Inspection I/Oil change/Dealership story. Help!

[Phishman]

I have done a search on Inspection I but never found a definitive answer. I bought my MC almost exactly a year ago with 14.5k on the clock. The dealership (out of state) said it wouldn't need an oil change for 10k miles or so. Well I only put 7k on it but it had been a full year so I figured I needed to take it in anyways just to be safe (the computer said I had 2k miles till next service).

I dropped it off at Jake Sweeney BMW for the oil change and when I picked it up maybe 2 hours later I asked the rep about having the computer reset and how that would affect my next oil change and my inspection. He said they usually just do Inspection I at 30k, which isn't what people are saying on here (that it varies from car to car and is determined by the computer). Right now it says 15k till next "oil service". After I got back to work I looked at the receipt and the mechanic had written "car was due for Inspection I". The rep says "oh he must have been confused" (very reaffirming). So here's what is going on:

1) just found out I have original factory warranty until 1/7/2012. Are the inspections usually covered by this? Should I have tried to get my oil change comped instead of paying $130?

2) according to the computer my car wasn't due for any service until I hit 2k more miles so how could I have missed an inspection by going in early?

3) does my car think they did the inspection today? I'm not waiting until the odometer gets to 36k in a year or three to have it serviced.

4) if I decide to take it to the dealer in 6 months are they going to try to convince me they already inspected it even though it was physically impossible to do that in an hour and a half?

5) the people at the dealership were incredibly nice and they did a fantastic job cleaning my car but does it sound like they have no knowledge whatsoever of BMW maintenance to you guys? They told me to call if I couldn't give them all 10s on the survey. I don't want to be a jerk because they treated me well (I look very young and am used to not getting respect at these places) but at this point I'm wondering what the hell just happened.

I know everyone hates dealerships, you shouldn't let them wash your car, and I should change my own oil but this was easier. Any tips or info anyone can offer would be much appreciated and I will pass this on should I ever see anyone else in the same situation.

[r4gs]

rather complicated situation.

firstly, u should not have had to pay $130 for an oil change (u mentioned it has been more than one full, complete year since u purchased ur car) since it will be covered under the original 4 year/50,000 mile maintenance package, which will also cover Inspection I and II for that matter. inspection schedules are more like 25k, 50k, 75k miles etc.

secondly, Inspection I was definitely not completed in-full, if it was even accomplished in the first place, because valve clearances must be checked and adjusted as necessary and that job will take about 5 hours of labor to complete.

i suggest u give a call to ur service advisor and clarify the entire matter, request a refund of ur $130 (under the original warranty and maintenance, u are entitled a free annual oil change as long as ur mileage exceeds an x amount, of which i can't remember off the top of my head. there's also a sib released for this) and, if they did indeed conduct inspection I 2,000 miles early, the full report and valve clearance results.

[DeanMZ4]

I don't mean to thread jack, something similar happened to me...

I purchased my 07 M Coupe last March with 10k miles. Took it to a local dealer and they searched the maintenance history. It showed the 1200 mile service was performed, however it wasn't due for a oil change for a while. The dealer performed a "short interval" oil change and reset the computer.

Fast forward to October (12,000mi later), the computer is telling me "Inspection" is due in 800 miles, I asked the dealer to perform the maintenance while they had the car for an unrelated issue. Since the mileage was under 1K, they said they could do it.

So I check the invoice and they performed an oil service, not "Inspection" as the computer was indicating. The dash now said "oil change" due in xxxx mi (don't recall the number). When I asked them why they didn't perform what the car was telling them, I got a bunch of "Um, Um, it's too early for Inspection 1".

I (hopefully) will bring it out of winter storage in the next 30 days and I'm not sure how I should attack this situation. After all I have until November when warranty/maintenance expire.

[Phishman]

I don't think mine said anything next to the mileage countdown before, although now it says oil service. Maybe every second or third oil change the readout changes to "inspection"?

[Hawkeye]

Originally Posted by r4gs

rather complicated situation.

firstly, u should not have had to pay $130 for an oil change (u mentioned it has been more than one full, complete year since u purchased ur car) since it will be covered under the original 4 year/50,000 mile maintenance package, which will also cover Inspection I and II for that matter. inspection schedules are more like 25k, 50k, 75k miles etc.

