[newbieman78]

So I have my car at the dealership for my first HPFP replacement and for an oil leak because of a broken gasket valve cover.

My SA has been real nice the whole time. He called earlier today and said they are going to work on the pump and then get to the other repairs. Then he calls me few hours later and says..."we are looking into your car and you need to be very honest with me right now.....we see that you have DCI and DV's and catless DP's and whatever. Do you have any tune or software on your car?" I said NO (i already took out my JB3 and had all codes cleared with BT tool).

Then he says: "are you sure?... because BMW has special software for that, and they can check if you have software modifications." I said, NO, go ahead and check. Then he said, "ok, but just letting you know, because when we do your software upgrade, we will wipe out the whole software and any flash or tune you have will get erased".


The reason he asked me if I have a tune is because of my broken gasket cover. He said that sometimes these get broken or blown off in cars with tunes that have a lot of boost. Is that true?

He didn't think the DP's had anything to do with the broken cover or the HPFP failure, BUT he said BMW is looking into it and will soon decide what to do (meaning decide whether they will cover the repairs of the gasket covers or if I will have to pay out of pocket). They can argue, he said, that all my current mods may have increased my car boost which then blew off my gasket cover.

He said that BMW has extremely strict policies for modified 335's.

The SA was very nice the whole time and he said he understands why people like to mod these cars, and that he has a 735i himself, so I hope everything goes ok and doesn't void my warranty somehow.

[newbieman78]

update.....my SA just called a few mins ago again. He said that the warranty department is not authorizing the repairs for the oils leak repair. He said there is a big puncture hole on the plastic valve cover or gasket cover (sorry I don't know too much about those parts and i am not a mechanic).

They are blaming the installation of the DP's as the cause of the puncture. He was talking about using some kind of struts or something to hold the car and engine which then punctured the plastic cover. Can anyone please explain to me how that is possible. I thought you just go under the car, remove the old pipes and replace with the new. How do you even get close to the gaskets and valve covers or whatever. SA said he's only seen it once before.

Anyone have anything I can use as defense against their argument? I had the oil leak long before i had the DP;s installed, but no way to prove.

They have to replace the cover plus the gaskets plus some other stuff, so he quoted me $1600 for the repair which I have to pay out of pocket. I am pissed. I can easily afford it but I was going to get my Quaife LSD with that money and now I have to wait.

[itsbrokeagain]

if your car is not an xi, there is no reason to support the engine...the downpipes come out without removing anything other than moving the steering rack a little.

Sounds like hes trying to blow smoke up your ass and point your downpipes as the problem even though its not related. I would find another dealer, as I have never seen a valve cover gasket fail under boost conditions. From time to time I used to replaced them because they simply got pinched during install at the factory and started leaking. No big deal.

[CBR335]

Moral of the story, BMW has you by the balls. You can't ever go in with DPs on as those are the number one most obvious that you are running high boost and they void your emission warranty anyway regardless of other problems you may have. I'm sorry, but even if BMW is full of shit, they will deny whatever work they can on your car from now on.

[rbaldwin28]

F- that dude I think the burden of proof is with them since you paid for the warranty. I would make them prove it caused the failure. Say you talked to the shop that did your down-pipe install and they said they just removed the old ones with out any motor support.

[NiVeDh]

How can you take the car in with catless DPs, DCI, and DVs and expect them to warranty something?

[Bakeme521]

That sucks bro, sounds like a lot of BS to me. I agree with matt, I'd find another dealer or make them prove that the DP's had something to do with it.

[Malaka1]

Originally Posted by NiVeDh

How can you take the car in with catless DPs, DCI, and DVs and expect them to warranty something?

Get to know your SA and even better one of the techs... I just took mine in for new turbos, cam ledges, and hpfp.. all under warranty!

Mods in my sig

[PKumarM3]

that sucks man. bmw has become nazi's and we're the only ones to blame.

bmw blamed my suspension for my lights failing. on a routine alignment, they asked me why I had an intake and muffler delete? as the economy goes to sh!t, bmw is looking for ways of cutting corners and not shelling out money. but unfortunately that is BS since they are making parts so damn expensive and technologically superior. They want their cars to be superior and offer a "ultimate driving experience", but they are frowning when owners take part in that experience.

I haven't heard of Porsche dealers not warrantying work when Turbo owners up the boost on their 100k cars.

