Private shop finally fixed sticky brake pedal - BMW NA denies reimbursement

[audihere]

**** fix below didn't last, updated fix posted at end of thread ****


After 2 years of attempting to get Irvine BMW and Crevier BMW to diagnose and repair the sticky/clicky brake pedal on my F80 M3 but given a major run around by the service advisors and shop foremen, I finally took matters into my own hands.

I've read other posts about experiencing a random click when depressing the brake pedal while at speed, but couldn't find the solution online anywhere. Brought my car into dealer several times for what seemed like weeks at a time. Scheduled rides with the shop foreman a couple times only to show up and embarrassingly discover my car all taken apart in no condition to test drive (leaky intercooler replacement). These rides never happened. In fact nothing really ever happened except being told "it's normal". But believe me, when your brake pedal randomly sticks a little in the up position every several minutes while driving, that's not normal!

I wound up bringing my car into a highly recommended shop owned by a former BMW Master Technician. He had the car for a few days and said he thought the brake booster or master cylinder was the culprit here and it was not a small job to swap these out. I was at the end of my rope with irritating brake pedal and fruitless dealerships.

Fixed the problem! No more clicky brake pedal at all!

I filed a case with BMW North America for reimbursement. MY CAR IS STILL UNDER WARRANTY with 33K miles. After several phone calls back and forth with a very nice representative I was told any sort of compensation was denied. No specific reason. It's pretty sad really. Such a great car but not such a great company.

[maniz]

I think you left out something important from your post...

What was the identified cause of this issue and what was the resolution??

[audihere]

Originally Posted by maniz

I think you left out something important from your post...

What was the identified cause of this issue and what was the resolution??

Initially it was thought the brake booster was the issue. After some test drives and digging into it, the master cylinder "didn't feel quite right". My warranty will be up in November and I was only going to give one crack at this on my own so both the brake booster and the master cylinder were replaced at the same time.

My best guess is the pushrod into the booster or the piston in the master cylinder must have been mechanically binding up under the right conditions.

[tom @ eas]

I remember seeing this on your M3 when you first brought it in, that was definitely not normal.

We'd have been happy to investigate the issue further, but that's what manufacturer warranties are intended to cover. It sucks you are paying the price for an issue that wasn't able to be diagnosed with multiple visits. Hopefully BMWNA sees this and will reconsider their decision, it doesn't seem fair.

[darkbluemn]

I had my car in dealership to fix my front suspension shaking badly, u can look up my post.

Car was there for a week and they said they found something and fixed it. But they actually did nothing. Problem still there when I pick up the car. Then I immediately gave up talking to deal and send my car to another shop I know of.

My friend in that shop lifted my car and take about 2 mins to figure out what's wrong. The front lower control arm almost fell apart and he was surprised that I can survive this long way to his shop.

The only thing dealer good at is changing oil. They even don't know how to torque lug nuts. First few times they change my tires, my lug nut was torqued to about/over 300 lbft.

[minn19]

Did you ever think about trying to get it lemoned? In most states it sounds like this would of qualified.

[audihere]

Originally Posted by tom @ eas

I remember seeing this on your M3 when you first brought it in, that was definitely not normal.

We'd have been happy to investigate the issue further, but that's what manufacturer warranties are intended to cover. It sucks you are paying the price for an issue that wasn't able to be diagnosed with multiple visits. Hopefully BMWNA sees this and will reconsider their decision, it doesn't seem fair.

Thanks Tom, yes not fair. Had Irvine BWM put forth the necessary effort they would have come to the same conclusive diagnosis and the work could have simply been performed under warranty. I'm assuming any brake pedal issue would be covered under warranty as it's a potential safety concern.

[audihere]

Originally Posted by darkbluemn

The only thing dealer good at is changing oil.

This is the vibe I kept getting. Irvine BMW seemed to have no desire to try to diagnose a problem they were not familiar with. Instead they'd blow me off with the "it's normal" nonsense and send me packing.

[yaymitch]

This sucks. I hope you and anyone else that has these types of issues blasts these dealerships on YELP, google, etc. This is the only way these guys will feel any pain. I've found 1 out of every 4 or 5 BMW dealerships is any good at all.

[IK6SPEED]

Originally Posted by audihere

After 2 years of attempting to get Irvine BMW and Crevier BMW to diagnose and repair the sticky/clicky brake pedal on my F80 M3 but given a major run around by the service advisors and shop foremen, I finally took matters into my own hands.

I've read other posts about experiencing a random click when depressing the brake pedal while at speed, but couldn't find the solution online anywhere. Brought my car into dealer several times for what seemed like weeks at a time. Scheduled rides with the shop foreman a couple times only to show up and embarrassingly discover my car all taken apart in no condition to test drive (leaky intercooler replacement). These rides never happened. In fact nothing really ever happened except being told "it's normal". But believe me, when your brake pedal randomly sticks a little in the up position every several minutes while driving, that's not normal!

I wound up bringing my car into a highly recommended shop owned by a former BMW Master Technician. He had the car for a few days and said he thought the brake booster or master cylinder was the culprit here and it was not a small job to swap these out. I was at the end of my rope with irritating brake pedal and fruitless dealerships.

