Motor plan is almost up - what do I do ?

[Olorin]

Hi guys,

My motor plan on my E90 320i is almost up. Around 98300 km. My last service was 200 km ago.

In the last six months or so I've been experiencing gear lock ups and it feels very rough, changing gears. It's getting progressively worse as time goes on. Another issue is clutch judder, which is intermittent at the moment.

I asked the BMW technician to check the gearing and his response was "it's normal, the E90 is supposed to be notchy". Absolutely not normal. I remember when I first got the car, I remember last year how it felt changing gears and I never had my gears locking up. Gear changes were still smooth as well.

So what can I do now ? Can I take it somewhere else to have these issues evaluated and then go back to SMG ? Or must I try my luck once again and ask them to take a look at these issues ? Obviously I would love to have these issues rectified before the MP is up.

Any tips or tricks ?

 

[JENICH]

Dude,
Take it back and insist they resolve the problem.

Insist and I cannot stress this enough, get them to fix it, even if it means the stays with then, instead of you eating up your motorplan kilos.

Alternatively, call BMW SA 0800 600 555 and complain

You could also extend the motorplan contract and you can have it fixed when it breaks

Hope you come right

 

[Olorin]

The thing is, so far they have denied that there is a problem. I need to prove to them that there is a problem to fix.

 

[JENICH]

The thing is, so far they have denied that there is a problem. I need to prove to them that there is a problem to fix.

Try another dealer, maybe Auric Auto.
Just phone up the guys and tell them what you experiencing and maybe go on a test drive with the service manager

Dealers approach problems differently, you never know, they might say no problem, when would you like to bring your car in:thumbs:

 

[lambchop]

Whats going on with BMW?

A friend of mine needs a Sump replacing after a shoddy service
and now telling her that MP wont cover it WTF!!!!

 

[Olorin]

So I took the car in again and insisted they fix the problem I'm experiencing. Dropped the car off with them, left it for two days. According to the rep they opened up the gear box, put some oil in, went for a test drive and BMW are happy that everything is working 100%.

Got the car today, I left and at the first robot, pulled my handbrake up, into neutral. Couldn't put the gear into 1st. No matter how hard I tried, it wouldn't budge into 1st. I put it down into second then into 1st, no change. I tried 3rd gear, and it eventually kicked into 1st when I put it in gear.

Embarrassing to say the least. I gave the service guy (Wallied from SMG) a call when I got home to explain the situation. He said that he would talk to one of the managers, get them to take my car home with him and drive it around.

Not happy at the moment. I mean, I'm not making this stuff up. The problem is that the gears don't lock up all the time, but every day I drive to work and back it happens at least once. The funny thing is that before I even handed my car over to SMG, I went for a drive with one of their service reps and he never experienced the problem (drove the car around the block), but he did tell me that my issue is normal, that the gearing can be a bit notchy . Such utter shit.

No way is it normal for gears to lock.

 

[AshG108]

throw a brick at the techy and ask him if his head shuddered, if it didnt, then you take it to another dealer...raise:

 

[prado]

Obviously looking at the kilos on your clock, they are trying to get out of an expensive repair!

Call the consumer council, call BMW SA, call the AA and have them give you a report if they can but don't let the stealers get away with this!

If they have to fit a new gearbox before MP expires, let them do it!

Maybe, buying more MP will be cheaper than fixing the 'box yourself and you get a few free services again!

Don't let them get away! Threaten them with going to the press if you have to!

Don't they realize that by giving good service they benefit?

Let them have it! :thumbs:

 

[abmi0000]

Strange that they are reluctant since they make good money off the repairs. Yes, they have their own so called insurance motorplans that they claim from so it is beneficial for them. They make money on parts and labour.

 

[Olorin]

But guys tell me, if the gear is locking does that mean the gear box itself could possibly fail ? Have any of you experienced this ?

I don't drive the car like a hooligan. I always put my handbrake up in heavy traffic and try not to ride the clutch.

I'm going to let the rep drive the car but I'm going to tell him that I will not accept the car back until it's completely fixed. The last time I took my car in I had 1/4 tank petrol left. When I got the car back from them today I had almost nothing in, just enough to get home.

 

[freakazoid]

I have a 2006 320i and I have always had "issues" with 1st and 2nd gears. I know too well the embarrassment that Olorin is talking about.

Under MP, I had two clutches fitted, release bearing replaced, gearbox was stripped and greased, but the problem still persisted. The shuddering clutch would be gone for about a month or two after the repairs and progressively come back.

My car is now on 125 000km and I have not had the 1st gear problem in a while. The shudder is still there and I hate driving in stop/go traffic as the whole car vibrates.

The shudder is a very common issue and on some overseas forums they blame the Clutch Delay Valve for the problem. Do a Google search for "E90 CDV".

The shudder is what has made me swear to never buy a manual BMW ever again.

 

[LuranchtE90]

I had the same issue on my 07 320i on the gearbox. They replaced the centre bearing, but the problem still persisted. Took it back for them to check. The gearbox was then sent to ZF as they handle all gearbox repairs (correct me if i'm wrong), they overhauled the gearbox and still it persisted, so they replaced my gearbox with a new 1...Had the car for another 6 months and no problems experienced. I'd say it all depends to which dealer you take the car, as I have a good relationship with my dealership. Hope you get it sorted before MP expires, otherwise I'll just give the dealership hell.. Good luck bud!