[MIKEYBKLYN]

Hey guys, I've been lurking here for a while, but now I kinda need some help.

I Took delivery of my car (2007 335i coupe) about a month and a half ago, I now have about 1500 miles on her. The other day when I started her up, I noticed that the drivers side headlight wasn't leveling itself like the passenger side, and was also angled WAYYY up. Just dropped it off at a local dealer here, and the service advisor told me " well, right from the get go, I'm gonna tell you that if when we check it, the sensors underneath indicate something hit the bottom of the car, that it won't be covered under warranty and I'll have to pay a diagnosis fee". He asked if there was anything else, and I mentioned that the car idles a little bit rough when the AC is on. His response "well, the president of the United States has authorized ethanol to be added to gasoline, and it gums up the fuel system, and BMW recommends a fuel system flush, it costs $279" I declined, sounded like BS to me.

So, has anyone else had this problem with their lights? I have a really bad feeling I'm gonna get told that it's a result of hitting a pothole or something. Should I just take it to another dealer if that's what they say?

Thanks guys!

[txusa03]

First, Welcome to e90. 1) if you know you did not hit a pothole, you have nothing to worry about. 2) i don't know about coupe, but on the sedan, the bottom side is covered with hard plastic. So nothing is going to penetrate the hard plastic to get to the light level sensor. 3) if you did hit a pothole with such force to screw up your light level sensor, you will more then likely have other issues (bent rim, suspension, and alignment issues, scrapes/gashes). If you have no other issues with suspension, bent rims, or signs of scrapes underneath the car, then there is no way the dealer can stick a bill on you saying you caused the light problem. It might be that the SA are told to state that up front when it comes to rare problems.

I would not worry about it if you honestly did not drive over a pothole. GL.

[David1]

Sounds like the SA is an ass and woke up on the wrong side of the bed.

[MIKEYBKLYN]

Hey, thanks for the reply!

Well, I do live in NY, and although I drove carefully, there of course are bumps/potholes everywhere, but I don't recall hitting any so hard that I felt the bottom of the car hit or scrape the ground. However, to me hitting normal street bumps should not ruin the headlight on a brand new BMW. There are no other issues with the rims/steering/alignment (that I've noticed anyway)

Again, he mentioned that there are sensors underneath the car that will tell them if I went over a hard bump...sounds like BS to me

[Gort]

Fuel system flush needed at 1500 miles??? Someone is smokin the hippy lettuce.

[MIKEYBKLYN]

Yeah, thats what I thought, and I overheard another SA giving another customer the same speech about the fuel system

[Bimmer335i07]

First of all, which dealer did you take your car to? Don't tell me the one in Bay Ridge, Bklyn. I don't know the name of the dealership, but I have read a lot of horrible threads about their service in the regional forums.

The SA you spoke with seems like a dickhead (excuse my french). If I were you, I would just take my car to another dealer. They just want your money. That is not how a real BMW service dept. should be operating. And if for some reason, they do work on your car and it's not up to your liking. You will get a survey in the mail in about a week or so, I would give them all 1s.

GL!

Sorry to hear about your problem.

[MIKEYBKLYN]

I got my car froma dealer in Cali, I live in Brooklyn now, and this dealer was the closest to where I live. The car is there so it's too late, but if when he calls today and he tells me it's not under warranty and I have to pay for the repair, I'm telling him not to touch it and I'm picking it up and making an apointment at Manhattan BMW as I've been reading that their service dept is good.

[Orient330iNYC]

Originally Posted by MIKEYBKLYN

I got my car froma dealer in Cali, I live in Brooklyn now, and this dealer was the closest to where I live. The car is there so it's too late, but if when he calls today and he tells me it's not under warranty and I have to pay for the repair, I'm telling him not to touch it and I'm picking it up and making an apointment at Manhattan BMW as I've been reading that their service dept is good.

life quality bmw in brooklyn? Run away. bring it to BMW of manhattan. i bought my first car from them and never went back after my first service. they're just really really shady.

BMW of manhattan is owned by BMWNA. they dont do bs things like diagnosis fees. On my E46 I had a rattle i thought was control arm bushings, turned out to be my hawk HPS pads rattling in the calipers. no charge diagnosis and they returned my car to me washed and vacuumed anyway. when my brother bought the car and he ran into problems with the extended maintenance agreement at a dealer in MA, BMW of manhattan called them to straighten them out.

BTW: BMW does not recommend fuel system cleaners, and if you did destroy the leveling sensor, both headlights would be malfunctioning. the leveling sensor is attached to the right front and i think left rear suspension, above the bottom of the car, so there's almost no way you could break the sensor by hitting a bump or bottoming it.

