Does the SULEV emissions warranty cover coils?

alexwhittemore · 03-20-2018, 11:01 AM

A few months ago, a VCG leak caused a secondary air system fault code, and BMW fixed it under the 15yr/150k SULEV warranty (California car). This morning, I started the car up to find a misfire on cylinder 4. Best guess, given its persistence and the car's age (113k) is that I need to replace the ignition coil. But I'm also getting a secondary air code again. I'd assume it's a direct result of the misfire, given that secondary air operation seems to be determined entirely by O2 sensors - but what do you think my chances are of getting it covered under warranty?

EDIT: Could have searched better on this one, looks like the answer is a very likely yes: http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1324089

glee · 01-18-2019, 11:08 AM

Hi, the emission coils and spark plugs are covered under SULEV 150k 15 year warranty. I had all 6 coils and spark plugs changed under this warranty in April 2018.

alexwhittemore · 01-18-2019, 01:56 PM

Thanks! I should have followed up with this thread but I totally forgot about it. I did eventually have my coil replaced under SULEV.

The caveat is, they'll do the BEAR MINIMUM to fix whatever code you come in with (which makes sense). That means two things:

1) no code no fix. If you get a misfire and throw a code every time you merge onto the highway, that doesn't matter unless the misfire is persistent enough that you can bring the car in, turn it over, and show them right there. Stored codes don't matter, your CEL has to be ON, RIGHT NOW.

2) If you're a DIY type at all, it's probably not worth the time to bring it in for a coil. My first time didn't go that quickly, but I recently had another misfire. It wasn't persistent, but it was pretty clearly a failing coil, at least enough where I didn't want to get all the way under the engine cover more than once to diagnose and fix it. The coil was $25 on amazon delivered next day, and I timed myself at 15m to replace it.

If somehow you had all your coils go bad all at once, it'd probably be worth getting them covered under warranty. But for 15m and $25 a pop, I'm just going to keep doing them one at a time when they go, and keep one spare on hand.

03-20-2018, 11:01 AM	#1
alexwhittemore Lieutenant Colonel 110 Rep 1,951 Posts Drives: 2009 Crimson 328i Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Los Angeles iTrader: (0)	Does the SULEV emissions warranty cover coils? A few months ago, a VCG leak caused a secondary air system fault code, and BMW fixed it under the 15yr/150k SULEV warranty (California car). This morning, I started the car up to find a misfire on cylinder 4. Best guess, given its persistence and the car's age (113k) is that I need to replace the ignition coil. But I'm also getting a secondary air code again. I'd assume it's a direct result of the misfire, given that secondary air operation seems to be determined entirely by O2 sensors - but what do you think my chances are of getting it covered under warranty? EDIT: Could have searched better on this one, looks like the answer is a very likely yes: http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1324089 __________________ Last edited by alexwhittemore; 03-20-2018 at 11:09 AM..
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01-18-2019, 11:08 AM	#2
glee Registered 0 Rep 1 Posts Drives: 2008 BMW 3 Series (E92) Join Date: Jan 2019 Location: Los Angeles iTrader: (0)	Emission coils Hi, the emission coils and spark plugs are covered under SULEV 150k 15 year warranty. I had all 6 coils and spark plugs changed under this warranty in April 2018.
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01-18-2019, 01:56 PM	#3
alexwhittemore Lieutenant Colonel 110 Rep 1,951 Posts Drives: 2009 Crimson 328i Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Los Angeles iTrader: (0)	Thanks! I should have followed up with this thread but I totally forgot about it. I did eventually have my coil replaced under SULEV. The caveat is, they'll do the BEAR MINIMUM to fix whatever code you come in with (which makes sense). That means two things: 1) no code no fix. If you get a misfire and throw a code every time you merge onto the highway, that doesn't matter unless the misfire is persistent enough that you can bring the car in, turn it over, and show them right there. Stored codes don't matter, your CEL has to be ON, RIGHT NOW. 2) If you're a DIY type at all, it's probably not worth the time to bring it in for a coil. My first time didn't go that quickly, but I recently had another misfire. It wasn't persistent, but it was pretty clearly a failing coil, at least enough where I didn't want to get all the way under the engine cover more than once to diagnose and fix it. The coil was $25 on amazon delivered next day, and I timed myself at 15m to replace it. If somehow you had all your coils go bad all at once, it'd probably be worth getting them covered under warranty. But for 15m and $25 a pop, I'm just going to keep doing them one at a time when they go, and keep one spare on hand. __________________
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