Engine corrosion

[gspod]

Hi
My wife has a 14 plate 1200 LC. It’s got some bubbling paint on the engine (where the cylinder heads join the main block) when it went in for a service she was told that it’s corrosion and not covered by the warranty.
She bought it less than 2 years ago with 12K miles on the clock and it’s now got just over 24K miles.

Has anyone had a similar experience and is it worth making a direct complaint to BMW?

Also the rear brake disc is 90% worn - she is a very smooth rider and hardly uses her brakes, in 20 years of riding (ave 6K miles per year) she has hardly used any brake pads let alone discs

Thanks for any thoughts

 

[stever1]

Cant see BMW being interested in this problem on a 4 or 5 year old bike. Who is the dealer ?. will they support you. As for the brakes, heavy rear brake use is a well known problem, its due to the linked braking system.

 

[Matty589]

Don’t take that for an answer - I know exactly where you’re talking about on the engine. BMW used to paint the engine then machine the surfaces to fit the cylinder bodies, removing the paint on the edge in the process. The bare metal edge allows moisture under the paint and then it bubbles up. It s a manufacturing defect and not corrosion due to misuse - get back into them and keep pushing until it’s sorted. They changed the process with the revised 1200 in 2017 - my 2018 has paint right to the edges of the engine block and cylinder.

 

[Nice 'n' Fat]

Corrosion: If the bike was 2 year old BMW would have replaced the corroded parts under warranty. But as it's not they are unlikely to consider a goodwill claim but you can always ask your dealer to put in a claim on your behalf

Brakes: You do know the rear brake comes on when the fronts are applied. Don't you ?

 

[Biot]

The TC also activates the rear brake. If you have the Nav5/6 on the bike you can see how many times the bike applies the rear stopper; even if you never touch it with your foot. Had my engine replaced due to white dot blistering. Was done as a goodwill gesture and mine was over 24 months old i'm pretty sure. Previous owner from new of my bike had the frame and one front fork replaced as well!!

 

[Mr Bean]

They replaced my 63' plate due to corrosion when it was 4 years old - however, I had to pay 50% towards the labour.

 

[JJH]

2 things. BMW are very good at this kind of goodwill. I’ve good reason to know. It’s very much up to the dealer to process the claim. Seems like some dealers are more proactive in this area than others judging by the posts on here. I’d get the bike as clean as possible before proceeding with claim. I got mine professionally done. Best money I spent. The brake disc. If it’s 90% worn at 24000 miles it’s not going to make it to the next service is it? It’s using about 22% of its life every 6000 miles so it will need to be replaced well before the next service- not. I wouldn’t worry about it at all. If you must you can measure the thickness and find out the minimum allowed. It’s usually stamped on the disc somewhere. Then ignore and ride. JJH

 

[gspod]

Thanks for all the replies.
Matty - that’s good info and ammo, thanks
JJH - thanks, she bought the bike from Rainbow (in Rotherham) who seamed like a good outfit. They sold to Alan Jeffries who don’t seem to want to know.
Has anybody contacted BMW direct with such a claim - she still has some time left on the 2 year warranty the bike came with when she bought it.
Interesting take on the disc - I will take a look myself.

I was aware of the linked brakes but as I said she is very light on the brakes - front or rear. There was 52K miles on her F800gs and all original brake discs were fine when she sold the bike - she only had 1 change of brake pads and that’s because we were going on a 5K mile holiday.

24K miles for a new brake disc I did 170K miles on an 1100gs with 1 change of discs front and back. It doesn’t feel as if the brakes are rubbing when you wheel it around....... poor quality metal perhaps ??

Thanks again for any opinions

 

[Ciderdrinker]

I had my swing-arm replaced on my 2014 GSA LC last year by BMW. It had started bubbling quite a lot next to where the rubber boot is fitted. Checked with my local dealer (who I bought the bike off), LLoyd Motorrad Carlisle, and they did all the leg-work with the claim. Came back to me and said it would be replaced as a goodwill gesture. Only thing I had to do was pay £75 towards the claim. Which I thought was fairly decent of them on a 4 year old bike at that time.
I think a lot of it is down to the dealer to push the claim. Had no complaints with mine.

 

[Squigles]

My 14 plate has had 3 new engine, 2 swing arms, 2 rear drives all due to the blistering paint within the first 2 years of ownership. Never had a problem with the dealer or BMW, said Yeap new bits replaced.

 

[Matty589]

The key with a “corrosion” claim is the cause - if the bike is clearly neglected or ridden over winter through road salt and not cleaned off, then no manufacturer/dealer will process a claim. However, if the bike is very clean and there is obvious proof that is has been looked after, and the bubbling is near one of the aforementioned paint seams or is appearing underneath the paint (as opposed to white spots or evidence of surface corrosion) then the claim is much stronger as it comes under fitness for purpose and a manufacturing defect (poor surface preparation, no base sealant and poor paint application) - and notwithstanding any warranty in the U.K. you have consumer law to back you - assuming you can prove fitness for purpose, of course.