Fixed the problem! No more clicky brake pedal at all!

I filed a case with BMW North America for reimbursement. MY CAR IS STILL UNDER WARRANTY with 33K miles. After several phone calls back and forth with a very nice representative I was told any sort of compensation was denied. No specific reason. It's pretty sad really. Such a great car but not such a great company.

File in small claims court.

Only $30 to file in California.

[r0wr]

Originally Posted by audihere

This is the vibe I kept getting. Irvine BMW seemed to have no desire to try to diagnose a problem they were not familiar with. Instead they'd blow me off with the "it's normal" nonsense and send me packing.

I've had this same issue with dealers giving me the same BS issues. See thread below:

https://f80.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1545217

[audihere]

Just got another call from BMW NA since I had filed a "formal complaint" after the initial reimbursement denial.

Representative is going to make another attempt to get reimbursement for me; however, she also said the likelihood of receiving any money is slim. At this point it's about the principle.

Whatever happened to customer satisfaction?

[shortseller]

Good service departments are hard to find and even when you do...service writers and technicians tend to move around. So always be on the lookout for the best you can find based on reviews and post when they drop the ball for others to be forewarned. I’ve always felt good independent shops were a really good alternative, sometimes even when still in warranty. Fortunately I have many of both within my area, I feel for the person that has limited BMW representation in their areas, at that point a good DIY manual will help some, as well as a good Indy shop.

OP, thanks for posting and good luck with getting paid for having to go elsewhere while still under warranty!

[tom @ eas]

Originally Posted by audihere

Just got another call from BMW NA since I had filed a "formal complaint" after the initial reimbursement denial.

Representative is going to make another attempt to get reimbursement for me; however, she also said the likelihood of receiving any money is slim. At this point it's about the principle.

Whatever happened to customer satisfaction?

Fingers crossed, buddy. Hope it works out.

[audihere]

Originally Posted by yaymitch

This sucks. I hope you and anyone else that had these types of issues blasts these dealerships on YELP, google, etc. This is the only way these guys will feel any pain. I've found 1 out of every 4 or 5 BMW dealerships is any good at all.

My first choice (over pain) would be full compensation for the money I paid the private shop to fix the irritating issue that Irvine BMW claimed was "normal". Call it even and move on.

I honestly don't know where the buck stops in the service department where somebody says "don't figure out what the problem is, we'll tell customer to go pound sand".

[audihere]

Originally Posted by minn19

Did you ever think about trying to get it lemoned? In most states it sounds like this would of qualified.

If only it were so easy.

There's only a small number of components that the brake pedal is mechanically attached to. Fixing the issue wasn’t exactly rocket science. Irvine and Crevier seemed to have no desire or incentive to really try.

[minn19]

Originally Posted by audihere

If only it were so easy.

There's only a small number of components that the brake pedal is mechanically attached to. Fixing the issue wasn’t exactly rocket science. Irvine and Crevier seemed to have no desire or incentive to really try.

Trust me, I realize it isn’t easy, but it sounds like it would qualify for the lemon law. Or it would’ve helped force the BMW dealers to fix it.

[IK6SPEED]

Originally Posted by minn19

Did you ever think about trying to get it lemoned? In most states it sounds like this would of qualified.

Originally Posted by minn19

Trust me, I realize it isn’t easy, but it sounds like it would qualify for the lemon law. Or it would’ve helped force the BMW dealers to fix it.

Lemon law does not apply on new car with 33k miles in any state.

[minn19]

Originally Posted by IK6SPEED

Lemon law does not apply when warranty is about to run out. You will be long out of lemon law provisions by then.

Not in MN and it sounds like this has been a long ongoing issue. I don’t know CA laws, but I haven’t seen where the warranty about to run out matters. If it is under warranty and they can’t or refuse to fix it, it still can fall under the lemon law conditions.

[minn19]

Originally Posted by IK6SPEED

Lemon law does not apply on new car with 33k miles in any state.

Not according to this and other sources I’ve read in my state when I was looking into lemoning my GT350.

https://www.dca.ca.gov/acp/pdf_files/englemn.pdf

In fact it states specifically if the car is under the new vehicle warranty the lemon law still can be used. It even talks about owning used cars.

[IK6SPEED]

Originally Posted by minn19

Not according to this and other sources I’ve read in my state when I was looking into lemoning my GT350.

https://www.dca.ca.gov/acp/pdf_files/englemn.pdf

In fact it states specifically if the car is under the new vehicle warranty the lemon law still can be used. It even talks about owning used cars.

Suggest you read the actual law from your reference link (the entire document).

33,000 > 18,000

Again, $30 for small claim filing....and not an arbitration as California Lemon Law provides for.

They will most likely just pay it instead of having a high priced lawyer(s) and representative show up as I cannot imagine the fix was that much in reality.

[il309]

So, BMW dealership service department can't figure out how to repair an obscure issue, so they call it "normal" and send customer packing. He goes and gets it fixed on his own even though car is still under warranty. BMW won't reimburse. WOW! Sounds like a high profit new business model.

I can remember 10-15 years ago when dealer service centers were more willing to help on these types of issues.

Sign of the times.