35d first scheduled oil change -- Dealer keeping the car overnight!
 

If yours is a '10 x535d and you are nearing the first scheduled oil/def service, expect a long stay at the dealer. I called to book the appointment, they said it would be less than a couple of hours even with the DEF flush etc.. I drove the 30 miles only to find that they wanted to keep it overnight because of the two open campaign items, reprogramming etc...

Thanks for the heads up. I hope you get your x535d back in better shape than you left it as would be expected freshly serviced.

Thanks. I'm a little concerned about the fact that they are doing software updates for which they need two days. This car was perfect when I gave them the key. Hopefully, the updates won't introduce "bugs." Wasn't ABMW driving back from the dealers when his car caught fire?

If it's any consolation, you have no choice. It will be fine. What loaner did you get?

They are full of crap...they are just being lazy IMO. Maybe the diesel tech had the next day off and they just spun ya a bit of a yarn to make it seem very complicated.

The reason is NOT because there is two days of work, that's for sure.

Oh and the SA did mention these cars were "easier" to program. That gave me bad feeling. I really hope they don't break anything in the process. If it's my luck not only is the tech lazy, he is also getting trained on my car.

You guys with new car "problems" crack me up. It is at the dealer being professionally serviced by people trained to work on it and will be returned to you in 24 hours. Meanwhile, you probably have a nice new loaner to beat on. Try driving an 8 year old e53 with 120,000 and then tell me about your "problems". My indy mechanic doesn't give out loaners.

I am just kidding with you, by the way. Don't sweat it. Your car will be just fine. ;)

You people who think "muy car will be fine with the dealer, what could go wrong? They'll detail it and I'll get to beat on a loaner" need to read this:


AUTOBAHN BMW Fort Worth ragged my car and wrecked/totaled it on a test drive! - The Unofficial BMW M5 Messageboard (m5board.com)

I do not trust dealers to work on my cars, to park my cars, to wash my cars.

Sorry, just particular I guess.

A

Well ard, you can always hire a concierge mechanic to come out to the bomb shelter you store your car in. ;) Things can happen, but the odds of them returning your car to you unharmed are difinitely in your favor.

I would request that they don't run my car through the automatic car wash though.

I don't think ard is particularly particular.

Too many rude, lazy, liars work at dealers and have burned a lot of bridges over the years.

An update on the service...

The reprogramming has definitely made a positive change in the way the car drives. It feels noticeably smoother during acceleration and the lag appears to have disappeared. I hope this reprogramming will not result in higher fuel consumption.

A surprise... they no longer flush the DEF at the first service - only top-off. Apparently there is a bulletin on it. Does anyone know which bulletin?

My invoice includes the DEF line item (1 83-19-0-440-158) but doesn't say how much they put in it. I asked but they couldn't answer that. I'll have to take their word for it - for now.

I had requested tire balance and rotation which they did for free (so much for the BMW recommendation about no rotation!)

On the way home, I checked the oil service indicator in iDrive. It says 700 mile to next oil change!! I guess this number will increase over time. Or has BMW changed its policy and now doing oil changes every 700 miles:rofl:

Looks like they did everything right BUT reset the CBS data... They can reset that in the service drive, or you can even reset it yourself if you want.

Ummm... actually it does say how much DEF they put in it. 1 83-19-0-440-158 means your paper work says they used ONE 2.5 gal jug of DEF (part number 83-19-0-440-158). Which is quite a bit short of the 6+ gals that would be need to completely fill both DEF tanks if they were empty. And probably a good deal less than the DEF used by the average 35d driver per oil service. But we really don't know these DEF consumption figures yet since BMW is keeping this info pretty close to their vest :(

Funf Dreisig

Thanks Weasel and Funf Dreisig!! Looks like I will be visiting the dealer again. Do you guys know if this bulletin about not doing a flush is actually true? They told me they no longer flush the DEF system at the first oil change because of a recent bulletin. Apparently DEF now has a different flush service cycle.

AFAIK you are the first to report about any changes in the DEF "flush and fill" procedure. But several of us have previously speculated about why BMW would go to the trouble of flushing and filling the DEF tanks at every oil service unless it was on a very low mileage/yr 35d where the DEF could potentially 'go out of date' before it was consumed.

Funf Dreisig

Just got my '10 35d back from its 10K service (odo was 10.8K) and noted 4 DEF units were used, but no mention of flush.

Did your service light come on sometime before service?

Any software upgrades? Does it operate any differently if yes?

This is interesting because the combined capacity of both reservoirs is about 6.1 gallons. Assuming each can is 2.5 gallons of def, they should need less than three cans of the stuff for a complete flush.

And yes it is true, they did change the DEF service procedure to top it off now...

Wow, so you could go 4 years without a DEF flush?

if you fail to trip 6000 miles per year, you will go 2 years to the first oilservice, and only get a top off.

Can they retroactively change the service requirements for a car already purchased with a documented warranty plan? Hmmm.

Sure they can, as long as they don't deny warranty claims on the DEF injection system for failure to do a flush.

I think they were overly nervous on the fluid shelf life when the vehicle was introduced, and have since decided that they don't have a significant risk of not meeting the emissions standards due to stale fluid. They should give all you 35d guys bumper stickers that thank you for being beta testers.

Thanks for confirming the DEF service change.

Interestingly BMW NA's new plan is a lot more like the DEF maintenance plan proposed by one of those wacko board members a while back...

"Drive a minimum of 12-15,000 miles a year. Run the DEF down until the warning appears. Fill ONLY the passive tank. After the DEF warning disappears, top up ONLY the passive tank. If the total DEF added is at least 5 gals., leave well enough alone :)"

Funf Dreisig

Non-specific service light came on at around 10.5K, a couple of software upgrades (mechanical stuff - thermo control firmware, I recall). Vehicle runs the same.

I was asking a fairly narrow legal question, not if they can change their policies, but rather if their documented policies as defined in the manual and documents provided at time of sale may be unilaterally altered by one party.

Agreed their DEF plan was probably overly strict.

I briefly chatted with a tech as I was about to drive off (following the oil change.) what he said was the service cycle for def flush has changed according to a bulletin. I have not seen this bulletin. If someone here has a subscription to the BMW site, please upload it so we can see.

I've had mine in twice for oil changes over the past 10 months and both times the car was finished in a couple of hours, sounds like a dealer problem. Only overnight stay mine has had was for software update on a recent recall (different thread)

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Doesn't sound like a dealer problem at all to me, as they were doing the campaign (software update) that yours seems to have required as well.

Sorry to clarify, the oil change was quick, that is what the thread was about. The software update was scheduled for all day programing and ran alittle over, and that scheduling was fine with me. Actually guessing there is a little bit of a learning curve with the dealer and units of time alloted for the update. However with any software update, you are at the mercy of the computer after its started.