Grill shutters....dealership problem

[750LiBeemer]

I have a 2016 750i.

A few months ago, I had a check engine light and the code that popped up was for the grill shutters malfunction. Apparently 2017 and 2018 models have an extended warranty for the replacement of those shutters but 2016 does not.

Now when the light originally came on, my car was under cpo. I let the service advisor know and he asked to bring it in but The light eventually went away by itself so I held off.

Fast forward to 3 days ago, the check engine light came back on and its the grill shutters again. I just ran out of cpo warranty on may 5.

The question is, shouldn't bmw cover it since the issue originally occurred while under cpo warranty?

If they give me a hard time( which bmw does like to do), do I have any options?

Thanks

[AlteBMW]

Talk to the same SA with whom you talked about the issue and see if he will help you. Any chance you have a record of the call you made? Would have been in better shape if you had brought it in, of course. My only advice would be to first ask nicely and quietly
to have them address it under warranty because it is a known issue even if not specific to your year, and because you reported it to them before the CPO expired.

It is a good idea to develop a relationship with a specific SA. Dealers and SA vary a lot and when you find one that actually wants to help you, that is like gold. I am on my 5th car from my dealership and have a very friendly relationship with my SA, who will bend over backwards when things are in doubt. It helps that I am a good sales customer but he is a very customer service oriented SA.

[750LiBeemer]

Originally Posted by AlteBMW

Talk to the same SA with whom you talked about the issue and see if he will help you. Any chance you have a record of the call you made? Would have been in better shape if you had brought it in, of course. My only advice would be to first ask nicely and quietly
to have them address it under warranty because it is a known issue even if not specific to your year, and because you reported it to them before the CPO expired.

It is a good idea to develop a relationship with a specific SA. Dealers and SA vary a lot and when you find one that actually wants to help you, that is like gold. I am on my 5th car from my dealership and have a very friendly relationship with my SA, who will bend over backwards when things are in doubt. It helps that I am a good sales customer but he is a very customer service oriented SA.

I have texts with the SA when it originally happened, even telling him the code I pulled up and him confirming it's the grill shutters. I booked an online appointment to see him but when I got there they said he was on vacation 🤦*♂️

Will see what they say and update

[jlin101]

Hope you have better luck with BMW NA. The active grill shutters on my '16 750 recently broke (at less than 15k miles). BMW had extended the warranty on this item for MY 17 and 18 to 5 and 10 years, respectively, but '16 is left out in the cold. It cost over $900 to have the upper/lower shutters replaced. Probably ok to leave the grill open all the time (like the M models) but I was tired of staring at the CEL.

[Markr]

In some markets the manufacturer gives the dealer a “goodwill” pot from which to draw on in these cases. It is however at dealer discretion how they distribute it, go in all guns a blazing and you will likely get nothing or a 25% contribution, go in reasonable and accommodating and likely to get 75-100% contribution. Some manufacturers manage it centrally, so you have to ask the dealer if they have gone to the manufacturer for goodwill support, as they don’t do it by default. Audi UK for example, do goodwill support on powertrain components years beyond the normal warranty period, provided the vehicle has been franchise maintained.

[mrgicm]

In Europe, with software from 2019 on, check engine light does not turn on due to grill malfunction, due to so many failiures they just eliminated the check engine light for this problem.

[750LiBeemer]

Originally Posted by mrgicm

In Europe, with software from 2019 on, check engine light does not turn on due to grill malfunction, due to so many failiures they just eliminated the check engine light for this problem.

So they called me back claiming it's a 1400 dollar job and bmw will cover 85% of it, leaving me to pay 15% of it.

I asked them I'll go ahead with it but only if they ensure that they warranty their work on this grill repair, just in case it happens again.
They said they will get back to me. Guess I won't hear anything until Monday about it since it's 5 pm on a Friday.

Also, if I update the software to 2019, I won't have a check engine light anymore if it happens again? Do I just ask bmw to update it to the latest software? Is there a certain version or name of the software you are referring to? Thanks

[jlin101]

Originally Posted by 750LiBeemer

So they called me back claiming it's a 1400 dollar job and bmw will cover 85% of it, leaving me to pay 15% of it.

