[Bufalo]

Emailed the service manager at my dealership yesterday regarding both the blower wiring and the PCV heater. She said they're getting parts in slowly, and scheduled me to have both recall fixes performed on 7/3.

[cdgatti]

Makes you want to buy a Honda doesn't it. At least it is an E90, could you imagine all that sheister German shop over charges and all you get is an F30!!! A car that Honda's already beat in driving dynamics.

[Bimmer_Engineer]

So I called today and they scheduled me for 6/26. This dealership hasn’t ever seen my car before and they said that they’d need to “inspect” it before they did the recall repair...I suppose this is code for “try and bend you over and empty your wallet”?

[Welcome to NBA Jam]

Originally Posted by Bimmer_Engineer

So I called today and they scheduled me for 6/26. This dealership hasn’t ever seen my car before and they said that they’d need to “inspect” it before they did the recall repair...I suppose this is code for “try and bend you over and empty your wallet”?

Well yeah, they're a business whose job is to tell you what's wrong with your car, then provide you a quote for the repairs that you can optionally accept. They'd be stupid not to do that.

I like knowing what's wrong with my car, so I know what to inspect or replace on my own time.

[B0ysiE90]

Hey guys i reached out to my local Bmw service center in nj (park ave) and they replied:

We now have parts for the PCV valve recall and we have the parts for some of the blower motor wiring cars. It depends if your car has the long or short harness. We will have to inspect the car to see which one it has. You can call the main number and set up an appointment and we will gladly take care of the one and see if we have the other one.

I was able to schedule 2 weeks from now.

Other than the recall; I also got white smoke coming out from the engine. I think the the manifold from leaking oil. On top of the i just got a fuel pump warning come up. Car would stop running and have to wait to cool down 25 min then it can re start.

[SSW]

Took my 335i in to replace the Takata air bag last Moday. I never took this car into this dealer (the one closest to me) but the prior owner of the car did. The replacement was done very quickly and the whole thing was a surprisingly pleasant experience.

They told me that I need to bring it in for the wiring recall as well. Told them I'd wait on that but they checked and told me that they have the 3 possible wiring connectors needed to do that job. So, no need to wait for parts when I bring it in again which will probably be in a couple of months after I get some other work done on the car.

[TitaniumN52]

New member here, bought my '11 two weeks ago and made an appointment to take mine in tomorrow for this and a PCV recall. We'll see how it goes. I'm interested to see if/what they find that they claim needs work.

[sy2767]

I received a letter from BMW Canada about 2 months ago asking me to make an appointment to get the air bag recall done. I was away for 6 weeks and don't drive the car often so I was in no hurry to do it. When I returned from my trip 2 weeks ago I called to make the appointment and they mentioned that they also had a blower motor recall to do at the same time, I dropped the car off and about 3 hours later it was done, no drama and no "recommended" fixes, I usually tell them not to wash my car but I forgot and it was spotless with no scratches!!! This is VERY uncommon for them but it was a nice change.

[Mashman]

Originally Posted by Welcome to NBA Jam

To get to that piece of rubber, you need to remove your intake manifold, refill the coolant, and re-bleed it, among other things.

That is incorrect. While the official BMW procedure calls for removing the intake, it's really is not necessary (and I image the techs know it also). They do enough of these, I image they can knock them out in about 45 minutes.

Here is a pretty good video, that shows how to replace the gasket, without removing anything other than the air box.

[u2b]https://youtu.be/uI8LR2twJck[/u2b]

[CTinline-six]

Originally Posted by cdgatti

Makes you want to buy a Honda doesn't it. At least it is an E90, could you imagine all that sheister German shop over charges and all you get is an F30!!! A car that Honda's already beat in driving dynamics.

No way.

I'll admit Honda handled the airbag recalls much better than BMW could even dream of doing, but their shitty customer service and arrogant "our cars sell themselves" dealerships are ridiculous. My parents have been driving Hondas for over 20 years and after their last dealer experience they said it will be their last.

[TitaniumN52]

My experiance went well yesterday. They did their "inspection" then replaced the wiring and PCV hose as well. Had the car for about 6 hours, and I got to drive a brand new X3 M model in the mean time. Their courtesy inspection only found the valve cover gasket needing replaced, which I already new. Wanted just over 1 grand to change. lol

[e90yyc]

Originally Posted by Welcome to NBA Jam

Well yeah, they're a business whose job is to tell you what's wrong with your car, then provide you a quote for the repairs that you can optionally accept. They'd be stupid not to do that.

I like knowing what's wrong with my car, so I know what to inspect or replace on my own time.

Precisely. Because you know what happens when they don’t?

The client comes back and loses their mind when something fails or goes wrong, saying “the dealership should have noticed issue x or issue y and told me about it.”

Not surprisingly, these are also the same people who get pissed off when someone gives them an honest assessment of what’s wrong with their car...


