[OGM2LCI]

Originally Posted by Reece

Cars going in for this tommorow, im getting a loan car but what do i need to take with me? Driving license obviously but any other paper work?

Only your driving lisence, they may check with you if it's okay to ring the DVLA as well to check your lisence is clean, other than that I didn't need anything

[jldelta]

I picked up my X3 from BMW Amsterdam this afternoon - I must say the entire service team met me with smiles and seemed to be genuinely happy that I had succeeded in having my engine repaired at BMW's cost.

As requested, I attach a very minimally edited version of the dossier I attached with my ultimatum - it'll be obvious to anyone at BMW AG where this originated, but I hope it helps others. Adjust as appropriate for your situation.

Note my emphasis on shifting the issue to a safety issue, thereby making it a case of serious negligence by BMW.

Additionally, I did the following after BMW initially refused any assistance with the repair costs :

1. Asked via email why my vehicle's VIN number was not included in the product enhancement (never received a satisfactory answer). This is an important step if litigation is required.

2. Obtained a written estimate of the work required. Ditto.

3. Gave a very short deadline to agree to bear all costs... and when they offered to accept "most" of the costs, I asked them - again by email (must be in writing) - to give me ONE logical reason why they should not bear 100% of the costs.

4. Made the essence of my position absolutely clear (& I quote) :

"My position is simple : if on 17 February 2015 BMW had checked and replaced my timing chain as per the 15 January 2015 bulletin, it would not have broken & we would not find ourselves in our present situation."

5. The Small Claim itself :

"...commence legal proceedings to recover the full amount of the engine repair from BMW, including all additional expenses, car rental costs etc as the court sees fit."

Remember, you must be prepared to initiate a Small Claims Court action immediately if they miss your deadline. Being in England or Wales is simpler in this regard, as I think the max limit for a small claim is GBP 10k (much less in Scotland & NI, I think). Netherlands is now EUR 25k.

Btw, I did not expect BMW to capitulate prior to receiving a court summons (when I certainly hoped they would capitulate, whilst at the same time being fully prepared to represent myself in court).

Good luck - be persistent, determined and above all, stay calm & dispassionate (your BMW Dealer will not be making the decision - it will likely go to BMW UK and probably on to BMW AG).

[thaking]

Is it now official recall or not? If it is then it must be free of charge for complete replacement../repair and it shouldn't matter if you service car outside of BMW service.

[OGM2LCI]

Originally Posted by thaking

Is it now official recall or not? If it is then it must be free of charge for complete replacement../repair and it shouldn't matter if you service car outside of BMW service.

It always has been a recal, I think they're referring to it as a 'quality enhancement'.

No charge for any work done.

They check over top tensioner and chains and if your car is past 75,000 they do further work but I can't remember if it was replacing the bottom chain or just checking it over.

They seem to be doing the recall in stages though so best to just keep in contact with your dealer to keep checking if your car is eligible

[jldelta]

I opened the bonnet to refill the wiper reservoir for the first time since getting my car back & I must say the engine looks almost like new. You can't really see from the photo, but a lot of external components seem to have been replaced as well as the internals.

This is the only car (apart from a Fiat 500 30 years ago, which I bought with a credit card) that I have bought new, so I've decided to keep it : next stop, ZF at their new service centre in Delft (closer than their famous Dortmund depot) for a full transmission service. I asked BMW to change the transmission fluids (6 speed auto) while the engine was being rebuilt, but they just said it was sealed for life. Whilst ZF "support" their OEM customers with this policy, they don't actually agree with it and recommend fluid replacement at 120k km at the most, preferably much sooner. I've gone so far off topic that I'll share my ZF experience in the correct part of the forum in a couple of weeks (I'll be at ZF on October 14th)....

[syseng]

Hi just seen this a little concerned as i have just got my E90 320D ED the Engine is E90 with N47D20O1 N47T manufactured 02-2011 serviced 03-2011 should i worry about my engine

[Reece]

Originally Posted by syseng

Hi just seen this a little concerned as i have just got my E90 320D ED the Engine is E90 with N47D20O1 N47T manufactured 02-2011 serviced 03-2011 should i worry about my engine

Think thats too new at the minute to be under recall, seems like its most 08-09 cars mines been in and its an 08, i wouldnt worry too much you have to be very unlucky for it to go

[richk84]

Originally Posted by Reece

Think thats too new at the minute to be under recall, seems like its most 08-09 cars mines been in and its an 08, i wouldnt worry too much you have to be very unlucky for it to go

+1 your engine should have most of the revised parts. I wouldn't worry.

