BMW 330i: Parts worth 1.2L replaced under warranty, no questions asked

BMW has a very honest warranty policy. Earlier when the DRLs of one of the headlights had shown a very slight yellow tint, BMW replaced the headlight.

BHPian graaja recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Service Update

Battery and steering wheel replaced under warranty, rat bite and repair

A few days back, I noticed the front and rear brake pads to have worn out a lot. iDrive was still showing 10000km for the front and 8000 for the rear pads. As I have experienced a few times in the past, iDrive’s prediction about brake pads is not accurate. It could drop from 10,000 km to less than 1,500 km in no time.

iDrive predictions for front and rear pads.

The condition of front and rear pads.

As I have a long road trip coming up soon, I wanted to get the brake pads and discs checked and replaced if necessary.

Oil service due is in 3200 km and BMW does oil service under BSI only when iDrive shows 2000 km or less. As I have a couple of other drives for about 1500km before the long road trip, I decided to get the oil service done after completing these drives just before the road trip.

I called the Service Manager at BMW and explained about my upcoming road trip. He said he could do a thorough inspection of the vehicle and decide on components to be changed. Following is the list of tasks I wanted to be done.

• Inspect brake pads and discs, decide how much life they have, and replace them if necessary. iDrive was showing 10000 km for front pads and 8000 km for rear pads. Visually, they had very little life left.
• Rear left door beading to be replaced (this is a long pending task)
• Do a battery health check
• The left passenger door pad has melted. To be replaced.
• Wipers leaving streaks. To be replaced.

He arranged a service appointment and sent a driver to pick up the car. The next day he gave me updates about parts that would be replaced, parts that have been ordered etc. In two more days, the car was ready and dropped back at my place.

Following are the updates from this service visit

• Front and rear brake pads: Front and rear pads have about 4mm of thickness (BMW’s threshold for replacing pads is 3mm) and would be due for replacement in another 1,000 to 1,500km
• Passenger side door pad: An order has been placed for the left passenger door pad. This will be replaced during the next oil service.
• Rear left door beading: An order has been placed for the rear left door beading. This will be replaced during the next oil service.
• Wiper replacement: Wiper replacement is not yet due under BSI. I will see if it can be replaced in advance before the next due date, or I will pay for a new pair of wipers.
• Battery replaced under warranty: A battery test was done and the battery was found to have only 45% capacity. BMW authorized a replacement and the battery has been replaced under warranty.
• Steering wheel replaced under warranty: During the last visit, I had shown the leather in the steering to have developed a rough patch at 10’o clock position. I thought this would be considered normal wear and tear. But to my surprise, BMW authorized the replacement of the full steering wheel under warranty, and the GT has a brand new steering wheel now.

• Rat bite and repair: During the inspection of the engine bay, they found a couple of wires to have been bitten by a rat. The service manager shared a video showing this rat bite. They were able to repair this without having to change the wiring harness.

A video showing the rat bite.

A picture of the patched wires.

A close look at the patch.

As the patch was covered with insulation tape which can get softened up in the high temperature inside the engine bay, I used TESA cotton tape to further cover these patches.

This is the first time in 12 years I have faced a rat bit issue in my house. There used to be a couple of cats in our area which kept the rat menace under check. I haven’t seen these cats in the past couple of months. Maybe the absence of the cats has made the rats bold.

My friend RobiMahanta gave me some tips on managing rat menace.

• Use a rat-repellant spray in the engine bay. On his recommendation, I have ordered this rat-repellant spray from Amazon.
• Use an ultrasonic transmitter to repel rats. Planning to order this ultrasonic repellant.
• Keep the portico lights on in the night. Rats usually avoid bright locations.

Conclusion:

Cost:

The total cost for the parts replaced was about 1.2 Lakhs – 75K for the steering wheel and 45K for the battery replacement, both covered under warranty. Did not have to pay a penny. For the rat bite repair, I had to pay 5K.

Dealer Experience:

As usual, had a fantastic service experience from KUN BMW, Coimbatore. The service manager Mr. Karthik gave me very clear updates on the problems and the work being done. I was worried about the rat bite which may require an expensive wiring harness replacement. But he promised me that he would do his best to repair and patch the cable and he delivered on his promise. Rating a 5 star for this service. I hope this great service continues forever.

On BMW’s Warranty Policy:

I would like to mention about BMW’s warranty policy here. They have a very honest and transparent warranty. If there is even a small problem with any part, they replace it, no questions asked. No haggling or trying to brush the issue aside.

To be honest, I did not expect the steering wheel replacement or the proactive replacement of the battery under warranty. Even when the DRLs of one of the headlights had not actually failed, but had shown a very slight yellow tint, they replaced the headlight.

My first advice to anyone who plans to buy a BMW – get the maximum possible extended warranty.

That’s all folks, I have for now. A picture of the GT to close this post. Until next time.

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