[transcendid]

Hi all,

Recently added a 2018 X3 to my BMW Family (also own a 2016 340i) and a couple of months into ownership had 2 problems. 1. the Comfort Access stopped working and 2. the active kidney grilles were stuck in the open position. Took the car in about a month ago and they "found a short" in the Comfort Access system, which they fixed. But when they went to troubleshoot the active kidney grille issue, the diagnostics triggered the Check Engine light and indicated the entire Active Grille Assembly needs to be replaced. They tell me they've ordered the part, but it needs to ship directly from Germany and is showing a status of "backordered, not available" for the past month. They also do not want to give the car back to me because the Check Engine light is on, and it could mask other issues that can occur while I have the car. They tell me they have several other X3's that are in the same boat and BMW is not providing any information about what is possibly going wrong.

So... looking for some sage advice from this group... Has anyone experienced a similar issue and gotten a fix? I'd like to get my car back while they wait on this part OR get some kind of reimbursement if they NEED to hang on to it.

Thanks in advance!

[MoeLuvsMoney]

No loaner?

[transcendid]

Have a loaner... just nowhere near as nice as the wife's X3. First world problems, to be sure, but hey, we want the car we paid for back.

[MechX3M40i]

maybe it's just me, but I would recommend patience and let them do whatever is necessary to bring the car back to 100%. I would not want to drive around in a car that's not considered totally safe.

Take and enjoy some long road trip in the loaner at BMWs expense...

[MoeLuvsMoney]

Originally Posted by transcendid

we want the car we paid for back.

Fair! Was worried you were walking. Maryland is 30-day lemon law but think you need to write a letter to corporate for that clock to start (not a lawyer):

http://www.marylandattorneygeneral.g...CPD/lemon.aspx

[Neo1130]

Start the Lemon process. Even if they fix it you can still continue with the process or at least have them get the ball rolling on fixing it. The last thing they want to do is lemon it. Especially if you have all documentation stating the backorder, you've got a good case. Our Hellcat was a lemon and they have a fix coming summer of 2019 but that's a long ways away. Dodge is honoring our request but it does take a LONG time with the 3rd party that does the auditing.

[codex57]

If it were me, I'd ask for a better loaner. Save the mileage on my own car.

[dereksM3]

All these people talking about Lemon process over a couple minuscule parts...seriously? It's not like 3 cylinders aren't working and they can't fix a $20k engine. I'm sure getting a better loaner isn't that difficult, I've never had a hard time requesting that even just for general maintenance. BMW will also generally refund your payment amount prorated to the amount of time in the shop if you speak to BMWNA. Proper communication and patience will go a LONG way for a dealer to go out of their way to help.

Some people (not the OP) need to realize you purchased a first year makeover model that has significant changes and just about EVERY manufacture has small kinks to work out of first year models. Part of the reason why there is an LCI model if people are concerned about having the "bugs" worked out.

I think some need to a spend a few years owning a VW or Audi to be thankful for how reliable BMW has become, any Mk4 VW owners here...then you understand. Also, realize that MANY OEM's don't treat you near as good as BMW does when it comes to warranty claims and/or issues. People trying to Lemon their cars over $500 in parts are what ruins it for everybody else IMO...

[transcendid]

thanks, everyone. I am holding out hope they will be able to fix the part. Will definitely see about contacting BMWNA about a prorated refund while they figure out the fix. One thing that leaves me scratching my head is... they are building new X3's right? There must be new active grille assemblies being built and shipping from Germany to the factory in SC... maybe they just can't redirect one and break the supply chain for new vehicles, but I can't imagine they're not manufacturing extras.

[383vett]

Originally Posted by dereksM3

All these people talking about Lemon process over a couple minuscule parts...seriously? It's not like 3 cylinders aren't working and they can't fix a $20k engine. I'm sure getting a better loaner isn't that difficult, I've never had a hard time requesting that even just for general maintenance. BMW will also generally refund your payment amount prorated to the amount of time in the shop if you speak to BMWNA. Proper communication and patience will go a LONG way for a dealer to go out of their way to help.

