did someone mentions relalibilty issue's

[duncan-m-w]

Makes me think Mazda MX5 next time

Tim.

Could only ever consider an MX5 if:-

A. It came with an engine, which it doesn't. :thumbsdown:

B. It looked as good as a Z4, which it doesn't. (IMHO) :thumbsdown:

C. Most importantly, I could fit in one. Which I can't. :thumbsdown:

So never going to be on my list, dispite being a perfectly OK car.

Yep - no way can I fit either (6"2). I was so pleased that it was not an option.

 

[sonny82]

I have had my 23i since the beginning of feb, its a 61 plate ex demo that had 2k miles on it, and now has 9k.

In the last few months I have had to have the rear window replaced as the black strip wasn't bonded to the glass properly and it "blew out" when going down the motorway (that scared the crap out of me I can tell you!!!!) I have had an intermittent oil sensor replaced, then and intermittent water sensor replaced, and while driving to get the water sensor done I could hear a tapping noise and I lost loads of power..... Turns out the crankshaft bearings had failed.

The car is still being worked on for the bearings a week later and I'm not happy as you can well imagine, 2 questions I have for you all

1 - do we have any grounds for a replacement vehicle if too many things are going wrong (Friday afternoon car!!!!)
2 - will there be any long term effect from the crankshaft bearings going, I don't know a huge amount about engines but that sounds seriouse to me!!!!!

Sonny

 

[Anonymous]

No idea about question 2, but interested in responses for question 1, although in my case its repeated attempts to fix a problem, not lots of problems.

I think Friday afternoon car is correct...they probably build all Z4's on a Friday!

 

[Maniac]

Crank bearings are a major component and if they fail they can shred metal into the oil and around the engine, so long as a full engine flush is done, you should (!) be ok. That's properly bad luck on that one. ...and the window blowing out, holy hell. I had mine replaced due to faulty contacts on the heating element, but blowing out is another thing entirely.

As for the replacement vehicle thing, you might get conflicting advice here, I'd check out your local citizens advice or their website on car topics. By all means though press BMW for compo, you never know what you might get.

Bad luck.. I too have been hit by this (edit: bad luck that is) with my Z4, but touch wood, its all been plain sailing for the last six months or so having now fixed every tiny little thing that was or could be wrong. Really shocking build quality.. its been said before. Some are lucky, others like you and I, less so.

 

[metal licker]

No idea about question 2, but interested in responses for question 1, although in my case its repeated attempts to fix a problem, not lots of problems.

I think Friday afternoon car is correct...they probably build all Z4's on a Friday!

Just to even things up........10 months since new no problems at all

 

[john56]

On question 2, on a car this new and with little mileage, for a crank to pick up on the bearing is very unusual, i would want to know exactly what they intend to do about it, possibly a short engine direct from BMW or a complete exchange engine if it was my car, as a previous post suggested there could be metal fragments through all the oil galleries and if not flushed professionally you could be back where you started.
Having the engine stripped and repaired is fine as long as its done by an experienced engine builder and not a fitter/mechanic, there is a difference, get as much info on what they have done or intend to do.
Good luck.

 

[sonny82]

Cheers for that guys, rang the dealer I bought it off and we had a decent chat about everything, he asked me what I want from him and when I said a replacement car I didn't get the "no chance" I was expecting and he agreed it was a fair request!!!!

He said he is going to speak to BMW customer services for dealers and will get back to me, will obviously keep you all posted!!!

As for the repair I'm told it won't be ready until next thursday, but I feel happier I know what I should be asking them about the work that is being done so thanks again!!

Sonny

 

[Maniac]

Wondermike,

Is there some way to filter posts by country of contributor? I suspect that there are significant differences (in addition to statutory compliance features) in the models shipped to different markets.

GMB

I don't believe there is.. but this is a largely UK site, the e89 forum (http://e89.zpost.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=196) is more US in membership.

 

[Andrew*Debbie]

I have had my 23i since the beginning of feb, its a 61 plate ex demo that had 2k miles on it, and now has 9k.

In the last few months I have had to have the rear window replaced as the black strip wasn't bonded to the glass properly and it "blew out" when going down the motorway (that scared the crap out of me I can tell you!!!!) I have had an intermittent oil sensor replaced, then and intermittent water sensor replaced, and while driving to get the water sensor done I could hear a tapping noise and I lost loads of power..... Turns out the crankshaft bearings had failed.

The car is still being worked on for the bearings a week later and I'm not happy as you can well imagine, 2 questions I have for you all

1 - do we have any grounds for a replacement vehicle if too many things are going wrong (Friday afternoon car!!!!)
2 - will there be any long term effect from the crankshaft bearings going, I don't know a huge amount about engines but that sounds seriouse to me!!!!!

Sonny

Wow -- That has to be the worst tale of woe I've heard so far. -- Reminds me of Fiat on a bad day or Rover on a good one.


We've never had a trouble free BMW but the problems have all been fairly minor.

To answer your questions: 1 -- Yes in the US. In the UK I have no idea. I'd start asking. That is starting to be a bit much. 2. Possibly. If this was our car, we wouldn't keep it long term.

 

[Maniac]

The laws over here are rubbish compared to lemon law in the US. In the UK you can reject the car, but the process is long and involved, and, has to be an issue that makes the car unsuitable/unusable, and you have to give the dealer 'reasonable' attempts to fix it, which could be anything... crap law here.

 

[Andrew*Debbie]

Makes me think Mazda MX5 next time

Tim.

We had a 2006 NC MX5 in the US. The NC is good choice but entirely different car from an e89. Economy sports car vs. luxury roadster. Not the same at all.