Not all dealerships are shady and staffed with criminals.

Trust me, they would love to schedule your cars in and get the recalls completed... if they had the parts. It’s often BMW National who is f*cking us in these situations.

[ewicky]

Is anyone able to confirm here if BMW fixes the cause of the blower motor wiring issue or just replacing the connector?

It should be obvious to anyone inspecting the wiring that the reason it can catch fire and had to be recalled is because water ingress down the cabin air intake leaks out the bottom of the blower on onto the wires and power connector, causing corrosion and poor contact.

I've noticed water ingress there and have cleaned the green (copper) corrosion and burnt insulation off my blower wiring before the recall even came out.

I'd be nice if BMW was actually replacing leaky blowers...

[fazman]

Originally Posted by Ozzie335i

So I take my ride to the stealer for the blower motor connector recall as they finally have the part in stock. It was covered and replaced under the recall. While the car was there I got a call and am informed of several developments, oh my:

A) Battery is weak. 500 to replace.
B) Starter is going out. 1300 to replace.
C) Oil filter housing gasket is leaking. 1500 dollars to replace.

Yipes! When the guy first called me he mentioned a noise coming from the transmission. That it was the throw out bearing. He put me on speakerphone as he had his tech there to explain things. I told them that I have a single mass flywheel as my car is high hp. After a brief chat with his tech, he said that he understood. I didn't list that above as the replacement price was not listed on my bill. And now the rest. The OFG was changed out last year, as was the battery. He had said that there was a code for the battery. Hmm, funny how I don't see it on my MHD when I last connected. Two other glaring things is that when they connected to see codes they should have seen my tune and known that I had some knowledge. The Service Indication on the dash that says that I am due to change the brake fluid was not mentioned. Did they really connect to the car?

A thing of note was that they have a 1000 dollar dealer rebate going on. I could have subsidised several with this one visit. Or do they jack up the repair bill in order to scare people into another car? Regardless, even if these things were needed, the prices are way out of line. A 150 dollar battery takes 30 minutes tops to change out. I paid less to have Pure 2 installed at my fave shop. The OFHG maybe 2.5 hours. 1300 for a starter? Assuming it is like 200 bucks, that would be 7 + hours to do. Sheesh, these guys must bill 20 + hours in an 8 hour day. I said my piece, and feel better now.

OFHG and starter are all part of the same labor. They are double dipping in labor costs/quote. To do the OFHG they have to remove the manifold (at least loosen it and shift it over a little)... but at that point might as well just remove it and pop off two bolts for the starter and put in a new one.

A new battery is an unrelated job and can be done separately (At minimum, I would wait till you get a high discharge yellow warning before considering the battery replacement... even then you can probably get by another 1/2 year before the battery actually fails).

I would just kindly tell them, you like to DIY and get the replacement BMW parts from FCPEuro with lifetime warranty on anything they sell

[Mashman]

I just took my car in, because it developed a strange noise. I thought it might be because of a failed PCV, so I took it in to have the recalls done.

I had all three open recalls done. I had previously replaced the blower connector, so I am curious to see what they did.

Besides the recalls, they told me the noise was coming from the AC compressor pulley, and my oil filter housing gasket was leaking.

They told me $2880 to replace the AC compressor, and $600 for the oil housing gasket.

Once I told them I wasn't interested in them doing the work. they said the pulley was shot, the car wasn't derivable, and I needed to have it towed. I showed up, asked for my keys, and service manager walked out with me to show me the car wasn't derivable, and I suppose, to have me tell him to do the work. He was pretty amazed when I pulled out of my gym bag a breaker bar with a T60, and a drive belt (435K6), and replaced the belt with my new one, which was shorter and bypassed the AC compressor. In about 2 minutes I was driving out of the dealership.

I don't have a problem with dealerships diagnostics, I just use them to find out what I need to do.

The $2880 to replace the AC compressor, for a failed pulley, was not an option for me. I purchased a replacement pulley with the hub, off Ebay for $120. I've already removed the old pulley/hub, and the new one is showing up today. It was a bit of a job, mostly because to have enough room, you need to remove the fan. And the only thing that makes that difficult is that since I have auto transmission, I needed to get underneath to remove a screw that connects the transmission cooler to the fan. So, really the hardest part of that job was putting the car on jackstands, and removing the engine shielding.

I didn't think that my oil housing was leaking, but after they said it was, I took another look. It was leaking from the bottom, not bad, and not going towards the belt, but I figured I'd go ahead and replace it while I'm waiting for the AC pulley.

I replaced the oil filter housing gasket yesterday. It was very simple, and only took about 20 minutes (I already had the air box pulled). The main thing is that in order to replace it simply, you need 1) 1/4 E10 socket, 2) E10 ratcheting wrench, 3) 1/4 universal joint 4) 6" of 1/4 extensions. I needed the socket, and wrench, and got them off amazon, next day delivery, with the gasket, for $45.

