100 Ata-Boys For BMW

I have a 2001 X5 4.4i S/P with Dinan throttle body, engine & transmission software which presently has over 62,000 miles on it (out of warranty) which I purchased April 24, 2001 from BMW of Houston North.

Much negative press has been written about dealer service and repairs. This posting is to give praise and accolades to BMW of Houston North (where I purchased the X5), Service Manager Peter Wiles, Service Advisor Jason Conner, Mechanic Matt Morrow, Technical Service Rep Scott Clark and BMW NA for doing the logical and right thing.

While changing my oil recently (at about 60,400 miles) I noticed that my transmission was leaking from a rubber inspection plug just behind the bell housing. I wiped the oil away and drove the X5 about 10 miles and observed that another drop was present. I did this several times and determined that it was in fact loosing about one drop of fluid every 10 miles. The leak had just started as there was almost no oil coating on the underside of the X5.

I am an ex Lubrication Engineer / Gear Head and have much experience concerning things mechanical, hydraulic and electrical, so I immediately deduced that it was probably the front seal of the transmission failing. This could be expected if the vehicle had 150,000+ miles on it, but at only 61,000 miles failure had to be basis a manufacturing defect in the seal or damage to the seal during the assembly of the transmission since the seal carries no drive train load regardless of the stresses put on the drive train.

Previously on an electrical matter (retro fit of rear fog lights/running and brake lights) I had gotten to know mechanic Matt Morrow whom I now regard as about the best there is (he has replaced the ENTIRE electrical wiring harness(s) in a 2 year old wrecked 745i). From my conversations with him I realized that he has an immense understanding of things mechanical, electrical and hydraulic coupled with a mind for extreme detail which few mechanics posses. Additionally, his tools were ordered and clean, which to me indicated a pride in workmanship.

On about March 25th I took the X5 to BMW of Houston North and discussed the matter with the Service Manager Peter Wiles who I have come to know as a very Customer oriented person. He said straight out “lets pull the transmission and see what the problem is” followed by “Matt will be doing the work”. This gave me the assured feeling that the R&R of the transmission would be done with the utmost attention to detail. I was quoted a price of an approximate $1,300 for the R&R.

Peter handed me off to Service Advisor Jason Conner who scheduled the work for April 6th at which time I was given a 2005 325i to drive. Jason kept me advised all along the way and was a pleasure to work with. When Matt had the transmission removed I was called (as I had requested) to observe as Matt looked around the torque converter with a fiber optics device to see where the fluid was emanating from (it looked to be from the torque converter seal) since removal of the torque converter would spill some fluid in the area. After removal of the torque converter it was obvious that the leak was from the seal. The next day the BMW Technical Rep looked at the transmission and came to the same conclusion. Matt replaced the seal and re-installed the transmission, changing the fluid per my request. The repair read as follows: “60464 (odometer reading) REPLACED THE TORQUE CONVERTER RADIAL SEAL AND PERFORMED THE SIB FOR PUMP BOLTS AS PER INFORMATION FROM PUMA/HOTLINE. FILLED SYSTEM W/NEW TRANSMISSION FLUID. 13.1 HRS.”

Note the above “PERFORMED THE SIB FOR PUMP BOLTS AS PER INFORMATION FROM PUMA/HOTLINE” refers to some of the ZF five speed auto transmissions that have had bolts that surround the input shaft loosen and start seeping fluid. It is a known problem for which the fix is to remove the transmission, remove the torque converter, remove each bolt, apply thread locker and reinstall / re-torque the bolts. It is non invasive to the transmission and was done to mine as a precautionary measure while they had the transmission removed.

I expressed to Peter and Jason that even though the X5 was out of warranty (by over 10,000 miles) I was VERY concerned that a failure of this type had occurred on a “BMW” and expressed that I expected BMW to absorb the repair in the interest of Customer relations.

I gave Jason my credit card information and they said they would not charge the repair to it until BMW advised them if the seal repair would be warranteed. I drove the X5 out on April 12th.

On April 29, 2005, I received a phone call from Jason advising that BMW was warranting the seal repair, to which I replied that my next vehicle would be a BMW.

Again, this is one of the GOOD Customer relations outcomes which emanate from BMW doing the LOGICAL and RIGHT thing for a Customer who purchased one of their high $$$$ vehicles. They probably do so more often then they are given credit for on boards like this since “problems” cause Customers to vent, while doing the LOGICAL and RIGHT thing cause Customers to be pleased, but usually without comment.

I give them 100 Ata-Boys to negate some of the Aw-$$hits received on this and other boards!