Ray Hull

I am in the middle of one of these conundrums, as I type this. My 545 went in Wednesday for diagnosis and repair of "ACTIVE STEERING FAULT" which was initially reported here about two months ago, and immediately noted by a BMWNA service agent who appently checks this board; he called me right away. As I have had a LOT of serious false codes in this car, I was not perturbed by this latest which showed no physical sign of impending doom.

When I finally called this week, (at service interval) I got an instant appointment and was told that the problem was probably the angle sensor or someting. Apparently that must not have been it, as they kept the car overnight to reprogram it. They did not offer me transportation, even after I expressed my displeasure of being told, at work, that I was without transportation at 4:45 pm. Yesterday, I got the same song and dance at 3:30 and pointedly asked about a rental. After a lot of well, er, um, "I can call to see if Enterprise Rental can set you up..." they arranged one. No word from them today.

I also noted that the replaced Dunlop Thumpflats are throbbing already at about 6K, and was told they "aren't sure what can be done about that..." This is markedly different from the first time when they jumped at the chance to replace them.

So, in sum, this visit is turning into another guessing game, but with a much chillier reception. I guess it may have been my overall 4 I gave them, despite 5s in all but "work performed to satisfaction." The reason? They gouged the hell out of one wheel during tire change. And I told them so, but they never even offered to look at it.

Admittedly I didn't buy this car from them (but have bought 3 from them over the years), but I am getting a bit suspicious of their attitude, and I think my scoring may be it. I have told BMWNA follow-up surveys that their follow-up is appreicated, BUT that I resent greatly being OPENLY CHIDED by a SA to give a good ratinig. This is Orwellian and defeats the purpose of the followup survey! It's like a waitress warning you to tip as she takes your order!

I always smile and say that "I take the survey and the work they do seriously." That's probably not enough, but unless BMW gets specific about assigning blame (i.e. the tire changer) then the SA takes the hit.

As for this bulletin, I think the most telling line is: You can understand why we may not answer a PuMA case if the latest software is not used. Talk about the gloved iron fist....

We'll see what happens, but I expect to go without my car over the weekend.
Ray

Ricracing

Thank's for posting cobradav,

This isn't only a US problem.

But I must say, that the largest BMW dealer over here (Laakkonen),
has invested a lot in the latest technology.

But the personnel do not read the e60.net enough

KR,
Rr

seventhirteen

my dealer puts a nice little sticker on every work order saying if you can not give us all 5's then please contact the service manager .... i personally have had my current bmw in for various issues 8+ times in the first 12 months of ownership. not a good sign of things to come.

EBMCS03

They need to earn there them 5s...

waaay back i went in with the transmission bang problem... I knew about software upgrade yet the they had no clue about and game me some run around. So I ended up giving one section against the technician a 1. The next time I went in the SA said to me. that I screwed up his rating and I explained to him why I did that and from there on I got excellent service from him. Ya the dealer still has stupid problems like over AND under filling engine oil during 2 different services but what can you do. The technicians are just not careful enough.

HotLap

Sooooo true, use this information to build bridges (not walls) with your SA and dealership. They are people too....

cobradav

Extension of the BMW assist. It was in SIB 02 02 06 with different levels of incentive payments based on the assist levels they signed up. It was kinda funny as I told the SA I would sign up for an extension so he would get the bonus $$. He said he never heard of it. I said I'd mention it to one of the managers. I happened to catch the sales and service managers at the same time and started chatting them up. I had not quite got to that subject when I saw my SA walking towards us and as the SA arrived, the manager quickly avowed he would look into it. Well on my next visit my SA profusely thanked me as he got several incentive fees in one nice check.

cobradav

You are right though, about them not READING enough whether it be us here or any materials. Both my SA's that I have had over a 3-year period admitted they did not have enough time to stay current - and quite frankly expressed gratitude that I bothered to do research on problems and brought SIBs to them when I thought they might apply. Now we all can't do that, enthusiasts that we are and certainly expect THEM to try to stay on top of things. I mean think of those folks that are not even on forums. They are just lambs being lead to the slaughter.

JSpira

Interesting. On a quasi related note, I?ll be taking a tour of the BMW Assist center in D?sseldorf in a few weeks.