Dealership screwed me....need help/advice on what to do next(engine mount bolt failed

[nutzkicker617]

On April 6th of 2009, I had started to feel a vibration coming from the chassis due to 2 loose and 2 broken engine mount bolts on the passenger side. I took it into the dealership that day and had the work done. I mentioned the fact that there was a service bulletin for this EXACT issue for the M coupes and expected that this would be covered, but since he found some under body damage (very slight bend in the front reinforcement plate), he charged me $779.95 for the 2 bolts to be extracted, change 4 new bolts and support bracket with rubber mount. Is there any way to complain to BMW North America or corporate? This is clearly an issue with these cars to the point that there is a service bulletin out.

I had to do the work then and there because the engine was sitting on the front sway bar. Did not want to drive it any more unless in life or death situation.

What would you guys do if you were in my position

[fatmatt0116]

call bmw na... the day after I called them about my 2nd gear problem the dealer called me back first thing and said they would replace my whole transmission free of charge. Got it back today.

[Incompatible]

Originally Posted by nutzkicker617

On April 6th of 2009, I had started to feel a vibration coming from the chassis due to 2 loose and 2 broken engine mount bolts on the passenger side. I took it into the dealership that day and had the work done. I mentioned the fact that there was a service bulletin for this EXACT issue for the M coupes and expected that this would be covered, but since he found some under body damage (very slight bend in the front reinforcement plate), he charged me $779.95 for the 2 bolts to be extracted, change 4 new bolts and support bracket with rubber mount. Is there any way to complain to BMW North America or corporate? This is clearly an issue with these cars to the point that there is a service bulletin out.

I had to do the work then and there because the engine was sitting on the front sway bar. Did not want to drive it any more unless in life or death situation.

http://www.zpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=289372 This might be helpful.

[pbdm4k]

If possible, dont take the car, tell them to hold off on the work and that you want to talk to their Service manager. IF the SM refuses to do the work as per the service bulletin/warranty, then tell him to shove it while you talk to BMW North America.

Argue that the bent frame was a result of THEIR faulty engine mounts and that you strongly believe you should not pay for these repairs.

Contact BMW NA, they'll sing to a different tune the next morning. Dealerships have to report to corporate and must maintain a standard of customer service and care. If they are not meeting it, it looks bad on them and BMW NA will not be pleased with that dealership.

Wrong thread above, you want this one: http://www.zpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=255653

It happened to Daammitt and he had the dealership replace it under warranty.

Here is the info to the service bulletin:
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...9&postcount=42

Print it out and show them, and really, BMW NA is your friend. They'll kick that SA's ass.

If you already paid, regardless, call BMW NA and complain. At best, they'll reimburse you.
The worst they can do is say no.

[Erhan]

A phone call will do the trick as mentioned by the above users.

The dealer I got my previous Z4 lied to me that the car had run flat tires. I didn't check it that day since I thought it is not something a dealer will lie about. Sometime after I found about it, I talked to the service manager and he refused to change my non run flat tires with run flat tires. I sent an email to BMWNA (not even a phone call) and next day the dealer called me to change my tires.

I had some other issues with that dealer too, so unfortunatelly there are some pretty low quality dealers out there. Oh, I don't mind telling which dealer it was: Brecht BMW / San Diego...

[nutzkicker617]

Should be hearing back from BMW NA today. Will keep you guys posted.

[nutzkicker617]

Update on my situation:

I called BMW NA to see if I could be compensated/reimbursed the $790 that it cost me to replace the engine bracket along with 4 new bolts on the passenger side (2 were missing and 2 broke, causing my engine to be dropped onto the front sway bar). It took them 2 days plus the weekend and they just gave me a call back. Word is, they called the service dealership which told them that there was damage underneath the car that should have caused the engine bolts to loosen and break. I told them about the service bulletin and the numerous other Z4MC owners experience this same exact problem with it being covered under warranty. They said they could file a complaint for me, but pretty much I don't get anything.

Is it at this point where I just say it is what it is? Or should I try to keep fighting this? What are, if any, any other options I have?

Thanks

[Hawkeye]

That sucks nutz. You could probably keep fighting and possibly win, but at this point it all depends on how bad you actually need the money. To some it wouldn't be worth the hassle.

[Matty C]

Originally Posted by nutzkicker617

On April 6th of 2009, I had started to feel a vibration coming from the chassis due to 2 loose and 2 broken engine mount bolts on the passenger side. I took it into the dealership that day and had the work done. I mentioned the fact that there was a service bulletin for this EXACT issue for the M coupes and expected that this would be covered, but since he found some under body damage (very slight bend in the front reinforcement plate), he charged me $779.95 for the 2 bolts to be extracted, change 4 new bolts and support bracket with rubber mount. Is there any way to complain to BMW North America or corporate? This is clearly an issue with these cars to the point that there is a service bulletin out.

I had to do the work then and there because the engine was sitting on the front sway bar. Did not want to drive it any more unless in life or death situation.

