very disappointed and embarrassed

[odiesback]

Hi All,
While I love my car very much I have been let down for
very stupid electronic malfunctions that are unacceptable
for a car that is supposed to be of great engineering archievement.

I dont know if any owner of a 3 series jave experienced this
problem before:

I had the power window mechanism failed miserably on me on both
rear doors (330i) in a period of less than six months apart.

In the first incident I had passafers on the back seat that
had to say "Things like that happen!" -

The Service Advisor at a BMW dealer told me that there is a
very weak string connecting something that can get the glass
out of the rail. I had just to assume that it was a bad day and
what were the odds of that happening again?

The first time my car was still covered by the extended warranty.

Now the other door (rear) failed when the window was rolled down.
God only knows how much I will have to pay for that.
Unacceptable and may be BMW should replace whatever it causes the
malfunction to something more reliable or it was just me???

Odie

 

[codex57]

Haha, yeah, window regulators. Could probably sue under class action for that and the crappy moonroof clips. Those fail at high frequency too.

 

[ksbmwers]

I've only had one thing go wrong with my 330xi in two years, and it was the rear drivers side window. I was 170 miles from home in an all day business meeting on a beastly hot summer day. Before driving home, I used the key fob to roll down all four windows, and when the car had cooled off somewhat, only three of the windows would go back up. This made for one long, hot, windy ride home. Fortunately the dealer got me in the next day, fixed the problem, and it hasn't recurred.

 

[bmwrocks]

This is no laughing matter.....I had both my front window regulators fail at the same time in my X5 recently at about 60k miles.

The regs were $100 each and the labor was $150 per window....or $500 total. We reused the motors as these were fine. Really the only reason you have to get the whole reg is that they don't sell one of the failed parts seperately. It is the part that glides on the guides that the cable pulls. More on that below. This was at my local shop, not BMW dealer.

I would bet your front window regs were replaced some time ago by the previous owner as these get way more use than the backs in general. You just happened to get stuck with the backs which fail at a later date than the fronts. Lucky you.

Window regulators are really the cable and pulley mechanism that move the window up and down.

This is how they fail: There are clips that hold the mechanism to the window. These clips are made of plastic that breaks loose over time. These clips are 25 cents each and sold seperately. The window is clipped in two places. When one clip fails, excessive force gets applied to the other side which causes the cable barrel to break the barrel holder. The cable holder is not sold seperately which forces you to buy the whole regulator when all you really need is the cable holder and clips!!!! It is a progressive failure, one thing causes the other. I guess it is a bad design, but it works real well when it's not broken!!!

Anyway I think we are all destined for broken regs at some point.....just depends how handy you are as to whether you can DIY......

 

[zman]

I feel your pain Odiesback.

I had an electronic coil problem which caused "check engine" light to go "on" 2 weeks after I purchased the car. It seems that many people got it too.

However, at the time I was showing off my car to my family and friends.
I felt bad when it happened and could not explain it.
I mean with the amount of money I paid and the BMW name, these things should not happen within 2 weeks after the purchase.

But, this is the reality of the 'beast'

 

[odiesback]

Thanks for your replies.

The irony of the fact is:

I think most of BMW owners are very excited and proud
of their cars. We are the best PR agent for BMW. At
the same time the cars get more expensive packages to them and
they havent noticed this yet??

Having to tolerate heat, rain or snow in your car because of
a windown failed to go up is beyond me.

I was considering an X5 (baby is coming) but may be I will opt for
one with a KIA window regulators. would hate to see my baby to
get all that wind at 100mph.

 

[retso73]

I feel your pain! I'm soooo frustrated with my 1999 323i. I'm the original owner and I've been so disappointed by this car repeatedly over the past five years. Everyone I know has heard about the many stupid mechanical failures that they all think it's pathetic. Not what you'd expect from the "ultimate driving machine."

I just took my car in to replace the gear shift display. This is the second time it's failed (it would light up on the wrong gear and got so bad that all gears were lit up. It looked like a Christmas tree). The first time it failed, the car was under warranty. This time I was stuck paying the $188 in parts and labor. Talk about ridiculous. This is not something that should fail -- let alone fail twice.

Then I mentioned I'm hearing a rattling noise from the driver's window and asked if that's an indicator that it's going to fail -- AGAIN! My service advisor said "yeah, probably." This would be the third failure in five years. This time, it'll cost $400+ b/c it's out of warranty.

Needless to say, I'm down on my car again. I'm seriously thinking of getting out from under this lemon and getting into a new Acura TL. Nice design and the Japanese cars don't seem to have the same reliability issues.

 

[RuflessPhilly]

Thanks for your replies.

The irony of the fact is:

I think most of BMW owners are very excited and proud
of their cars. We are the best PR agent for BMW. At
the same time the cars get more expensive packages to them and
they havent noticed this yet??

Having to tolerate heat, rain or snow in your car because of
a windown failed to go up is beyond me.

I was considering an X5 (baby is coming) but may be I will opt for
one with a KIA window regulators. would hate to see my baby to
get all that wind at 100mph.

Doing 100 mph with all the windows working with a baby in the car isn't a good idea[fake]

 

[odiesback]

yeah, yeah.... Slowing down might come with fatherhood...

but 'til then...

 

[Abdoman]

Reading a lot of posts on this make not want to buy the E46. I think the E36 is better built than the E46. I just don't remember seeing so many gripes about small problems with it.

 

[odiesback]

ZMAN, I failed to tell you that I had to take my car with the
"Check Engine Soon" light ON.

I sensor burned in the camshaft -->> $300.00 to replace it.

I am currently dealing with the Customer Service at
BMW of North America and I will let you know the outcome...

 

[eddo]

Yep, I read all about the CD changer, moonroof and window regulators before I bought my car, just thought I HAD to experience a BMW. Now 5 weeks into the BMW experience, nothing broke yet, but the previous owner didn't fix the sunroof shade. The dealer has to order a whole sunroof kit and take down the whole interior top to replace those damn clips!! Said it'll take 4 hours of labor!! Luckily, it's covered under warranty, which will run out soon......

 

[Chakueem]

A few months ago I had the rear driver's side window slip the track and fall into the door.

 

[jes330]

OH dear...I was told by my BMW dealer at my last inspection (which happened to be over a stuffed clutch) that the regulator on the passenger window was rattling. I guess I now expect that to catch me soon....I have a small rattle when the sunroof is on tilt...I have it open or closed now..so no problem here.

This is dissapointing..my last car was a Subaru WRX Sti...sold it at 80,000km's, really thrashed the car in track days and hill climbs..never had an ounce of trouble..simply perfect throughout!!!mmmmmm......

 

[donmbmw]

So far all windows working fine. At about what age or mileage does this weakness seem to show up?

 

[odiesback]

Mine happend at 40K and 50K, 2.5 years (I bought my car new, BTW)

but Today I got good news

Yesterday I contacted BMW of North America Customer Relations and
I had expressed all my frustation about the window problem and
I made a formal complaint about the dealership which
I purchased the car from.(Brecht BMW - Escondido,CA)

They were very understanding and helpful. They promplty contected
the dealership of my choice to report my concerns.

One hour later the BMW of Riverside (CA) Service Department Manager called to let me know
that they will repair/replace the window regulador free of charge on a
"good will" basis, since the warranty had already expired.
(The service was estimated in $450.00)

I am very pleased that the issue was resolved and how it was handled.

But I would like to see BMW doing something to prevent those ridiculous
malfunction to happen.