Member
I am new here but have learned much from the posts and advice i have been reading for awhile now. I just wanted to put this out there for any of you who might be worrying, wondering, or concerned about the old sub frame issue.
I have a 2000 bmw 330ci. As of yesterday it had 166k on the motor. I have done all the work for years now. Coolant system, sunroof, diff. swap, etc. Thought i was pretty lucky that i never had the infamous subframe tears.
Long story short, i noticed just last week, that the rear end felt sloppy. There was also a whine that was just not normal, and every time i took the car out of gear and then put it back into first, i felt a bump. Im pretty anal, and sound differences drive me nutz...so i passed it of as ocd. Regardless, i got under the car. What did i find? Cracks. Driver side rear subframe mount...two tears in the undercoat to be exact. So i ground of the undercoat, and sure enouph..three cracks. The smallest being two inches.
I was sunk. First thing i thought...this is gonna cost me a fortune. Since i feel like i have spent a small fortune on a car that i love to drive.....small side note, I have a 2010 mustang gt California special modded to 875 rwhp, and a 97 toyota supra limited edition modded to 1232 rwhp....i still prefer to drive my bmw.
First thing i did was order the reinforcement kit from turner. Second thing i did was call 10 different auto body shops and one import specialist. Cheapest quote was 785.00, 1000 without the kit i already purchased.
Never thought to call BMW because i knew their responsibility had ended years ago...
Long story short. I called the local, and only, BMW dealer. They told me it was covered under warranty, and that it would not cost me a dime to fix. I asked them how they fixed it and they said that they repaired the tears. Thats great, but that did not seem to me like they were fixing the problem, just the symptom. I had been planning on returning the turner kit, so i mentioned to them that i had the kit in the trunk, and that they could use it if they like. Believe it or not, they said they would have their body shop install the kit at no charge to me.
Bottom line....As of Oct 15, 2012, Bmw is still fixing this subframe issue at no cost to me, and even going above and beyond their typical fix.
I cannot speak for any other dealership, state, country, but it never hurts to ask.
Just wanted to put this out there in the event some others are still deasling with this issue.
scott
Winnipeg Represent
Glad it worked out for you, still is unreal this ever became an issue.
BMW really blew it when it came to the e46 subframes.
2002 530i Sport 5 speed
Member
Honestly, this just happens. I'll happen to any car that uses a floating rear suspension carrier after enough years and miles. My 190E's subframe had cracked in two places when I dropped it last year. Welded it up and threw it back in, not a big problem.Originally Posted by pegcity
The E46's issue is that BMW learned from the E36 and beefed up the subframe bigtime. They did not make the body strong enough for 12 years and 160k miles of hard driving and cyclic loading with the beefy subframe.
My guess would be potholes and other huge hits push the high stress joints beyond their plastic deformation limit and the cyclic loading comes into play and causes it to fail completely.
I'd see this as less of an issue in newer cars simply because the dynamic modeling software for this type of thing has advanced SO much.
Last edited by lithium726; 10-18-2012 at 02:57 PM.
Member
If that really is the case and the dealer is not changing their story when you go pick the car up, good for you, OP.
Might want to consider buying some lottery tickets while you are on a roll. Just sayin'...
1999 BMW R1100RT
2005 MC C230K Sport
2007 Chevy Silverado Crew Cab Z71
2010 Chevy Tahoe LT2
I <3 My Sharpie e36
Member
agreed... nor did i expect it. I bought the reinforcement kit in order to make the body shops job a bit easier and to insure it gets done right.
once i have the keys in my hands, ill post pics of the results, along with the invoice.
that being said. They asked me no questions, and offered the work. I called fully expecting a quote. trying to get the best price. BMW was my last call. The guy quoted the settlement, and said it would be at no cost. I was skeptical. I brought it in yesterday at 8am for their inspection. He called me at 0900 this morn and said it was covered under "warranty". I dont have a warranty...its 12 years old. I mentioned the turner kit, and that i was concerned that this problem would happen again, and he said they would weld in the plates as well at no charge.
seems unreal, but thats what the guy said. We will see when i pick it up/
just to clarify....i do all the work on this car. This is my first visit to this dealership. The car is registered in Texas, not in La where the dealership is located.
Only reason im posting this is because is because im sure there are others.
As far as other posts stating this happens to cars with high miles and pot holes...well...I have cars that have been abused, with much more HP and much much more TQ, and show no signs of frame stress. These cars are put to the test. Maybe not on La streets, but they are stressed. One is sub 2000...
This car is pampred by my wife...
A bmw driven by my wife should not have the frame crack under normal conditions.
I <3 My Sharpie e36
Absolutely. It might help others get this issue covered as well. This unfortunately affects a lot of e36 & e46 cars.
I'm amazed still that they are not only handling it, since you have no real loyalty to the dealer (I do all and I mean ALL of my work as well). And they're allowing aftermarket parts to be installed on their dime. (Not that they have a remedy for a car they no longer sell new.)
Please do keep us posted, I'm highly interested in the end result. I have my reinforcement kit too, just haven't had the downtime on the e36... e30 is almost done and ready to get on the road.
Member
still is unreal this ever became an issue
Member
true, it is.
and i will keep everyone posted as well. I will post as soon as i get the car, and i WILL post pics of the car and the invoice from the dealer.
My only intention in starting this thread was so that others who might still be dealing with this issue might have the resolve to press the issue. I never thought i would have this problem, and never bothered to have the work done, pre problem. It caught me off guard and in tight times. I was honestly thinking of just dumping the car...and i might have done so had BMW not fixed it... the auto body shops were pretty high for right this moment...
ill post more post pickup
Member
does this also affect e36es ?
'97 M3
racecar
The class action lawsuit against BMW was filed in 2006 ... they were tearing years before that ... cars weren't even out of warranty ... shoddy build quality is shoddy build quality. You never see defects of such sort on BMWs from 20-30 years ago, even if they have half a million miles on them ...
Member
good to hear that! was the subframe ripped or both the subframe and chassis? On e36s the subframes crack on the rare occasion but the pocket rtab areas seem to be more vulnerable.
Member
They had completely different suspension setups... I'm saying that I've seen this in quite a few older cars that have floating, multilink suspensions like that. It's not just BMWs.
Member
Having same issue, bought a 2000 323 ci loaded navi, xenon a couple of years back. (Torn drivers side floor at sub frame mount). Took to the dealer last week they called me back saying estimate $7450 or will give you $2500 towards a new car.... Not very funny and not sure what to do?
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