Quote:
|
Originally Posted by mgruber
...The SIB for the issue (come to think of it, most SIB's) have written in the section entitled "CORRECTION" the following:
"In the case of a customer complaint..."
Can someone tell me just what the hell this is supposed to actually mean? Exactly how many people walk into their local dealer and say... "Hey Joe, my crankcase ventilation system acted up a month ago and I need it repaired to current BMW spec!"
Moreover, even if someone came in with that line, the dealer (I've been told and experienced this a zillion times) has to REPLICATE the problem in order to fix it, so quite frankly the statement in the SIB is IMHO completely insulting. What a dealer should do is proactively offer the service based on the fact that the SIB exists and might affect my vehicle.
Case in point, if aftorwar's dealer was proactive in just that way, he wouldn't be having this problem now, AFTER his regular warranty has expired AND AFTER his CPO warranty has expired, which really really sucks.
|
Yes, it means that the BMW policy in this case is to repair after failure, not before failure. This is not a BMW-specific issue, it is common with all manufacturers.
An example of when a before failure policy is applied is if it is a safety issue (ie, mandated by law) or if the failure is
likely to happen and the cost to the manufacturer is less to replace all of the affected parts so as to avoid the higher cost of post-failure repairs for the percentage that do fail.
An example of when an after-failure policy is applied is if the likelihood of a failure happening is low, and when the few that fail under warranty can be fixed (even if they have resulting catastrophic engine failures) for less money than if all the parts that never would fail were to be replaced.
All of this can be weighted and shifted by the 'cost' to the manufacturer of unhappy customers, but the math is still the same: if the failure is not likely to happen then the manufacturer will apply a post-failure policy unless required by law to do differently, after evaluating the cost of unhappy customers. BMW sales statistics suggest that this issue hasn't been getting in the way of vehicle sales.
The problem has been around for 10 years or so. BMW has had lots of time for the accountants to add up the cost of the small number that have frozen. They moved to heated lines on new production. However, replacing the old style valve would, for the vast majority of owners, have absolutely no benefit. Hence, the post-failure policy.
Why do they need to replicate the problem? We have seen that on this board recently. If an engine has a hesitation, it is immediately assumed that it is the separator, whether it is or not. Confirming that the separator is in fact the problem is very logical.
To make it a bit less emotional, think about lightbulbs in your home. Some are probably going to burn out this year. You could replace them all every January, and then you wouldn't be inconvenienced. But you likely don't, you wait until they fail because most of them aren't going to fail.