[blacknbean]

i think they are trying to call your bluff on the 'special software' but no way id take a fully modded car to the dealer and expect them to touch anything. if you really want to get it done, id take off all the mods and bring to another dealer

[rbaldwin28]

Originally Posted by blacknbean

i think they are trying to call your bluff on the 'special software' but no way id take a fully modded car to the dealer and expect them to touch anything. if you really want to get it done, id take off all the mods and bring to another dealer

+1 at least the down-pipes. I think the SA was talking about a flash being over written by stock flash. They can not detect a piggy as long as it is no longer in the system.

[chromisdesigns]

Originally Posted by rbaldwin28

+1 at least the down-pipes. I think the SA was talking about a flash being over written by stock flash. They can not detect a piggy as long as it is no longer in the system.

And so long as you have cleared the "secret" tuner codes AND haven't exceeded the "overboost" limit stored in the ECU. I don't think some "not to exceed" codes are eraseable. If you set one of those, you are hosed. Like the people who used to blow up their E36 M3 engines by missing a downshift. Over-rev is non-eraseable.

[Wake27]

Originally Posted by NiVeDh

How can you take the car in with catless DPs, DCI, and DVs and expect them to warranty something?

Yeah I could've told you straight up you're not gonna get a damn thing under warranty from them. And they really don't have to prove shit. You're definitely not the first person to want to fight back but they're very well prepared for it. Good luck.

[newbieman78]

Thanx guys.

I wish i can say something to them, but I really don't want to piss them off because there's only 2 BMW dealerships down here and i'd be screwed if they turned against me.

If my SA and tech get pissed they may do something to get my warranty completely voided. I know what they are saying is BS but I have no proof as to what caused the oil leak and the broken gasket cover. They don't have proof either but I guess for them speculation is enough.

I'll tell him that I spoke to the shop which did my downpipes and that they never used motor support. BMW will just say....well so prove it, your word is not good enough.

I can take the car back and take my mods off and go to another dealership but then again I have to spent several hundred dollars for a shop to replace DP's with stock, then put the DP's back on. Not to mention the time it will take. I will have to rent a car in the meantime. I might as well fork over the $1600. SA said its not up to him and he'll do whatever he can to knock the price down couple hundred dollars at least, so we'll see.

Just really makes me angry that something like DP's which are actually so much better for the car than the old pipes, are so frowned on by BMW when replaced. Its ridiculous.

I just want it done with so I can forget about it. Consider my expensive lesson learned. At least they paid for everything else.

Can't wait to put my JB3 back in and my AMS FMIC on Tuesday and take my baby out for a spin (the car, not the wife lol)

[chromisdesigns]

If you are going to pay,why have the dealer do it? Go to an independent shop and get it done for at least 1/3 less on the labor, and often less on parts, too. Are you a BMWCCA member? Lot's of places will give you a discount on labor, a few on parts, when you show your membership card.

[bulldog_yyc]

Originally Posted by chromisdesigns

If you are going to pay,why have the dealer do it? Go to an independent shop and get it done for at least 1/3 less on the labor, and often less on parts, too. Are you a BMWCCA member? Lot's of places will give you a discount on labor, a few on parts, when you show your membership card.

this is true - you should have never went to the dealer with all those mods

[SilverII]

if they have that special software to detect tunes, they would have already busted you.

[Alexander]

Originally Posted by NiVeDh

How can you take the car in with catless DPs, DCI, and DVs and expect them to warranty something?

Exactly. This is absurd. BMW is not the bad guy here.

YOU PAY TO PLAY!

[Alexander]

Originally Posted by SilverII

if they have that special software to detect tunes, they would have already busted you.

The have to send the DME somewhere, hell Germany? And then spend hours scanning and reading. Not going to happen.

[newbieman78]

most people take their cars to the dealer with all mods except their tunes of course. None of this stuff will void your warranty. They can just use some of it to deny payment, depending on what is broken.

In this case my broken gasket plastic cover could be from anything. It could have been broken before I even bought the car.

If I was poor then it'll be a different story. Now I can afford all this easily. I don't like to waste money, but if it saves me the hassle of having to replace DP's and take more time out of my busy life to find different shops and mechanics and etc, then i'd rather just pay and get it over with.

Like I said earlier, even the mechanic and the SA at the dealership told me that DP's are much better for the car than the catted pipes, and that cars should come that way from the factory, but it is still BMW's policy at the end, and BMW wants cats.

Everything is designed to make BMW money. Of course all our mods make the car better, but that doesnt make BMW money. The SA said that BMW is after the 335i for a reason. They are afraid that with a few mods it outcompetes their more powerful and more expensive cars.

[luv135i]

for some one who doesnt like to waste money, paying $1600 instead of taking off DP/s sounds like a waste of money

[scottp999]

The valve cover gaskets leaking has been a common problem on BMW's for decades. It's a shame they won't replace it for you.