[dmytro98]

2013 128i california
Had a misfire on cylinder 5. Brought the car to the dealer and they wouldn't confirm whether it would be covered until I got it inspected which would cost like $350, but would be reimbursed if it was covered. I decided to take the chance since I was 90 percent sure it was covered. It was. They ended up replacing all 6 coils and plugs, and changed the valve cover gasket, and gave me a loaner for a couple of days for a total cost of $0.

[MaconPaul]

Has anyone in this group had success with VANOS being covered?
Is VANOS different than valvetronic? Pretty sure it is.
Specifically they say the the camshaft gear that is part of VANOS but not the simple solenoid on the front of the engine held on by one bolt.

[MaconPaul]

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner in Georgia!
Remember it is imperative if you have SULEV that they input a state covered by SULEV. My car was originally titled in New York. If the dealer warranty clerk puts in your current state and it is not one of the magic states you don't have coverage.
I am getting $3000 dollars of camshaft gear work done because this is part of the VANOS.
They are fighting me on the coil packs (it has a misfire code too) for now. When they get the car all back together if it has a check engine light and they still don't want to cover them I will get a $20 emissions test. That will trigger the "performance" part of the warranty. Remember the warranty had 2 parts. A named part list and a "performance" part that says they will do whatever necessary to pass an emissions test. I'll cross that bridge next week if need be.

[Boanes]

State: California
My car: 2013 328i n26
Issues: Turbo and leaking valve cover gasket
Results: New turbo assembly and valve cover gasket installed for $0 out of pocket

But wait.... there's more!

Fiancés car: 2010 328i n51 with m sport package
Issues: Leaking radiator, hoses, and themostat
Results: new radiator, hoses, and thermostat installed for $0 out of pocket

Just relocated to Massachusetts and looking to getting these puppies registered out here to keep the SULEV coverage in full effect! All in all SULEV has saved about $5000 in parts and labor with both cars.

[thesalboy]

Originally Posted by MaconPaul

Remember the warranty had 2 parts. A named part list and a "performance" part that says they will do whatever necessary to pass an emissions test.

I brought in my failed smog showing P0492. They replaced the valve that mounts to the head. $0. Car has since passed smog and no code has returned.

[lowrydr310]

Originally Posted by thesalboy

I brought in my failed smog showing P0492. They replaced the valve that mounts to the head. $0. Car has since passed smog and no code has returned.

This is promising. I'm helping a friend diagnose a P0491 (similar error - bank 1 vs bank 2) and I told him to take it to the dealer.

[Boston4]

a) issue diagnosed: CEL for 2C3D pre-cat O2 sensor
b) total cost of repair: $0 - sensor replaced.
c) if SULEV covered initially or you had to be reimbursed: Covered without issue
d) if your dealer gave you a hard time: Nope
e) if BMW NA had to be involved: Nope

[3002 tii]

Glad to see this thread is going strong

[Pre-LCI-E90]

I think I saw some posts of people wondering if they can take in their car even if they have no issues, so I'm posting my (disappointing) experience at BMW of Fremont, CA. They told me SULEV warranty would only cover things that show up on a check engine light or if I fail emissions. Diagnostics or preemptive repairs are not covered.

a) issue diagnosed - n/a
b) total cost of repair - n/a
c) if SULEV covered initially or you had to be reimbursed - n/a
d) if your dealer gave you a hard time - yes
e) if BMW NA had to be involved - n/a

Good luck to all my fellow N51 owners!

[bimmerbob91]

First, and foremost, thank you to OP for creating this amazing thread! I had to give back to this awesome community because you guys convinced me to take my car to the dealership and take a gamble on the warranty.

Here's my experience:

My car started emitting white smoke out of the blue one day. Luckily, the engine never overheated as I drove only a few miles away from home. I checked under the hood to find the upper radiator hose was completely busted. I tried to make the change myself, and I ended up breaking the "nipple" to the adjacent radiator hose.

Frustrated, I gave up and called my mechanic. Thank goodness he never picked up or returned my call because I would have easily spent a good chunk of $$$$$ with him. After finding this thread, I'm pissed off at my mechanic because he never mentioned the SULEV warranty to me (no surprise there huh?) and previously charged me for oil pan gasket repairs.

Anyway, I found this thread and figured... fuck it, I'll take a gamble at the dreaded dealership. Got my car towed to Pacific BMW of Glendale. Stupid tow truck driver was trying to guilt me to not go to the dealership, even though I explained the SULEV warranty angle.

