superstyna

this is my first forum so please be kind =] but blunt is good.

i will try and sum this up as short as i can. May 2011 i bought a certified pre-owned 2008 528xi (white with peanut butter inside) one previous owner that leased from that same dealership. it came with remaining 50k warranty and extended warranty until 100k (which im still in) Ive had all my work done through the dealership (oil changes, brakes, etc) well few months after owning it "engine overheating" came on the screen..had it towed and they replaced water pump...one week later it happened again (replaced thermostat).When it happens im driving of course and as its telling me to pull over and shut car off it continues to come on few times before i find somewhere to park to have it towed.(goes from yellow symbol drive moderately to red symbol shut car off)
Since the initial time it overheated i have gotten it towed 5xs now, 2 water pumps, 2 thermostats, cooling system,and sensor replaced. the overheating is not registering when they put my key in the computer so ive been taking pictures and videos of when it happens (being im a girl they thought i was lying) or in their words "are you sure you werent just out of washer fluid" there have been few times ive taken it in for same issue and they gave me my car back saying they couldnt get it to overheat and no signs. They had a few techs drive it home to see if they could re-trigger the overheat but it didnt happen...so"we replaced the thermostat again just in case"
definition of insanity "doing the same thing over and over while expecting a different result"
well to get to the point i took it to another bmw dealer and they have had my car for 2 months now and good news is they can get the overheat messege to apear on my screen now but saying they are still at the fork in the road. a puma case was opened and their engineers are stumped as well. they-ve narrowed it down to it coming on when ac is on or if its hot outside?? they have said they think its software but still not sure if its software of engine.
9 months of overheating, 2 dealerships, 8 techs, puma case, and one bmw regional tech and still no one knows whats wrong.

my question to this dear forum is what are my rights/options? ive made 2 car pymts now without even having my car...3 loaners later and still no results. should i be saying something or demanding anything? my service guy has been amazing and i dont wana jump his chain of command and get him in trouble or burn that bridge because he has helped me when the other dealer thought i was lying, any advice?????

theXman

Welcome! I'd start looking at the local lemon law, just in case the problem persists and BMW can't fix it.

bada!

Welcome to the forums and so sorry they have to be under these conditions. Have a look at the link below as the law varies from state to state.

http://www.carlemon.com/lemon/OR_law.html

Good luck and please keep us posted.

superstyna

i quickly skimmed over the lemon law...im past the year mark and past the 12,000miles but it is a problem that has consistently happened and has been in their possesion for more than 30 days. Would i tell my service guy that im looking ito "lemon law"?

superstyna

oh and some friends have mentioned it only works for buying a new car? not a used? is that accurate?

Jim165

Hopefully the lemon law route will work out for you if it's necessary...maybe mentioning it to the SA like you stated will light a bit of a fire under them to fix the issue. After reading all of what they've replaced, I'm wondering if the main component in the cooling system is at fault: the cooling fan.

bada!

I would ask to speak to the GM of the dealership you originally purchased it from and see if he/or she is willing to do something about it. Maybe put you in a different car or something along those lines.

At this point there is nothing the service advisor can do but the GM has many options. If you don't hear what you want to hear from the GM at this point I would look into contacting a lawyer and at least asking what he/she would recommend you do and what your options are.

Hope this helps and please keep us posted.

superstyna

he has mentioned that the fan does not turn off and they think a sensor maybe triggering it...but that was 2 weeks ago and i havent heard from them so makes me think maybe they still dont know.

at first he said it was only on hot days (which is rare in oregon right now) but then he said its also when the air is on now. but i dont feel thats too accurate because it happened in winter also. when i first took it in he mentioned he thought it was prob a cracked head but that would be extremly hard to find and prove before they could take that route?

bada!

Clearly this isn't something simple. Unless I'm missing something? I don't care how many miles you have put on it. If it's under warranty and you're having this big of an issue the dealership needs to step up. Fix it or not on there own time and then resale it to someone else.

superstyna

thanks for the advice! i think my next step will be asking to speak to GM because all anyone keeps telling me is that they dont know if its software or engine and that answer has been given to me for a month now? is it wrong of me to think geeeze well lets try one and at least rule it out? but id have to go back to the dealer i got it from?