infin8

I am taking my car in to the dealer on Thursday for a few things. I have a coolant leak. The Steering feels loose when driving straight and I have to turn the wheel more than normal on slow sharp turns, so I'm thinking the Active Steering is malfunctioning or it needs control arm bushings. Also my fuel economy is slowly getting worse & worse. Getting 50-75 less mpg per tank. Not sure what might cause this, maybe spark plugs? The last complaint is that the car is taking bumps much harder than it used to, not smooth and tight like it should. The car is covered under two warranties. I have an extended BMW warranty through June 2012, but I purchased the vehicle from a Volvo/Lincoln dealership and purchased a 4 year/48k mile bumper to bumper premium warranty through Ford Motors that is fully transferable through BMW ($100 deduct.). Neither of the warranties include maintenance. I'm pretty sure everthing will be covered except maybe the suspension. My question, is suspension considered maintenance or is it covered under warranty? How long should the shocks/struts last? 2007 530i with 57k, purchased a little over a year ago with 40k miles on the odometer. Any input would help, maybe u have a better diagnosis for some of my issues? Thanks in advance.

tonyb635

Do you have your warranty contract available? I would start there this way you know if the item in question fits in the warranty scheme. Othwise, they coud jerkbyou around I've seen all kinds. If was the BMW factory warranty it would be covered. If its the BMW extended warranty I would think it would also be covered but I've heard that a lot of items uncheck as this are not.

infin8

Thanks for the suggestions Tony. I do have a BMW extenteded warranty. I think the original owner purchased an extra year of coverage because the last time I was at the dealer the SA told me I am covered under BMW warranty until June 2012. Should my suspension be failing this soon? What is the normal life of the suspension?

Nate