levi325is
Member
Hey Guys,
I just thought I would share my nightmare I experienced with my E90 vibration damper and if there is another fanatic experiencing this same issue, they can get it solved as well.
During the first week of June I went to Ross Duncan to check a belt noise I was experiencing when I have the aircon on. Ross informed me I need to change my damper pulley.
27 June 2015 - I purchased a damper pulley from Northcliff Auto.
3 July 2015 - Ross Duncan fitted this new damper pulley.
5 July 2015 - Noticed vibration on steering and noise.
6 July 2015 - Took car back to Ross Duncan, he suggested we change the smaller pulleys, power steering belt and tensioner.
10 July 2015 - All those smaller pulleys, power steering belt and tensioner changed by Ross Duncan.
11 July 2015 - There is a belt screaming noise coming from the bmw. Took it to Ross, car booked in to investigate on the 14th July 2015.
14 July 2015 - Ross discovers that the new damper pulley I purchased is faulty. He fitted an old but working damper pulley he had and the noises and vibrations went away. Told me to take it back to BMW Northcliff and get them to sort it out. He also thinks BMW has changed suppliers of this part. Ross lets me use the old working damper pulley so I can get this new faulty vibration damper sorted out.
15 July 2015 - I am at BMW Northcliff, first they tell me that the part I brought back is not their part :RedNo:, I get them to bring a vibration damper from their parts department and then they realise that it is exactly the same as the part I brought. The parts sale guy then says he will discuss this with his parts manager and his manager and get back to me.
Parts sales guy phones me in the afternoon, firstly saying his parts manager doesn't want to do exchange or sort it out. He will speak to his manager but his manager only comes back on Friday (17th July)
17th July 2015 - I phone to check, says his manager in meetings but will call me back.
Later that day, I get a call saying his manager is aware of my issue and he will get back to me.
20 July 2015 - I get a call, his manager also doesn't want to help me out. Part sales guy says he will "make a plan" and help me. I need to give him a day and he will call me.
22 July 2015 - I phone him, he says he made arrangements with JSN, my car is booked for the 23rd July 2015. Right now I am thinking, finally the car will get sorted out.
23 July 2015 - (7am) I book the car in, tell them their parts manager at JSN is aware of the issue etc and will sort it out. (9am) I get a call from JSN indicating they cannot do this claim, it needs to be done by Northcliff Auto, please come and collect your car. Now I am pissed, I phone the sales guy at Northcliff Auto telling him I am going to his dealer principle because I cannot be treated like this. He then tells me he will call me in 30 mins. I go fetch the car from JSN, I get the call, he spoke to his manager and the car can be booked in for Monday 27th July. Initially his parts manager and manager refused to do this but now they want to.
27 July 2015 - Car is booked and they replace damper pulley at Northcliff Auto, I go to fetch the car and the guy that booked the car in tells me, they have changed the vibration damper pulley but there is still a noise and his mechanic says it could be power steering, aircon or alternator, but I will need to book the car in and pay to get this done.
I use the car for two weeks, the noise is there but its hardly noticeable, then from the 12th August 2015, I notice belt squel when I put the aircon on. I take the car to Ross, he tells me its the same shitty vibration damper pulley thats causing it. He told Micheal, the parts manager at Bruma Auto about this and he doesn't want those same vibration damper pulleys to be supplied to him(Ross) as Ross gets his parts from BMW Bruma Auto.
17th July 2015 - I phone BMW SA to lodge a complaint about this. They will investigate and get back to me.
18 July 2015 - I decided to call Micheal from Bruma Auto and talk to him as well about my issue, and thank god I did so. Micheal is a truly nice guy, very helpful, he told me that he took this matter up to BMW SA and the technicians did find this part to be faulty and they are recalling those parts supplied. I told Micheal I have odged a complaint with BMW SA, he told me, if they still give me issues, I must ask BMW SA to call him and they can get the info needed and I must take down the complaint reference number.
19 July 2015 - I get a call from BMW SA informing me that I will need to take the car to Northcliff Auto for them to test the part and see if its faulty. I told them that I do not want to deal with Northcliff Auto as they will tell me its not the part but something else in car. So I get my reference number and put the phone down. I phone Micheal, parts manager at Bruma Auto, tell him I dont want to deal with Northcliff Auto and this is what BMW SA said, he took my reference down and said he will get back to me in 30 mins.
I get a call from Micheal, tells me my car will be booked with Bruma Auto and he will do the claim and sort this issue out, he has chatted to BMW SA and they have agreed to let him do this as he is aware of them problem. I am really impressed now with Micheal and his helpfulness. Car is booked with Bruma Auto for the 24th July 2015
24th July 2015 - Booked car in, once car was ready, I picked the car up. No vibrations, no noises at all. I did the same steps I did before where I experienced issues and there is nothing. Car is going smooth and like new :rollsmile:
I thank Bruma Auto & Micheal for helping me resolve this issue and leave.
So a huge thanks goes out to BMW Bruma Auto and especially Micheal :ty:, the parts manager, he didn't have to do this, he could have told me to get Northcliff Auto to handle it as I bought it from them but he didn't, thank you Micheal from Bruma Auto.
I will never buy or support Northcliff Auto ever.
So just a heads up for the fellow fanatics, if you are experiencing an issue with a vibration damper that you purchased, this could be the reason.
Attached are some pics of the faulty vibration damper.