[davethefish]

just read this post!



almost to the day...4 years too late for me...

cost me over £4,300 4 years ago to have my 57 plate 70,000 mile N47 timing chains replaced by bmw after they refused any 'goodwill' contribution.

then it had to be done again 1 year later under bmw parts warranty.
which they totally messed up, car had to go back in 3 times until they got it working. and fitted new dual mass flywheel and mass flow air meter... but car drove like a pig ever after and i part-exed it a month later.

2011 the saga....
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=598939

[eastman]

I just stumbled across this thread a couple of weeks ago.

I've got a 2007 320d and had become very anxious as to whether my timing chain had been affected.

Rang BMW Sytner Harold Wood. Within a week got it booked in (without loan car - was not a huge issue).

They kept it for 5 days and rectified the issue which included draining and replenishing the engine oil.

I can report that the car feels notably faster than it did before. Prior to driving off in the car, the BMW Technician said the car was underpowered, but with this "enhancement" you will notice the car has regained 10-15 bhp it had lost....and he was 100 percent right.

Honestly, had I not read this very thread, I would safely say the engine could have been dead at anytime.

Thanks a lot e90post.

[Kaisah]

Anyone had a 10 plate recalled yet?

[bhurd320]

I have a 2008 320D with the engine code N47D20A and was worried about it as we have not long brought the car, so I contacted BMW UK via email and gave them my VRN and last 7 of the VIN number had had a email back 2 days later saying mine is not affected by the QE.

[bishbosh]

Originally Posted by bhurd320

I have a 2008 320D with the engine code N47D20A and was worried about it as we have not long brought the car, so I contacted BMW UK via email and gave them my VRN and last 7 of the VIN number had had a email back 2 days later saying mine is not affected by the QE.

It may have already been repaired. Ask them if that is the case.

[bhurd320]

Originally Posted by bishbosh

It may have already been repaired. Ask them if that is the case.

no record in my service history and spoke to synters in romford and they didn't mention it had been done before, the car only has 55k miles on it, just happy I have it in writing so if it does go pop I have some thing to go back to BMW with

[AlwynMike]

I was out biking on Sunday, and met up with an old pal, who has always had Audi's. He turned up in an 11 plate 318d. I asked him about it, and got a shake of the head! He was in the market for another Audi, and had test driven an A4, which he liked. Next to it was this white 318, and his wife (who has a 1 series) said to try it. He did so under sufferance (as you do), but within a couple of miles fell in love with the car and bought it. Without any research, which is strange for him. You know what's coming next don't you all?
As he shook his head, all I said was "N47 engine". He was amazed.
Soon after he bought the car, it started to make a little noise, so he took it in to his local Indy, who took one look at it and refused to touch it - they steer well clear of any timing chain works as it takes too much time and too much space in the workshop - they advised him to a) take it to the Dealer and b) to return it to the Trader he got it from.
Blue Bell at Crewe took a look at it and advised him not to drive it! And to reject the car. As I said, he had fallen in love with it, so asked for a quote for repairs. £6500 was mentioned. Over the next few days, Blue Bell contacted BMW, and as the car had a BMW history, they would pay for the repairs, less the cost of fluids. My pal took this to the selling trader who agreed to finance this.
Upshot, my pal has a new timing chain, paid for by BMW, with the seller stumping up £200-odd for fluids (!). He was really pleased with the way that Blue Bell handled it all - as well as a courtesy car. BMW history pays for itself at times!

Yesterday, I spoke to my next-door-but-one neighbour. We don't see each other very often, but when we do, the talk is of cars. He has a 320d. He'd taken it in for a service, the first one for two years (as per schedule). They (Rybrook Shrewsbury) had told him that the car had a recall, and that they would replace the timing chain at his convenience - along with the courtesy car. They are looking at keeping the car for 2 or 3 days. It only has 69k on the clock, but is a 2007 car. Again with BMW history - he's had it from new.

