11-21-2018, 01:08 PM | #1 |
Private
16
Rep 68
Posts |
BMW Dealer Shadiness - Turbo Leak "Disappeared" Mystery
Hey guys,
Just wanted to mention here something odd that happened last week at the dealership when I had my car in. At the moment, I won't be giving out the name of the dealership unless it comes to the point where this can't be handled. My warranty expires next month December, so I am hoping to have this resolved by then. I'm unsure to pursue this matter legally, as since my warranty expires, I may be forced to pay the below repairs out of pocket. Love some opinion and thoughts as to how this should be handled. I'll do my best to break down the sequence of events. Saturday, I was having my exhaust swapped to stock from the car also while having the car looked over as my warranty expires end of December. On inspection, my friend noticed some leaks coming from the turbo area (see pic below). Immediately, I called my service advisor and made an appointment to have the leaks inspected and repaired, and I bring the car in first thing Monday. Monday I drop off the car, I grab my loaner, get home and think nothing of it. I let my SA know about the leaks, he wrote up the order, and I was off on my way. At the time, I didn't think much of it, and I didn't bother to show them the picture as proof since I seemed to have had good experiences the last time I visited this dealer (i'll explain why this detail is important ). Tuesday morning, I receive a text from my SA that there were no leaks found on the car. I respond with the picture above, which at this point I wish I had showed him before as there would've been no question as to where there may have been a leak or not. He responds saying that he will check with the foreman/techs, I'm thinking at this point, no one is aware that I had proof of the leak or that I personally saw it for myself. Fast forward to thursday, I get a call back mentioning still, there were no found leaks under the car or even by the turbos. And here is the pic I receive back of my turbos that apparently have been cleaned or wiped, of which he then asks me if I had cleaned the oil leak location before I brought the car in?? Which makes no sense, since if we had cleaned it, I would've had a hard time showing proof of the leak for repair. At this point, I pretty much get pretty frustrated and tell my SA that there's no posssible way I could've cleaned it or anyone else could have touched it in the duration the car was at the dealership, unless someone at the dealership did it. We go back and forth and he sticks to his story that none of the techs cleaned it nor did the shop foreman, and that there would be no reason for them to clean the oil leak/or even wanted it cleaned since they are losing money on a warranty claim/repair of which the dealership is reimbursed directly from BMW. He gives me his "story" that at this point, under his "knowledge" there were no leaks and no one has cleaned it. He advises I pick up the car, put on a few hundred miles and have the car rechecked, with the service advisor and shop foreman present in person under the car that way there's no chance of he said/she said mishap. I've since driven the car almost 800 miles, hoping the leak will show and awaiting my appointment for next week. In the mean time, i was trying to still figure out who could've possibly wanted to clean it, and why?! and further steps I can do to protect myself in the event there is some type of fraud/weird occurrence going on at that dealership. I'm concerned now that in keeping the car past warranty, the leaks will cost me in the future, something that should have been covered. If anyone has any recommended courses of action to take, please advise!!! Last edited by washm3; 11-21-2018 at 01:19 PM.. |
11-21-2018, 01:14 PM | #2 |
Private
16
Rep 68
Posts |
I also spoke with my friend who is a technician at a toyota dealership who might've had a theory as to why it may have been cleaned:
Techs are paid by "job" and the hours are predetermined, so say a turbo swap book time is about 10 hours, they are paid based on the book time, not on the actual time itself of the repair. So techs are essentially incentivized to finish their jobs quicker. We are thinking that due to the complexity of the repair, needing to unbolt turbos etc. there was no cheating the book time and the tech felt it wasn't worth his time to start the repair, and so he cleaned it. Thus leaving the shop foreman and service advisor in the middle- at this point I am thinking the service advisor was unaware of this, or perhaps not fully aware before this happened. Does anyone believe this could've been a likely possibility? |
Appreciate
2
overlook637244.50 Lee808230.50 |
11-21-2018, 01:20 PM | #3 |
Lieutenant
589
Rep 526
Posts |
This exact situation happened to me right before my warranty ended. It's blow by which, depending on how excess it is, can be normal for these cars. I had BMW NA step in after one of the dealers local to me wouldn't acknowledge it. They ended up pressure testing it and replaced a seal on the intake. Seems like a bandaid fix for something that is normal.
