing the filter my AC doesnt really smell anymore... it has a very light hint of it but it doesnt smell like feet anymore... before when I first turn on the AC it smelled like a REALLY bad case of feet for like 30 seconds... that was the reason I took my microfilter housing apart... so I can access the duct and spray some disinfectant in there... and the few days between the spray and filter change my AC still stunk... and after the filter change theres only a small hint... I might take it apart this weekend and spray a bit more disinfectant and see if it clears it all up.

 

I had a similar issue with my micro filter in my E60. The iDrive had counted down to 480 miles for the microfilter change. I was leaving for a trip the next day so I called for an appointment after my return. I drove the car 1200 miles (34500 miles on the car) and when I got home the iDrive jumped back up to 1400 miles before the micro filter change. I took it in anyway and the service tech said it was due for a mircofilter change (info from the key). The filter was changed and now the iDrive says it is 70000 miles until the next change. What kind of wacky system are they using to judge filter life?

I am going to check to see if they actually changed the filter after reading this string.

 

Please report back I would like to know.

 

Just thought I would share a similar experience that I just noticed today. My car has 35,000 miles and shows due for microfilter service, this kind of surpised me since right before the 4 year maintenance expired this June, the dealership said they changed the microfilter's. Today when I go open the cover to check out the filters there was ALOT of accumulation of leaves.....more than a couple of months worth and it looked like some of the leaves were dried bugambilia, which I have not even seen anywhere that I have been around (i bought the car used, CPO).

At this point I am pretty pissed!

 

mind sharing which dealership? by PM perhaps?

just changed my microfilters too....just curious why after the reset, it said 80k miles till the next change! all the while i thought these were supposed to be replaced every oil service interval also....

 

When mine were replaced it showed 40k miles after the reset.Maybe BMW set different figures for specific countries or ,being cynical,it is more likely to be linked to free maintenance.Perhaps a dealership can overide the default setting?