So, after all these years, BMW are finally getting round to doing something about these engines.

[chrissyw]

What happens to the people who spent thousands because BMW said 'tough luck' ?

Do they get their money back because BMW have finally owned up to the failure?

[jldelta]

Originally Posted by davethefish

...

then it had to be done again 1 year later under bmw parts warranty.
which they totally messed up, car had to go back in 3 times until they got it working. and fitted new dual mass flywheel and mass flow air meter... but car drove like a pig ever after and i part-exed it a month later.

Seeing your post reminded me to follow up on my X3 (see my few posts above) : having decided to keep the vehicle, which was driving well, but nevertheless every bit as noisy as before, I took it to ZF Delft here in The Netherlands for a "Full Monty" transmission service (6 speed auto).

EXCELLENT service from ZF : in addition to the gearbox, I had both differentials serviced and also took the option of having an extra full flush. They allow you into the workshop and show you what they are doing & have a very comfortable WiFi and good coffee machine equipped customer waiting room (it takes 4 hours, so I walked into Delft, which has a beautiful old centre). The full service cost EUR 712.00, about GBP 500, which although not cheap I considered excellent value as it's FAR more than a transmission oil change.

The ZF technician takes you for a short initial test drive to see how the 'box is working, during which I told him my timing chain story. So when I went to look at the gearbox in mid-service, he said "Look you've got a small oil leak from your engine, but I can't quite see where it's coming from". I duly photographed "the evidence" and sent the photos to BMW Amsterdam the next day, about 4 weeks after I'd picked the car up from having the timing chain work.

The X3 was booked in, inspected and I was quoted EUR 420 to fix an oil leak from the oil cooler. I told then to go ahead and that I wished to "discuss" the charges. They called the following day to say there was also a coolant hose leak. In all they were working on the car for 4 days, during which they supplied me with a great little 218i Coupe M packet.

So we discuss the bill and I agree to pay the 420.-, with free loan car : but think about it : if I had not had that ZF service, the leaks would likely only have been discovered at the next service early next summer and I would have paid full whack for everything inc no free loan car, perhaps 1,000 Euros in all. So I figure the ZF service almost paid for itself...

BUT.... after its 4 days in the workshop (to fix two small leaks !?), my engine is clearly MUCH quieter and running even better... so I'm wondering if more went on during its visit to BMW than I know...

WTF !?

[mattyrallye]

Ok, just reading this I have a 62 plate 2.0 diesel e91. She is on 42k. Is this something i should call my dealer about?

[richk84]

Originally Posted by mattyrallye

Ok, just reading this I have a 62 plate 2.0 diesel e91. She is on 42k. Is this something i should call my dealer about?

You will have the later N47 with the revised parts so no need to call.

[mattyrallye]

Nice thanks for the quick response.

[Tanith]

Hi all, was wondering if anyone could offer advise. I recently had my upper timing chain replaced under Quality enhancement, my issue is only the top chain was replaced. The BMW garage then informed me engine was still noisy and I would probably need bottom chain guides replaced. They told me BMW would not cover the cost, and it was a big job, as the mechanics would need to remove the engine. They asked me if I would like a quote of costs, and I said I needed to speak to my husband. They also said my gasket cover was cracked and needed replacing giving me a quote of £260. As I had read the Q.E PDF, I believed BMW covered cost of bottom chain and so emailed them. They contacted garage, who said both chains had been checked and bottom chain was fine. BMW informed me of this, and asked for proof of quote, they also told me garage was referring to other problems ( I presume gasket cover). I have emailed them my invoice, which quotes " noise only reduced, bottom chain guides probably need replacing" and am waiting to hear back. When I booked car into independent BMW specialist for gasket cover, he informed me, as cover needs to be removed for chain change, it was probably damaged by mechanics. As oil smell only developed after work on timing chain, I am in agreement, but am unsure as to what I can do. The noise in engine is getting progressively worse!

[richk84]

Did BMW inform you about the work required work on the bottom chain only after they had completed the work on the top chain? Surely if there was an problem or potential issue it should have been raised while they working on the car.