Exhaust Manifold hairline fractures

S

Sarah

New member
Hi,

I have a 5 year old 2l z4.

The garage have just confirmed that the exhaust manifold needs to be replaced due to hairline fractures.

This is the 4th time that the part has required replacement on this vehicle (ie averaging replacement once a year!).

On the first occasion the part was replaced under warranty. On the second I was initially asked to pay for it (no warranty on parts replaced under warranty) and managed to negotiate to pay a contribution but not the full cost. On the third occasion the part was replaced free of charge because I had part paid for the previous one. I am waiting to hear back from the garage on whether they are expecting me to pay this time around.

I would just like other people to be aware of the issues I have encountered in case they come across something similar where they may be asked to pay for work relating to the same fault with this part.

Sarah
 
Does seem to be a bit of a problem on the 2.0 and 4 times in 5 years is pretty unbelievable. Hope you get it sorted for free.
 
High and welcome, shame you found us so late and under such circumstances.

You really need to kick up a fuss on this. All of these should have been replaced free if the car was less than three years old, so if you have paid for any of those then you shouldn't have and I wold take this up with BMW.

I would also contact BMW UK at Bracknell and see what they have to say if your local dealer won't replace FOC.
 
oh oh. mine is 5 yr old......... what are the symptoms of this and impact on drivability?
 
oh oh. mine is 5 yr old......... what are the symptoms of this and impact on drivability?
 
The part is supposed to be guaranteed for 2 years(if BMW supplied)-just had my 2.0 manifold replaced couple of weeks ago.
 
My mate's 07 2 litre has been almost faultless for 70,000 miles except for....a cracked manifold replaced under warranty.
 
Warranty is not extended on any part beyond the 3 years standard warranty UNLESS you have paid part of it. If you have replaced the manifold at 2 years 10 months, the warranty on the new part is only 2 months at that stage.
 
pvr said:
Warranty is not extended on any part beyond the 3 years standard warranty UNLESS you have paid part of it. If you have replaced the manifold at 2 years 10 months, the warranty on the new part is only 2 months at that stage.
Click to expand...
What a load of rubbish (not what you're saying, but the stupid rule) :thumbsdown:
 
Hello and wellcome Sarah, not sure that you should have paid for any of them tbh and 4 in 5 years would suggest more than just a manufacturing defect on the original and replacement parts. Time to get some legal advice me thinks if they do not do the right thing.

Ps another Sarah :D
 
I have a 58 plate Z4 2.0 and I have had 2 replacement exhaust manifolds due to fractures already!! (I have only had the car 1 year myself)
 
peddy said:
pvr said:
Warranty is not extended on any part beyond the 3 years standard warranty UNLESS you have paid part of it. If you have replaced the manifold at 2 years 10 months, the warranty on the new part is only 2 months at that stage.
Click to expand...
What a load of rubbish (not what you're saying, but the stupid rule) :thumbsdown:
Click to expand...

Totally agree - pvr is spot on but I reckon if it got tested legally it would fail.

I mean we've already seen that the warranties offered by suppliers of things like white goods basically don't stand up - I forget the exact euro-legislation but the suppliers duty to provide goods fit for purpose extends way beyond the 1-2 years they are wont to give.....there are plenty of examples of stores like Tesco ()which do understand the law) replacing items that are way outside their original warranty period.

This business of the supplier only warranting parts co-terminus with any overall warranty I suspect is as much custom and practice as anything else.....I mean if you took them to court because a fourth manifold had busted and they were refusing to pay for it, somehow I can't see any argument that would stand up in terms of that parts fitness for purpose....and would BMW even take it that far? I doubt it. Its just that as consumers, we have always bent over whenever the supplier says 'BOO'.

My advice, if you have a full BMW service history, is to suggest that if they don't pay for it, you will take the vehicle elsewhere, get the work done, then sue them in Small Claims Court (cheap, easy, no solicitors and usually helpful to the inexperienced payperson) for the costs and your additional expenses. Oh and suggest that you'll invite the motoring press too.

The other issue of course is that there must be an underlying vibration issue thats causing these failures.....one is bad enough but four smacks heavily of something more fundamentally at fault.
 
Tell me about it, had replacement drive shaft, differential and bearing due grinding noises, metal clanking and ringing noises. Only things left is a sucking sound when accelerating, anyone know what that could be? And the engine revs go up and down when idoling in the mornings, someone said its 'hunting'
 
well that sounds like an air leak on the inlet side (possibly even a leaking manifold?) and a car thats been roundly abused I'd say.

Apart from recently busted springs mine has had nothing but a new battery in four and a half years and 38,000 miles.....and I drive enthusiastically.

Maybe a 'Friday' car from the US is something worse than a European lemon? LOL
 
Hi,

This fault appears to have minmal impact on drivability of my car. The exhaust emissions warning light comes on which is what makes me aware of the issue but I haven't noticed much else. Possibly the exhaust is a little noisier than usual.

The vehicle has a full BMW service history and only does about 10,000 miles a year.

BMW have replaced the part free of charge on this occasion. I believe they have done this on the basis that I contributed to the cost of the replacement a while back (the second time it was replaced) and am probably still within the 2 year warranty provided when this work was done. However, it appears that when this warranty ends (which must be fairly soon) I may have to pay for a replacement if the part does fail again. Given that it was replaced in October 2010 and failed again in May 2011 I am obviously concerned about the likelihood of this happening again.

I was expecting an investigation to be carried out when the part was replaced to understand what was causing the part to fail repeatedly, particularly in light of the fact that the interval at which it fails appears to be getting shorter. However, when I collected the vehicle no explanation was forthcoming as to what was causing the issue. Apparently, a modified version of the part has been fitted. Unfortunately this is not the first time I have heard this though.

I am going to write to the service department at the garage and ask them to clarify the situation regarding who will pay if the part fails again.

Based on the Citizens Advice Bureau website, I believe from a legal perspective that consumer rights dictate that a product must:

•be of satisfactory quality. This means that the goods should be free of any faults, including minor ones. They should be of the quality that a reasonable person would expect given the description, price and any other relevant circumstances.
•be fit for the purpose. This means that you must be able to use them for the purposes that you would normally expect from this type of product, or any purpose that you have told the seller you want to use them for

It would appear reasonable to expect an exhaust manifold to last more than 7 months.

To be honest I am horrified that any garage could quibble over replacement of an exhaust manifold that has failed twice nevermind this many times! In some respects I have more of a problem with the way this is being handled by the garage than with the fault itself.

My plan is to see what (if any) clarification I can get from the garage as to what will happen if the part fails again. Then I will have to make a decision as to whether I want to keep the car. Apart from anything it is really inconvenient to have to keep taking it to the garage. It is a great car in other respects and I love driving it but I just don't want the hassle or potentially the cost. Having said that, if I sell it on, some other poor person might have to deal with the same problems...

Sarah
 
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