I asked them I'll go ahead with it but only if they ensure that they warranty their work on this grill repair, just in case it happens again.
They said they will get back to me. Guess I won't hear anything until Monday about it since it's 5 pm on a Friday.

Also, if I update the software to 2019, I won't have a check engine light anymore if it happens again? Do I just ask bmw to update it to the latest software? Is there a certain version or name of the software you are referring to? Thanks

Both my upper/lower flaps were replaced, at the tune of about $950. Not sure what you mean by warranty, for another 4 years or 50k miles? I don't see BMW doing that.
The technician replaced the flaps without updating the software (my car has 2018 software); so it appears that the repair does not require updating the software, but I've heard that updating the software permanently disconnects the CEL from the flaps.

[750LiBeemer]

Originally Posted by jlin101

Both my upper/lower flaps were replaced, at the tune of about $950. Not sure what you mean by warranty, for another 4 years or 50k miles? I don't see BMW doing that.
The technician replaced the flaps without updating the software (my car has 2018 software); so it appears that the repair does not require updating the software, but I've heard that updating the software permanently disconnects the CEL from the flaps.

Meaning warranty on the repair itself. Usually bmw gives a 1-2 year warranty on certain repairs they do so if the grills malfunction again within the next 1 or 2 years, they will fix it no charge.

If they don't give me a warranty on the repair then I will ask them to update the software to the 2019 version just in case it malfunctions again, so I don't have to see that CEL light

[750LiBeemer]

So dealer called me, said bmw will pay 90% of it and I will have to cover the rest. Also they will warranty the repair for two years.

Now should I be happy? Considering this issue initially occurred while under cpo. Me bringing it in right after the cpo period ended resulted in me getting the somewhat short end of the stick.

[jlin101]

Originally Posted by 750LiBeemer

So dealer called me, said bmw will pay 90% of it and I will have to cover the rest. Also they will warranty the repair for two years.

Now should I be happy? Considering this issue initially occurred while under cpo. Me bringing it in right after the cpo period ended resulted in me getting the somewhat short end of the stick.

You should be happy with the arrangement, unless you can prove that the issue occurred while still under CPO (texting or emailing doesn't count, IMO); for example, I would think the computer logged the date of the defect.

[750LiBeemer]

Originally Posted by jlin101

You should be happy with the arrangement, unless you can prove that the issue occurred while still under CPO (texting or emailing doesn't count, IMO); for example, I would think the computer logged the date of the defect.

. I saved the texts between me and the SA at the time. I showed it to them and they still wanted me to pay that portion. So I guess your right texting or emailing didn't count

[jlin101]

Originally Posted by 750LiBeemer

. I saved the texts between me and the SA at the time. I showed it to them and they still wanted me to pay that portion. So I guess your right texting or emailing didn't count

anyone can text to report a non-existent problem--the technician needs to hook the car up and log the diagnosis. You can try connecting an OBD reader to see if the error was time-stamped to when the car was under CPO--it's a long shot. That being said, when the air suspension pump in my ' 16 750 died 2 months after warranty had expired (albeit at only 12k miles), BMW NA voluntarily paid 95% of the $2600 repair bill. I didn't have any luck this time when the active grill shutters failed.

[OnlyGerman]

Originally Posted by 750LiBeemer

So dealer called me, said bmw will pay 90% of it and I will have to cover the rest. Also they will warranty the repair for two years.

Now should I be happy? Considering this issue initially occurred while under cpo. Me bringing it in right after the cpo period ended resulted in me getting the somewhat short end of the stick.

Not bad. And it's covered for 2 years.

[OnlyGerman]

Originally Posted by jlin101

anyone can text to report a non-existent problem--the technician needs to hook the car up and log the diagnosis. You can try connecting an OBD reader to see if the error was time-stamped to when the car was under CPO--it's a long shot. That being said, when the air suspension pump in my ' 16 750 died 2 months after warranty had expired (albeit at only 12k miles), BMW NA voluntarily paid 95% of the $2600 repair bill. I didn't have any luck this time when the active grill shutters failed.

Where do they come up with these percentage contributions? Based on time out of warranty?

[jlin101]

Originally Posted by OnlyGerman

Where do they come up with these percentage contributions? Based on time out of warranty?

Didn't say. I was too thrilled that BMW NA chipped in.