VIN wrong ?! (a rear spring fable)

[adama222]

In a previous post, I mentioned that I suspected that my newly-replaced rear springs looked a little wrong.
http://www.z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=4345&p=61456&hilit=rear+spring#p61456

Well before heading to my mechanic who installed them, I went to a dealership to find out the exact part numbers. When they plugged my VIN into their system, it did not show 'M-sport suspension' as an option on my car, so they insisted that I would need regular springs. I tried to explain to them that in 2003, there were very few options for the car. One package was the 'sport' package that included Dynamic Driving Control (aka sport button), 17" alloy turbine 106 wheels (for the 2.5), and the slightly-lowered suspension. In North America, there was no such thing as "M-sport suspension" in the brochure since the marketing guys hadn't thought of that label yet. The option sheet produced by BMW shows all the items on my car, but makes no mention of optional suspension.

If I'm correct, then I could see how my mechanic was delivered the wrong part and that he's an innocent victim. Hopefully this doesn't turn into a major PITA to get rectified. I'm not too keen on the back half of my car looking more like a Miata (MX-5) than the front!

 

[BlackSapphireZ]

in mine it says "SPORT PACKAGE" on the window sticker. VIN should tell you whether you have sport suspension or not.

 

[Curtis]

You think you've got VIN problems, my Alpina comes up as an E46 320 diesel touring on BMW's system! Despite my dealers complete ineptness they did manage to spot this problem!

 

[adama222]

Ok...to make a short story long, I went to the dealershiop where the car was originally purchased and spoke to a sales manager. He gave me a more elaborate printout, but wasn't any more helpful in shedding light on what could be on the car if it wasn't on the printout. He must've though I was totally mad since I kept speaking about sport suspension versus normal suspension. The printout simply stated that my car has the 'sports package' which contains the Dynamic Driving Control and the sporty(ish) wheels.

Before stepping into the shop, I had taken a look at the part number that is flapping on a tag on one of the front springs. My thought was that so long as the new rear springs had a number that jived with the caliber of that of the front, then I would be ok, or it would give me an agruement to present to anyone who would listen. Sure enough, when checking the front number with the parts department, it too related to 'regular' springs. The important part was that I had the same caliber on the front and back.

The parts guy also thought that I was nuts for talking about a sport suspension and insisted that there was never such a thing in North America. After, I checked through a 2004 brochure carefully and nowhere did I see any clear indication that a sport suspension could be attained. Maybe it's a case of the BMW marketing hype lodging somewhere in my mind, but I now really see no evidence that there was more than one type of suspension available in the early models in North America. Aside from the ///M, that may still be the case.

In any case, the car drives much better now that it's not riding on two broken springs.

 

[GP20]

The sport suspension isn't a stand alone option in North America. It's part of the sport package, and has always been that way since the Z4 first come out in '02. If I were you, I'd definitely try to get it sorted it now instead of later. Have you contacted the customer service at BMW Canada? Or you can request to have an appointment with a BMW field technician or regional service representative. You'll probably have better luck talking to the field technician though.

Either way, the dealerships you talked to are obviously clueless. But I wouldn't give up on this issue yet if I were you. I wouldn't have been happy if 2 of the 4 springs on my car were the wrong parts.

 

[adama222]

The sport suspension isn't a stand alone option in North America. It's part of the sport package, and has always been that way since the Z4 first come out in '02.

That's how I was feeling before. However, since the front springs on my car are the regular code, I can only assume that the original (broken) rear springs were regular too. At this point, I honestly do not believe that there are sport springs involved at all with the sport package as sold in North America. I think the package only referred to suspension in the 'dynamic driving control' sense.

I'll keep checking around for conclusive info one way or the other.

 

[Z4good]

I have a 2003 3.0I with Sport Package. I'm looking at the actual window sticker and it says, Sport Package: Dynamic Driving Control/18" alloy wheels/Sport suspension. I don't know what is consists of, but it is not the regular suspension. And yes it sits lower.

 

[GP20]

The sport suspension isn't a stand alone option in North America. It's part of the sport package, and has always been that way since the Z4 first come out in '02.

That's how I was feeling before. However, since the front springs on my car are the regular code, I can only assume that the original (broken) rear springs were regular too. At this point, I honestly do not believe that there are sport springs involved at all with the sport package as sold in North America. I think the package only referred to suspension in the 'dynamic driving control' sense.

I'll keep checking around for conclusive info one way or the other.

I've owned a Canadian '03 2.5i without the sport package and an '04 3.0i with the sport package, and I also changed the suspensions on my 3.0i. I can tell you that what you believe is absolutely NOT the case. There ARE 2 kinds of suspensions for the regular Z4, here in the North America. The sport package absolutely includes ther sport suspension - shorter springs. There's no and, if or but.

Did you buy your Z4 new or used?

 

[GP20]

Shows you the sport and non-sport springs ARE different:

Rear springs:
http://www.mileoneparts.com/partlocator/index.cfm?action=getJointLocator&siteid=214336&chapter=&Sectionids=24,2788&groupid=20135&subgroupid=60277&componentid=0&make=3&model=Z4&year=2004&graphicID=F281090&callout=14&catalogid=1&displayCatalogid=0

Front springs:

http://www.mileoneparts.com/partlocator/index.cfm?action=getJointLocator&siteid=214336&chapter=&sectionids=19,2512&groupid=20135&subgroupid=60277&make=3&model=Z4&year=2004&catalogid=1&displayCatalogid=0

 

[adama222]

Thanks for your persistence, GP20 (and others). I'll see what else I can do with the info you've given me.
I bought the car used, but the dealership I went to for assistance was where it was originally purchased.

P.I.T.A. indeed.

 

[GP20]

Thanks for your persistence, GP20 (and others). I'll see what else I can do with the info you've given me.
I bought the car used, but the dealership I went to for assistance was where it was originally purchased.

P.I.T.A. indeed.

Best of luck in getting this issue sorted out. I looked up on realoem & bmwinfo and only saw one type of spring listed (without a part number) so I can understand why the parts department/dealers are confused about this, too.

I actually ran into similar problem when I had a little accident with my '04 3.0i. After the car came back from the bodyshop, I noticed the driver side wheel gap was much wider than the passenger side. I know BMW's are designed to have the driver side ride height slightly taller to compensate for the driver's weight. But in my case the wheel gap was "quite a bit" wider than the passenger side after a few thousand miles. It was a non-issue to me since I changed to aftermarket suspensions not long after that. The bodyshop did put in the wrong spring, and knowing the situation I really didn't blame them either.

I think your best bet is to book an appointment with a BMW regional field technician. The couple of field technicians I've talked to in the past were a lot more knowledgeable (as they should be; they get paid a lot more, too) than the shop foremen / in-house technicians I've dealt with.