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So I have a 2010 328i SULEV that is registered here in the state of PA. I bought the car a year ago with 50k miles. It had a leaking valve cover gasket and a misfire. Right when I bought it (Nov, 2019), I took to my local BMW dealer in Lancaster to get that stuff replaced under the SULEV warranty. They replaced the valve cover gasket, mass airflow sensor, and the DMTL pump for free (I can provide paperwork). Coil packs were not covered because the ones that were on the car were not BMW ones. So, I bought new BMW coils and spark plugs.
Fast forward to today (Dec, 2020), the service engine light came on. The code was a 2A15 which is usually a gas cap. I thought no problem, a gas cap is listed on the PDF file as “FUEL FILLER CAP”. So, I took it in to the same BMW dealer to have it replaced. I get a call saying that the gas cap is not covered under the SULEV warranty. I checked the latest PDF file available from 2019 and it is listed there. So, I drive over to just talk with their service department and here are the things they said. So, they now have a new portal that they submit warranty claims from, and that portal contains the parts that are available to be replaced. If the part is not listed on the portal, then they cannot submit a claim. The list is very short compared to the PDF file. But, at the bottom it has a little message under “please note” which talks about smog check inspection and how BMW NA is supposed to cover if the vehicle does not pass inspection. The state of PA does not have a “smog inspection”, they have an “emission inspection”. I tried to argue that because my car has a check engine light, it will not pass PA emission inspection and they said “correct”, but PA does not actually measure the pollution from the car. PA only inserts a scanner to make sure the car is running 100%. In other words, if the car is running as it should then the pollution should be minimal. Also, if the part is not listed then they cannot file a claim to get it replaced for free. After that I pulled out my paperwork of the parts that they had replaced last year for free. I asked why these parts were no longer listed on their “portal” and they did not have answer. They just told me to call BMW USA. I called BMW USA and they just told me to call the manager of the BMW dealer. I’m going to try to call around to see if I can get additional information about this issue. If anyone has any other information, please comment bellow. It looks like BMW is trying to pull a fast one.
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