Some people (not the OP) need to realize you purchased a first year makeover model that has significant changes and just about EVERY manufacture has small kinks to work out of first year models. Part of the reason why there is an LCI model if people are concerned about having the "bugs" worked out.

I think some need to a spend a few years owning a VW or Audi to be thankful for how reliable BMW has become, any Mk4 VW owners here...then you understand. Also, realize that MANY OEM's don't treat you near as good as BMW does when it comes to warranty claims and/or issues. People trying to Lemon their cars over $500 in parts are what ruins it for everybody else IMO...

I agree. It's pretty ridiculous to ask that a car be lemoned because a replaceable part has failed. At least no one has proposed going the lawyer route yet. As suggested, ask for a better loaner and give BMW a chance to fix the issue.

[MoeLuvsMoney]

Originally Posted by dereksM3

All these people talking about Lemon process

1 person said execute and 1 mentioned to look into it.

[dereksM3]

Originally Posted by MoeLuvsMoney

1 person said execute and 1 mentioned to look into it.

Point is...why even mention it for this circumstance? You can argue the semantics of "all these people" only being two of you guys. I fail to understand the logic of trying or even contemplating the Lemon law when in all actuality it's not applicable here at all. Are you telling me you would try to Lemon law a $65k car over a single component warranty claim that is of a very small value and hasn't failed multiple times? This isn't even close to the grounds needed for being considered a "Lemon"...

My whole point of my comment was at the gross overreaction and advice given to the OP...which at this point was completely irrelevant. Some constructive advice on how to A. communicate options with your service advisor or B. discuss some monetary reimbursement such as a payment or nicer rental cars is much more conducive.

But hey, if trying to exploit some form of the Lemon law works to get a new car every couple months when there's an issue maybe we should all get on board

[Neo1130]

Originally Posted by dereksM3

Point is...why even mention it for this circumstance? You can argue the semantics of "all these people" only being two of you guys. I fail to understand the logic of trying or even contemplating the Lemon law when in all actuality it's not applicable here at all. Are you telling me you would try to Lemon law a $65k car over a single component warranty claim that is of a very small value and hasn't failed multiple times? This isn't even close to the grounds needed for being considered a "Lemon"...

My whole point of my comment was at the gross overreaction and advice given to the OP...which at this point was completely irrelevant. Some constructive advice on how to A. communicate options with your service advisor or B. discuss some monetary reimbursement such as a payment or nicer rental cars is much more conducive.

But hey, if trying to exploit some form of the Lemon law works to get a new car every couple months when there's an issue maybe we should all get on board

No matter the seriousness of the failure the fact is his car is going to be down for a long time, falls under the criteria for a lemon. The only reason I said to start the process is because it will light a fire under the ass of corporate and the dealership to get it done. He doesn't have to act upon it all the way, just start the process and when they see, they'll make sure the car gets fixed, quick.

[BobsM3Coupe]

Originally Posted by transcendid

One thing that leaves me scratching my head is... they are building new X3's right? There must be new active grille assemblies being built and shipping from Germany to the factory in SC... maybe they just can't redirect one and break the supply chain for new vehicles, but I can't imagine they're not manufacturing extras.

From what I learned from BMW after they repurchased my previous 2018 X3 M40i is that BMW will very, very seldom obtain a replacement part from an assembly plant. All parts are assigned to a vehicle on the schedule to be built.
Also even though many parts for all BMW X vehicles (well maybe not the X1) are made in the US, hardly any parts are kept in the US. Everything is kept in Germany.
Does seem crazy that the parts are made in the US, then shipped and stored in Germany, then when needed, shipped back to the US. Though I would think for vehicles about to start production, US made parts are shipped in time from the US plants to Spartanburg.

[sinbad4]

Having gone through some trouble with mine.. couple suggestions.

