E46 Boot Floor Cracks
Discussion
dr_gn said:
Just got back from Sytner BMW to exchange the water pump. Had a chat to the service manager while I was there, and he reckoned they'd only had 2 or 3 in for repair (1 saloon), the others coupes.
I would guess he's not being entirely truthful... Like when I picked my 120d up from my local Sytner after PDC failure they were telling me they had never herd of the fault before & the customer at the next desk lent over saying that's funny you've replaced mine & my wife's..... dr_gn said:
Just got back from Sytner BMW to exchange the water pump. Had a chat to the service manager while I was there, and he reckoned they'd only had 2 or 3 in for repair (1 saloon), the others coupes. They repaired them with the foam method in the BMW bulletin. He confirmed the 10 year cut off, but was a bit vague about the necessity to have a full BMWSH. I got the impresion that it was not a pre-requisite to getting it done under some form of manufacturer's agreement.
He also offered to put mine on the ramp and have a quick look, so with some trepidation I accepted. He said it all looked fine, and if it hadn't gone at 69k it probably wouldn't.
Apparently the epoxy foam repair kit is still available from BMW.
Good news He also offered to put mine on the ramp and have a quick look, so with some trepidation I accepted. He said it all looked fine, and if it hadn't gone at 69k it probably wouldn't.
Apparently the epoxy foam repair kit is still available from BMW.
St John Smythe said:
dr_gn said:
Just got back from Sytner BMW to exchange the water pump. Had a chat to the service manager while I was there, and he reckoned they'd only had 2 or 3 in for repair (1 saloon), the others coupes. They repaired them with the foam method in the BMW bulletin. He confirmed the 10 year cut off, but was a bit vague about the necessity to have a full BMWSH. I got the impresion that it was not a pre-requisite to getting it done under some form of manufacturer's agreement.
He also offered to put mine on the ramp and have a quick look, so with some trepidation I accepted. He said it all looked fine, and if it hadn't gone at 69k it probably wouldn't.
Apparently the epoxy foam repair kit is still available from BMW.
Good news He also offered to put mine on the ramp and have a quick look, so with some trepidation I accepted. He said it all looked fine, and if it hadn't gone at 69k it probably wouldn't.
Apparently the epoxy foam repair kit is still available from BMW.
Blair357ci said:
dr_gn said:
Just got back from Sytner BMW to exchange the water pump. Had a chat to the service manager while I was there, and he reckoned they'd only had 2 or 3 in for repair (1 saloon), the others coupes.
I would guess he's not being entirely truthful... Like when I picked my 120d up from my local Sytner after PDC failure they were telling me they had never herd of the fault before & the customer at the next desk lent over saying that's funny you've replaced mine & my wife's..... Then again he could have just sucked his teeth when I said it wasn't FBMWSH.
Plus he offered to have a look at it for me on the ramp - I didn't ask him. If he'd a found anything, since the car isn't *quite* ten years old he'd had pretty much committed himself to take some action over it (he previously said the cut-off for repair was ten years - not ten years and a day, and didn't seem too bothered about a full history).
All things considered they were extremely helpful, both in the parts dept (10% discount for an old car) and the service dept. Especially considering I didn't buy the car (or any car) from them in the past.
As a last resort now, I might just have to go ahead and enjoy driving it.
Blair357ci said:
dr_gn said:
Just got back from Sytner BMW to exchange the water pump. Had a chat to the service manager while I was there, and he reckoned they'd only had 2 or 3 in for repair (1 saloon), the others coupes.
I would guess he's not being entirely truthful... Like when I picked my 120d up from my local Sytner after PDC failure they were telling me they had never herd of the fault before & the customer at the next desk lent over saying that's funny you've replaced mine & my wife's..... edc said:
Blair357ci said:
dr_gn said:
Just got back from Sytner BMW to exchange the water pump. Had a chat to the service manager while I was there, and he reckoned they'd only had 2 or 3 in for repair (1 saloon), the others coupes.
I would guess he's not being entirely truthful... Like when I picked my 120d up from my local Sytner after PDC failure they were telling me they had never herd of the fault before & the customer at the next desk lent over saying that's funny you've replaced mine & my wife's..... edc said:
Can you find any suggestion that this policy still exists.
No, and unless mine fails before 30th Septemer this year, I won't be eligible either way.TBH on any ten year old car, if I were a main dealer I'd say 'hard luck'. It's probably a goodwill / good publicity gesture more than anything even though it's pretty clear it's a design fault. Then again who knows how the cars that failed were driven?
dr_gn said:
No, and unless mine fails before 30th Septemer this year, I won't be eligible either way.
