[EeDah]

Hi all,

I recently took my car in to the dealership to get a vibration issue looked at which occurs at highway speeds. My warranty just expired and so I would have to pay out of pocket and I want to know if they are trying to bend me over or if these mechanical issues are legitimate. Its breaks down as follows:

To fix vibration issue:
Wheel road balance - $120
Alignment adjustment - $225
Replace leaking rubber thrust struts L&R - $487

Replace battery:
$135 Labor
$194 Parts

In summary, service rep. said the combination of misalignment, wheel unbalance and bad thrust strut is causing the vibrations. Total cost is $837 to fix. On top of that, the battery won't hold a charge and is dead (4 yrs old) and she said she sees avg battery life being 2-3 years due to electronics of the car and AZ weather, which to me sounds like bullsh**. So to fix everything i'm looking at over a grand. What do you all think? I have a 2006 BMW 330i, never had any issues then conveniently have to spend $1K of work when my warranty expires? I would really appreciate any insight that anyone has from similar experiences or from any BMW techs. Thanks so much.

[UncleWede]

The battery seems a bit on the cheap side.

road-force balance, I get it done at tire places for about $15/wheel
Alignment, I haven't found any tire places that will do it yet

[kanecvl]

Depending on how long ago your warranty expired you might be able to get them to cover it since it was probably a problem before your warranty expired. I had few repairs like that on my e46

[EeDah]

The batter replacement seems cheap? Geez I thought $329 to replace a battery seemed pretty steep. But I am leaning towards getting that done, i've heard of other bmw owners having electronic issues after trying to replace the battery themselves. My bigger concern is the $837 to fix the alignment/wheel balance issue.

I am about 5K miles over my warranty so they won't cover it. I had a brake issue that they replaced for me when I was just a few hundred miles over, but they aren't willing to cover it for me on these issues.

[ENINTY]

Replace leaking rubber thrust struts L&R - $487????

What is a leaking rubber thrust strut?

[F32Fleet]

Looks like they're trying to hit everything at once instead of doing 1 repair at a time to see if it's the fix.

Are your front shocks shot? (maybe that's the "leaking rubber thrust" they're talking about.

[P2]

Originally Posted by EeDah

Hi all,

I recently took my car in to the dealership to get a vibration issue looked at which occurs at highway speeds. My warranty just expired and so I would have to pay out of pocket and I want to know if they are trying to bend me over or if these mechanical issues are legitimate. Its breaks down as follows:

To fix vibration issue:
Wheel road balance - $120
Alignment adjustment - $225
Replace leaking rubber thrust struts L&R - $487

Replace battery:
$135 Labor
$194 Parts

In summary, service rep. said the combination of misalignment, wheel unbalance and bad thrust strut is causing the vibrations. Total cost is $837 to fix. On top of that, the battery won't hold a charge and is dead (4 yrs old) and she said she sees avg battery life being 2-3 years due to electronics of the car and AZ weather, which to me sounds like bullsh**. So to fix everything i'm looking at over a grand. What do you all think? I have a 2006 BMW 330i, never had any issues then conveniently have to spend $1K of work when my warranty expires? I would really appreciate any insight that anyone has from similar experiences or from any BMW techs. Thanks so much.

Alignment was $150 at my dealership.

[Casca]

None of the labor involved in anything you listed makes a difference in ease and time wether it is done at the same time or one after the other. Vibration at highway speeds vould very well be tire balance or alignment. Take your car somewhere else and have all the tires checked for balance, road test it and then alignment, road test it and so on. After that, I'd get another opinion on the problem. The dealership you took it to looks like they want to spend your money freely.

