Condensation in E89 lights
- Thread starter strugglinauthor
- Start date
strugglinauthor
Member
Maniac said:
HI Maniac. Agreed - to the letter of the (BMW) law, I will fail. But I hope they will play ball at least to some degree in the hope of keeping their customer happy. I had a similar(ish) situation a number of years ago with a different manufacturer and while they were under no obligation to do so, they made a generous goodwill gesture.
We'll see...
strugglinauthor
Member
pvr said:
Maybe check the small print and see if this includes or excludes warranty work...?
strugglinauthor
Member
ronk said:
I'm still optimistic that they won't close the door in my face. Not many companies want to get up their customer's noses and so hopefully a well-worded letter will achieve something. :wink:
strugglinauthor
Member
pvr said:
I have a sneaking suspicion that the same will apply - e.g. not included if it's standard warranty work
strugglinauthor said:Spooky you should say that, Titan, as that's exactly what I thought. I even raised the point, speculating that BMW or consumer law would say that a part should last a reasonable amount of time - whatever you deem 'reasonable' to mean. Unfortunately there was no response other than the suggestion to raise it with BMW Customer Service. If you know of anything official that states this then please let me know!Titan said:
Sorry I couldn't respond sooner but I see Ronk and maniac have provided some ammunition.
Sadly maniac could be right
I recall multiple problems with a passenger seat occupancy sensor in the early days of our Z3.
When the second one failed I had to pay for the labour but the part was supplied FOC.
There might be some hope of a compromise in this direction if you can't blag full cost of replacement.
It will be interesting to see how this one pans out.
As for dealerships, there is good and bad amongst them all. I use Cooper Durham the same as Ronk but without naming names, there are other branches within that dealership that I refuse to grace with my presence (or cash)
My adaptive headlight failure light comes on periodically. I'm guessing it's due to condensation...
The green button has a fuel pump symbol and seems to runs round to the tank flap.
Might be emergency flap open if the lock solenoid fails.
But haven't seen it mentioned in any manual.
Or tried to pull it!
Also I noticed US cars have the emergency 'trapped in boot' release, whereas UK cars don't seem to have them.
Might be emergency flap open if the lock solenoid fails.
But haven't seen it mentioned in any manual.
Or tried to pull it!
Also I noticed US cars have the emergency 'trapped in boot' release, whereas UK cars don't seem to have them.
strugglinauthor
Member
OK, so I have a reply from BMW and I'm trying decide whether I can be bothered to argue any further. I mentioned in my (polite) complaint letter that the light cluster wasn't covered under my extended warranty (according to the dealer) as the cause was water ingress. I also mentioned that I was not covered by the 2 year repair warranty as the work had been done under the manufacturer's warranty. As an interesting aside, I asked the extended warranty team whether water ingress into lights is covered because after I had sent my letter, I had received my renewal notice. I have it in writing that it does!
The rather strangely worded response from BMW Customer Services said that I have "agreed to pay £250 towards the cost" because my extended warranty has a £250 excess. And so, as a gesture of goodwill they will lob in the balance of £80.
If I had never had a light cluster fail and seen no track record of them failing then I'd probably mumble a bit and think, "fair enough. After all, that's what I bought an extended warranty for." But it's still going to cost me £250 for a component that has failed three times and I have an ominous feeling will fail a fourth time when the nearside light (also replaced) goes as well.
Can I be bothered to go back and say, "try again"?
The rather strangely worded response from BMW Customer Services said that I have "agreed to pay £250 towards the cost" because my extended warranty has a £250 excess. And so, as a gesture of goodwill they will lob in the balance of £80.
If I had never had a light cluster fail and seen no track record of them failing then I'd probably mumble a bit and think, "fair enough. After all, that's what I bought an extended warranty for." But it's still going to cost me £250 for a component that has failed three times and I have an ominous feeling will fail a fourth time when the nearside light (also replaced) goes as well.
Can I be bothered to go back and say, "try again"?
strugglinauthor
Member
Well done BMW! 
I wrote a second letter of complaint to BMW Customer Services - I won't bore you with the details. But the upshot is that they've agreed to foot the bill for a replacement light cluster. I just hope and pray that the new one lasts a bit longer than the previous ones...
I wrote a second letter of complaint to BMW Customer Services - I won't bore you with the details. But the upshot is that they've agreed to foot the bill for a replacement light cluster. I just hope and pray that the new one lasts a bit longer than the previous ones...
strugglinauthor said:
Just had a similar experience. I have already had one drivers and 2 passenger lights replaced under manufactures warranty, but now under extended warranty the drivers light failed again. They tried to get me to pay the excess (£99) but I felt that I shouldn't be paying for a design fault so contacted bmw uk. They looked into all the previous repairs and service bulletins and spoke to the dealer. Just got a phone call back and they said they will pay for the full repair so nothing for me to pay. Great customer service from bmw uk, very impressed with them. Worth speaking to them direct if anyone else has this problem. I am hoping this is now fixed for good!!
strugglinauthor
Member
philabbo said:
Credit where it's due, BMW have come good - result