So, instead of the $3,300 the dealership wanted, I'm into the repairs for less than $200, and about 3 hours of sweat equity.

[TomD335xicoupe]

I went to Morristown BMW (NJ) had the air bag and blower motor done $00.00 no issues or hassles, had a nice loaner for the day, all good.

[autoart]

I called my dealer( BMW of Monrovia) asking about the blower motor recall. To my shock they said when can you bring it in. I was kinda shocked, but made a appointment for the next day.
They just did it. Had the car for 6hrs. When I dropped off the car my adviser said if its the short cable , it will take 2hrs if its the long cable 4hrs.
I asked about a loaner, they said no because it will only take 2hrs(or so they thought).
They replaced part # 64-11-9-483-928 blower regulator about $48 and 61-11-8-716-083 replacement cable heater about $11.38
No other problems found or noted. Got a free car wash and vacuum. $0 out of pocket. Went well, very uneventful.

[SirHoward]

I'm taking mine in today at 8 am (7/28) for all 3 recalls.

[Mashman]

Originally Posted by ewicky

Is anyone able to confirm here if BMW fixes the cause of the blower motor wiring issue or just replacing the connector?

It should be obvious to anyone inspecting the wiring that the reason it can catch fire and had to be recalled is because water ingress down the cabin air intake leaks out the bottom of the blower on onto the wires and power connector, causing corrosion and poor contact.

I've noticed water ingress there and have cleaned the green (copper) corrosion and burnt insulation off my blower wiring before the recall even came out.

I'd be nice if BMW was actually replacing leaky blowers...

I just went out and looked, and they replaced the wiring, and installed a new type of connector - it looks to be a waterproof connection. So, they definitely did not just splice on a new connector.

I took a picture of it, and will post it later - I’m on my phone now.

[mecheng77]

Originally Posted by Mashman

I just took my car in, because it developed a strange noise. I thought it might be because of a failed PCV, so I took it in to have the recalls done.

I had all three open recalls done. I had previously replaced the blower connector, so I am curious to see what they did.

Besides the recalls, they told me the noise was coming from the AC compressor pulley, and my oil filter housing gasket was leaking.

They told me $2880 to replace the AC compressor, and $600 for the oil housing gasket.

Once I told them I wasn't interested in them doing the work. they said the pulley was shot, the car wasn't derivable, and I needed to have it towed. I showed up, asked for my keys, and service manager walked out with me to show me the car wasn't derivable, and I suppose, to have me tell him to do the work. He was pretty amazed when I pulled out of my gym bag a breaker bar with a T60, and a drive belt (435K6), and replaced the belt with my new one, which was shorter and bypassed the AC compressor. In about 2 minutes I was driving out of the dealership.

I don't have a problem with dealerships diagnostics, I just use them to find out what I need to do.

The $2880 to replace the AC compressor, for a failed pulley, was not an option for me. I purchased a replacement pulley with the hub, off Ebay for $120. I've already removed the old pulley/hub, and the new one is showing up today. It was a bit of a job, mostly because to have enough room, you need to remove the fan. And the only thing that makes that difficult is that since I have auto transmission, I needed to get underneath to remove a screw that connects the transmission cooler to the fan. So, really the hardest part of that job was putting the car on jackstands, and removing the engine shielding.

I didn't think that my oil housing was leaking, but after they said it was, I took another look. It was leaking from the bottom, not bad, and not going towards the belt, but I figured I'd go ahead and replace it while I'm waiting for the AC pulley.

I replaced the oil filter housing gasket yesterday. It was very simple, and only took about 20 minutes (I already had the air box pulled). The main thing is that in order to replace it simply, you need 1) 1/4 E10 socket, 2) E10 ratcheting wrench, 3) 1/4 universal joint 4) 6" of 1/4 extensions. I needed the socket, and wrench, and got them off amazon, next day delivery, with the gasket, for $45.

So, instead of the $3,300 the dealership wanted, I'm into the repairs for less than $200, and about 3 hours of sweat equity.

What fails on the a/c pulley? Do you remove with a pulley remover?

[Mashman]

Originally Posted by mecheng77

What fails on the a/c pulley? Do you remove with a pulley remover?

The bearing goes out. If the pully and the hub are in good shape, you can use a press to change out the bearing in the pulley. My pulley was shot, so i used a kit from ebay that included a new pulley and hub.

The pulley is not pressed on, its held on by a spring clip. If the pulley is still in good shape, you should be able to remove it, once the spring clip is removed. My pulley was toast, the only thing left on was the inner race, i used a dremel to cut it off. I wouldnt use a puller, the center is not a bolt, its the compressor shaft. Just rock it off, or paitently pry it off.

[Mashman]

Here is a picture of the new connector, and the label on the new connector. The wiring is not spliced, and definitely longer that the original one - so I believe they ran the new wiring to the fuse box, replacing the original wiring.