[Chriztofor]

Originally Posted by EeDah

Hi all,

I recently took my car in to the dealership to get a vibration issue looked at which occurs at highway speeds. My warranty just expired and so I would have to pay out of pocket and I want to know if they are trying to bend me over or if these mechanical issues are legitimate. Its breaks down as follows:

To fix vibration issue:
Wheel road balance - $120
Alignment adjustment - $225
Replace leaking rubber thrust struts L&R - $487

Replace battery:
$135 Labor
$194 Parts

In summary, service rep. said the combination of misalignment, wheel unbalance and bad thrust strut is causing the vibrations. Total cost is $837 to fix. On top of that, the battery won't hold a charge and is dead (4 yrs old) and she said she sees avg battery life being 2-3 years due to electronics of the car and AZ weather, which to me sounds like bullsh**. So to fix everything i'm looking at over a grand. What do you all think? I have a 2006 BMW 330i, never had any issues then conveniently have to spend $1K of work when my warranty expires? I would really appreciate any insight that anyone has from similar experiences or from any BMW techs. Thanks so much.

Price is about right for a dealer.

[Tom K.]

Originally Posted by P2

Alignment was $150 at my dealership.

I live in the same general area as the OP and it's about $220 at my dealer - more if you have Active Steering.

I'm also curious about the "leaking rubber thrust struts". On the E46, it was common to need lower control arm bushings at 60,000 miles or so - but that job was about $1,000 at a dealer, including the alignment but not wheel balancing.

Edit: Apparently the Thrust Strut is the Upper Control arm.

Tom

[ENINTY]

I didn't have time to research it yesterday but from what I can tell, the thrust strut must be part 9 in the RealOEM drawing below "Tension strut with hydraulic mount". The "leaking rubber" must be part 10 "See repair manual 10 Set rubber mounting f pull rod", which seems to be some sort of hydraulic bushing. It looks like the hydrualic bushing is replaceable. $487 seems a bit steep, the parts for the both whole struts is around $200; but then again $150 for wheel balancing is way over priced as well.

If I were the OP, I'd go to an independent BMW shop and have the work done for half the price. Suspension replacement is not rocket science.

[jsublime]

Originally Posted by ENINTY

If I were the OP, I'd go to an independent BMW shop and have the work done for half the price. Suspension replacement is not rocket science.

+1 Since you're paying go somewhere else, cost will probably be ~50%. However 3xx for battery replacement, is actually a good price for a dealer.

[Ryland]

Thats why with my current CPO I'm going to drive it to 99k, 1k before the warrenty and free maintenance runs out then I'm trading in on a new BMW and negotiating that I pay MSRP but get free maintenance and extended warrenty till 100k. That way I wont have to worry about a thing maintenance wise for a long time and at 99k or if time hits me first I'll do the same thing again! I figure I'll get to drive a newer car and it will cost me about the same as rolling the dice with these cars out of warrenty, its too expenseve to repair these cars. The only people who should keep these things a long time are the people who plan and have the know how to do all the maintenance themselves. To the OP yes they are ripping you off by about $300 unless those rubber thrusters or whatever they call them are shocks or struts then they are about right for a dealer on price. I seriously feel for you though because I've been there!

[EeDah]

That's awesome guys thanks for the input. I'm going to go for the piece meal approach.

Step 1. I got the wheel balancing done yesterday at a goodyear for free (i have warranty on the tires). Turns out the front tires were significantly off balance. Road tested and problem still present. Getting battery replaced by another dealership while I ask them to diagnose the vibrations as well. Since feedback is that battery price seems about right, I feel its worth it to have the job done right and not worry about having electronics failure as a result.

Step 2. Taking car back to Goodyear to replace rear tire, has a slow leak resulting from a bubble and getting alignment done at the same time. The goodyear shop i took it to has equipment and one specialist who can do alignment for bmw's. Tire's free, alignment costs should be minimal comparatively.

Step 3: If the vibration still isn't fixed by then I'll replace the thrust strut at the dealership for $487. I'll probably want to do this eventually anyways but by this point I will have saved $300+ on alignment and wheel balancing and had three separate opinions on the vibration issue to feel comfortable with the appropriate remedy.

And if after all of that the ride still isn't any better, I'm lighting the car on fire and buying a 1-series M.

[EeDah]

Here's what was included in the service notes from the dealership:

Front thrust rod bushings and tire imbalance verified customer concern. Found the front thrust rod bushings to be leaking, and the tires to have a slight wobble to them. Recommend front thrust rob bushings and a four wheel balance. Then re evaluate.