[MIKEYBKLYN]

Well, watevwer is wrong with the projector, it's aimed allll the way up and it's not leveling . The passenger side is fine. I dropped it off at 7:30 this morning, and I still haven't heard from them as to whether or not it's going to be covered under warranty. If he calls me and says anything but"it's all fixed, come get it" then I'm telling him to leacve it as is and I'm making an appt at manhattan

[Gort]

and tell the SA that, in addition to authorizing ethanol, the President of the United States has authorized you to take it to a different dealer

[turbotko]

It's got a bad stepper motor in the headlight. Common problem that will be fixed with a new headlight more than likely.......and should surely be covered by BMW. Did the green LED in the headlight switch start flashing too?

As long as there is no body damage that can be related to the headlight in question, there is no reason it won't be covered.

[MIKEYBKLYN]

::UPDATE::

SA just called me, said the car is ready to be picked up, repaired under warranty. He sounded PISSED, and said something about a broken part inside the headlamp. I told him to make sure it was washed before i pick it up in the AM

Thanks a lot for all your help guys, should I still bring it to another dealer for the subtle rough idle I get with the AC on?

[Gort]

Originally Posted by MIKEYBKLYN

::UPDATE::

SA just called me, said the car is ready to be picked up, repaired under warranty. He sounded PISSED, and said something about a broken part inside the headlamp. I told him to make sure it was washed before i pick it up in the AM

Thanks a lot for all your help guys, should I still bring it to another dealer for the subtle rough idle I get with the AC on?

If you've got the time, it sure can't hurt to take it in. Mine idles smoothly with the AC on.

[noro]

WOW this is weird. I have another headlight problem. I took the car in today and BMW declined my warranty. Details will be posted in another thread. Basically my problem has to do with a broken seal since the headlight now has condensation and the xenon is busted. All I can say is I feel your pain.

[imaznumkay]

Originally Posted by MIKEYBKLYN

::UPDATE::

SA just called me, said the car is ready to be picked up, repaired under warranty. He sounded PISSED, and said something about a broken part inside the headlamp. I told him to make sure it was washed before i pick it up in the AM

Thanks a lot for all your help guys, should I still bring it to another dealer for the subtle rough idle I get with the AC on?

if your SA gives you any more hard time with his ethanol and sensor bullshit, you should look for a) another SA, b) another dealer
good luck!!

[Tag]

If an SA said that to me the first thing I would do is get his name. The second thing I would do is jump back in my car and leave. Third thing I would do is file a complaint with BMWNA on him.

Shady pricks like that give BMW a bad name.

[Orient330iNYC]

Originally Posted by MIKEYBKLYN

::UPDATE::

SA just called me, said the car is ready to be picked up, repaired under warranty. He sounded PISSED, and said something about a broken part inside the headlamp. I told him to make sure it was washed before i pick it up in the AM

Thanks a lot for all your help guys, should I still bring it to another dealer for the subtle rough idle I get with the AC on?

you lucked out this time. i would strongly, STRONGLY advise to take it to bmw of manhattan for any future work.

[noro]

Originally Posted by tag824

If an SA said that to me the first thing I would do is get his name. The second thing I would do is jump back in my car and leave. Third thing I would do is file a complaint with BMWNA on him.

Shady pricks like that give BMW a bad name.

Sadly BMW NA also is full of not so nice people. BMW NA will not step in and protect the consumer unless there is money to be lost. BMW AG as an manufacturing organization is legendary, BMW NA is a bunch of money hungry people in for a ride. BMW has no customer loyalty in US simply because they can sell the cars with no effort. But with every up cycle there is a down cycle.

[Park2670]

BMW does not recommend a injector flush with the direct injection. There was even a bulletin about it. I work for a dealer, and remember the bulletin well, but not which one exactly.

[jhilsinho]

Sorry, goota ask, What dealership is this???
They sound like BS.

Originally Posted by MIKEYBKLYN

Hey, thanks for the reply!

Well, I do live in NY, and although I drove carefully, there of course are bumps/potholes everywhere, but I don't recall hitting any so hard that I felt the bottom of the car hit or scrape the ground. However, to me hitting normal street bumps should not ruin the headlight on a brand new BMW. There are no other issues with the rims/steering/alignment (that I've noticed anyway)

Again, he mentioned that there are sensors underneath the car that will tell them if I went over a hard bump...sounds like BS to me

[MIKEYBKLYN]

Life Quality BMW, Bay Ridge location, Brooklyn, NY