1. Get them to give you a better loaner.

2. Keep the car as long as they want you to. Here in MN, 30 days the first year that they have your car = Lemon Law and BMW will likely replace your car.

[CharlieKenn]

I just ran into the same problem here in Denver, including the backordered part. However my dealer assures me that driving the car is fine while waiting for the part, and I am picking the car up today. Background: With a little over 2k miles on my 2019 X3 I got a check engine light and read the OBD code as P05A0. P05A0 for the BMW appears to be "P05A0 Active Grille Air Shutter “A” Stuck On". (The check engine light subsequently went off but the code is saved in the car, and the dealer confirmed that.) This is consistent with what you were told and with what my dealer told me. Obviously I am concerned about driving the car but I don't know what I can do since the dealer says not to be concerned and go ahead and drive the car. Specifically, the dealer says the engine gets plenty of air from below, even if the vents stay closed. That may be true, especially here in Colorado in the Winter.

Originally Posted by transcendid

Hi all,

Recently added a 2018 X3 to my BMW Family (also own a 2016 340i) and a couple of months into ownership had 2 problems. 1. the Comfort Access stopped working and 2. the active kidney grilles were stuck in the open position. Took the car in about a month ago and they "found a short" in the Comfort Access system, which they fixed. But when they went to troubleshoot the active kidney grille issue, the diagnostics triggered the Check Engine light and indicated the entire Active Grille Assembly needs to be replaced. They tell me they've ordered the part, but it needs to ship directly from Germany and is showing a status of "backordered, not available" for the past month. They also do not want to give the car back to me because the Check Engine light is on, and it could mask other issues that can occur while I have the car. They tell me they have several other X3's that are in the same boat and BMW is not providing any information about what is possibly going wrong.

So... looking for some sage advice from this group... Has anyone experienced a similar issue and gotten a fix? I'd like to get my car back while they wait on this part OR get some kind of reimbursement if they NEED to hang on to it.

Thanks in advance!

[r33_RGSport]

I would remove that Active Grill like I did on my G30.
It is there for Aerodynamic purposes to save some gas.
I bet you with it open all the time you won't lose 1mpg, unless you are doing highway speed all the time.

[dereksM3]

What I found interested in the dealer not wanting to give the car back which either alludes to them not being so smart in regards to the function of the CEL or diagnostic codes or more being a play than they are stating. As the poster above pointed out these are "soft" codes like having a TPMS failure or something of that nature. They go away but are stored and have no mechanical effect on the vehicle. I mean if they are stuck open, heck that's what 90% of owners probably want anyways for minimizing heatsoak. These things closed only help preserve engine heat for quicker warm-ups times and a mild advantage to aerodynamics. Honestly it's one more electronic part to fail that provides minimal benefit...seems like BMW is already finding this out.

If I was the OP I would request to have my car back and either have them disable or code out the grills for the time being...if as they say these parts are on back-order with no ETA. This is usually a ploy by OEM's buying themselves time to release an updated Revision instead of having to issue a recall.

[transcendid]

That's so odd.. I'm really not sure why they are not offering to clear the code and give back the car. I asked the service manager again today and he again insisted he cannot give me the car back with the check engine light on. I did not think to ask why they can't just clear the light, will do that next week. He encouraged me to reach to BMWNA to see if that can help get more traction. I did so, and the customer relations rep basically told me there is nothing he can do except log a complaint on my behalf. Everything else needs to be done between the dealership and the parts department with which he claims customer relations has no communication. I let him know that I would be sending the certified letter to start the 30 day lemon law clock as some of you have suggested and he did not seem at all surprised or concerned. Seemed like he was used to hearing that from people when they find out that they cannot get any help from customer relations. He was a nice guy, apologetic, and genuinely seemed like he wanted to help but also had no real tools for doing so. With respect to reimbursement, he said I would need to wait until I get the car back and then submit a case for "downtime reimbursement."