What would you guys do if you were in my position

kundenbetreuung@bmw.de Is BMW main customer support and complain area. Screw dealing with BMWNA go straight for the head office

[fahrhaus]

I had exactly the same problem with my 2007 M Roadster. I was accelerating away from a light and hear a "ping" noise (similar to a handbrake cable that doesnt release). After 3 days of diagnosis (and after 1 day of diagnosis where they couldn't find anything wrong), they said it was a broken passenger side engine mount bolt, that caused the engine to rest on the front sway bar. The dealer then said it was not covered under warranty because my two passenger side wheels are slightly bent and the front plastic cover near the inside of the front wheel was cracked. They say that I hit a pothole that stressed the engine mount and caused it to break from outside influence. Here's the clincher: I hit that pothole 6 months ago! They say they have no way of knowing that and that it is what they guess caused the problem. I reminded them that there is absolutely no evidence of damage to the skid plate that covers the sway bar and engine mounts, no evidence of any impact to the mount or the bolt or any part of the suspension, no damage or impact to any suspension component, so basically the wheels are the CLOSEST part of the car that has any evidence of impact yet they claim that's what caused the mount to break.

The dealer worked with me to get the price down for all 4 bolts and the cracked plastic cover near the wheel to be replaced, grand total of approximately $650.

I don't blame the dealership really, it's the warranty advisor they deal with at NA that denied it from being covered.

After reading all these posts, I am now well and truly pissed. This is my 20th personal BMW, and about the 50th BMW I have had use of via my company cars here and in Deutschland over the years. To me, this is a design flaw and needs to be remedied and reimbursed.

Any suggestions would be GLADLY appreciated.

Cheers

[CalRick]

Forensically, it would not be too difficult to determine if their assessement is correct - that the bolt(s) were damaged a few months ago and failed yesterday. The signs of such a fatique failure are classic. The problem rests more in understanding the nature of the failures that they have admitted are due to their manufacturing defect and what those failed bolts look like. To get to that you really need the help of BMW in Germany - there is some engineering group there that decided what the problem is after some analysis and testing that led to the service bulletin being issued. Unfortunately you are not likely to get their cooperation - they are too insulated by other parts of the organization who would rather you pay for the problem.

If you could find a set of failed bolts that BMW paid to replace as a comparison, you have some chance to get them to pay for it if those bolts showed the same type of failure as yours (the metalurgy/materials science department at an engineering university may be able to help with this, those guys love collecting broken junk!); unfortunately the manufacturers/dealers would typically keep bad parts that they pay to replace.

[chickdr]

It really is sad how variable the successful warranty repairs are. I see this with all manufacturers. VW would warranty cracked wood trim on some Touaregs within the 4yr OE warranty(ours included) but others reported denial on anything past 12mths/12k. Honda warrantied some torn soft tops for a frame defect which damaged the top(they just recently released a TSB for this defect in the last year of the cars production) and others were denied. The motor mount issue seems identical.

[007///M]

I'm pretty sure my bolt/mount broke this morning, same as described above. Taking off from a light, shifted to 2nd pop then vibration. Pulled over (since I'd read posts before this is what I expected) didnt see anything hanging down on the ground. Since I was just leaving home, I drove the 1/4 mile back and parked it.

Now the fun begins with the dealer, I'll pring the TSB from the link above and go in strong... Wish me luck!

thanks for all the info on this site it's been GREAT!!

[shitbrownMcoupe]

Dealers suck, I had read from a fellow owner and found on his site a list of BMW official printouts stating what customers had problems with for the z4 m coupe. So I printed them all out and showed the service rep. And he said that he can change anything unless they do occur on our car.

examples, doors rubbing, bolts loose, water seaping in the doors etc...

Sorry I don't have the link of the guys website anymore.

[shitbrownMcoupe]

I emailed Germany about my engine, no reply.

basically the z4 m coupe will be the last BMW I'm ever buying... love the cars, hate the service.

The service reps always have a smile on their face and are calm, but action is slow.

[blender]

Suggest you get the Service Manager or the dealership owner into the conversation. Request that only the shop foreman work on your car.

You can try to escalate through BMW North America, but keep your expectations very low.
Your shortest path to victory may be a *capable* independent BMW mechanic.

[007///M]

Got my car back in 6 hours from the dealer.

I called roadside assistance, they sent a flatbed towtruck. At the dealer they asked what the issue was, I described and said based on others I believed it was the motor mount. Service adivisor said that he had never heard of such a thing. He gave me a loaner (2010-328) at 9am, got a call from them at 3pm saying the car was ready to pick up it was exactly what I told him. Car had been washed and vacuumed.

Total charge = $0 Very well pleased with service and attitude of Chapman BMW in Chandler. (They also pulled the Bluetooth PIN for me at no charge a few weeks ago, only took them 10 minutes)

[Blind32]

Sounds like you got yourself a great dealer.

[Dammmittt]

Originally Posted by pbdm4k

If possible, dont take the car, tell them to hold off on the work and that you want to talk to their Service manager. IF the SM refuses to do the work as per the service bulletin/warranty, then tell him to shove it while you talk to BMW North America.

Argue that the bent frame was a result of THEIR faulty engine mounts and that you strongly believe you should not pay for these repairs.

Contact BMW NA, they'll sing to a different tune the next morning. Dealerships have to report to corporate and must maintain a standard of customer service and care. If they are not meeting it, it looks bad on them and BMW NA will not be pleased with that dealership.

Wrong thread above, you want this one: http://www.zpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=255653

It happened to Daammitt and he had the dealership replace it under warranty.

Here is the info to the service bulletin:
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...9&postcount=42

Print it out and show them, and really, BMW NA is your friend. They'll kick that SA's ass.

If you already paid, regardless, call BMW NA and complain. At best, they'll reimburse you.
The worst they can do is say no.

Actually my car was no longer under warranty and BMW Munich paid the dealer for the parts and labor.