UPDATE ABOUT DCT UPGRADING - Techs put 30 miles on my car

[ihyln]

After receiving my car for the DCT upgrade I later got home where I carefully looked at the workshee and much to my dismay I found out that my car at 2970 miles when I dropped it off but when I picked it up later in the afternoon it had 3003.

Has anyone had past experience in dealing with this kind of situation? They did throw in the free 2009.1 nav disc but they also forgot to top off the oil after I asked them to check it, so they were most likely driving it hard with a low amount of engine oil.

edit:
The dealership actually put 30 miles on the car (2973 miles in 3003 miles out)

edit2:
I actually have quite a surprising update. I'm still holding my reservations but here goes.

Apparently, according to BMW when you flash or reflash the cars electronics the mileage of the car can change by up to 20 miles. Has anyone heard of this? Is this kind of oversight possible? I mean 20 miles! He said he will provide a document proving this.

I apologized profusely to the service manager but he understood where I was coming from. He said he analyzed the video tapes and my car did not leave the building except for an 8 minute test run. He even asked the techs "who drove this car for 30 miles? Because it will be your last day". I'm impressed nonetheless but I still want to know how this is possible.

[Sticky]

You can't go back in time so just raise hell, tell them you will give them all 1's when they call to check how the service went, and see what they offer you.

[RRGOO7]

I wouldn't make a big deal out of it....although 23 miles is quite unnecessary...make sure you mention it when you take it in next time

[bmstyle71]

Originally Posted by Sticky

You can't go back in time so just raise hell, tell them you will give them all 1's when they call to check how the service went, and see what they offer you.

+1 those 1's are like kryptonite to them. They hate getting them because it lowers their pay (service manager at BMW told me).

[GT3 Tim]

They also put abou 20 or so miles on my car. However, I had complained about multiple issues with the tranny....so IMHO, my case was justified for them to fully hammer on it to see if there were any remaining issues. You, I dunno.

[Hellride]

Just picked mine up - 1.6 miles were added.

[masmole]

I wouldn't worry about it.... maybe they wanted to test drive it thoroughly since the symptoms of this update were pretty widespread and vague from car to car.

I told them it would stall on occasion but very rare. Obviously, in the short time they had it during my 1200 mile service 2 months ago, they couldn't reproduce my symptoms. So when they took my car in again today at 3100 miles, they asked if it was ok with me if the technician could test drive it to the tune of 10-20 miles or more. I approved and they seemed sincere about making sure the problem was fixed after the software update so I was fine with it.

Maybe they should've asked your permission in your case but since many dealer service departments can get quite busy and since test driving is essential to diagnosis of a problem, especially when symptoms can be complex and tough to reproduce, I'm not surprised they put 23 miles on your car.

[jeff.m3]

ihyln, which dealer was this?

[watrob]

I don't mind if they do 10-20 miles as long as they fill the tank back up when there finished.

[nusevad]

wow 23 miles, thats alot....when i go in on wed. im going to specifically tell them not to drive it more than 5, otherwise all 1s on their performance report.

[tabolau]

23 miles is a lot. My tech didn't even put one mile on my car for the software upgrade.

[MDCTFTW]

That's bullshit. Granted you're really close to 3k miles (full break in) so BMW says you can redline the shit out of her now. I wouldn't worry too much, but if you didn't specify them not to do it then there isn't much you can do. They can always say it's routine to test the vehicle after any inspection.

[TLud]

Originally Posted by ihyln

After receiving my car for the DCT upgrade I later got home where I carefully looked at the workshee and much to my dismay I found out that my car at 2970 miles when I dropped it off but when I picked it up later in the afternoon it had 3003.

Has anyone had past experience in dealing with this kind of situation? They did throw in the free 2009.1 nav disc but they also forgot to top off the oil after I asked them to check it, so they were most likely driving it hard with a low amount of engine oil.

Call me crazy, but isn't 3,003 minus 2970 actually 33 miles?

Anyway, before getting worked up about it, I'd call up your SA and ask him point blank why so many miles. They may have been testing the car post-update to make sure there were none of the reported problems under certain specified situations. If he can't give you an answer or gives you a lame one, then let him have it.