For right now, they are storing the car indoors and my wife says she can live with the loaner. If there is no movement next week I will try again to get them to clear the codes and give the car back to me while they wait on the part. I really am not sure why they are so insistent on hanging onto it given the fact that it's causing issues for me, them, and BMW.

Thanks again for all the ideas, everyone.

[dereksM3]

Originally Posted by transcendid

That's so odd.. I'm really not sure why they are not offering to clear the code and give back the car. I asked the service manager again today and he again insisted he cannot give me the car back with the check engine light on. I did not think to ask why they can't just clear the light, will do that next week. He encouraged me to reach to BMWNA to see if that can help get more traction. I did so, and the customer relations rep basically told me there is nothing he can do except log a complaint on my behalf. Everything else needs to be done between the dealership and the parts department with which he claims customer relations has no communication. I let him know that I would be sending the certified letter to start the 30 day lemon law clock as some of you have suggested and he did not seem at all surprised or concerned. Seemed like he was used to hearing that from people when they find out that they cannot get any help from customer relations. He was a nice guy, apologetic, and genuinely seemed like he wanted to help but also had no real tools for doing so. With respect to reimbursement, he said I would need to wait until I get the car back and then submit a case for "downtime reimbursement."

For right now, they are storing the car indoors and my wife says she can live with the loaner. If there is no movement next week I will try again to get them to clear the codes and give the car back to me while they wait on the part. I really am not sure why they are so insistent on hanging onto it given the fact that it's causing issues for me, them, and BMW.

Thanks again for all the ideas, everyone.

How familiar are you with this dealership and have you had time to inspect the car since the diagnosis? It just seems really odd to want to keep the car for a simple CEL that could be cleared and even if it returned would be considered a soft code and probably disappear on it's own not obstructing other codes from coming through (as the above person's dealer mentioned for the same issue). I wonder if there is more to it than they are actually telling you.

[transcendid]

Originally Posted by dereksM3

How familiar are you with this dealership and have you had time to inspect the car since the diagnosis? It just seems really odd to want to keep the car for a simple CEL that could be cleared and even if it returned would be considered a soft code and probably disappear on it's own not obstructing other codes from coming through (as the above person's dealer mentioned for the same issue). I wonder if there is more to it than they are actually telling you.

I'm pretty familiar with them and have worked with this service manager on some issues on my car before. He knows I'm thorough and persistent and I don't think he'd be lying (though who knows). I've checked in on the car via remote view and it's just sitting in their new car garage as they said it would be after I asked them to move it inside.

I do think that something that they did may have initially broken the comfort access and maybe the grilles. I noticed both of these problems immediately after my wife had her first regular service done. Because they said the comfort access issue was caused by a "short," it may be the same short caused the grille to fail. But this is all speculation. And they claim comfort access was an easy fix.

Other than that, I'm not sure what else could be going on... do you have any thoughts?

[freitz]

Originally Posted by transcendid

Hi all,

Recently added a 2018 X3 to my BMW Family (also own a 2016 340i) and a couple of months into ownership had 2 problems. 1. the Comfort Access stopped working and 2. the active kidney grilles were stuck in the open position. Took the car in about a month ago and they "found a short" in the Comfort Access system, which they fixed. But when they went to troubleshoot the active kidney grille issue, the diagnostics triggered the Check Engine light and indicated the entire Active Grille Assembly needs to be replaced. They tell me they've ordered the part, but it needs to ship directly from Germany and is showing a status of "backordered, not available" for the past month. They also do not want to give the car back to me because the Check Engine light is on, and it could mask other issues that can occur while I have the car. They tell me they have several other X3's that are in the same boat and BMW is not providing any information about what is possibly going wrong.

So... looking for some sage advice from this group... Has anyone experienced a similar issue and gotten a fix? I'd like to get my car back while they wait on this part OR get some kind of reimbursement if they NEED to hang on to it.

Thanks in advance!

Interesting they have you in a loaner so long. Which dealership are you at in Maryland? I am also in Maryland.