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BMW 5-Series Maintenance and Repair

2734 messages,  Last post on Mar 25, 2013 at 4:00 PM

You are in the BMW 5-Series Forum.

What is this discussion about? BMW 5 Series, Electrical, Engine, Sedan, Wagon

    
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Messages Page 271 of 274

#2696 of 2734 Ventilation smell by delwrang

Dec 12, 2011 (4:42 pm)

I am not a real fan of the legal climate in the US, but when a company repeatedly denies the existence of customer complaints, it is time for a class action wake up call.
A quick follow through of a web search of “ventilation odor” or other similar term produced hundreds of owners who have had smell issues with their BMW. My 3rd and likely final BMW due to this issue is a 2009 535xi. What a great car. This followed my X5 and along the way we picked up a Z4. All good. All fun. All solid.
Four months ago the 535 began to smell. As widely described on the internet, a smell when you turn the car on that passes. My fix was to turn the fan off until I drove it for 5-10 minutes, then turn the system on. Then the service department did the air freshener thing. Then they did a clean out. Well, things are a smidge better but still not tolerable. How bad is it? Please don’t judge me, but I have begun to prefer driving our Lexus 250hs over the 5-series. Sad but a glorified golf cart is winning out over a real car because of the smell.
Well, the lease is up and I took it in for one last shot at service. My service writer, who is tremendous, gave me the following word from on high, “Complaints of this nature are not caused by defects of material or workmanship, but rather by the environmental conditions in which the vehicle is operated. Consequently, there is no warranty reimbursement for labor or materials associated with the disinfection of the evaporator.” Much less replacing it, which is what is actually required to fix the issue. Bull feces, bull feces, bull feces.
Consequently I will dump old stinky on some unsuspecting soul and NEVER buy a BMW again.
My dealership has no jurisdiction to resolve this. Is there anyone out there who has contact data on the high level management people who handle BMW customer complaints? I would like to let them know why they lost a good customer.
Thanks

#2697 of 2734 '03 540i fuel gauge failure, airbag warning light by mhutchinson

Dec 12, 2011 (5:05 pm)

Within 5 days of each other, the fuel gauge suddenly dropped to empty and the airbag warning light came on, both while driving the car down the road. I have disconnected the battery twice now, after refueling, as I am using the trip meter to avoid running out of gas. Any suggestions on why these items might be failing? Could this be a fuse or computer problem? Might there be another "reset" solution?
Thanks.

#2698 of 2734 Re: Switching BMW Motor Oil to Synthetic Oil [shipo] by cenla71466

Feb 14, 2012 (6:11 pm)

Replying to: shipo (Mar 18, 2009 5:38 am)
To Shipo, How do you come to the notion AMSOIL is "snake oil" ??? The company has been around since 1972 and was the first to have a API rated fully synthetic engine oil for passenger cars ???
 
Here's two links you can check:
http://www.amsoil.com/lit/databulletins/g2808.pdf
http://www.amsoil.com/lit/databulletins/g1990.pdf
 
By the way when a product is a gimmic / snake oil product that company doesn't stay in business for over forty years and manage to become 100% debt free.
 
So next time your wanting to give free advice please have your facts correct. And if you want please visit the Federal Trade Commision web site and perform a search of cases against AMSOIL for fraud and misleading advertisment. Then check the other motor oil companies. After that judge for yourself.

#2699 of 2734 Re: BMW Oil Specifications... [shipo] by cenla71466

Feb 14, 2012 (6:36 pm)

Replying to: shipo (Jun 15, 2011 4:13 am)
Well, if a certain brand of oil is "required" by a manufacturer it has to be provided to the consumer free of charge by the manufacturer.
 
You may want to read the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act of 1975 before giving out advice.

#2700 of 2734 Re: Switching BMW Motor Oil to Synthetic Oil [cenla71466] by Mr_Shiftright HOST

Feb 14, 2012 (7:48 pm)

Replying to: cenla71466 (Feb 14, 2012 6:11 pm)
Please don't post any hot links about AMSOIL if you sell it--this is regarded as soliciting and posts can be removed by your host.
 
If you aren't a dealer, we have specific topics on oil such as SYNTHETIC MOTOR OIL and I'd invite you on behalf of your host, to talk about comparative qualities of oil in one of those topics.
 
here's another topic you might enjoy: FUEL AND OIL ADDITIVES
 
Let's keep this topic on target for BMW 5 Series Maintenance and Repair

#2701 of 2734 Re: Switching BMW Motor Oil to Synthetic Oil [cenla71466] by busiris

Feb 15, 2012 (11:29 am)

Replying to: cenla71466 (Feb 14, 2012 6:11 pm)
Just my opinion, but you do know you responded to a 3 year old posting, don't you?
 
I can't say, but was the oil shown in the PDF your post displayed available (with the same specs as in the PDF) in March 2009?
 
A lot can change in 3 years.
 
And, it's certainly not beyond the imagination to think that independent shops would recommend a product that is contrary to the manufacturer's recommendations...
 
Just sayin'...

#2703 of 2734 Re: Switching BMW Motor Oil to Synthetic Oil [busiris] by james27

Feb 15, 2012 (4:08 pm)

Replying to: busiris (Feb 15, 2012 11:29 am)
BMW's stand (as I understand it) is that for best, long-term performance, knowing their specific metalurgy, they want you to use oils that have passed the LL-01 testing procedure (the M-series uses a different testing and certification). As far as I know, Amsoil does not have an oil that has submitted to or passed that test certification. that doesn't mean it may not be a good oil, but that it has not elected to try to pass that test. So, the user is in a quandry - use an oil they know is acceptable to the manufacturer (there are probably at least 5 or so available that I've found), or something else, they aren't sure about. At least during the warranty period, the oil changes are free, so that decision is put off for at least a few years.

#2704 of 2734 Re: Switching BMW Motor Oil to Synthetic Oil [james27] by busiris

Feb 15, 2012 (9:33 pm)

Replying to: james27 (Feb 15, 2012 4:08 pm)
I remember looking this up a year or so ago, and at the time, could only find 2 oils officially meeting BMW's recommendations that were available in the US.
 
One was Mobil 0W40, and the other was Castrol... At least, that's how I remember it.
 
Since I can buy BMW oil cheaper at my local dealer using my BMWCCA discount than I can buy Mobil 1 at Walmart, I didn't dig any deeper.
 
Here is what BMW currently states:
 
http://www.bmwusa.com/Standard/Content/Owner/SyntheticEngineOils.aspx
 
I don't believe either of the oils listed in the poster's PDF links are BMW LL-01, but are LL-04...

#2705 of 2734 Re: Switching BMW Motor Oil to Synthetic Oil [busiris] by james27

Feb 15, 2012 (10:54 pm)

Replying to: busiris (Feb 15, 2012 9:33 pm)
BMW, if I remember correctly, has three different specs for their engines: Non-M's, M's, and diesels. There may also be a difference between what they spec for Europe verses the USA.

Messages Page 271 of 274

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