Question on blown front left Bilstein PSS10.

3002 tii · 07-07-2012, 10:27 PM

You gotta learn how to drive around potholes lol

Z4-VILLA · 08-27-2012, 09:28 PM

Repair price write up from Bilstein. ...make sure youre sitting down

seank · 08-27-2012, 09:41 PM

Is this the rebuild price or are they also revalved from stock?

Z4-VILLA · 08-27-2012, 11:02 PM

rebuild price is worked up in the totals..... might be a good question to ask tomorrow

Beedub · 08-28-2012, 02:27 AM

damn!! notlooking forward to my rebuild cost when the time costs!! oh well, you pay to play i guess!! stop running pot holes!!

NatHill · Yesterday, 03:19 PM

Hi folks,

I am actually having the same issue with the PSS10/B16 on my MK7 2017 GTI (April 2024).

Facts:
-Bought through USP Motorsports.
-Set was installed professionally by NGP Racing in VA.
-The car has been tracked a few times without incident. Last time was about a year ago. Car has handled amazing since until a few days ago.
-Mileage on the coilover set 30k (1/2 of their usual life expectancy).
-There was no incident, collision, pothole or anything like that in my case. I was driving in a garage, drove slowly (as I always do, I baby my GTI) over a speedbump before the exit gate, and suddenly I heard a metal clunk and the car made a horrible noise and drove wobbly on every right turn. I found a washer on the floor! Managed to limp back to my house a few miles away then had it towed to mechanic. They said the bolt simply broke. I was basically driving with detached strut!

Experiences with Bilstein:
-Hard to get on phone if you are a regular Joe. After calling repeatedly, I dialed in as a 'distributor' and was connected immediately.
-Basic approach: deny deny deny, make stuff up, and point the finger elsewhere. After a call back wait of 2 hrs they told me this.
-There is a process for filing a warrant request. This involves some reasonable information gathering. Warranty needs to be initiated by vendor.
-The warranty has some exclusions. The warranty document says nothing about stems being excluded, but on the phone the dude was making stuff up saying that is an explicit exclusion, which it is NOT.
-They tell others they will not cover if aftermarket mounts have been installed. In my case my mechanic had recommended upgrading to 034 Motorsports mounts, which Bilstein is trying to blame these failures on. I contacted 034 Motorsports and they consulted their engineers who said that their mounts are exact replicas of the OEM ones to the millimeter and that they are happy to support their product with technical input.
-I asked Bilstein what part the strut only was so I could chase it myself, and they wouldn't tell me (I found out on my own the replacement strut for BIL48-251570 is F4-31230087-H1 -there are other variations, make sure if you find a replacement without the whole set -very hard to find- that it is the same number because apparently not all versions are compatible with each other, left and right).
-Before calling I had written to Bilstein and they laughably responded that they couldn't honor warranty because the car had been 'offroaded' and the 'rods were bent' (seriously? LOL. GTI offroad). Basically making stuff up and pulling people's legs. Sheer incompetence.
-A cursory look on the web will demonstrate that PSS10 has the same problem in other installation environments including Audi and BMW.
-Even if they had honored the warranty by some miracle, they would have had to order the individual part in Germany and wait for it a while. With the warranty process and the part ordered, this would have been 2-3 months. Vis a vis the bs they like to sprinkle their customers with, and the pressure of time, I decided to get the part on my own and get the repair done.

I have created a dedicated email address to get interest for litigation. If you share these experiences, write to me here. bilsteinfailures@gmail.com There is no way I will accept spending 2.5k on an aftermarket product (supposedly tough enough to handle the Nürburgring) that fails prematurely like this under normal circumstances, PLUS an extra 1600k out of pocket in parts and labor, to be treated this way and walk away from my cash.

