335i - BMW Not Covering Under Warranty

[Sohaib-ijiiv]

Hi All,

Got a 07 335i e93 which has had a comprehensive warranty from the day I have owned it.

Now I will say this - I bought the car with an injen intake installed so I am not disputing this side of BMWs argument.

I keep on getting a half engine light when I accelerate hard and the car goes into limp mode. Turning the car off and on removes the light and all is well again.

I also have an oil leak on the rocker cover and oil filter housing.

Took it in for investigation and BMW told me that as I have an aftermarket intake they cannot work on the car and I would need to put the original on which I didnt have.

So I sourced one and fit it, took it back yesterday.

Got a call today and they said they cant work on it under warranty as its been modified in the past which they did not make clear at all initially.

I said I accept that to a degree - any possible issue due to a mod isnt covered so I get it. I said what about the oil leaks and they said that isnt covered either now. Bare in mind I had the water pump etc all done when the car had the intake on and nothing was flagged or mentioned at all.

So I'm not sure where I stand with this?

Refused the work due to a mod and told me to change and bring it back it so I did
Brought it back and now refusing to work on it due to a previous mod

Any advice?

[aeropilot]

Car is now likely flagged in BMW's data system as modded engine now, so anything engine related will no longer be warranty covered, and anything else they think they can think of as well.

Not a lot you can do now, other that take it to an indie for this issue to be sorted.

[Mike335i]

The mondial warranty is like an insurance product so they can stipulate whatever criteria they want. It's not like a manufacturer warranty, so having an intake could invalidate the whole thing if it is in the contract terms and conditions.

[JBM78]

Does the limp mode happen in higher gears (usually 3rd or higher) at say 3.5k RPM? Almost certainly coil packs. If no luck with warranty, I'd get all 6 changed first. Do you have the fault codes?

[Sohaib-ijiiv]

It usually happens under heavy load in gear 2 or higher and after 3.5k yes.

Turning the car off and on gets rid of the half engine light.

I don't have the fault codes - using my bluetooth scanner it doesn't show any.

[Josho]

It will have fault codes on a decent machine.

[Mike335i]

With the Bluetooth scanner, what app are you using? Carista or Carly will show up far more detailed and specific codes than Torque Pro will.

[Sohaib-ijiiv]

Also I've noticed on start up the idle engine rpm is stable but the car is lumpy/bouncing?

This goes away after a few mins, not sure if this is normal or not.

[Mike335i]

Could well be injectors on the way out, mine had a rough cold idle and misfired quite a bit. Eventually, it shut down 2 cylinders and the car shook badly. Off and on again temporarily solved it, but it was certain to come back so had to have the injectors replaced.

If you are doing them, get all 6 done together. They work in banks of three and rely on each other. One worn injector means the two others compensate and are worn at an accelerated level. Therefore only replacing the knackered one is a false economy. The latest revision is far less likely to fail.

[survivalist]

I had exactly the same symptoms when my high pressure fuel pump was on the way out. Car was usually fine under normal load, but on full throttle would start to see power loss and then get the half engine light, shaky idle (would drop low to the point of almost stalling, the rev really high).

Would also occasionally get a lumpy idle from cold.

No codes stored until it went completely.

[Monty Python]

Sounds like the HPFP:

https://www.bmwn54tuners.com/8-most-common-bmw-n54...

[Smokey32]

Dam intakes causing oil leaks again? Hahaha would expect nothing less from BMW, bunch of ass hats who make shoddy cars.

That said it does sound like the HPFP. You really need to get the codes read...Where you based? I can read engine codes for you with MHD.

[Sohaib-ijiiv]

Im in Seven Kings, Essex.

What really ticked me off is they said the car has extensive modifications - I only knew about the intake.

I said what mods as I am completely unaware of other mods, guy went quiet and said we have photos I said great show me when I pop in.

Arrive and he shows me proudly two photos, both of the intake. i said yes thats the intake what are the other mods?

He claimed the gearbox isnt standard- all thats been changed is the gearknob to the DCT style one.

Utter assmonkeys.

[Acidrop]

You really should get the codes read as it's just a guessing game at the moment. Get yourself an OBD2 cable and download MHD Flasher onto your phone and read the codes. Then you'll know what the problem is.

[Sohaib-ijiiv]

SO a bit of an update since I dropped the car off to BMW yesterday.

Oil filter housing leaking - all replaced under warranty
Rocker cover gasket leaking - Being replaced under warranty

The reduce power issue under WOT seems to be due to overboost and they said its the boost controllers - being replaced under warranty.

[Mike335i]

Result!

[Robbidoo]

Well done. What was the action you took that made them have a change of attitude? Did you escalate it with the team there or was it something else?

[corozin]

I am frankly amazed that you are prepared to pay full BMW dealer rates for servicing on an 11 year old car. And if they don't want your business, then that's thier loss, there are literally hundreds of independant BMW specialists who will be more than happy to fix your car, and probably for less than half the hourly rate that BMW will thump you for.

[Mike335i]

I found the dealer pricing to be not far off that specialist on the older models. If over a certain age, the qualify for 'value pricing'.

[Sohaib-ijiiv]

corozin said:

I am frankly amazed that you are prepared to pay full BMW dealer rates for servicing on an 11 year old car. And if they don't want your business, then that's thier loss, there are literally hundreds of independant BMW specialists who will be more than happy to fix your car, and probably for less than half the hourly rate that BMW will thump you for.

I take it to BMW as I have a comprehensive warranty with them.

I just emailed head office and explained what has happened and all was well after that. Well to a degree.

Got a call today saying they fixed all the issues but they turned the car on and the water pump exploded. They replaced it this year in Jan when it crapped out on me. Fixing that now.