New 330Ci Frustrations

[Bag's330Ci]

My first BMW purchase. The dealer's been great and my purchase went like a breeze. The car is an absolute dream.

Unfortunately, after 1 day with the car, the ABS, brake and DSC lights would not go off and the Adaptive headlights stopped "adapting". Took the car back to the center on Saturday and have been waiting for some good news since.

I called service on Monday for an update and they explained that there was a module that controls all the lights that was faulting and that they had ordered a new one overnight and I should have my car back on Tuesday. Cool. :thumbup:

I call late Tuesday afternoon (after not having heard from them all day) only to be told by my service rep that the part was on back-order from BMW. He did a dealer search and could not find the module anywhere in the country. He said it would be 6 weeks until BMW expected to have any available.

:mad:

As you can imagine, that went over like a led balloon. I told him that just wasn't acceptable. He was understanding, but had no solutions. Finally, he said they didn't have any other '04s on the lot but that he was going to have the techs check the '03 part numbers to see if they were the same as the '04 and, if so, they would steal one off one of the new '03s on the lot.

I'm still waiting to hear from them. As of yesterday, they hadn't even address the headlight problem, saying they were more concerned with locating this module first. I'm only hoping the headlight problem is connect with the same module. I don't think I could take another delay for a problem they don't have a fix for. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Any ideas why a simple part like this would not be available? I thought the recent strike had to do with assembly line issues, not parts. Are they related or has BMW NA just missed the boat on this one?

I'm really hoping this gets straightened out today. Only having 1 day with my car was like a really cruel tease - I want it back! :bawling:

[Terry Kennedy]

I call late Tuesday afternoon (after not having heard from them all day) only to be told by my service rep that the part was on back-order from BMW. He did a dealer search and could not find the module anywhere in the country. He said it would be 6 weeks until BMW expected to have any available.I think you're getting a line. If they ordered the part with VOR (Vehicle Off Road) status (the highest priority) they should receive the part in 3 business days or less. I suggest you talk to the service manager and mention this and see if you can't get a better response from them.

[Tanning machine]

Any ideas why a simple part like this would not be available? I thought the recent strike had to do with assembly line issues, not parts. Are they related or has BMW NA just missed the boat on this one?



No ideas on the part, but it doesn't sound like one of the strike parts, which were mechanical things, like clutches and transmissions.

[Bag's330Ci]

Thanks for the suggestions, folks.

I just got off the phone with the service manager and they had an '04 come in on the truck today. Service immediately snagged it so they could take the module off of it and swap it with mine. So, at least they're trying - which is a good thing.

Apparently, whatever module this is is also tied in hydraulically to the rest of the system and requires the brake system being opened up and bled again, so it's quite a bit more involved than just swapping out an electronic module.

The service manager said I should have my car back this afternoon as long as everything goes smoothly.

Here's to keeping fingers and toes crossed.

[Terry Kennedy]

Apparently, whatever module this is is also tied in hydraulically to the rest of the system and requires the brake system being opened up and bled again, so it's quite a bit more involved than just swapping out an electronic module.The DSC pump has hydraulic connections to the rest of the brake system (it can be found under the hood by the battery jumper terminal on the passenger side). However, I would expect that the problem is actually in the computer, not the pump.

I still think you're not getting a straight story, but if you scan in your service paperwork when you get the car back, we can tell you exactly what was changed and why.

[Bag's330Ci]

Thanks, Terry - I don't have a scanner, but here's what it said on the paperwork:

"Read out the fault memory, found several faults in the DSC, DME and INST Cluster, test module indicating DSC module problem, replaced the DSC and retest, no further action required."

So, not familiar enough with the DSC module to draw conclusions on why the brake system needed to be opened up. However, I am really happy to have my car back. :thumbup: