[Bigfish786]

So, a few days ago I noticed the drivers side wheel arch was very low, it was below the level of the tyre.
I have a 2018 335d m sport x drive, so there is normally a good 3 inches of clearance.
I called BMW assist, who sent a car transporter to take to the dealers.
They are taking a look at it shortly, anyone else had this happen? I was told if no warranty issues were found, that there would be £125 to pay!
2nd, I mentioned the squeaky brakes after you take the handbrake off- to be told, m sport brakes do that!! Not really acceptable on a 50k car is what I said.
3rd, I asked if there were software updates needed, he reply's yes, but that's not covered by warranty, I'd have to pay for that!!!
To say I was shocked at all this js an understatement,
Car is still under warranty till November, I was expecting a much better service.
Am I missing something, or is this generally accepted behaviour from BMW?

[Londoner]

Fair enough on the 125 charge if no warranty issue found I think, but software updates not covered?! That's simply not true as far as I'm aware. I've had a couple over the years on my (extended warranty) 340i and have never been charged.

M sport brakes do squeal unfortunately. At least after 10-15,000 miles, in my experience.

[Ennoch]

I thought that was meant to be a selling point of paying for main dealer servicing, ie they update the software as necessary?! Especially on a car that I'm guessing is still under the manufacturers warranty? Unless with the advent of electric cars and less servicing costs associated with them they're now trying to recover some of their lost future revenue by making updates a chargeable thing?

They inform you of the need to pay it which is fair enough as it covers the time taken for diagnostics if the fault is subsequently found to be something not covered by the warranty. They did that with the clunk I had on the front which seemed reasonable to me, as if it was something caused by road damage for example you wouldn't expect the warranty to pay for that. Sounds like you've broken a spring though. Whether they consider that damage or part failure is down to the warranty company but I imagine in the absence of any other telling marks (like a damaged tyre or buckled wheel) it'll be a straight up warranty replacement.

As my car has done very little mileage over the last few months with lockdown etc, and then spent a month in the bodyshop, it's been washed more than it's been driven so the rear brakes were a bit squeaky from the handbrake. With some more driving and dragging of the handbrake it seems to have disappeared now.

[Bigfish786]

To be honest, the car went into BMW in Doncaster around 5 weeks ago with the brakes, eml on and off, car not pulling away on startup, and a few other concerns, I dropped it off, there was no mention of charges for anything, and once picked up, no charges but unfortunately, the squeaky brakes returned.
Had they told me there was going to be a charge (potentially) I would have taken it to our service centre where I work, who would have checked it over for free.
Because there was no charge last time, I assumed there wouldn't be this time!
And you would expect any car still under manufacturer warranty to be looked at regardless.
Never had this with Ford or Mazda.

[aquazi]

Could be broken spring - fairly common on older BMW's although not heard of it happening on SE springs (i.e those with xdrive)

Either way should def be covered by the new car warranty.

Squeeky brakes depends on mileage - but my 435d had when it hadnt been used for a while - a good old italian tune up normally got rid of it though.

[Bigfish786]

My car is only 2 1/2 years old and just gone 15k. I wouldn't expect anything at all breaking at this age and mileage.
Focus st I had did 78k, and all that broke was the seat winding handle. £6 off eBay.
Mazda MPS I did 30k in and needed a fuse for the headlight washer. That was free!
I'm hoping that it's nothing serious with the 335d, but in 9 months, and 2 2018 cars, I've had loads of niggles, issues and need to call bmw assist out.
Have I just been bloody unlucky here or what?

[johnung]

Originally Posted by Bigfish786

So, a few days ago I noticed the drivers side wheel arch was very low, it was below the level of the tyre.
I have a 2018 335d m sport x drive, so there is normally a good 3 inches of clearance.
I called BMW assist, who sent a car transporter to take to the dealers.
They are taking a look at it shortly, anyone else had this happen? I was told if no warranty issues were found, that there would be £125 to pay!
2nd, I mentioned the squeaky brakes after you take the handbrake off- to be told, m sport brakes do that!! Not really acceptable on a 50k car is what I said.
3rd, I asked if there were software updates needed, he reply's yes, but that's not covered by warranty, I'd have to pay for that!!!
To say I was shocked at all this js an understatement,
Car is still under warranty till November, I was expecting a much better service.
Am I missing something, or is this generally accepted behaviour from BMW?

BMW brakes are designed not to squeak. It's unacceptable for a BMW mechanic to claim that squeaks are normal.

Typically it's poorly applied brake paste which is an integral part of the brake system. Or guys who power wash their wheels can blast away brake paste.

So reapply new brake paste, it's one of the few inexpensive things from BMW Dealer Parts. See attached photo. At the same time, clean pad sliding surfaces and check condition of caliper pins and clips.

Hope this helps!

