BMW warranty madness...

[richardbd]

So, RT goes in for 12k service. I've had it just under two years but it's a suspension recall reject, so is actually 2.5 years old and out of warranty - though I took the extended one as soon as the OEM one elapsed.

Get a call from dealer; the exhaust valve is seized.
OK, so fix it.
It's out of warranty.
I have an extended warranty.
Exhaust not covered.
OK - so how much?
Well, trouble is valve is embedded in down-pipes, so pipes have to be replaced. Part is £1,300!! However, some good news - BMW have offered to pay for part as goodwill gesture, if you'll pay £72 for the labour to fit it.

How mad is that - on so many levels???

 

[crotchrocket]

sounds like a good deal!

Shame the exhaust isn't covered in the extended warranty though. You'd think its a failure, not wear and tear.

 

[BillWright]

Well surely you've had a result. The replacement part will have a two year warranty because you've paid something towards it.

 

[Deleted account 260111001]

Didn't the warranty get extended (i.e. Reset to zero) on these bikes? Or was that only if you had if from new and the bike was off the road?

 

[casbar]

Think the warranty only got extended by 3 months, well mine did. Anyway as posted on another forum, same thing happened to me 3 weeks ago. Paid my £72 and had a new exhaust fitted.

 

[Stevie4scoops]

So, RT goes in for 12k service. I've had it just under two years but it's a suspension recall reject, so is actually 2.5 years old and out of warranty - though I took the extended one as soon as the OEM one elapsed.

Get a call from dealer; the exhaust valve is seized.
OK, so fix it.
It's out of warranty.
I have an extended warranty.
Exhaust not covered.
OK - so how much?
Well, trouble is valve is embedded in down-pipes, so pipes have to be replaced. Part is £1,300!! However, some good news - BMW have offered to pay for part as goodwill gesture, if you'll pay £72 for the labour to fit it.

How mad is that - on so many levels???

I've never taken out an extended warranty on anything but if I had paid the annual cost of £300 for it I would expect it to cover everything in the same way as the original. Sounds to me like the extended guarantee is a complete waste of money and not fit for purpose.

 

[knapdog]

........Sounds to me like the extended guarantee is a complete waste of money and not fit for purpose.

.....unless you're faced with a defect that would have cost you a grand, in which case the £300 would be worth every penny.
When my warranty runs out next September I'll certainly, for peace of mind, be extending it.

 

[MikeO]

I've never taken out an extended warranty on anything but if I had paid the annual cost of £300 for it I would expect it to cover everything in the same way as the original. Sounds to me like the extended guarantee is a complete waste of money and not fit for purpose.

I'd expect to ask that question and personally check the small print. Extended warranties are often just covered by insurance companies with a manufacturer's badge on them and rarely offer as good cover as the original.

 

[squibb34]

Having come from a problematic K1600, believe me extended BMW warranty on the big tourers is essential IMHO. Mine ran up warranty claims totalling £6500 retail (gearbox & front suspension failure).

If you need to dip in your pocket for a bit of labour/loan bike insurance or whatever, that's one thing. but with K16 full engines at around £10k retail & RTs probably at least £6k, the calculation is easy. These aint cheap white/brown goods where you can go with the flow - the parts costs can be eyewatering. The K16 guys say BMW = Buy More Warranty.

Sorry - I think you have just got to swallow the labour cost in the instance ..................... KEN

 

[Deleted account 181015003]

I would think regardless of warranty or not the exhaust valve or bike is not fit for purpose under uk sale of goods laws.

It would be difficult for a dealer (who your contract is with) to argue in court that the normal life expectancy of the exhaust on this bike is only 2.5 years it sounds like its not fit for purpose and of satisfactory quality the op would win a claim, I would push for FOC repair they are tring it on.

 

[casbar]

I was in the same position. Out of warranty is out of warranty. Two years is good, my Harley only had a year. And not every exhaust flap fails within 2 years, so not fit for purpose doesn't really work. Think that they agree to replace, proves they are being reasonable. Paying a contribution also means you get another 2 year warranty.

 

[casbar]

Also the extended warranty only costs £300 plus if you take BMW Rescue as well, you can decline that bit if you wish. No extended warranties cover things like exhausts, cats, etc.

 

[chrisjk]

I'd offer to pay the full £1300 if they will take out the designer who created the problem and shoot him.

 

[richardbd]

I'd offer to pay the full £1300 if they will take out the designer who created the problem and shoot him.

Agreed - I'd love to know who eventually foots the bill for crap like this.

Dealer?
BMW UK?
BMW Motorrad?
BMW Group?
Exhaust manufacturer?

Of course, the real answer is - all of us...

 

[squibb34]

I'd offer to pay the full £1300 if they will take out the designer who created the problem and shoot him.

Just trying to tie it down -I think he was probably a Jap, working for Yamaha (the EXUP valve).

Then again, they only brought the idea back to life from earlier designs, due to modern metallurgy & improved things more recently using the ECU/electronic activation.

Just think of the environment these things work in. I had trouble with my GSX-R 750K6 at one stage, after a winter lay-up. On those, the ECU exercises the EXUP valve when you turn on the ignition & the clocks do their thing. If the valve doesn't return freely to the rest position, it can throw a warning light. My dealer, reckoned he could free the valve, with a bit of manual stimulation so to speak & suggested I should, in future, just give the 'check' process a little more time on start-up. Seemed to work just fine after that, a brilliant little bike - sorry I traded it for a ZX10R; such is life.

Not sure whether this would work with the RT set-up, but it may be worth asking your dealer ........................ KEN.

 

[chrisjk]

I can just about live with the valve, it's the crazy business of having to replace everything apart from the can in order to replace the valve. On the twin cam you didn't need to do that, you could just whip it out and if desired stick a new one in.

 

[internaught]

Guys, I would put injection cleaner into petrol tank every fifth tankful or run on shell v power at all times to try to prevent the exhaust valves sticking in exhaust due to carbon build up ? else the design and valve not fit for purpose in my opinion.

 

[Tilly]

They changed mine.

Took out the BMW Extended Warranty in September. Took my bike for a service last month and they found the exhaust valve was sticking on mine.
Extended warranty covered the replacement of the pipes and all labour charges. I like my BMW dealer!!!

 

[adventuredon]

Had my TC in for the same issue 3 times in 6 years.....paid for some, not paid for others. Extended warranty covered one, not the other...go figure