TBH on any ten year old car, if I were a main dealer I'd say 'hard luck'. It's probably a goodwill / good publicity gesture more than anything even though it's pretty clear it's a design fault. Then again who knows how the cars that failed were driven?
Members on e46zone & M3cutters have had cars repaired this year by BMWTBH on any ten year old car, if I were a main dealer I'd say 'hard luck'. It's probably a goodwill / good publicity gesture more than anything even though it's pretty clear it's a design fault. Then again who knows how the cars that failed were driven?
Blair357ci said:
dr_gn said:
No, and unless mine fails before 30th Septemer this year, I won't be eligible either way.
TBH on any ten year old car, if I were a main dealer I'd say 'hard luck'. It's probably a goodwill / good publicity gesture more than anything even though it's pretty clear it's a design fault. Then again who knows how the cars that failed were driven?
Members on e46zone & M3cutters have had cars repaired this year by BMWTBH on any ten year old car, if I were a main dealer I'd say 'hard luck'. It's probably a goodwill / good publicity gesture more than anything even though it's pretty clear it's a design fault. Then again who knows how the cars that failed were driven?
It is not the subframe that cracks, it is the floor of the car where the subframe is attached.In the USA, BMW removed the whole boot floor panel and replaced it with an upgraded part at no charge, IF the car was totally standard. Rumour says the new part was sourced from the Cabrio version which was made from thicker steel/had more spot welds, however some owners have had their cars repaired twice because the new panel failed. The E46 is a popular car for Autotesting out there and it seems a number of early/catastrophic failures were a result of this pursuit. In my view BMW should have issued a recall in all markets, this is not by far the only generic fault in 3 series vehicles and while quick wear suspensions, fragile cooling systems,failing heater fans, cracked springs,failed waterpumps etc ,are things which can be simply fixed,only the most skilled DIY owner can tackle a subframe mounting failure. The cost of having this done at a garage is not financialy viable for a lot of cars,thus rendering them scrap. Luckily I am able to do my own repairs but I will never buy another 3 series, they require far too much attention to keep them driving as they should.
dr_gn said:
According to these 2008 figures from an E46Fanatics poll, M3's hardly register. OK, maybe less M3 owners submitted their votes, but, in general, it's the early versions of the car that were affected irrespective of type. Of course, as the years pass, more of the newer types are showing problems. This is the reason I asked for current statistics: to make a more informed judgement of the problem.
By Model
323i 24
323ci 52
323iT 1
325i 1
325ci 3
328i 47
328ci 64
330i 1
330ci 4
320D 1
m3 5
By Year
NA 10
1999 46
2000 134
2001 6
2002 6
2003 1
2004 1
Total 206
Very interesting figures.By Model
323i 24
323ci 52
323iT 1
325i 1
325ci 3
328i 47
328ci 64
330i 1
330ci 4
320D 1
m3 5
By Year
NA 10
1999 46
2000 134
2001 6
2002 6
2003 1
2004 1
Total 206
You can add my 06/2000 (First reg Jan 2001) 330ci to that list.
dhutch said:
dr_gn said:
According to these 2008 figures from an E46Fanatics poll, M3's hardly register. OK, maybe less M3 owners submitted their votes, but, in general, it's the early versions of the car that were affected irrespective of type. Of course, as the years pass, more of the newer types are showing problems. This is the reason I asked for current statistics: to make a more informed judgement of the problem.
By Model
323i 24
323ci 52
323iT 1
325i 1
325ci 3
328i 47
328ci 64
330i 1
330ci 4
320D 1
m3 5
By Year
NA 10
1999 46
2000 134
2001 6
2002 6
2003 1
2004 1
Total 206
Very interesting figures.By Model
323i 24
323ci 52
323iT 1
325i 1
325ci 3
328i 47
328ci 64
330i 1
330ci 4
320D 1
m3 5
By Year
NA 10
1999 46
2000 134
2001 6
2002 6
2003 1
2004 1
Total 206
You can add my 06/2000 (First reg Jan 2001) 330ci to that list.
Its not an awful job, I got the plates of kewfab but others are available.
I could see the cracks in mine from the underside after I stuck the rear end on some work ramps and jet washed it all off.
The car is on 200k which has to be a contributing factor too, used daily including a year when I was doing 2-3 days a week working 'on-site' with a 4h round trip motorway commute.
I could see the cracks in mine from the underside after I stuck the rear end on some work ramps and jet washed it all off.
The car is on 200k which has to be a contributing factor too, used daily including a year when I was doing 2-3 days a week working 'on-site' with a 4h round trip motorway commute.
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