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      06-21-2012, 04:38 PM   #1
NYC_340i
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Angry Repeating problems...lemon law?

Hey guys. I have been having a constant problem on my 2011 Bmw X3. It has just been a year since we brought it and has less than 15K miles. The problem is that I get a "windshield wiper malfunction" warning all the time. After the warning, my wipers would come on at their fastest speed and stay on. There is nothing I can do to stop it.

The car has been is service 2 times within the past 2 months and I have another appointment tomorrow. Every time I go, the service tech says that they can't identify the problem and he has to keep the car. The first time I went, they replaced my steering column TWICE, as stated in the service papers. The second time I went they kept the car for a week. I was happy to get the car back a few days ago assuming that they found the problem and fixed it. I lost hope when I read the service paper and found out that they attempted to find the problem and all they did was do a voltage test. Seriously 1 week for a voltage test? Not to mention that they had no loaner car so I was car less for a week.

After the first appointment, I was convinced the problem was gone. But that same day I went shopping and came back, turned the car on, and again my wipers come on. Had to drive home with my wipers on full speed with no drop of water in sight. The 2 days later I had to drive almost 15 miles with my wipers on to my dealership. After a week without the X3, I got the car back and immediately knew that the problem will occur again. No repairs have been made. The next day I started my car at work and it happened again!

I was wondering if I could ask for a refund or replacement with the Lemon law? After tomorrows appointment it would qualify me for the New York Lemon Law. The car was in service 3 times for the same problem, and, assuming they would keep the car for another week, the car was in the shop for 30 days. What are my chances? I called my dealer and talked to the manager, he said that I should keep scheduling appointments to see service and that they could not do anything about the law. I called BmwNA and they said the same thing. They said that they could not talk about the law and if I wanted to do so, I should talk to a lawyer. He was a little rude and kept telling me I was talking to the wrong person. I hung up the phone in frustration and came straight here. So please guys help me out.

Thanks.
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      06-22-2012, 07:05 AM   #2
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Definitely sounds like a buy back candidate. Keep everything documented and be patient. Make an outline showing the date of first failure, entry and exit dates into the service department, and repeat for each additional visit. That can be handy for an at a glance failure report and will also clearly show how many days you were without. I'd also note that no loaner was offered. The process can be slow at times from what I've read over the years. I say if you don't see tangible results after this next visit lawyer up. Or at the very least tell the service manager where you should direct your legal counsel inquiries within the dealership as you would like to begin the lemon law process.

I think I'd be more pi$$ed with the fact that you were never offered a loaner BMW. That makes me mad just thinking about it.
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      06-22-2012, 08:03 AM   #3
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going forward with lemon law make sure you have all of the paper work, all of the reports and dates the car was in shop. record the incident for evidence, how often it happens. this would be make things alot easier proving dealer cannot fix your car.
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      06-22-2012, 11:00 AM   #4
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Yea, definitely this is a lemon car as well a safety hazzard for both you and your passengers.

Go to the lemon lawyer and Win!
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      06-22-2012, 11:09 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by n55x3 View Post
Definitely sounds like a buy back candidate. Keep everything documented and be patient. Make an outline showing the date of first failure, entry and exit dates into the service department, and repeat for each additional visit. That can be handy for an at a glance failure report and will also clearly show how many days you were without. I'd also note that no loaner was offered. The process can be slow at times from what I've read over the years. I say if you don't see tangible results after this next visit lawyer up. Or at the very least tell the service manager where you should direct your legal counsel inquiries within the dealership as you would like to begin the lemon law process.

I think I'd be more pi$$ed with the fact that you were never offered a loaner BMW. That makes me mad just thinking about it.
Thanks for your advice. I will try to do whatever I can with the dealership if the problem is still not resolved. I was pretty aggravated that they could not give me a loaner. It was a hard week without a car and I called the dealer and confirmed that they had a loaner available for me on my visit today.
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      06-22-2012, 11:17 AM   #6
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And thanks guys for all your advice. I will try settling this with my dealer without a lawyer but if it fails I will get a lawyer. I have talked to the manager at the dealer and a person from bmwna and all they tell me is to take the car to a service center. When I mention the law they say they can't talk about it. Also I forgot to mention some other problems that my car had that were fixed. The horn stopped working for some reason, both the front windows had problems that were fixed, the slow acceleration from a complete stop was also fixed, and I used to get a camera system malfunction warning which disappeared on its own.
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      06-22-2012, 11:43 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rajgavoury View Post
And thanks guys for all your advice. I will try settling this with my dealer without a lawyer but if it fails I will get a lawyer. I have talked to the manager at the dealer and a person from bmwna and all they tell me is to take the car to a service center. When I mention the law they say they can't talk about it. Also I forgot to mention some other problems that my car had that were fixed. The horn stopped working for some reason, both the front windows had problems that were fixed, the slow acceleration from a complete stop was also fixed, and I used to get a camera system malfunction warning which disappeared on its own.
From what you are saying, there appears to be some serious electrical/electronic issues. Certainly list the different issues to the garage, they may be connected.

BTW, have they replaced anything yet? Or is it all testing, with nothing being changed? Clearly there is something that is faulty. Random issues are the worst, so need most attention. Are BMW supporting the dealer?

HighlandPete
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      06-23-2012, 02:21 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HighlandPete View Post
From what you are saying, there appears to be some serious electrical/electronic issues. Certainly list the different issues to the garage, they may be connected.

BTW, have they replaced anything yet? Or is it all testing, with nothing being changed? Clearly there is something that is faulty. Random issues are the worst, so need most attention. Are BMW supporting the dealer?

HighlandPete
I was also thinking it could be an electrical problem. When we first came in because of the wiper malfunction, the service tech told me they found a lot more serious problems which could be a safety issue. The horn and both front windows were replaced that trip. The second time I went for the same malfunction, all they did was voltage testing, nothing else. I called BMWNA and they keep telling me to bring the car in to service. I bet they would still say that even if its my 5th+ time going for the same issue. They said they cannot say anything about the lemon law and told me to talk to my dealer's service manager. I did and he said the same thing, which is to bring the car in.
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      06-23-2012, 04:28 PM   #9
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If they are not honoring lemon, don't worry, keep going to them for repair. Either they will rectify the fault or with take back your car due to sheer frustration. Play your cards well. You should be happy if they repair the fault and aslo you should be happy if they repalce the car.
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      06-23-2012, 07:16 PM   #10
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I just feel sorry about his car, it is always being taken apart, thus those bell boys and service workers are wearing the poor guy's new leather :x especially the steering wheel
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