Met with my service advisor that said it would be $230 for a vehicle diagnostic check. But, if anything was replaced through SULEV warranty, then I would not have to pay for the diagnostic check.

a) issue diagnosed:
Coolant leak, cracked radiator, and oil leak from valve cover gasket. Radiator hoses needed to be replaced.

b) total cost of repair:

$300-ish only for the radiator hose replacement and labor. They replaced the radiator, B1SA-control sleeve, antifreeze, and replaced valve cover gasket.

c) if SULEV covered initially or you had to be reimbursed
SULEV completely covered everything except the 2 radiator hoses that I personally tried to replace.

d) if your dealer gave you a hard time

My service advisor said SULEV didn't cover the hose replacement right off the bat (I never mentioned that I tried fixing it myself). Otherwise, I was pleasantly surprised with my dealership experience. I didn't even mention the oil leak to the service advisor, but they checked it out and fixed it anyway.

e) if BMW NA had to be involved
Nope!

All in all, thank you all for your contributions to this thread. I saved A ton of money thanks to the SULEV warranty, while also realizing my mechanic is not as trustworthy as I initially thought.

I hope my experience helps someone else in the future!

Stay sexy, fellow Bimmer Bros and Sistas.

[Boston4]

I’m heading in next week for two troubling and potentially very expensive emissions codes: 29F4 and 29F5 - car runs great and no other symptoms or pending/stored codes. Codes are for Catalyst Conversion performance on both banks - I haven’t seen many posts about these so seems like an uncommon problem but we’ll see what they say when I bring it in. These codes had been pending for about a year but never triggered a CEL until last week.

[roblese90]

Had 2 sulev repairs done at BMW of Riverside. First was a misfire issue and they replaced all 6 ignition coils. Second issue was a leaking valve cover. They replaced the ENTIRE valve cover! I was very surprised they didn’t just replace the gasket. So far 10/10 for this dealer taking care of sulev claims

[Boston4]

29F4 and 29F5 covered without issue by the dealer - cats replaced for free @ 90,000 miles.

[Boanes]

Hey all, posting another success story on this thread! On my previous post dated 10/11/21 I mentioned how I had work done in California under SULEV and then relocated to Massachusetts. I have learned new things about this warranty since then!

As mentioned by other members here, the model year can play a huge role in the coverage where as model years 2010 and prior the warranty information specifically states the warranty counts towards cars SOLD, LEASED, AND/OR REGISTERED in (sulev states). When I look at the warranty information on my 2013 sulev 328i it only says REGISTERED in (sulev states) which brings me to my next success story. I first tried calling Peabody BMW who said the car (2010 328i) has to be registered in Massachusetts to honor the warranty. I mentioned the specific wording of the warranty, but the person I spoke to kept repeating himself and was rude/unprofessional and didn't want to help. I then contacted Tulley BMW in Nashua New Hampshire and spoke to someone there who was very helpful and said "of course we will honor this warranty as it is from the manufacturer and it is our job to honor these things" wow what a difference. NH isn't even a SULEV state and the car in question being a 2010 328i originally sold in California and still registered in California leaves me baffled as to why so many people continue getting the run around. Here's some info on what was covered.

Vehicle: 2010 BMW 328i with m sport package (N51) with 83k miles
Issues: Fault code 2AA9 related to the big disa valve, as well as a smell of fuel when starting the car.
Results: Took the vehicle to the dealer and waited about 2 hours while it was diagnosed. The service advisor then comes and says "I have great news for you. Your disa valve will be replaced under warranty as well as the valve cover" and wow just wow I was in shock. They are going to keep the car overnight and see if they can figure out what is causing a grinding noise and squeak I hear sometimes during cold starts and cold weather or as they suspect it's "something internal" possibly starter? Anyways I will update when I get the car. I just want to remind people to not give up with these things. Call other dealerships, ask around, mention the warranty paperwork. SULEV is literally saving me thousands.

[RRodgers167]

Hello, I might be pulling at straws here but this would really save my behind. I have a 2011 E92 328xi with the n51 engine and I'm getting codes for bank 1 running lean (too little fuel), and since I replaced my o2 sensor for bank 1 just 2 months ago, I'm suspecting I have a failing fuel injector. Has anybody had success with getting this covered under the sulev warranty? I know the fuel injectors in these vehicles aren't the exact same as a normal n52 engine based on my findings when looking into buying new ones, which leads me to belive I might be able to get this done for free. Any help at all would be appreciated!!

