Quote:
Originally Posted by Lotus7
Since this is clearly a safety related issue, I've already filed a DOT and NHTSA formal complaint. Have a case number and they are checking for other similar complaints.
I'm hoping to get far enough into the BMW system to be noticed by someone who knows enough to diagnose and fix the problem.
The last message from BMWNA customer service (5-days after my initial phone call) was that they were still investigating the complaint.
This error message is a general failure warning, and I suspect that it can be triggered by several different sources. It may very well be a internal transfer case component as was juddhollands car and several others, it could be something like the throttle position sensor as in KingKong's case (although we don't share the "parking brake triggering" so conditions are different), or it may be an intermittent wheel speed sensor or possible just electrical noise getting into the CPU. I don't know and obviously am in no position to dictate to BMW how to fix the car. However, if they do come up with what sounds like a reasonable fix, I won't bring the car back to my original dealer because they have blatantly lied to me and went ahead with the wheel/tire change (which, of course, did nothing) after I clearly told them twice that they did not have my permission to do that under any conditions. The car is, after all, my property. The dealer received full payment on delivery. It’s not theirs to do with whatever they please.
What I won't tolerate again is them taking (11) days to put in less then (1) hour, total on the car and then proposing to do something that is technically unreasonable and just another time-wasting "shot in the dark". It’s insulting to my intelligence, and totally unacceptable.
I simply want them to assign someone to the car who knows the systems, and actually follows a logical path to finding the true cause of the problem. So far all they’ve done is to clearly demonstrate their incompetence, and waste my, and their own time. I don’t care if they spend another (2) weeks on the problem as long as they’re actually working on the car, not waiting for (48) hour turn around emails that then don’t provide any useful guidance.
My issue is not that the car has a component or software failure. I half-expected to have some issues appear with a brand new model and have gone through similar situations with other "new" models in the past. My issue is strictly with the way BMWNA is handling this.
BMWNA's apparent policy, as far as I can tell, is to absolutely NOT allow the dealer's service department to communicate with any other dealerships who have already repaired similar problems, or to let the service technicians actually speak with engineering level corporate people. Instead, they are made to wait days for email step by step instructions in a one-way, strictly "top-down" process that reminds one of the way the US military worked during the Civil War. It’s really rather sad, especially for the front line service guys/gals.
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Kudos. I'm no shrink, but this is the most definitive explanation about your anger you have written. I'm glad you took the time to write it. I hope that BMW reads these forums for their own sake.