Complaint

Hi
Three weeks ago on my way to Portsmouth for the ferry the black plastic tank cover thingy with the BMW badge came loose from its front mountings and bent round at full force (70mph) and smashed off my knee hinged by the rear two fixings. The resulting piece of plastic acted as a wind break nearly sending me into the central reservation. The previous week the bike had been in for 1year/12000mile service.

Since my return I have been in touch with the dealer 3 times,each time with a promise of someone in the know getting back in touch, I I'm still waiting for a call back

What I would like to know is who I write to at BMW to try and move this forward and have the damage repaired as obviosly the dealer seems un concerned (Mill BMW Boldon).

Cheers
Steve

Can't help you with your question but I've had the exact same thing happen to me on the motorway last weekend. Pretty sure it was me and not the dealer who failed to put the panel back properly though.

Trip

There is a knack to fitting those panels properly, but in my experience, a correctly fitted one will not come loose.

You need to make sure the lower front fixing is correctly inserted, the "tab" on the plastic fitting should be horizontal. It might help to "nip up" the metal insert in the side panel that this fitting inserts into. But only a tiny bit, don't break it

Steve, give this a try

BMW Customer Service
Telephone: 0870 5050 160
or email: customer.service@bmw.co.uk

I presume its still under warranty so go make a fuss, from my experience you have to become a bit of a pain to someone to get something done. Its very sad but BMW don't seem to be interested once they've made a sale.

Good Luck!

The man you need to speak to is Steve Belars at Bracknell BMW HQ. He has been dealing with an issue with my 1200 and he's a cool geeza. Ph 01344426565 and ask for him.

Sorry to hear ...

... Of the problem, I had the same issue four weeks ago (ahem ... 105ish ... allegedly ... major 'moment' ... kevlar underwear amazingly intact ... but deeply scarred!) There are several here who share the experience

You have to raise merry hell with BuMW, scream at Customer Service, BMW UK Ltd, Ellesfield Avenue, Bracknell, Berks (they can be) RG12 8TA.

I let rip with "unfit for purpose," "clearly a major safety issue" etc ... unfortunately your sale contract is with the dealer, so you must send them a blast too, in similar terms (though I kept a friendly side dialogue with them to let them know it was BuMW who are the culprits for this piece of shit design).

You should get a warranty repair (I needed new side panel, rear-side ally panel, top panel and lower rear bracket). Accept no wriggling!

I arranged with my dealer (the revered North Oxford Group ) to swap out the stock forward fixing for a really simple bolt, washer and locknut arrangement ... tres simple and inspires my complete confidence

(... but I double-triple-double check my top box and panniers whenever I mount them!)

It's just as well that they are great bikes, because BMW don't deserve customers, with their attitude to customer care.

What chance has any dealer got if they don't get the back up from the manufacturer.

Thanks for your replys. I have never had the panel off so I can only assume it was taken off during the service or never fitted correctly from the start. I love the bike but I have to say in my limited experience their employees hide behind the badge with a 'BMW say no' mentality which is such a shame and lets down what could be an excellent overall package.

I think the mistake is fitting this clip by twisting it into the horizontal position - it should be horizontal when you offer the pannel on, then support from the back (oeerrr) and push until you hear a crick.
Sorry to hear about bad service.

Steve V said:

I have never had the panel off so I can only assume it was taken off during the service or never fitted correctly from the start.

Click to expand...

Our carelessness is one thing, dealer carelessness is unforgiveable. As others have said, the very fact that the panels can pop off unexpectedly is really bad design. In another thread on the same theme someone said that they didn't like shelling out £10K+ to then have to use cable ties, nuts and bolts and other fasteners to make the thing safe. Good Design = Safe Product. How much does a decent fastener cost for f*ck's sake?

Yes, the panels need a firm push and the fasteners need to be pushed home firmly and then turned to the horizontal. The top side of the panel needs to be clicked firmly into the top panel recess - if it isn't it seems to put a little more outward pressure on the front fastener. It's too easy to think this has been done, but push the panel in again and out it pops. That's dodgy!

I simply give the side panels a push inwards before I get on the bike and a quick glance to see the position of the fasteners. I don't want to use anything that stops me getting the panels of quickly. They don't need to come of quickly - but they been designed that way - only they seem to have been designed to do that whilst you are riding the frigging bike! That functionality is not required.

Safe ride from now on Steve, and all the best with resolving things with BMW.

Well I thought I would give Mill a final chance and called them Friday afternoon. I got put through to a somewhat bemused guy, who put me on hold, then the receptionist came back on and said the aftersales manager would call me back, I explained that I had been promised this on three previous occasions only for no calls to come through then me to start chasing again. I agreed and hear I am Saturday 6pm and no call back. So F**K them I'm Going to BMW direct. I would advice anyone to think carefully before parting with money to Mill BMW, If I had a 30K BMW car I suspect my treatment would have been better. I hear Jefferies are good..

I had the same thing happen to me a while back.Mine was fixed under warranty. I replaced my front clips with wunderlich supplied Dzus. They actually lock in place the same as the rears - Don't know why BMW don't fit them in the first place