What is going on with BMW build quality lately?

[Weasel]

BMWNA just said in a service roundtable that they are releasing a bulletin soon where the tech will have to send pictures of the damages trim in to see if it is a warranty matterbe fore changing it... just another thing we need approval to change before fixing a damn car. (yes it is aggrevating as hell as a tech).

Just saying this so you know it isn't always the dealer who denies something as warranty, but is usually sent down from the mothership.

[michaeljr6]

i regret making my 2007 E70 X5 purchase.

should've went with something else....*LX570 cough cough* too bad it wasn't released yet when i was shopping.

[XXX555]

Some of these dealers and perhaps even the mother ship BMW are cutting and slashing to save their lives/jobs/stock value due to the global economic dip.

[drod]

I can see why they would want to go through an approval process... obviously for financial reasons, but also remember under warrantee repairs are also recorded and tracked on Q&A reports... which ultimately end up as public information making them look like they are building unreliable vehicles..

saw a Consumers Report once which state there were numerous reliability problems with the X5 relating to equipment replacements, glitches, etc..

all fixed under warrantee but they made news...

[Penguin]

Originally Posted by drod

which ultimately end up as public information making them look like they are building unreliable vehicles.

Having worked at an auto company, I can assure you nobody outside of the company gets warranty records... it is one of the more proprietary bits of information a company has.

Consumers Reports, Powers, and other companies get their information via direct contact with customers.

[m5james]

Originally Posted by Jime60

My '06 M5 has peeling on the back of the steering wheel (and apparently so did many others and since relpaced under warranty). You would thnk after 3 or more years of replacing these under warranty BMW would do something ...change suppliers, change the material, change the design??

Because phone calls made to those Chinese plants from Germany and the U.S. aren't cheap brotha! It's like playing the odds on "Adjusted Market Value" stickers when buying them new...dealerships hope the uneducated just learn to take it in the arse and live w/ it.

[Weasel]

They are changing the materials used on certain items like the E9x interior door handles and center console etc. that were always being replaced for peeling finish. The picture requests before replacement authorization is meant to help with that process for other parts while weeding out the non-warranty issues like customers scratching the aluminum trim on the dashboard.

The items that already have updated parts like the E90 interior door handles are exempt from the pictures/authorization process. As with many other parts, BMW is holding the individual manufacturer of these parts responsible and needs the resources to do it, in the aim of getting better parts implemented by them.

[HHR]

Originally Posted by grey

Hi there,

here are the problems I had on my brand new car when I receieved:

1) dark spots on the paint, repaired under warranty
2) tailgate didnt close on one side - adjusted tailgate striker post
3) "X5" logo pealed off after three weeks - repared under warranty
4) Dashboard, A, B pillar squeak on uneven driveways - unable to repair due to the excess body flex
5) d-pillar plastic trim clips popped / broke due to excess body flex while drive over uneven driveways (sounds crazy, but true)
6) the rear end of the vehicle still squeaks on uneven surfaces - dealer put double-sided tape to reduce the squeaks, but couldnt stop it fully
7) car squeeks for a short while if not driven for a week or more

Never had these problems on all my Japanese built vehicles.

No one should have to experience these strange problems especially when you pay such a large amount of money for a car.

I asked about the noise (nix...nax...) from dashboard when car is heating up (outside temperature -1). They said it is known problem and under warranty. There is coming some new parts inside the dashboard and it should be fixed. Let see...

Errormemory was full of messages (from my bad battery problem) and it seems to make active steering little too "active", it was nervous and you have to drive the car all the time.
After memory was emptied drivefeeling come back.

So after all, positive things can happen.

[davahad]

Originally Posted by HHR

I asked about the noise (nix...nax...) from dashboard when car is heating up (outside temperature -1). They said it is known problem and under warranty. There is coming some new parts inside the dashboard and it should be fixed. Let see...

My 2009 x5 Diesel is almost 1 year old and I think it has the same nix, nax noise you describe coming from the dash. It's been cold here lately and for the first 10 minutes in the morning I hear these loud single pops coming from different parts of the dash.

Is this the same noise you are experiencing? Did dealer say what they need to replace to fix?

[Meiac09]

Originally Posted by brian5

My wife's 2000 MB ML320 (MADE IN AMERICA) is still running well and looks great. And that's supposed to be a troublesome model...

Thats Alabama, separate situation entirely