https://f80.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1545217 |
Appreciate
0
|
11-21-2018, 02:35 PM | #4 | |
Private
16
Rep 68
Posts |
Quote:
|
|
Appreciate
0
|
11-21-2018, 06:07 PM | #6 | ||
Lieutenant
589
Rep 526
Posts |
Quote:
In regards to whether it's the back or the front turbo, I'm not 100 percent sure. The perspective my images are from are from the passenger side, underneath the front of the car. |
||
Appreciate
0
|
11-21-2018, 06:35 PM | #7 |
Private
16
Rep 68
Posts |
|
Appreciate
0
|
11-21-2018, 06:36 PM | #8 | |
Private
16
Rep 68
Posts |
Quote:
I feel a little more at ease now. Not sure to have dealer look into it or not then. |
|
Appreciate
0
|
11-27-2018, 11:01 AM | #9 |
Lieutenant General
3570
Rep 10,351
Posts |
You have documented proof that the dealer looked at it along with your photographic evidence. IMO you have a good chance of receiving a "goodwill" repair if a problem develops on that specific turbo.
__________________
"Drive more, worry less. "
435i, MPPK, MPE, M-Sport Line |
Appreciate
0
|
11-27-2018, 12:03 PM | #10 | ||
Lieutenant
589
Rep 526
Posts |
Quote:
|
||
Appreciate
0
|
02-13-2019, 10:05 AM | #12 |
Banned
246
Rep 282
Posts |
I had the same thing (looked like your picture) and the dealership also replaced a seal on mine under warranty. I'd be PISSED if they cleaned it like they did to yours and said nothing was wrong.
|
Appreciate
0
|
02-13-2019, 12:35 PM | #13 |
First Lieutenant
227
Rep 369
Posts |
To be fair, if I was trying to detect a leak, I would clean the hell out of it first. Oil drips, pools, and runs everywhere. If you clean it and see more oil, there’s your leak.
I suspect the tech cleaned the area, didn’t find an actual leak, and there was just a lack of effective communication between them and the SA.
__________________
///M3
|
Appreciate
3
|
02-16-2019, 10:52 AM | #14 | |
BMW Master Tech
587
Rep 850
Posts
Drives: E30, E36, E82, E90, F10, F80
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: SoCal
iTrader: (0)
Garage List 2015 Aston Martin V ... [0.00]
2010 Lamborghini LP ... [0.00] 1985 Alpina C2 2.7 [0.00] 2017 BMW M3 [0.00] 2008 BMW 128i [10.00] 2013 BMW 135is [0.00] 1992 BMW 325i [0.00] |
Quote:
This happens all the time. Usually by either unmotivated technicians, or ones that don't have experience doing these repairs (regardless what the repair is). When the N54's were still under warranty, I swapped one out, and hated every minute of it. Eventually, got it down to a science, and would throw turbos on anything that came in the door. What I would do, find a different dealership. Talk to the service advisor, request a tech who enjoys doing turbos, take your loaner and wait 3 days...boom. Oil leak gone.
__________________
135is #502 of 586
BMW LED Performance Wheel | OEM FULL Carbon Fiber | E9X M3 Gauge Cluster | E9X Exterior Mirrors | E9X M3 Full Suspension | E9X M3 Diff | PT-CAN2 Enabled | Bilstiens | Michelin PSS's | NBT Navigation Retrofit with Touch Pad |
|
Appreciate
1
behindthen0thing839.50 |
02-20-2019, 08:34 AM | #16 |
BMW Master Tech
587
Rep 850
Posts
Drives: E30, E36, E82, E90, F10, F80
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: SoCal
iTrader: (0)
Garage List 2015 Aston Martin V ... [0.00]
2010 Lamborghini LP ... [0.00] 1985 Alpina C2 2.7 [0.00] 2017 BMW M3 [0.00] 2008 BMW 128i [10.00] 2013 BMW 135is [0.00] 1992 BMW 325i [0.00] |
This. But also, don't deny that you've cleaned it lol
__________________
135is #502 of 586
BMW LED Performance Wheel | OEM FULL Carbon Fiber | E9X M3 Gauge Cluster | E9X Exterior Mirrors | E9X M3 Full Suspension | E9X M3 Diff | PT-CAN2 Enabled | Bilstiens | Michelin PSS's | NBT Navigation Retrofit with Touch Pad |
Appreciate
1
behindthen0thing839.50 |
02-23-2019, 01:23 PM | #17 |
Captain
267
Rep 885
Posts |
To the OP do u have a catch can?
I have a theory......I recently checked under my car for leaks because my warranty expires soon. I noticed some residue on the front turbo but it is dry. About 5k miles ago I notice my front charge pipe was a bit damp with water and/or oil. I installed a catch can. Checked charge pipe and it is now mostly dry. My engine does not consume enough oil for the system to notice. I have gone as far as 10k between changes and it always show full. I perform all maintainance since 1200 miles and I use 7.2 quarts at fill up. |
Appreciate
0
|
Post Reply |
Bookmarks |
|
|