I do not believe this is true anymore. I believe there are weird rules now. You have to have either driven the full 15K in 1 year, OR under 6K and have a full year passed in order to qualify for the free oil change.

BMW screwed me on this nice little change they implemented right before I hit 50K. Great way to lose repeat business on high end cars over $100.

http://www.m3post.com/forums/showpos...70&postcount=1

[onebluemcm]

Weird rules = rules each dealership will make up to meet their financial goals. I also did not get valve clearances checked at Insp1 - was told, because they never needed adjusting on the cars they used to check, they just don't do it anymore. Sounds kind of unbelievable, right? I thought so as they guy basically told me this verbatim. My immediate reaction was "what kind of racket is this place, can they really just decide something is not necessary?" followed by "if that is their philosophy on preventative maintenance, there is no way I'm letting them touch my car!".

Makes the sales pitch about full maintenance is covered sound like total BS - sure, it's covered, but only how they specify it and the dealers evidently can decide whether or not certain things are necessary. It's a racket.

[gatorfast]

Originally Posted by Phishman

I don't think mine said anything next to the mileage countdown before, although now it says oil service. Maybe every second or third oil change the readout changes to "inspection"?

No the order will go oil service, inspection 1, oil service, inspection 2, then repeat.

[wrh3]

The computer should not have been reset for the annual/low mileage oil change, it should only be reset if indicated that the oil service or inspection is due.

[HaiDef]

I just emailed my SA 2 days ago about this situation too. im at 26k miles but it says inspection 1 is due in 10k miles

[Phishman]

Hdoan86 - could you pm me whatever their response is? It sounds like we're in just about the same situation.

Hawkeye - I guess I didn't meet the crazy requirements for a free oil change, I have too many or not enough miles or something. Those are some confusing rules they implemented.

onebluemcm - I've gathered from all your posts you are not a big fan of dealerships. I was hoping you were overreacting but clearly this is not the case.

I am seriously considering just taking it to a non-dealer shop. Enthusiast Auto in Cincinnati/Sharonville seems to be decent from what I've heard. Right now I feel SOL b/c as someone else said, nobodys going to do it under warrantee because the computer says it was already done. Surely most people that buy M cars are aware of Inspections, are the service guys just really good at brushing people off/avoiding questions?

I got this report today in my email. I'm not sure what it is but I specifically asked them to torque down the strut braces and I had to do that myself. I'm pretty sure they didn't do anything on this list, but they do have a guy that's really good at washing cars

[r4gs]

^i've surveyed ur attached report in detail, and there is absolutely no mention of valve clearances check and any necessary adjustments having been done. this is a required item under inspection I and u have every right to hold ur dealership responsible for completing this item or be held accountable under fraud.

here is a direct link to the actual inspection checklists required by bmw for the m coupe - http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=171200 (kudos to ron stygar)

u're also missing a replacement of the m mobility canister atop ur battery hump as well as a mandatory brake fluid flush since it is +4 years since the year of manufacture of ur m coupe (2007). these are all mandated inspection/replacement items on the actual inspection I checklist and i would demand ur service advisor to have these addressed to ur full satisfaction. as far as i'm aware, u still should not have to pay $130 for the oil change because it is being accomplished under inspection I, which is covered by ur original 4-year, 50,000 mile free maintenance package.

[Phishman]

Thanks r4gs, I actually found that document this morning. Techincally I went in before I was supposed to (still had 1-2k until service). I'm not so worried about the can of fix-a-flat but I do wonder about my brake fluid. After "spirited" driving I sometimes notice an odd low sound and strange feel to the brake pedal. Not sure what this is but it doesn't seem to affect performance.