[Craig-SM]

[QUOTE=Bigfish786;27672172]So, a few days ago I noticed the drivers side wheel arch was very low, it was below the level of the tyre.
I have a 2018 335d m sport x drive, so there is normally a good 3 inches of clearance.
I called BMW assist, who sent a car transporter to take to the dealers.
They are taking a look at it shortly, anyone else had this happen? I was told if no warranty issues were found, that there would be £125 to pay!
/QUOTE]

I had the same suspension fault with the wife’s 3 series. Noticed the rear right tyre was almost level with the wheel arch. I inspected it expecting to find a broken spring but it was fine. Nothing out of place or damaged.
In the end I replaced both rear springs and shocks with Bilstien OEM standard. That fixed it and the car handled a lot better too with the parts fitted. The removed springs were just the same as the new ones in height with cracks so assumed they were fatigued. The shocks were goosed though but that shouldn’t have effected the ride height.

[Ennoch]

Originally Posted by Bigfish786

So, a few days ago I noticed the drivers side wheel arch was very low, it was below the level of the tyre.
I have a 2018 335d m sport x drive, so there is normally a good 3 inches of clearance.
I called BMW assist, who sent a car transporter to take to the dealers.
They are taking a look at it shortly, anyone else had this happen? I was told if no warranty issues were found, that there would be £125 to pay!
/QUOTE]

I had the same suspension fault with the wife’s 3 series. Noticed the rear right tyre was almost level with the wheel arch. I inspected it expecting to find a broken spring but it was fine. Nothing out of place or damaged.
In the end I replaced both rear springs and shocks with Bilstien OEM standard. That fixed it and the car handled a lot better too with the parts fitted. The removed springs were just the same as the new ones in height with cracks so assumed they were fatigued. The shocks were goosed though but that shouldn’t have effected the ride height.

Dampers are usually pressurised which does lead to a difference in ride height once they're replaced, or at least it will if the dampers are knackered. When I put the new ones on the CRV there was nearly an inch difference in height as they were high pressure monotones! In contrast I have Koni's on the Impreza which aren't pressurised as they are twin tube (you do also get low pressure twin tubes) so using the same Prodrive springs on a set of say Bilstein dampers the ride height would be 5-10mm greater.

[Bigfish786]

Just had a video sent from BMW, and as happened last time, they found no fault.
From what I witnessed, all they did was a walk around check, Brakes, tyres and suspension just visibly checked.
The wheels were off the floor, so how they check for dropped suspension like that I'm not sure.
Looks like I'll be getting it back and taking it to work, I'll get the brakes done there.

Honestly can't see me keeping it much longer, I don't enjoy owning it. I dread something else going wrong.

[Ennoch]

That just sounds like they're not passing the proper notes to the techs, or the techs simply don't care. My local one is actually pretty good, albeit they decided to demand the rear tyres were replaced due to cuts in the tread - so I just dropped my winters off to them so they could do the test drive. They did a pretty thorough RCA on it between the usual prying, test drive and then shaker plate etc to isolate where the problem was arising. But that's the problem isn't it? You're totally at the mercy of your dealership's management and how they drive behaviours in the various departments.

Maybe you could ask them to measure the axle to arch heights at ride height and explain to you whether or not they deem them to be acceptable, and if they are, why they deem it to be so?

[Bigfish786]

Apparently they did a measure of arch gap, and said it was "within tolerance " comforting words .

[Alscoob]

It was quite a common thing with some earlier models that they would sit 10mm lower on one side (front & rear) My 2014 version did, but 2017 one doesn't (same height both sides), something to do with the transition and allowances between left and right hand drive.

That apparantly was within tollerance, but would expect anything else (1 wheel matter) to be a problem especially if it wasn't like it before and has just happened.

Some accurate measurements as Ennoch advises would help establish if the rea is 'out' so to speak.

[Wills2]

Unless there is a warranty/recall issue that an istep level flash will solve, dealers won't offer it for free as it takes up a bay for quite a while.

Some brakes do squeal I've found it random over the years my M5s did but 335d didn't, there are sometimes fixes like shims etc...but user error can be a factor if they haven't been bedded in correctly, go do some hard stops from 60-70mph on a quiet road that can often clear it.

[Bigfish786]

The brakes only squeal when I first release the hand brake. If I then just pop in onto reverse, then back into drive, it goes instantly.
I'll just keep an eye on the suspension. Not much more I can do.

On another note, I got a 520d as a hire car, if thats what normal suspension feels like, I'll stick to my wibbly wobbly springs on my 335d.
That 520d felt way too stiff for me.

[330Stevie]

Originally Posted by Bigfish786

The brakes only squeal when I first release the hand brake. If I then just pop in onto reverse, then back into drive, it goes instantly.
I'll just keep an eye on the suspension. Not much more I can do.

On another note, I got a 520d as a hire car, if thats what normal suspension feels like, I'll stick to my wibbly wobbly springs on my 335d.
That 520d felt way too stiff for me.

If it’s the hand brake squeal, the manual advises proactively pulling handbrake on off a few times at slow speed on a periodic basis to prevent this happening.