I just thought I would share my nightmare I experienced with my E90 vibration damper and if there is another fanatic experiencing this same issue, they can get it solved as well.
During the first week of June I went to Ross Duncan to check a belt noise I was experiencing when I have the aircon on. Ross informed me I need to change my damper pulley.
27 June 2015 - I purchased a damper pulley from Northcliff Auto.
3 July 2015 - Ross Duncan fitted this new damper pulley.
5 July 2015 - Noticed vibration on steering and noise.
6 July 2015 - Took car back to Ross Duncan, he suggested we change the smaller pulleys, power steering belt and tensioner.
10 July 2015 - All those smaller pulleys, power steering belt and tensioner changed by Ross Duncan.
11 July 2015 - There is a belt screaming noise coming from the bmw. Took it to Ross, car booked in to investigate on the 14th July 2015.
14 July 2015 - Ross discovers that the new damper pulley I purchased is faulty. He fitted an old but working damper pulley he had and the noises and vibrations went away. Told me to take it back to BMW Northcliff and get them to sort it out. He also thinks BMW has changed suppliers of this part. Ross lets me use the old working damper pulley so I can get this new faulty vibration damper sorted out.
15 July 2015 - I am at BMW Northcliff, first they tell me that the part I brought back is not their part :RedNo:, I get them to bring a vibration damper from their parts department and then they realise that it is exactly the same as the part I brought. The parts sale guy then says he will discuss this with his parts manager and his manager and get back to me.
Parts sales guy phones me in the afternoon, firstly saying his parts manager doesn't want to do exchange or sort it out. He will speak to his manager but his manager only comes back on Friday (17th July)
17th July 2015 - I phone to check, says his manager in meetings but will call me back.
Later that day, I get a call saying his manager is aware of my issue and he will get back to me.
20 July 2015 - I get a call, his manager also doesn't want to help me out. Part sales guy says he will "make a plan" and help me. I need to give him a day and he will call me.
22 July 2015 - I phone him, he says he made arrangements with JSN, my car is booked for the 23rd July 2015. Right now I am thinking, finally the car will get sorted out.
23 July 2015 - (7am) I book the car in, tell them their parts manager at JSN is aware of the issue etc and will sort it out. (9am) I get a call from JSN indicating they cannot do this claim, it needs to be done by Northcliff Auto, please come and collect your car. Now I am pissed, I phone the sales guy at Northcliff Auto telling him I am going to his dealer principle because I cannot be treated like this. He then tells me he will call me in 30 mins. I go fetch the car from JSN, I get the call, he spoke to his manager and the car can be booked in for Monday 27th July. Initially his parts manager and manager refused to do this but now they want to.
27 July 2015 - Car is booked and they replace damper pulley at Northcliff Auto, I go to fetch the car and the guy that booked the car in tells me, they have changed the vibration damper pulley but there is still a noise and his mechanic says it could be power steering, aircon or alternator, but I will need to book the car in and pay to get this done.
I use the car for two weeks, the noise is there but its hardly noticeable, then from the 12th August 2015, I notice belt squel when I put the aircon on. I take the car to Ross, he tells me its the same shitty vibration damper pulley thats causing it. He told Micheal, the parts manager at Bruma Auto about this and he doesn't want those same vibration damper pulleys to be supplied to him(Ross) as Ross gets his parts from BMW Bruma Auto.
17th July 2015 - I phone BMW SA to lodge a complaint about this. They will investigate and get back to me.
18 July 2015 - I decided to call Micheal from Bruma Auto and talk to him as well about my issue, and thank god I did so. Micheal is a truly nice guy, very helpful, he told me that he took this matter up to BMW SA and the technicians did find this part to be faulty and they are recalling those parts supplied. I told Micheal I have odged a complaint with BMW SA, he told me, if they still give me issues, I must ask BMW SA to call him and they can get the info needed and I must take down the complaint reference number.
19 July 2015 - I get a call from BMW SA informing me that I will need to take the car to Northcliff Auto for them to test the part and see if its faulty. I told them that I do not want to deal with Northcliff Auto as they will tell me its not the part but something else in car. So I get my reference number and put the phone down. I phone Micheal, parts manager at Bruma Auto, tell him I dont want to deal with Northcliff Auto and this is what BMW SA said, he took my reference down and said he will get back to me in 30 mins.
I get a call from Micheal, tells me my car will be booked with Bruma Auto and he will do the claim and sort this issue out, he has chatted to BMW SA and they have agreed to let him do this as he is aware of them problem. I am really impressed now with Micheal and his helpfulness. Car is booked with Bruma Auto for the 24th July 2015
24th July 2015 - Booked car in, once car was ready, I picked the car up. No vibrations, no noises at all. I did the same steps I did before where I experienced issues and there is nothing. Car is going smooth and like new :rollsmile:
I thank Bruma Auto & Micheal for helping me resolve this issue and leave.
So a huge thanks goes out to BMW Bruma Auto and especially Micheal :ty:, the parts manager, he didn't have to do this, he could have told me to get Northcliff Auto to handle it as I bought it from them but he didn't, thank you Micheal from Bruma Auto.
I will never buy or support Northcliff Auto ever.
So just a heads up for the fellow fanatics, if you are experiencing an issue with a vibration damper that you purchased, this could be the reason.
Attached are some pics of the faulty vibration damper.
