defective 135 !!

[kfiducia]

after trying unsuccessfully to adjust my lumbar support for over a week now, i tried out the passenger seat, which works fine. turns out that the 4 way lumbar switch on the driver's seat only has two functions. the up and down don't work, they perform in and out functions, and so do the in and out buttons.

has anyone else had this problem? i am beyond annoyed with how it got through all the PDIs and VPC inspections without this getting noticed or fixed.

i guess i take it to the dealership for them to tell me they can't fix it for another month/two?

[NJKSC27]

yup most likely a PDI thing missed just like programing the auto up/down window feature

[kfiducia]

so you think they can fix it with a simple computer flash?

[larryn]

Bad switch or loose connector on the seat is my best guess. Those functions would have nothing that would be fixable by a ecu flash.

[kfiducia]

i would guess bad switch. probably a part about a month away. maybe more.

[atr_hugo]

Might not be that bad, the seats are supposedly the same as the seats in the 3er.

[ChesterDog]

That's interesting - if you hadn't checked the passenger side, I'd have said it was meant to be that way. I don't have it in my 135, but in my 911 it took me ages to work out how to use it.

Taking the four switch positions as up, down, in and out - the support seems to be in two portions, one above the other - up 'inflates' both, down deflates both, in inflates the upper and out inflates the lower. Or something like that.

I wonder if it's meant to be like that, or if that's got the same problem.

[UK135i]

i presume this only affects you if you have electric seats??

[S54dan]

The car is under warranty, don't "DIY." Take it to the dealer, they are liable for fixing your brand new car. Also, it's likely that many 135i's will have problems due to 1st year production.

I wouldn't mess with it, and take advantage of BMW's warranty.

[kfiducia]

Originally Posted by Daniel_UnitedBMW

The car is under warranty, don't "DIY." Take it to the dealer, they are liable for fixing your brand new car. Also, it's likely that many 135i's will have problems due to 1st year production.

I wouldn't mess with it, and take advantage of BMW's warranty.

obviously. its just frustrating these things aren't checked at PDI/VPC and that the techs have no idea how anything on my car works. in fact, im not even sure they know that most of the front end is from the 3-series, including engine.

[kfiducia]

Originally Posted by ChesterDog

That's interesting - if you hadn't checked the passenger side, I'd have said it was meant to be that way. I don't have it in my 135, but in my 911 it took me ages to work out how to use it.

Taking the four switch positions as up, down, in and out - the support seems to be in two portions, one above the other - up 'inflates' both, down deflates both, in inflates the upper and out inflates the lower. Or something like that.

I wonder if it's meant to be like that, or if that's got the same problem.

i would check to make sure both seats are the same. my passenger seat is not how you describe, but it does function the same way my 330Ci functions, which i presume is correct.

[BMWDavid]

Originally Posted by kfiducia

obviously. its just frustrating these things aren't checked at PDI/VPC and that the techs have no idea how anything on my car works. in fact, im not even sure they know that most of the front end is from the 3-series, including engine.

It is frustrating, I know. When I ordered my 2005 ZCP. It came in with the wrong aluminum trim. BMW ordered the correct parts and replaced them. You would think this would have been caught at the factory during status 155. BMW did the right thing in the end.

I think the techs know more about the cars than you give them credit. What you should do is make an appointment with an experienced SA at your dealership and make a new friend. They make all the difference with your ownership experience. But with any relationship you plan on maintaining, check the attitude at the door.:smile:

[kfiducia]

i doubt it, i have already had the car at the service dept and the tech kinda threw up his hands when i asked a question stating "i dont know, we haven't even been to school on these yet"

so the lack of confidence in their knowledge is not just mine, its the techs' as well.