[r4gs]

re-reading ur entire description of the chain of events, the tech who worked on ur vehicle conducted inspection I but ur service advisor had intended for it to be an oil change and courtesy inspection + fluids top-up most likely. regardless, ur original service indicator said '2000 miles' and had 'inspection' in the top right corner about the countdown mileage to indicate that u HAD 2000 miles until inspection I. it's obvious the tech also reset the service interval because he HAS 'done' inspection I, so it is rightfully counting 15,000 miles to the next oil service (bmw's recommended oil change interval).

bottom line - inspection I was done by the tech but ur service advisor is none the wiser. regardless if u had gone in before u were supposed to or not, ur dealership has performed inspection I and done so unsatisfactorily/incompletely. ball's firmly in ur court and u will not get inspection I done again, so do get the valve clearances, free m mobility canister thing and a brake fluid flush as ur rightful entitlements.

as for ur concern about ur brakes, it's normal to be experiencing some 'fade' after spirited driving involving a lot of hard braking and accelerating due to excessive temperatures of ur rotors and pads.

[Phishman]

Thanks for all the advice once again. I am 99% sure they did not do the inspection. I wish what you speculated was true, because that would mean I got some sort of service for free, but I don't think that's the case. 2 hours and that includes a car wash = not enough time. Mechanic noted "car due for inspection I" but didn't say anything about actually doing it.

[jmillet]

Originally Posted by Phishman

Thanks r4gs, I actually found that document this morning. Techincally I went in before I was supposed to (still had 1-2k until service). I'm not so worried about the can of fix-a-flat but I do wonder about my brake fluid. After "spirited" driving I sometimes notice an odd low sound and strange feel to the brake pedal. Not sure what this is but it doesn't seem to affect performance.

Here is the checklist covering the 2007/2008 Z4 and Z4M
2007 Z4 Service Maintenance Checklist.pdf

[wrose]

Hi Jim
Do you know what mileage is required for the Service 1. I do my own oil changes but would like to have the free Service 1 done when my car comes out of storage. It has about 24000 miles on it (hard to get a straight answer from dealer ( US car but I live in Canada)
Thanks
Wayne

[jmillet]

Originally Posted by wrose

Hi Jim
Do you know what mileage is required for the Service 1. I do my own oil changes but would like to have the free Service 1 done when my car comes out of storage. It has about 24000 miles on it (hard to get a straight answer from dealer ( US car but I live in Canada)
Thanks
Wayne

Your SIA counts down to the next scheduled service (Oil Service or Inspection). Most dealers will perform the service if the SIA is within 1000 miles of going to zero.
The SIA countdown rate is based on fuel consumption; the lower your MPG the more rapidly the SIA counts down.
A check of the various BMW forums discloses the first Inspection I can be reached between 22,000 miles and 30,000 miles on the odometer.
It's important that the SIA not be reset until it approaches zero or goes negative. Dealers don't perform scheduled maintenance based on the odometer reading; the SIA determines when the dealer will perform the "free" BMW Maintenance Program services. Of course if you're paying for the service the dealer will perform whenever you demand service

[r4gs]

jim, just curious, would u happen to know how far the SIA can count down into the negatives? i sent my m coupe in for its inspection I with -225 miles, and was wondering to what degree it would keep counting down and if anything would be logged on the car's computer or something.

[jmillet]

Originally Posted by r4gs

jim, just curious, would u happen to know how far the SIA can count down into the negatives? i sent my m coupe in for its inspection I with -225 miles, and was wondering to what degree it would keep counting down and if anything would be logged on the car's computer or something.

I'm sure the SIA reset points are recorded in the ECU. I have no idea how far negative the SIA countdown will go but I'm sure there's a limit.

[r4gs]

^thanks, i'm certain there must be a limit as well, albeit there might also be some 'caution' or 'attention' flag logged if it exceeds a certain amount in the negatives and still is not reset.

also, how does one go about manually resetting the service indicator by themselves?

[jmillet]

Originally Posted by r4gs

^thanks, i'm certain there must be a limit as well, albeit there might also be some 'caution' or 'attention' flag logged if it exceeds a certain amount in the negatives and still is not reset.

also, how does one go about manually resetting the service indicator by themselves?

Detailed SIA reset instructions can be found at the Bimmerfest Z4 FAQ:
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...6&postcount=17
Do a search on that FAQ and you'll find the answer to most of your Z4 technical questions