Dealer recall work, caused other issues, not taking responsibility

[Davidf]

I just hate dealers. I normally do all maintenance work myself but had to take my '08 4.8i in for fuel pump and passenger airbag recall work. Car was working perfect when we dropped it off. My wife picked up the car and immediately texted me about multiple faults:

Active Steering
DSC
4x4
Backup camera

Dealer had said the battery was weak and they had multiple module "glitches". Why did the dealer even code the vehicle for airbag and fuel pump. Did they remove the drivers airbag to replace a temporary repair under recall?

I changed the battery for good measure, no improvement. Dealer is know blaming all the issues on battery registration. I think we all know that is BS.

Here is service manager response to my inquiry...car is back with them;
"Thank you for your patience while we look further into the X5. My shop foreman is diagnosing the car as the tech that recently worked on the vehicle is off today. He stated there are multiple under voltage faults related to the need of and exchanged battery. Also there are emissions faults for a crank case ventilation valve. When he returns from lunch he will attempt to register the aftermarket battery, and re-calibrate the steering angle sensor. Those issues are related to the voltage concern and there is a possibility they can be remedied with battery registration and sensor re-calibration. For the faults with the crank case vent valve he will determine the need for replacement and provide an estimate to which I will contact and discuss with you as needed. Thank you for your patience and I will get in touch with you soon with the details"

What say you? Has anyone ever heard of low voltage messing with steering angle sensor calibration. It seems to me all the above faults can be blamed on steering angle sensor calibration or fault. Even the right turn signal won't self cancel now.

Did i say I hate dealers?

[json]

The steering angle sensor is re-calibrated by moving steering wheel all the way left, all the way right.

I believe it needs to be re-calibrated if voltage supply is ever removed, (such as from changing a battery).

Regarding the turn signal.... hmm that may be an FRM failure. Will the doors lock/unlock fine? Windows roll up and down?

[Davidf]

Turning steering full left and right only resets active steering calibration (or so I thought). I believe the angle sensor still must be properly calibrated via software tools. Yes, doors and windows work fine. I assumed turn signal was the result of angle sensor issues or a clockspring issue.

When I have removed power, it is normal to need to recalibrate active steering, but never DSC, 4x4, backup camera, etc.

[json]

I've had a 4x4 error show up after changing a battery. Turning left -> right fixed it for me.
I do not have active steering.
I'm not sure if it could affect Active Steering or DSC.

[Skyline]

A lot of times, when you bring a car to the dealer, and need to do anything to do with coding, they'll bring the whole car up-to-date computer module wise. This can involve several hours sometimes; not with a tech working on it the whole time, just the car going through the process by itself while hooked to the computer. Due to the potential drain on the car's battery, and the requirement to have a stable and proper voltage throughout the process, (to avoid screwing up any of your modules), the procedure is to hook the car to a power source. Some high end battery chargers have a setting to provide this stable voltage source, but you can also buy devices that only provide this stable voltage source (designed exactly for this purpose,) and don't charge batteries. Pretty much an essential for anyone coding or programming a modern BMW. Perhaps your tech did not do this, (being lazy and/or not expecting a long coding time,) and ran your car's battery down. And coding without this stable voltage can do all sorts of potentially permanent harm, especially if the battery is a little weak to begin with.

[Davidf]

Originally Posted by Skyline

A lot of times, when you bring a car to the dealer, and need to do anything to do with coding, they'll bring the whole car up-to-date computer module wise. This can involve several hours sometimes; not with a tech working on it the whole time, just the car going through the process by itself while hooked to the computer. Due to the potential drain on the car's battery, and the requirement to have a stable and proper voltage throughout the process, (to avoid screwing up any of your modules), the procedure is to hook the car to a power source. Some high end battery chargers have a setting to provide this stable voltage source, but you can also buy devices that only provide this stable voltage source (designed exactly for this purpose,) and don't charge batteries. Pretty much an essential for anyone coding or programming a modern BMW. Perhaps your tech did not do this, (being lazy and/or not expecting a long coding time,) and ran your car's battery down. And coding without this stable voltage can do all sorts of potentially permanent harm, especially if the battery is a little weak to begin with.

I agree as I have the BMW software tools and code modules myself. But, I have never done a complete VO level whole car reprogramming and I rely on my battery charger normally. I heard word back from the service advisor and he said the technician is having trouble recalibrating the steering angle sensor. So, it seems I pegged this one. Now the issue is did they damage the sensor or was it coincidental. I did call the parts department and they have two sensors in stock (latest version).

[wsmeyer]

Active Steering
DSC
4x4
Backup camera

Those 4 things trip whenever the battery is disconnected and go away after driving a few blocks.

[65 Cobra]

I just took my 2010 4.8 in for the exact same recall items (drivers and pass airbag, fuel pump), and driving home I notice the steering wheel controls are all dead (the only one that works is the steering wheel heater). I brought it back to them today and they said it was some failed module, etc. I said all the controls worked the day I dropped it off for the recall items! I'll know tomo what the manager decides to do...it's so fn obvious they screwed it up working on the drivers airbag.... ugh. I feel your pain...

[ard]

Dealer SHOULD have attached the car to a battery charger/tender when they began, did they?

Here is the game you must play: they are idiots and liars. While people like emails, they will often times create a protective barrier. (Like the 'aftermarket' battery... trying to assert it is the registration.)

Whatever you do, DO NOT agree to a penny in added charges. You can register it in 15 seconds, do the steering angle reset, and there you go.

They are making it sound like some deep, complex and expensive issue. Assholes forgot to put it on a charger, ran it down. Probably jumped it. Next thing they will claim the fried FRM is YOUR fault....

[AlpineX]

My 2010 went in for airbag recall, came out with 2 rattles and a dead cigarette port. I wish they'd spent more than 3 hours on it. Not going back for buttoning up.