[HungryMittens]

I'm in NC. Per the Carfax my 2011 was originally sold in Pennsylvania. I used to live there. I still have an old PA plate from another car -- can I just put the plate on and take it to the dealer using a PA address, and have warranty work performed in my current non-warranty state?

[Frack]

trully miss my sulev e92, if you didnt know bmw slashed sulev warranty in half and my PZEV f22 has former sulev components covered for 75K yghhhh

[e90lorkp]

2011 328i. Fuel pump failed at 115k. Codes 6292 and 6293.

[RaFFI ///M3]

Having issues with my car randomly stalling. Usually happens on my freeway commute to work. Have had my car stranded on the freeway 3 times in the matter of like 2 days. Took the car in to the dealer, mentioned SULEV warranty, they changed out my fuel pump. Same problem happened on the freeway less than 24 hours after it was replaced. My car had some existing codes that they didn't take care of while it was in for service. All of which are supposed to be covered under the warranty such as P140a which pertains to the secondary air injection system, and another code which points to bank 2 o2 sensor. All they did was clear the codes, which obviously came back as the problems weren't fixed.

[gearhead26]

Had 2 misfires in cylinder 1 and cylinder 5. CE light was on. Towed car into East Bay BMW

SA said diag fee would be $250 if not covered under SULEV. Waived if SULEV would cover it. Tech pulled codes and showed the misfires. All 6 coil packs were replaced under SULEV for free. No loaner vehicle provided though for SULEV warranty, which I think is BS. East Bay said they only give loaners for the original 4 yr/50k warranty work. 52k miles on the vehicle. No issues with the dealership and SULEV - they knew what it was.

[MadJoe]

Massachusetts registered car, but was repaired by a Rhode Island dealership. Valve cover gasket replacement was fully covered by SULEV warranty. They did offer me a loaner, but it would have been an extra weeks wait to get it done so I opted for just getting it in earlier without a loaner. Overall I had a pleasant experience.

The SA did seem a bit surprised that I knew about the warranty, though, and hedged by saying they'd have to charge me if it wasn't covered. Then when they returned the car he said they didn't see any leaks but there was a significant vacuum leak so they covered it (I had told him the leaks were in the coil pack wells - I had even told him exactly which ones; cylinders 4 and 5 iirc). Not sure how they missed it when they removed the coil packs to remove the valve cover, but I'm not worried about it either since it got done and was free to me.

2011 E93 90,000 miles.

Too bad I didn't know about the warranty earlier because I had just replaced the coil packs the week before (which was how I found the leak) due to 2 misfiring cylinders. Oh well.

[Afrost92]

While googling the steps to fix my car upon discovery of a whistling in the passenger side of the engine bay with a hard vacuum almost not possible to open the oil cap and a rough idle with stalling along with generic codes of p0335 p0171 I discovered this warranty. I figured the whistle was the secondary air pump or a failed crankcase vent and the erratic idle with stalling being a faulty crankshaft position sensor. Anyways I take my car to a bmw dealer in the east of Pittsburgh and none of the service advisers had heard of this warranty so I tell them all about it and my adviser tells me to call bmwna while my car is diagnosed, I get no where with talking to bmwna, he calls me and tells me it is a faulty CCV and faulty CRANKSHAFT POSITION SENSOR neither of which is covered and sends me a list of the parts covered under california emissions warranty which was just a bunch of different exhaust pipes + catalyst. I tell him I see many people have had these parts replaced under the warranty and he says he has to go by what that list he sent is and there's no one he can talk to to get it possibly covered. We go back and forth for 6 days on the subject . I make one call to bobby rahal of canonsburg they say the crank sensor is definetly covered and they will inquire with bmwna about the full valve cover replacement(crank vent is molded into the valve cover) he calls me back the next day and says the valve cover is covered no problem, I pick my car up from the first dealer and theres dirt and mud all over the driver side with every light on the dash lit from them unhooking the battery. I drop the car off that day at rahal and only 2 days later I get my car back everything covered under warranty plus they washed it and detailed the interior and engine bay for free!

DO NOT GIVE YOUR BUSINESS TO P&W BMW OF PITTSBURGH my adviser there paul was condescending and wanted to argue who knew more of this warranty I had read about for 6 days and he had just learned of. Do not let the dealer play you on what's covered and what isn't

2484 dollars saved.