Get missing dash pixels repaired by BMWNA (E39)

BMW Bellevue had no problem taking my $800 to fix this problem 5 months ago. Has anyone been successful getting a refund or credit? BTW - they told me the panel will likely go bad again. Not reassuring.

IMHO a good dealer should have gone to bat for owners on this one. The pixel problem is clearly a deign defect.

Hello to everyone. I am a new member for this Forum. Very informative Forum.

I also send E-mail to BMW NA about instrument cluster problems today.
My 2002 X5 has 36.000 miles on it and this problem does exist. We also own 2002 BMW 525Ti and 2004 BMW X3, and no problems yet with their instrument clusters.
But thanks for the tip about this problem. Is this covered by BMW warranty? Or it's owners
responsibility to fix it?
Is it possible to install this part by yourself without paying to a dealer for labor?

Thank's
Michael
Los Angeles,CA.

Well, I have emailed the lady no response, 3rd email! I did call bmwna and talked to a customer service rep, they are willing to help but i have to take the car into a bmw dealer so they can diagnose the problem and contact bmwna, they stated that they will correct the issue once the tech at bmw notifies them....

I sent the message to leonora.vlavovich@bmwna.com on 8/25/2005, then received the response asking for additional information on 8/29/2005. I responded immediately, but have not received any additional correspondence since.

Has anyone had any similar experiences? Did you have to call BMW NA? Did you have to take your car to the dealer?

I am the second owner of a 1999 540ia with 47,000 miles... has anyone had any luck with an older model like this one?

Thanks!

Originally Posted by johnsonjoshuab

I sent the message to leonora.vlavovich@bmwna.com on 8/25/2005, then received the response asking for additional information on 8/29/2005. I responded immediately, but have not received any additional correspondence since.

Has anyone had any similar experiences? Did you have to call BMW NA? Did you have to take your car to the dealer?

I am the second owner of a 1999 540ia with 47,000 miles... has anyone had any luck with an older model like this one?

Thanks!

Just go back a few posts on this thread and you'll see someone just got it done two weeks ago on a 98 with 53K miles. Also, Chgolatin2 just got it covered on his last week. http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=110733 Yes, you have to take the car to a dealer once BMWNA approves it. You might try calling. Might speed things up and can't hurt.

Just curious . . . .I had my dash pixels repaired on my '02 530 under the manufacturer's warranty at about 32K. Can I now expect them to last the life of the car or will they go out again?

Just wanted to follow up my earlier post and report it was taken care of, as advertised. I had a bit of an issue in that the dealer had a problem coding the new cluster and said it kept displaying a message that my car was an automatic. When it finally got resolved they said the cluster installed first was meant for an e38. It was unclear whether they are two different clusters, or the software was the problem, but it was fixed and I paid for one hour of labor. I drove one of their 325's around for a week while they got it figured out (I did have some other work done).

Originally Posted by johnsonjoshuab

I sent the message to leonora.vlavovich@bmwna.com on 8/25/2005, then received the response asking for additional information on 8/29/2005. I responded immediately, but have not received any additional correspondence since.

Has anyone had any similar experiences? Did you have to call BMW NA? Did you have to take your car to the dealer?

I am the second owner of a 1999 540ia with 47,000 miles... has anyone had any luck with an older model like this one?

Thanks!

Update, I emaled again Monday 9/12/2005, and received a call that afternoon from the BMWNA rep. He told me he had arranged everything with my local dealer & gave me the contact info for the Service Director. I left a message for the service director, and went ahead and scheduled the repair w/ the service dept. I did not have to bring the car in for any further diagnosis before the repair. I never heard back from the service director, but everything was taken care of on the bill. BMWNA covered the part, and I paid for the labor.

Thanks again for the great info!

My 2002 540i BMW sport has the same problem. I sent off an e-mail today and I will keep the forum updated on the outcome.

Thanks for providing the information!

Good to hear this stuck post keeps helping everyone!

Wow,

Thanks for this post. I just sent off my email to Leonora. Let's see if it works. I have (original owner) a '97 540 with 192K on the clock. Can no longer read trip odometer nor outside temp and roughly half of the message pixels are gone.

Gary

Was contacted by Leona today via telephone to confirm car and dealer info. Next week I will be taking the car in for a "goodwill" fix. I will post how much I was charged and who my dealer is.

I emailed as you recommended and had a response by phone within 48 hours.
They offered to pay for 50%of new module.
I complained and they paid 100% 0f part - $168 for labor oop.
I am second owner 1998 540 - 102k

Wow, $168 for labor!? Well, I guess it is better than the $800 or so you'd be charge for a new instrument cluster! I paid $125 labor to get mine replaced. That was an hour's charge, BTW.

I had mine done by the dealer after the e-mails with BMW's customer service. It cost me $125 (seems steep for one hour of labor), and the display has begun to go out again less than a year later! The replacement is no better than the original...

I believe there is a two-year warranty on the replacment part. I seem to recall hearing/reading that somewhere.

Today BMW Motowerks in Bloominton, MN fixed my VDO on the goodwill repair policy that BMW has in place. It cost me one hour of labor which was $98.00.

Thanks to this board I saved a great deal of money.

thanks

Mr. ---------,

I just received a message from Lionel and he stated the parts only will be covered for you as goodwill. You will be required to pay labor.

Please contact Lionel at your convenience to set up an appointment.



Thank you.

Brandi




BMW of Dallas looked at my car, and confirmed the state of my instrument cluster, and looks like i'll get it replaced as soon as i can get in for an appointment! Hopefully will only cost 1hr labor, Lionel informed me it was 3 or 4 hrs labor

It's an hour. I'd call Brandi back and see about using a different dealership if they want to charge you more than $100-110.

Should be 1 hour of labor but different places charge different rates. I paid $125 for my hour of labor.

But my aftermarket warranty then covered the $125 so I got away clean!

to BMW of Dallas. Dropped my car off at 7am this morning, they gave me a Nissan Murano loaner , i wanted another BMW but beggars can't be choosers. Lionel Garcia (service manager) called me around 4 and said come pick it up. Arrived and was expecting the $114.20 for one hour, only to find that it took them barely any time to replace so they charged me $70 out the door. Cleaned up my interior, washed it, and detailed the wheels too! BMW of Dallas gets an A in my book, but im still doing all my own major repairs HIGHLY Recommended, speak to Lionel Garcia.

Laertes, how did you manage to get them to pay for 100%? They told me the same thing, (50%) that's why I haven't brought my car in to get fix. Who did you complain to and what about?

Originally Posted by RodimusPrime

Laertes, how did you manage to get them to pay for 100%? They told me the same thing, (50%) that's why I haven't brought my car in to get fix. Who did you complain to and what about?

Weird, they offered up 100% to me. Make sure you're going through BMWNA for the part.

Just purchased my '98 540i with problematic pixels and 117k miles. I sent my request email today. I'll post back to the thread with a timeline of progress. My local dealer is BMW of Chattanooga, TN.

Originally Posted by laertes

I emailed as you recommended and had a response by phone within 48 hours.
They offered to pay for 50%of new module.
I complained and they paid 100% 0f part - $168 for labor oop.
I am second owner 1998 540 - 102k

I too was given a 50% "Goodwill offer" from BMW. I have to pick up the balance of the part and 100% of the labor. I asked why things have changed and was advised that the decision was made on a "case-by-case basis." This is interesting. On what basis do they choose? Wondering what kind of "complaining" works and to whom. I have been speaking with Petra from BMWNA.

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