Instrument Cluster crack
 

With the recent (severe) cold snap here in the Northeast, the instrument cluster developed a crack (see pic). The crack appears to radiate into the black frame surrounding the cluster ... Big question of course is WHY?

First dealer service manager I brought it to said "no way, this is not covered under any warranty ... I've seen this before ..." The car is a 2009 e70 4.8i with 44K miles on it, still under factory warranty.

New cluster is about $1,200 and 3 hrs of labor ....

Has anyone else seen this? Any advice on how I can get this covered under warranty?

Update: talked to another dealer and showed hi res pictures. Said that the local BMW RTE (Regional Technical Expert) needs to look at it for a proper disposition. It is not clear that this would fall under material defect and or workmanship ... Parts guy and tech say that cluster comes complete with all gauges and LED's (it is basically a display) and that it needs to be coded to the car VIN and mileage ...

why would it not be covered under warranty? the warranty covers material and worksmanship - and it is clear that the material was inferior and could not withstand the cold temperatures...

Seems to be an isolated case since not everybody Display cracked due to the sever cold weather. So that would put it in the material defect category.

So what's the problem? They can't or don't know how to code the new display to the car vin with the correct mileage?

I had the exact same problem in just about the exact same location after owning my car about a year. The dealer looked at it and thought the two bolts in the top that hold the cluster in place were torqued too tightly. One appeared to be slightly stripped, and I could see a scratch in the plastic near the bolt. To me it looked like a sloppy installation at the factory.

They at first refused to cover it, implying that I had removed the instrument cluster and replaced it incorrectly, which was completely absurd, as I'd had no reason to ever remove it. I got pretty pissed and let them know I'd be going elsewhere for all future maintenance. The dealership relented and had the BMW corporate rep look at it. They decided to split the repair cost 50/50 with the rep. They replaced it recoded the new cluster at no cost to me, so I left happy.

I doubt ours are the only two that have had this problem.

Very interesting!

So far the feedback/opinion from the dealer(s) have been: "someone probably tampered with the display ..." and, "someone probably pressed too hard on the cluster during detailing..."

WTF?!?! Why would their conjecture be any more believable than mine? I say that the cold temperatures (single digits) stressed the frame and caused it to crack ...

Is there anyway that you can find out who the regional BMW rep was? I see you are in NC, so we may have the same rep. If I can document other cases, my chances of getting is covered will probably be higher!?

Please PM me to discuss, if possible. Thanks!

Go to another dealership. Over Torqueing the cluster would general break the screw mount areas not the plastics in that area. That's absurd.

It does not show signs of impact. Most dealerships would not even blink at covering that. I just had a roof rail replaced due to a slight bubble under the paint. Nothing major but they covered it because the SA was cool about it and it was no major deal. I didn't care if they did or not since it was minor. The Roof Rail is a major labor job cost again warranty and not even a blink.

Sounds like they don't now how to get warranty claims paid when it is in question.

You ought to document your rationale in a written claim to BMW. The more entrenched the dealer becomes, the more they tend to sway the regional rep. By putting a claim in front of them- citing the fact that other owners have experienced this crack due to improper factory assembly- the less likely they are to circle the wagons.

I mean the best case is when your SA says "i'll get it covered" and tells the warranty manager to "tell BMW it looked like it wasnt installed properly" and then BMWNA covers it no problem....

My 2 cents

A

PS if your regional guy is the NYC/NJ metro, he'll be very anti-consumer...the degree of 'customer ripping off everyone' there is quite high. IMO