[ihyln]

Originally Posted by TLud

Call me crazy, but isn't 3,003 minus 2970 actually 33 miles?

Anyway, before getting worked up about it, I'd call up your SA and ask him point blank why so many miles. They may have been testing the car post-update to make sure there were none of the reported problems under certain specified situations. If he can't give you an answer or gives you a lame one, then let him have it.

Yes you're right it is 33 miles. I was too livid to double check my math let alone write a coherent post.

I've calmed down and I will simply call the SA tomorrow and hear what he has to say before I name the dealership.

[rob612]

lol savage bmw in Ontario, CA banned my sister because she complained they racked up 17 miles. The proper max mileage for an oil change is around 3 miles maximum. They usually have test courses ranging from 1 mile to 15 miles.. obviously 15 miles for more severe service checks. This was told to me by many BMW dealers and by the BMW corporate office.

I knew several people that worked at Irvine BMW and a friend that worked near Irvine BMW. My friends would constantly take out a new car that was required in for service. They racked up around 30 miles on a new M, messed around with the transmission, floored it, created flats on the tires.. -1 for that fcker that did not treat cars the way it should be treated. My friend that has an office near Irvine BMW can look over the service center back area.. they have employees driving recklessly.. and i mean doing sliding the cars into a park position, flooring, screeching tires.

If someone racks up 33 miles on your vehicle.. something is not right.. but be prepared to be blacklisted if you piss them off. BMW north america can not do anything about that black list also.. I think they don't like the bad score my sister gave them. lol

[rob612]

oh yeah btw... i always tell them "NO TEST DRIVE" and they write it down on the paper. lol always check your miles and have them check your tire for flats.. just in case.

[BMWguy206]

I wouldn't blame it on the technician right away. Sometimes porters might take it out for a ride.

What exactly were your complaints on the repair order?

As a former BMW technician adding 33 miles, in my opinion, is excessive if you're just doing a simple DCT program. 5-10 miles would be my limit. I do 2 mile for oil services.
If a tech is on flat rate then he is losing money wasting 30 minutes of his time where he can work on another car.

Any noise, vibration, or intermittent complaints can be 20 miles+ or even up to 100 miles.

[BMWguy206]

Originally Posted by rob612

lol savage bmw in Ontario, CA banned my sister because she complained they racked up 17 miles. The proper max mileage for an oil change is around 3 miles maximum. They usually have test courses ranging from 1 mile to 15 miles.. obviously 15 miles for more severe service checks. This was told to me by many BMW dealers and by the BMW corporate office.

I knew several people that worked at Irvine BMW and a friend that worked near Irvine BMW. My friends would constantly take out a new car that was required in for service. They racked up around 30 miles on a new M, messed around with the transmission, floored it, created flats on the tires.. -1 for that fcker that did not treat cars the way it should be treated. My friend that has an office near Irvine BMW can look over the service center back area.. they have employees driving recklessly.. and i mean doing sliding the cars into a park position, flooring, screeching tires.

If someone racks up 33 miles on your vehicle.. something is not right.. but be prepared to be blacklisted if you piss them off. BMW north america can not do anything about that black list also.. I think they don't like the bad score my sister gave them. lol

+1 on the blacklist. It does exist and I already know a few SoCA dealerships that have banned customers because of low CSI scores.

[ihyln]

It wouldn't be in that dealership's best interest to blacklist me. If I don't really hear what I want to hear then a lot of people will refuse to go there once word spreads.

[watrob]

What you need to do is reverse the list, have a Dealer blacklist, see how they would like that.

[Race_Doc11]

Mine is getting updated on Wed. I'm making sure there is no test drive ...I will test it and let them know..the scarry part is not the mileage it is how they drive it in the break in period....

[BMWguy206]

Originally Posted by racedoc11

Mine is getting updated on Wed. I'm making sure there is no test drive ...I will test it and let them know..the scarry part is not the mileage it is how they drive it in the break in period....

My dealer called me and asked if I wanted to come in for the DCT service action and to do the 1200 mile service at the same time. I politely told him that I am going to wait till the car hits 1200 miles then make an appointment. The scary part was that he knew exactly how many miles the M3 had when he called (700) and it hasn't been to the dealer since it was picked up.

Got me thinking if BMW is keeping track if the M cars via satellite.