Wear 'n' Tear or Warranty Claim?

[Nutty]

Why do BMW replace the whole engine over a few casing corrosion issues?

It's probably cheaper to replace the engine (for BMW), than to take the engine out, strip it down and repaint it.

 

[bod]

It's probably cheaper to replace the engine (for BMW), than to take the engine out, strip it down and repaint it.

It does make you wonder just how much it costs BMW to knock these 7 grand motors out for?

I find it mind boggling that the engine is swapped for what is basically tiny bits of corrosion.

It would have to look a mess from 10 feet away for me to be bothered to go down the warranty claim route.

Also, not too sure where the rose tinted brigade get their claims of "the oldies never rusted" from? Mine used to live outside & look an absolute mess after a couple of winters.

Even the last Jap bike I owned 'till 09 (Honda) was no better the 3 GS's I have had since.

You just need to be aware that BMW use the same water based paint that your 5 year old makes potato print pictures with ... Blame EU rules & health & safety for this!

Engineer claims he would pay an extra grand for a better finish! I'm not too sure I would, but I would happily lose a grands worth of crap (tyre pressure sensors would be first on the list) for a hammerite like finish.

But to be honest I'm not that bothered really, the bits of corrosion I have had are only noticeable when cleaning, don't get worse and don't affect the trade in price.

 

[Mawnanian]

It's best not to keep it too clean, then what you can't see won't worry you and give you sleepless nights.

 

[neenaw]

On a random note, more a comment on BMW, we just had our 3 series in for a service, less than a year old. Its got the optional M sport alloys, which are all now being replaced under warranty due to corrosion. Along with the 2 rear lights which are letting in water. I wonder if BMW is falling into the merc trap across the board?

 

[sven]

I was looking around Allan Jefferies secondhand stock the other day and perhaps 20% of them have signs of corrosion on the engine block, mostly the white flecks where the oxidisation is starting below the paint.

Mine's coming up to the end of the warranty period and I was checking it over again yesterday and the corrosion is getting worse with the paint lifting in several areas. I'm not a happy bunny as it's not quite two years old and hasn't been ridden through winter

It's due its 12600 mile service on Thursday and I'll see what they're willing to do about it....

 

[Nutty]

I was looking around Allan Jefferies secondhand stock the other day and perhaps 20% of them have signs of corrosion on the engine block, mostly the white flecks where the oxidisation is starting below the paint.

Mine's coming up to the end of the warranty period and I was checking it over again yesterday and the corrosion is getting worse with the paint lifting in several areas. I'm not a happy bunny as it's not quite two years old and hasn't been ridden through winter

It's due its 12600 mile service on Thursday and I'll see what they're willing to do about it....

That's not good. Let's see some pictures, so others know what to look for.

 

[JohnnyBoxer]

I was looking around Allan Jefferies secondhand stock the other day and perhaps 20% of them have signs of corrosion on the engine block, mostly the white flecks where the oxidisation is starting below the paint.

Mine's coming up to the end of the warranty period and I was checking it over again yesterday and the corrosion is getting worse with the paint lifting in several areas. I'm not a happy bunny as it's not quite two years old and hasn't been ridden through winter

It's due its 12600 mile service on Thursday and I'll see what they're willing to do about it....

Did your previous RT exhibit the same, with a similar usage pattern ?

 

[sven]

Did your previous RT exhibit the same, with a similar usage pattern ?

If I'm being honest, then yes, but the fairing on the RT hid it from view. Maybe I'm being slightly anal as I've been going round it with a fine tooth comb before the warranty runs out.

There's very little wrong with the bike and I still love it. The only thing I've found apart from the bit of corrosion is a very rattly left hand mirror, which I'm guessing is a balance weight which has come adrift inside?

 

[batman1]

The paint finish could be better that's for sure, you really have wash regularly and drown vulnerable bits of the bike in FS365 or ACF50 to reduce the chance of that sort of thing happening. From the state of that bolt head on the rear drive I'd say that it's had salt on it - It's a pain but I am 'painting' ACF 50 over large parts of my new LC in order to stop that sort of thing happening.

I wish BMW could produce a better finish - even the 1150s had corrosion issues, the state of some of the front engine covers and forks was dreadful after the slightest exposure to salty roads.