[bimmertech]

Originally Posted by kfiducia

i doubt it, i have already had the car at the service dept and the tech kinda threw up his hands when i asked a question stating "i dont know, we haven't even been to school on these yet"

so the lack of confidence in their knowledge is not just mine, its the techs' as well.

i'm sorry but that tech is an idiot. there's nothing complicated about the lumbar system. it consists of a switch, a pump, a control valve and two bags that inflate and deflate with air. if i remember correctly and correct me if i'm wrong but the up should inflate the upper lumbar bag, down should deflate the upper bag, and then the out should inflate the lower bag and the in should deflate the lower bag.

based on your problem the issue really is that the up is not inflating the upper lumbar bag (the down isn't going to do anything if the upper bag isn't inflating).

so the solution is simple. you should be able to hear a pump activating when you hit the out button. if you don't hear the pump going when you hit the up button, the switch is bad. if you do hear the pump when you hit the up button but the upper bladder does not inflate you either have a ruptured lumbar bag or air line, or you have a bad control valve.

a competent tech should be able to diagnose your problem within 10 minutes, overnight you whatever part you need and get you on your merry little way.

i apologize for all the stupid techs out there, there are a lot of them. but please don't think all techs are idiots. these cars get more and more complicated and sometimes techs depend a little too much on diagnostic testers and not enough on their brains. but to say "we haven't even been to school on these yet" is plain old dumb because there is no e82 class, the class is video on demand on line, i've taken it and it's not going to help you fix the car.

[raisemyrent]

it's a shame it came like that, I wonder how long you will have to be without it for!

[BMWNA]

Originally Posted by kfiducia

after trying unsuccessfully to adjust my lumbar support for over a week now, i tried out the passenger seat, which works fine. turns out that the 4 way lumbar switch on the driver's seat only has two functions. the up and down don't work, they perform in and out functions, and so do the in and out buttons.

has anyone else had this problem? i am beyond annoyed with how it got through all the PDIs and VPC inspections without this getting noticed or fixed.

i guess i take it to the dealership for them to tell me they can't fix it for another month/two?

I'm with BMW of North America, LLC. I've passed this message on to a BMW NA Customer Relations Representative who will be in touch with you soon.

[ChrisK]

Welcome to 1addicts BMW NA

[kfiducia]

Originally Posted by BMW NA

I'm with BMW of North America, LLC. I've passed this message on to a BMW NA Customer Relations Representative who will be in touch with you soon.

ill vouch for the authenticity of this user, BMW apparently takes customer service very seriously and contacted me by phone to find out about the problems i have been having and facilitate their correction. the lady i spoke with seemed quite concerned with making sure any issues are logged, corrected, and that the dealerships are aware of them.

i also mentioned the window issue people have been having, and suggested she take a look through the boards. i wouldn't be concerned if she contacts you. she doesn't ask for personal information and seems only interested in helping the early 1-owners out.

i'll definitely tip my hat to BMW's customer service, even if that was some of the creepiest net stalking i've ever fallen victim to. ;-) in fairness, my username is my name, and they have all my info from when i purchased.

kyle

[kfiducia]

i also asked her to find out why my eject box and snap-in cradle for the iphone doesn't work, dealer said it was the correct part.

ill let you know if i hear back.

[Jack in Jax]

This is a useful thread for all new 1 Series owners to reflect on. In another thread, the Q was asked if first-year 1 Series owners could expect an unusual level of QA problems with their cars. There were many assuring responses such as 'Oh, it's like a 3 Series so no...' and 'BMW quality is so good, this is unlikely to happen...'.

This post illustrates the typical 'first year' QA problems which surface. Consumer Union has been measuring first-year QA issues with cars for several decades now. They measure product defects across four measurement points: last year of production of the previous model, first year of new model, then 2nd year and 3rd year. The QA curves for those measurement points (for the last decade or so) lie right on top of one another, for vehicles of all sizes, of various types and price points, and include both domestic and imports. In all cases, the first year of a new model or a substantially changed model is always poorer than either the last year of the previous model or the subsequent year 2 and year 3 of the new model. And the 3 main areas where QA defects surface include electrical/mechanical malfunctions.

Bottom line: Hold the dealer accountable & benefit by the warranty program, and expect that niggly disappointments and surprises could well be due to a QA problem rather than your unfamiliarity with the new car.

Jack

[kfiducia]

Sorry guys, after 4 days at the dealership nothing got fixed, it is in fact, worse. I will update again if anything changes, I'm waiting on an engineer from BMW NA to address the problem.

[kfiducia]

after being told i would hear back the next business day on getting my issue resolved it has now been two weeks with no word from BMW NA or my dealer SA. as you can tell by the original post date on this thread, this issue has gone unresolved for nearly two months now.