07-07-2012, 10:27 PM	#45
3002 tii Lieutenant General 2282 Rep 12,565 Posts Drives: Z4 M, X5, GX460 Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: CT iTrader: (99) Garage List F15 X5 xDrive35i [8.75] E86 Z4 M [10.00] F10 550i (Retired) [9.17] F25 X3 xDrive35i (R ... [9.43] E82 135is (Retired) [9.50] E85 Z4 M (Retired) [9.41] E90 328i xDrive (Re ... [9.25] E86 Z4 3.0si (Retired) [9.22]	You gotta learn how to drive around potholes lol __________________ Follow for latest mods
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08-27-2012, 09:28 PM	#46
Z4-VILLA Banned 111 Rep 2,460 Posts Drives: Z4M Hardtop Roadster Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Classified iTrader: (0)	Repair price write up from Bilstein. ...make sure youre sitting down Attached Images
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08-27-2012, 09:41 PM	#47
seank enthusiast 48 Rep 1,695 Posts Drives: e30 m3,e90 wagon,sprinter,z4m Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: sacramento, ca iTrader: (4)	Is this the rebuild price or are they also revalved from stock?
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08-27-2012, 11:02 PM	#48
Z4-VILLA Banned 111 Rep 2,460 Posts Drives: Z4M Hardtop Roadster Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Classified iTrader: (0)	rebuild price is worked up in the totals..... might be a good question to ask tomorrow
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08-28-2012, 02:27 AM	#49
Beedub Major General 423 Rep 5,327 Posts Drives: 2007 Z4 M roadster vt2-500 Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: UK iTrader: (0)	damn!! notlooking forward to my rebuild cost when the time costs!! oh well, you pay to play i guess!! stop running pot holes!! __________________ Z4MR VT2 - Clubsport build. Multi award winning Detailing \| Wrap \| PPF specialists UK based - www.topwrapz.com
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Yesterday, 03:19 PM	#50
NatHill Registered 0 Rep 1 Posts Drives: BMW Z4 Join Date: Apr 2024 Location: Virginia iTrader: (0)	Hi folks, I am actually having the same issue with the PSS10/B16 on my MK7 2017 GTI (April 2024). Facts: -Bought through USP Motorsports. -Set was installed professionally by NGP Racing in VA. -The car has been tracked a few times without incident. Last time was about a year ago. Car has handled amazing since until a few days ago. -Mileage on the coilover set 30k (1/2 of their usual life expectancy). -There was no incident, collision, pothole or anything like that in my case. I was driving in a garage, drove slowly (as I always do, I baby my GTI) over a speedbump before the exit gate, and suddenly I heard a metal clunk and the car made a horrible noise and drove wobbly on every right turn. I found a washer on the floor! Managed to limp back to my house a few miles away then had it towed to mechanic. They said the bolt simply broke. I was basically driving with detached strut! Experiences with Bilstein: -Hard to get on phone if you are a regular Joe. After calling repeatedly, I dialed in as a 'distributor' and was connected immediately. -Basic approach: deny deny deny, make stuff up, and point the finger elsewhere. After a call back wait of 2 hrs they told me this. -There is a process for filing a warrant request. This involves some reasonable information gathering. Warranty needs to be initiated by vendor. -The warranty has some exclusions. The warranty document says nothing about stems being excluded, but on the phone the dude was making stuff up saying that is an explicit exclusion, which it is NOT. -They tell others they will not cover if aftermarket mounts have been installed. In my case my mechanic had recommended upgrading to 034 Motorsports mounts, which Bilstein is trying to blame these failures on. I contacted 034 Motorsports and they consulted their engineers who said that their mounts are exact replicas of the OEM ones to the millimeter and that they are happy to support their product with technical input. -I asked Bilstein what part the strut only was so I could chase it myself, and they wouldn't tell me (I found out on my own the replacement strut for BIL48-251570 is F4-31230087-H1 -there are other variations, make sure if you find a replacement without the whole set -very hard to find- that it is the same number because apparently not all versions are compatible with each other, left and right). -Before calling I had written to Bilstein and they laughably responded that they couldn't honor warranty because the car had been 'offroaded' and the 'rods were bent' (seriously? LOL. GTI offroad). Basically making stuff up and pulling people's legs. Sheer incompetence. -A cursory look on the web will demonstrate that PSS10 has the same problem in other installation environments including Audi and BMW. -Even if they had honored the warranty by some miracle, they would have had to order the individual part in Germany and wait for it a while. With the warranty process and the part ordered, this would have been 2-3 months. Vis a vis the bs they like to sprinkle their customers with, and the pressure of time, I decided to get the part on my own and get the repair done. I have created a dedicated email address to get interest for litigation. If you share these experiences, write to me here. bilsteinfailures@gmail.com There is no way I will accept spending 2.5k on an aftermarket product (supposedly tough enough to handle the Nürburgring) that fails prematurely like this under normal circumstances, PLUS an extra 1600k out of pocket in parts and labor, to be treated this way and walk away from my cash.
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