 

[Wobbly65]

It's a five year old motorbike with 24000 miles on the clock. Just ride it and ride it and forget about the corrosion spots.

 

[Yox]

on a side note with regards the brakes, I have an artificial right leg so on my 18 GSA I don't use the rear pedal at all. My Nav6 tells me the back brake has been activated more times than the front so I would expect the rear to go through pads etc, quicker than the front.

 

[Mr Bean]

The key with a “corrosion” claim is the cause - if the bike is clearly neglected or ridden over winter through road salt and not cleaned off, then no manufacturer/dealer will process a claim. However, if the bike is very clean and there is obvious proof that is has been looked after, and the bubbling is near one of the aforementioned paint seams or is appearing underneath the paint (as opposed to white spots or evidence of surface corrosion) then the claim is much stronger as it comes under fitness for purpose and a manufacturing defect (poor surface preparation, no base sealant and poor paint application) - and notwithstanding any warranty in the U.K. you have consumer law to back you - assuming you can prove fitness for purpose, of course.

Not sure about that. I just had to send hi res pictures of the corrosion - no other questions and I do ride all year through winter, cleaning it no more than once a month, even in winter.

 

[gspod]

Not sure about that. I just had to send hi res pictures of the corrosion - no other questions and I do ride all year through winter, cleaning it no more than once a month, even in winter.

Hi
Who did you send pictures to - BMW? Did you go through a dealer?

At the moment she is doing approximately 6K miles per year -all leisure riding and doesn’t chose to ride in the rain, she will ride in the winter on a sunny day.
At less than 5 years old with only 24K on the clock it shouldn’t have corrosion it’s hardly run in - imagine a BMW car owner being told that. Having said that if she was going to keep it for 10 years she wouldn’t worry but she may be selling it soon and, obviously, wants to get as much as she can for it.

As a footnote - she had a TDM 900 for 10 years with double the mileage and it was in excellent condition when she sold it, with no corrosion anywhere to be seen

 

[DazGS]

Sounds like this is certainly something i need at closer when i eventually find a bike to purchase, you would have thought if they had problems with the bikes at 14 plate it would have been sorted on the following 15 / 16 plate models. As i am looking at 14/ 15 plate bikes will certainly take a very close look.
Hope you get things sorted.

 

[Matty589]

Not sure about that. I just had to send hi res pictures of the corrosion - no other questions and I do ride all year through winter, cleaning it no more than once a month, even in winter.

YMMV - depends on the dealer. I was trying to give the OP a bit of ammunition based on what I’ve seen on dozens of bikes in dealers over the last few years. My local even admitted they’re taking bikes in part ex with known corrosion issues as otherwise new sales would fall through the floor. I don’t doubt the quality of finish isn’t as good as it once was, but it’s harder for a dealer to say corrosion isn’t covered if the rest of the bike is sparkling and mint condition. Just don’t mention washing it with Muc-Off

 

[sven]

The key with a “corrosion” claim is the cause - if the bike is clearly neglected or ridden over winter through road salt and not cleaned off, then no manufacturer/dealer will process a claim. However, if the bike is very clean and there is obvious proof that is has been looked after, and the bubbling is near one of the aforementioned paint seams or is appearing underneath the paint (as opposed to white spots or evidence of surface corrosion) then the claim is much stronger as it comes under fitness for purpose and a manufacturing defect (poor surface preparation, no base sealant and poor paint application) - and notwithstanding any warranty in the U.K. you have consumer law to back you - assuming you can prove fitness for purpose, of course.

Yep, what he says If there’s no corrosion elsewhere then it’s a latent defect. You’re covered for up to six years under consumer laws.

 

[Wrinkly]

I had a 2014 GS WC. Corrosion everywhere. First they wanted to swap the engine, then they wanted to swap the swing arm, don't get me started on the gearbox.
Gave up and moved to another brand. I keep hearing how great they are and thought, maybe I just had a bad one ( I'd had several GS's before it) so decided to give them another chance and took a new GS out late last year.

Wasn't impressed, either with the way it rode or the fit and finish. There are far better bikes out there folks.

 

[peepingtom]

I had a 2014 GS WC. Corrosion everywhere. First they wanted to swap the engine, then they wanted to swap the swing arm, don't get me started on the gearbox.
Gave up and moved to another brand. I keep hearing how great they are and thought, maybe I just had a bad one ( I'd had several GS's before it) so decided to give them another chance and took a new GS out late last year.

Wasn't impressed, either with the way it rode or the fit and finish. There are far better bikes out there folks.

Your correct on all accounts. It’s shocking that they can get such a basic thing as a decent finish right. (Consistently over 6 years !)