Are tech service bulletin work supposed to be free?
Discussion
My car is not under warranty but is under extended warranty which is irrelevant I think.
I am having problems with my xenons fluttering up and down, they appear to be very wobbly and stutter up and down, can spot it on road signs really badly and cars infront.
Googling and I found a SIB NUMBER 63 13 07
He said he can't search SIB numbers,then checked the system for lighting issues and said nothing.
I then called another dealer and gave him the SIB number and he said it was american, but dug depper and looked at the E90 lighing issues and found the issue on his system along with the parts to replace etc.
I called back my first dealer and said check again and gave him the SIB number.
HE just called back saying he's found the service bulletin and founds the parts that need replacing etc. It will cost me £235 all in.
Why the **** is it costing me money if there is a BMW service bulletin out that there is a known issue with the lights?
Surely this type of stuff should be done for free?
I am having problems with my xenons fluttering up and down, they appear to be very wobbly and stutter up and down, can spot it on road signs really badly and cars infront.
Googling and I found a SIB NUMBER 63 13 07
He said he can't search SIB numbers,then checked the system for lighting issues and said nothing.
I then called another dealer and gave him the SIB number and he said it was american, but dug depper and looked at the E90 lighing issues and found the issue on his system along with the parts to replace etc.
I called back my first dealer and said check again and gave him the SIB number.
HE just called back saying he's found the service bulletin and founds the parts that need replacing etc. It will cost me £235 all in.
Why the **** is it costing me money if there is a BMW service bulletin out that there is a known issue with the lights?
Surely this type of stuff should be done for free?
Service Bulletins are there to assist technicians finding either unusual problems, therefore saving unnecessary labour time, or to offer a solution that is not a simple replacement, such as a modified part or precedure.
Almost all common faults are known to the experienced technician, however that does not mean they are a manufacturing or component fault, just a common problem with the cars.
Some extremely common faults shown from low mileage cars can be done under warranty as a "goodwill" gesture outside of the warranty period, but this is at the descretion of BMW customer service and by no means a right.
8Tech.
Almost all common faults are known to the experienced technician, however that does not mean they are a manufacturing or component fault, just a common problem with the cars.
Some extremely common faults shown from low mileage cars can be done under warranty as a "goodwill" gesture outside of the warranty period, but this is at the descretion of BMW customer service and by no means a right.
8Tech.
Moar said:
......Surely this type of stuff should be done for free?
It's not a recall and it's not classified as a major safety issue, it's a solution to an annoying problem so it won't be free.Were it a case that the lights were prone to immediate and complete failure at any time without any warning then it would most likely be a free repair.
It appears to be shaking up and down and going into others driverss eyes.
If I sold a computer to someone and then found out later on that on my production line the thermal paste wasn't put on properly and caused the computer to run a bit hot.
If the customer came to me complaining that the computer runs hot I would obviously replace the thermal paste free of charge... I wouldn't charge him to fix my own mistake...
Would it be covered by the extended warranty?
If I sold a computer to someone and then found out later on that on my production line the thermal paste wasn't put on properly and caused the computer to run a bit hot.
If the customer came to me complaining that the computer runs hot I would obviously replace the thermal paste free of charge... I wouldn't charge him to fix my own mistake...
Would it be covered by the extended warranty?
Moar said:
It appears to be shaking up and down and going into others driverss eyes.
Sounds like the self leveling system has gone faulty. (Still not a major safety issue worthy of a free repair though!)Moar said:
If I sold a computer to someone and then found out later on that on my production line the thermal paste wasn't put on properly and caused the computer to run a bit hot.
If the customer came to me complaining that the computer runs hot I would obviously replace the thermal paste free of charge... I wouldn't charge him to fix my own mistake...
Even if it's a year out of warranty?, if so then you're a rare breed in this day and age! If the customer came to me complaining that the computer runs hot I would obviously replace the thermal paste free of charge... I wouldn't charge him to fix my own mistake...
If BMW had to do free repairs for every modification and improvement they made to a car's design over it's production life then they would not be in business very long!
Moar said:
Would it be covered by the extended warranty?
From what I know of most aftermarket warranty companies I doubt it but it couldn't hurt to ask.4rephill said:
Moar said:
It appears to be shaking up and down and going into others driverss eyes.
Sounds like the self leveling system has gone faulty. (Still not a major safety issue worthy of a free repair though!)Moar said:
If I sold a computer to someone and then found out later on that on my production line the thermal paste wasn't put on properly and caused the computer to run a bit hot.
If the customer came to me complaining that the computer runs hot I would obviously replace the thermal paste free of charge... I wouldn't charge him to fix my own mistake...
Even if it's a year out of warranty?, if so then you're a rare breed in this day and age! If the customer came to me complaining that the computer runs hot I would obviously replace the thermal paste free of charge... I wouldn't charge him to fix my own mistake...
If BMW had to do free repairs for every modification and improvement they made to a car's design over it's production life then they would not be in business very long!
Moar said:
Would it be covered by the extended warranty?
From what I know of most aftermarket warranty companies I doubt it but it couldn't hurt to ask.So yes I see warranty as irrelevant in this situation and see it as something that should have been done on the production line.
Moar said:
It appears to be an issue and the fix is installing a bracket under the headlight. Nothing appears to have failed to cause this issue.
So yes I see warranty as irrelevant in this situation and see it as something that should have been done on the production line.
It's a design modification to fix a problem that not every car suffers from. So yes I see warranty as irrelevant in this situation and see it as something that should have been done on the production line.
If it's not a serious safety issue, BMW are not going to pay for cars that are out of warranty to be repaired at their cost, even if the original fault can be traced to a design/manufacturing problem (although they may offer a goodwill offer in certain cases).
In the past, certain models suffered from water pumps that failed due to the plastic impeller disintegrating and the fix was a modified water pump with a metal impeller. If the car in question was out of warranty, they didn't replace the water pump for free.
Coil springs are renowned for failing due to being manufactured without a taper at there ends like they used to. BMW don't offer to replace these free of charge as it's a known design/manufacturing issue.
Manufacturers are constantly making design modifications/upgrades throughout a models production life and coming up with solutions to problems that they couldn't predict would occur when the vehicle was originally designed (all of which usually appear on the facelift model), but you cannot expect them to provide these changes retrospectively for free.
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