Mr.E.G.

And for the record, I am usually the last person to suggest that someone lawyer up over an issue that can resolved without doing so. I talk more of our firm's prospective clients into not hiring us than hiring us. Always have, always will. But, again, this is a problem that can result in an accident, and you can only afford to be so understanding under such circumstances.

billios996

seems like you're in a tough spot. Perhaps rather than trying to solve the problem, you can see if the sales dept has any early lease trade in deals. Make it their problem to resolve. We all know, of course, they wont fix it and the next owner of the car will be stuck with it

QUIKAG

Sounds like you need to warm the car up faster. Start it in the driveway and sit at 5,000rpm for a few minutes with the car in neutral/park.

WolfpackS2k

Personally, I'd feel pretty shitty about selling a car to someone else (business or otherwise) if I know it has a safety issue. Just saying...

vader1

It is just way to early for the suggestion though. My car is broken....LAWYER!. Give them a couple whacks at it with an experienced tech. Picking a fight does not serve him until they tell him to get lost and he has no other option. He wants the service department in his corner, not his adversary at this point.

Hirev, it would be interesting to know what the codes are.

Someone with some real good experience should know exactly what codes/problems will throw the car into limp and what will not. Even if the codes that the computer is seeing might not be any that trigger limp, a good mechanic might be able to deduce what the problem is based on those codes and an actual trigger.

These were listed in a thread as to causes of limp in an N54:

Q. Ok, which threshold?
A: We've identified 4 major items so far that can induce limp modes specifically at the track:

1. Oil Temps
2. Coolant Temps
3. VANOS issues
4. Traction control


Now if you have an N55, a very similar engine, and if one assumes that BMW establishes similar parameters for limp mode, and it happens when the car is warming but you also say accelerating on an on ramp, I would look at the first three (oil temp sensor, water temp sensor, and any interplay with vanos system). I only suggest VANOS because you seem to think it happens during freeway ramps and I don't know the interplay between VANOS varying anything and operating temp, sort of like VTEC won't kick in until three bars on the temp gauge. Maybe if VANOS is kicking in before it should (normal operating temp) then it causes unrelated hiccup codes and limp. Just a wild ass guess. But the fact you say the engine is cold and accelerating leads me to believe VANOS is involved.

If it happens again and is under warranty, I would ask BMW to replace oil and water temp sensors if they have no clue and see if that resolves the issue. At the vary least it would eliminate them as the culprits.

Lastly, how often does this happens? Every day? a few times in the last year? Once a month?

Mr.E.G.

Ditto.

Mr.E.G.

If the paint was peeling or the exhaust was making a funny noise I'd totally agree with you. But something like this could easily cause an accident. Again, though, you're assuming that I'm talking about declaring war on the service department, which I am completely not advocating for. Further, he gave them a couple of shots to fix it and they couldn't figure it out. If I were him, as I stated earlier, I would go out of my way to give them another chance to fix it, up to and including letting them have the car for an extended period of time. If that doesn't do the trick, smell ya later, guys. I don't want this car any more.

vader1

If the paint was peeling or the exhaust was making a funny noise I'd totally agree with you. But something like this could easily cause an accident. Again, though, you're assuming that I'm talking about declaring war on the service department, which I am completely not advocating for. Further, he gave them a couple of shots to fix it and they couldn't figure it out. If I were him, as I stated earlier, I would go out of my way to give them another chance to fix it, up to and including letting them have the car for an extended period of time. If that doesn't do the trick, smell ya later, guys. I don't want this car any more.
[/quote]

Does not matter much to me, I was just raised by an attorney who hated suing people and thought everyone was too quick to pull the lawyer card. The distinction I was trying to make is the dealer is saying "We need more to go on" which is totally different then them saying "Sucks to be you." One seems to lend itself to an attorney, the other does not. Even if it is a safety issue, how will the lawyer help them diagnose or fix it?

We just disagree a bit on how much more rope to give the dealer before trying to get aggressive.

hirev

Thank you all for your opinions:

I would not want another BMW, period. Sure there are great things about it...and the way they have dealt with it, a major problem reported by a customer is poor.
Corporate has stated, and i kicked it upstairs too...we cannot reproduce it so it does not exist.

next, this has happened about 7 times in 20,000 miles...intermittent for sure. It's scary and dangerous, but I have handled it each time just fine....hard to find and they will NOT repair or fix or replace anything till they can pin down the issue.

Taking it back to the better of the two dealers, well they have had it twice for the same issue and it is not reproduced...it is really intermittent.
The car is perfect after I can pull over (you can't turn off the engine or restart while moving!!!) turn off, wait a second or two and restart. it may not happen again for another 10,000 miles or it may happen again today!
the last time it happened was about a year ago, I have had the car for over two years.
It sucks...I am frustrated and BMW is no help in any way other than to take it in , drive it, and then return it...i guess i can take it back again!
its been in three times since new for this issue with no fix.

My son has a code reader and will read the codes for me .....

Some notes on the car car in general, it's the m sport 335i manual, which is a great looking car with lots of nice features, it goes like stink, gets a consistent 24-26 mpg in very day driving, has a great set of brakes and gearbox (not as good as my S2000 of course), the suspension is a mess, too soft and too hard all at the same time(floating and leaning)The run-flats are crap: i now have a separate warranty on them as i had a bubble in one already. the stereo is not as good as a car costing less, the IDRIVE....is so complex and yes I know how to use it, that it's far from user friendly, the interior is a bit plain but the seats are great and so it the brushed metal trim, most buttons , windows and radio:do not work the first time you push them or it you push them a bit too quickly, about 50% of the time....
It has not had to be towed or left me stranded, yet. Large practical trunk with fold down seats, roomy interior, nice exaust sound, if you drive in sport + you will be looking at a warning light on teh dash all the time.

I got a great lease deal and the purchase price was knocked down a bit through an auto broker....but I got it to enjoy, not lament.


This is not my first bmw or luxury sport brand, I have owned 27 cars to date. I can hardly wait till the new rs comes out!

Mr.E.G.

If the paint was peeling or the exhaust was making a funny noise I'd totally agree with you. But something like this could easily cause an accident. Again, though, you're assuming that I'm talking about declaring war on the service department, which I am completely not advocating for. Further, he gave them a couple of shots to fix it and they couldn't figure it out. If I were him, as I stated earlier, I would go out of my way to give them another chance to fix it, up to and including letting them have the car for an extended period of time. If that doesn't do the trick, smell ya later, guys. I don't want this car any more.
[/quote]

Does not matter much to me, I was just raised by an attorney who hated suing people and thought everyone was too quick to pull the lawyer card. The distinction I was trying to make is the dealer is saying "We need more to go on" which is totally different then them saying "Sucks to be you." One seems to lend itself to an attorney, the other does not. Even if it is a safety issue, how will the lawyer help them diagnose or fix it?

We just disagree a bit on how much more rope to give the dealer before trying to get aggressive.
[/quote]


I agree with you, by and large. Your last sentence is well said. When it comes to safety stuff, my tolerance level is relatively low. Not to slit hairs, but I'm not suggesting that the lawyer will help them diagnose anything. I'm suggesting that, if they can't fix it for realsies this time, he lemon law the thing. That has nothing to do with the service people or diagnosing anything.

Lastly, I will restate again that I am the poster child for restraint when it comes to litigation. I just think this is a very serious matter wherein he's already tried to get it fixed in good faith. At some point his back is against the wall.