+1 That sure looks like salt action to me, and salt will corrode just about everything if you leave it on too long, especially hot metal, although it's a pain in the arse, if you ride in winter it really is worth taking the effort to get into the habit of hosing your bike down very well with cold water as soon as you get back from your run, and then spraying the bike down with Scottoiler 365 or similar, paying particular attention to all of the casing joints where the machined alloy is left bare to the elements.

Good luck with the claim, I'm sure BMW will sort it out.

 

[pootle]

Is corrosion on other parts covered as well?

This is my 2012 GS, 10k, summer riding and garaged. BMW inspection ok Friday to assess...

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[sven]

Looks like I'm definitely getting the swing arm and bevel gear housing replaced

Photos of the engine block have been sent to BMW for assessment

 

[Nice 'n' Fat]

Is corrosion on other parts covered as well?

This is my 2012 GS, 10k, summer riding and garaged. BMW inspection ok Friday to assess...

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Possibly covered under BMW's goodwill parameters

 

[Fluffmeister]

Starting to get corrosion on the RT LC, less than a year old and 9k miles

Not the best picture but looks worse in the flesh, paint is starting to lift and bubble with corrosion starting around the hub and FD.

Dealer has raised a puma with BMW for it.

 

[pootle]

So surface rust apparently, dealer wouldn't even raise a good will claim, told me to coat it in Acf50 and it would be alright...how can a dealer get away with selling these bikes and then ignoring quality/corrosion problems?


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[Engineer]

I have been riding my 2015 1200GS LC TE on and off throughout this winter - I have thoroughly washed it and drowned it in FS365 every week without fail being meticulous to get it into every nook and cranny (except brakes!) and so far it appears to have survived - I have got through over 4 bottles of FS365 and am going to carrying on with the same regime all year - up to 11,000 miles now and hoping that it will go another year of the same without problems

 

[Nice 'n' Fat]

So surface rust apparently, dealer wouldn't even raise a good will claim, told me to coat it in Acf50 and it would be alright...how can a dealer get away with selling these bikes and then ignoring quality/corrosion problems?


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If I were you I would contact BMW Customer Services and advise them of your displeasure in the response you have received from your dealer

 

[Nutty]

I have been riding my 2015 1200GS LC TE on and off throughout this winter - I have thoroughly washed it and drowned it in FS365 every week without fail being meticulous to get it into every nook and cranny (except brakes!) and so far it appears to have survived - I have got through over 4 bottles of FS365 and am going to carrying on with the same regime all year - up to 11,000 miles now and hoping that it will go another year of the same without problems

I've got a bottle of that on the shelf, and haven't bothered this year, just for shits & giggles.

Still no corrosion.

 

[Fluffmeister]

I've got a bottle of that on the shelf, and haven't bothered this year, just for shits & giggles.

Still no corrosion.

I've used the RT through winter, it's ACF 50'd and I also use FS365, it get's sluiced down and checked over every weekend through winter as well. I'm sure mine will get sorted, but sometimes if a surface is poorly prepped prior to paint, no amount of surface applied anti corrosion gunk is going to stop it blistering and lifting from under the paint. Shit happens, and I'm sure it will get sorted. Dealer has 3 puma's running now with BMW for the same issue, but mines the only RT, the others are GS LC's (No GSA's though). I spotted mine while cleaning off the ACF50 for the spring de-gunge.

Should not really have to bathe a 15k bike in anti corrosion fluids though, as I said in post 2 of this thread I'm also one of those sad bastards that is anally retentive about cleaning, so was surprised to find it.

 

[Nice 'n' Fat]

sometimes if a surface is poorly prepped prior to paint, no amount of surface applied anti corrosion gunk is going to stop it blistering and lifting from under the paint.

Very true ... I saw a 15my GSA the other week that the riders Wrangler jeans had worn through the rear sub-frame paint

There were no signs that the sub-frame had any primer under what was clearly a whisper thin coat of paint

 

[telbenj]

Bike is currently 10 months old, some funny stuff going on with the paint on both the engine casing (both sides) and rear drive casing! Rust on front engine frame mount!

Would you expect to see this so soon or is it a case of suck it up it's a BMW?

Looking at the fixing on the splash guard, it seems that is also heavily corroded, my bet is you have never applied any sort of protectant after washing it and maybe have left it for days before cleaning too. At a guess I assume a lot of the fixings on this bike are corroded too.
But having said that no I wouldn't be happy with corrosion on painted surfaces and yes it should be a warranty claim.

Terry