[I335]

Look for an indy shop to do the thrust rod bearings (whatever those are) too if you find out it really needs to be done - probably save another $150 to $200 there as well...

[ceb]

Originally Posted by ENINTY

... but then again $150 for wheel balancing is way over priced as well.

Really? Who in our area does proper alignments for less? I'm in the market.

[jsublime]

Originally Posted by EeDah

And if after all of that the ride still isn't any better, I'm lighting the car on fire and buying a 1-series M.

This!

[ENINTY]

Originally Posted by EeDah

That's awesome guys thanks for the input. I'm going to go for the piece meal approach.

Step 1. I got the wheel balancing done yesterday at a goodyear for free (i have warranty on the tires). Turns out the front tires were significantly off balance. Road tested and problem still present. Getting battery replaced by another dealership while I ask them to diagnose the vibrations as well. Since feedback is that battery price seems about right, I feel its worth it to have the job done right and not worry about having electronics failure as a result.

Step 2. Taking car back to Goodyear to replace rear tire, has a slow leak resulting from a bubble and getting alignment done at the same time. The goodyear shop i took it to has equipment and one specialist who can do alignment for bmw's. Tire's free, alignment costs should be minimal comparatively.

Step 3: If the vibration still isn't fixed by then I'll replace the thrust strut at the dealership for $487. I'll probably want to do this eventually anyways but by this point I will have saved $300+ on alignment and wheel balancing and had three separate opinions on the vibration issue to feel comfortable with the appropriate remedy.

And if after all of that the ride still isn't any better, I'm lighting the car on fire and buying a 1-series M.

So I'm not sure you have the steps in the correct order. If you ultimately need new Tension Struts, the shop will have to breakdown the front suspension to replace them. Any time the front suspension is broken down it is usually best to re-align the car after the repair (I bet the shop will tell you a re-alignment is necessary), so you may be wasting your money on an alignment beforehand. Also, check if the Tension Struts come with new hydraulic bushings already installed (I bet they do) because the cost of the Tension Strut is about $20 more than just the hydraulic bushing alone. There have been some reports on the forum here that the Tension Struts can break upon very harsh impacts from curbs and potholes, so I believe the Tension Struts fatigue over time (they are forged aluminum parts) and if you are going to spend the money to just have the Tension Strut hydraulic bushings replaced, you might as well just get new Tension Struts instead (if they do come with the bushings already in place).

Also, just to reiterate, get a BMW independent shop to replace the Tension Struts; the time to replace those parts is not more than an hour at most. The $487 price the dealer is way too high. It is not rocket science any decent shop can make that repair. It's one bolt and breakdown of the ball joint on the steering knuckle; easy stuff.

[ENINTY]

Originally Posted by ceb

Really? Who in our area does proper alignments for less? I'm in the market.

Eh, I said, wheel balance; not wheel alignment... wheel balance should be more like $50 -$60 for four wheels.

[Express]

Originally Posted by jsublime

This!

is illegal.

[Express]

Originally Posted by EeDah

That's awesome guys thanks for the input. I'm going to go for the piece meal approach.

Step 1. I got the wheel balancing done yesterday at a goodyear for free (i have warranty on the tires). Turns out the front tires were significantly off balance. Road tested and problem still present. Getting battery replaced by another dealership while I ask them to diagnose the vibrations as well. Since feedback is that battery price seems about right, I feel its worth it to have the job done right and not worry about having electronics failure as a result.

Step 2. Taking car back to Goodyear to replace rear tire, has a slow leak resulting from a bubble and getting alignment done at the same time. The goodyear shop i took it to has equipment and one specialist who can do alignment for bmw's. Tire's free, alignment costs should be minimal comparatively.

Step 3: If the vibration still isn't fixed by then I'll replace the thrust strut at the dealership for $487. I'll probably want to do this eventually anyways but by this point I will have saved $300+ on alignment and wheel balancing and had three separate opinions on the vibration issue to feel comfortable with the appropriate remedy.

And if after all of that the ride still isn't any better, I'm lighting the car on fire and buying a 1-series M.

just want to quote this so when you edit it and really do light your car on fire, its still here =)