FWIW our MX-5 had two problems. On minor and one not so minor. The check engine light came on repeatedly. After several trips to the dealer, they traced it to a faulty fuel cap. Problem was that the replacement part was also faulty. Eventually there was a recall for the fuel cap and the problem went away for good.

The interior flooded during a heavy rain storm. The dealer refused to repair the car under warranty. They said there was nothing wrong and it was my problem. I did some research and found a TSB that said the top drains were faulty and should be replaced. Printed out the TSB, went back and had a long, long discussion with service manager. They replaced the drain valves and the carpet under warranty. They gave me a very very used and abused Mazda 6 as a loaner. -- Overall service experience was worse than we've ever had with BMW.

Could only ever consider an MX5 if:-



A. It came with an engine, which it doesn't. :thumbsdown:

The US Spec MX-5 has a 2.0L MZR motor and lower gearing than what they sell in the UK. My MX5 was 170HP but the 2012 UK 2.0L is 160. An MX-5 soft top weighs about 1125kg.

With UK gearing the 2.0 does 0-60 in 7.6 Seconds. The lower geared US version is 6.6 seconds. That is quicker 0-60 than our e89.

An e89 is 1470kg. The lighter, smaller Mazda feels quicker and more responsive.

B. It looked as good as a Z4, which it doesn't. (IMHO) :thumbsdown:

No disagreement there. NC = cute. e89 = Beautiful.

C. Most importantly, I could fit in one. Which I can't. :thumbsdown:

There is a hight limit. We are both 5'8" and fit. 6'1" won't .

 

[the belgian]

an update, took the car in yesterday for a gearbox replacement. Pick the car up today and with horror found out that the so called new gear box is exactly the same as the old one. So i was hoping to get some help and your opinion on this and see if this is normal. going neutral into first gear no problem, from 1st to 2 gear stick half way down, 2 to 3 no problem
3 to 4 stick again just as you go into 4 , 4 to 5 no problem and 5 to 6 no problem, reverse just does not feel correct.

how do you guys find the gear changes ? i drive a company car ( ford mondeo ) and all gear changes are smooth with no hick-up.

 

[sonny82]

Update for you all regarding my situation!!!

Confirmed big end bearings failed, after 2 and a half weeks waiting for the repair (I'm told BMW were moving warehouses so parts were a nightmare to get!!!!) I picked up my zed on Wednesday afternoon.

I have since done 60 miles in it and I am now waiting for BMW recovery to come and pick me and the car up!!!!!!

Oil light came on down the motorway, considering I have done 60 miles since the garage had replaced a crankshaft this seemed odd to me, then over 4k revs the car was revvinglike it wasn't in gear!!!!

So I write to you all, very pi#%ed off, at the side of the m4 waiting to be recovered.

My only consolation, my dealer has agreed to supply me with a new vehicle, as I'm being forced to take a days holiday off work, so I am going to the garage (in vpyet another curtosey car) to khave a little chat......

 

[geepee]

How awful. Give them hell.

 

[sonny82]

It's been a long day........

All is now finally resolved, the dealer has agreed to replace my '61 m sport 23i (9k miles) with an '11 plate m sport 30i (5k miles) which has a higher spec than mine, so overall I'm quite pleased (slightly gutted it's in black instead of deep sea blue, but oh well !!!!)

Pick it up next week fingers crossed I won't have any probs with this one!!!!!!

But I guess this proves that you can return a car if there is an unasonable number of issues within a short period of time!!

 

[GaryH]

Personally i'll never buy BMW again. May look pretty but what an absolute pile of crap in terms of build quality and reliability. Shocking. I'm going back to Jap cars. Mazda have 0% finance and 0% VAT on brand new MX5 at the moment, and with the facelift they dont look so girly anymore, so im going to change back to a more reliable car. I love the Z4 for the way it looks and drives, but it seems to be one thing after another with these cars.

I actually wonder if BMW make the parts to fail so it keeps them in business. I've owned about 18 cars so far, quite a mix, but never, never, never had so many things go wrong with a car in such a short space of time (<1 year) and mileage (<50k) than I have with this "premium" car brand. The biggest thing I ever had go wrong with a Jap car was many many years ago, I had a Toyota GTi thing, had done 178,000 miles and the head gasket needed replacing. Apart from that that, nothing.

The Z4 on the other hand in the space of 10 months and 15,000 miles since ownership would have cost me over 2 grand in repairs had it not been for the warranty I purchased.

I actually wonder as well if the Merc SLK is a better car than the z4. According to car reliability studies, it is.

 

[ranski]

Just had a look over the topics you have started since joining and yes, you appear to have had some bad luck with your Z


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[GaryH]

Lol indeedy!!! To save everyone else looking:

Rear springs (replaced by last owner)
Replacement CD Changer (last owner - both under warranty)
Issues with poor idling (diagnostics and idle speed increased)
New windscreen wiper motor due to original not parking the wipers correctly
New exhaust manifold
New vacuum pump
Oil leak needing a new gasket somewhere in the engine!
Then a complete breakdown last month and a new fuel injector needed

So at the moment im waiting for (a) the roof motor to fail (b) the door handle to fall off (c) the steering to seize up in the hot weather and (d) glass to fall out of the wing mirrors lol

 

[ranski]

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[chasBMW]

well in having having owned 3 z4's (2 x z4MC and currently a z4 35is(e89)) the only issue I have had is failed cd changer (I say failed never actually worked from day 1) which was replaced under warranty , Im going to regret saying this when stuff starts falling off tomorrow