Warranty brake replacement

[RickyBobby]

What are people's experiences with BMW replacing brakes that are obviously used on the track?
I have a friend who is at 25k miles and two different dealerships would not replace the (oringinal) rotors because they were obviously tracked.
I'm not expecting a dealership to replace cracked rotors every few months, but after almost 2 years of use on the original brakes I didn't think they would push back.
I'm acutally quite suprised how hard it is to wear out a set of rotors. My friend is quite a talented and experienced driver and it took him over a year to wear the rotors down to min thickness even with track pads.

So is anyone out there getting brakes replaced under warranty or does tracking the car really void such things?

[VictorH]

Boy, I think this is real dealer dependent. The shortest interval I've heard personally is a bit over 3,000 miles which is pretty ridiculous (VIR two events, really late braking from big speeds) but they replaced them. Another guy I tracked with had his replaced at 10,000 miles and the third guy I know just got his complete front and back brakes and rotors replaced at 21,000 miles. I guess the message is "your mileage and dealer willingness may vary."

You know the other thing that might make a difference? In each case the pads were gone. I wonder if you still have pad life left, but the rotors are shot that they might not want to do it.

[lucid]

My experience has been that if the rotors do not show significant wear such as cracking (due to thermal stress) or scoring, and if you have never had your rotors replaced under the maintenance program, they will replace them at least once. The second time around can be problematic if it is too soon. I doubt that they would do a third set within 4 years.

This is somewhat explained in the program description in the warranty manual. It states that they can refuse to replace parts that have been worn out prematurely (I can't remember the exact language).

Having said that, if your rotors do not show signs of cracking or scoring, and if this is your first replacement, and if they refuse to replace them, I would refer to the warranty manual and ask them to explain on what basis they are refusing service. (They should have approached the minimum thickness number though). The answer cannot merely be, "your car has been tracked." As long as the wear falls under some kind of norm (expected duration) for rotor wear, they wouldn't have a position IMO. I would force them to disclose what that norm is exactly if they refuse service, and how the wear on your rotors differ from it.

This also all depends on how cooperative the service manager is. I've had good luck and dealt with a reasonable service manager. He did refuse me service once on the rotors, but I don't blame him since the rotors were severely scored and kind of toast with spydering, etc. with not too many miles on them.

[RickyBobby]

Well the rotors are definitely spider cracked and unsafe for track driving. I'm not arguing the fact they they have been heated up quite a bit. My argument is that 25k and 1.5 years seems to me like a reasonable replacement interval.
I'm actually quite happy with the performance of the stock brakes with track pads and am ok replacing rotors once a year. I just figured the 1st set would be on BMW. PFC direct drive rotors are on their way..

[aus]

Don't know why the dealer would give you trouble. That's a reasonable amount of time and mileage (though on the early side), and they get paid to do it.

[lucid]

I think the issue is they need to send the rotors back to BMW NA for inspection. Not sure if that applies to all rotors or if just to a random sample. If BMW NA doesn't like what they see, they can refuse payment to the dealer is what I've been told.

[elh0102]

It should not be a problem, but, as others have said, it really all depends on your dealer. If in doubt, I would not volunteer any information about track use, and I would be sure to have the OE pads installed when taking it to the dealer. And to answer your question, yes, track use and/or aftermarket parts can void warranty claims if the dealer chooses to take that position.

[RickyBobby]

Originally Posted by lucid

I think the issue is they need to send the rotors back to BMW NA for inspection. Not sure if that applies to all rotors or if just to a random sample. If BMW NA doesn't like what they see, they can refuse payment to the dealer is what I've been told.

This is what the dealer seemed worried about. They said inspectors randomly show up at the dealership and look for things like this.
As far as denying track use, I took the honesty route since it's pretty obvious that I am enjoying the car

[lucid]

Originally Posted by RickyBobby

As far as denying track use, I took the honesty route since it's pretty obvious that I am enjoying the car

I've been very up front about what I do with the car with the service manager. No issues as long as you don't compete with it and mod it like crazy, which is what the manual states. I also kept the car fairly stock. My engine had problems and they told me they wouldn't have been able to do anything about it if I had messed with the ECU, etc. These are expensive cars leading to expensive repairs when issues come up, and I don't see the point of throwing the warranty out the door for another 20-30hp. Anyway, I don't think putting on a set of track pads and enjoying it on the track voids the warranty (the manual recommends the use of high temperature pads on the track!) as long as the wear is reasonable. If one does 20 track days a year on it, sure one will go through brakes every year and they won't cover it--not that they should. I think everyone is entitled to at least one brake job over the 4 years though if rotor thicknesses are down to the allowable spec.

[LiM3y]

I had my brakes swapped at 19K with no problems. They know I tracked the car (I got caught with rubber marble marks on the running boards! Doh!). They kind of like that I am not one of the prissy posers and drive the car. They did warn me that they will not cover items that suggest "abuse".

25K refusal is a bit tight in terms of refusal. It might be a dealer that doesn't see that many M cars, so is not used to the car's needs and project from regular 3's. I went to a dealer who over-filled my oil because it didn't know about the double sump drain. They also did not have the correct alignment specs for an M3 in their software. Remember, these are franchises.

I would go to another dealer with used M cars on their lot (a suggestion). I suspect they will leap at the opportunity to steal a customer - especially an M3 owner.

[1MORELAP]

It is amazing what a 6-pack of beer for the tech or a bottle of champagne for the SA for his weeding will do for you. AMAZING. Best money I ever spent!!!

[RickyBobby]

Originally Posted by lucid

I've been very up front about what I do with the car with the service manager. No issues as long as you don't compete with it and mod it like crazy, which is what the manual states. I also kept the car fairly stock. My engine had problems and they told me they wouldn't have been able to do anything about it if I had messed with the ECU, etc. These are expensive cars leading to expensive repairs when issues come up, and I don't see the point of throwing the warranty out the door for another 20-30hp.

Agree on not doing any engine mods. 20hp doesn't really amout to all that much on a race track and is not worth the risk. I had a heavily tracked Nissan that got a tranny replacement under warranty (a common problem on those cars). The car had suspension mods, stoptech's, and even a welded in rollbar and I still got the tranny covered since the engine was bone stock. I've also seen to many cars sidelined on the track because they blew engines just becuase they wanted to squeeze out a few more ponies.
I digress.. I'll post a review of the PFC rotors after I put them through their paces.

[RickyBobby]

Can't wait to install these bad boys! I forgot how huge our stock rotors really are. The PFC rotors look like they are straight from a big brake kit. I'm hoping they provide better cooling and crack less than the OEM rotors. Fingers crossed.

[dnvrdrvr]

Originally Posted by lucid

I think everyone is entitled to at least one brake job over the 4 years though if rotor thicknesses are down to the allowable spec.

So, what's "allowable spec" for the OEM rotors?

Edit: Found the answer in another thread: 28.4mm.

[R A W L S]

So I'm doing a DE event this weekend. My brake monitor system says I've got 6000 miles left before needing new front pads. I bet I finish them off in the first 30 minutes of driving. My car has 7800 miles on it. Do you think my dealer will provide a warranty break job for me when I take the car in next week, assuming there are no signs of tracking, other than fast pad wear?

[Richbot]

I'm with RickyBobby, if they don't replace them it's just a good excuse to buy those bling PFC rotors.

[RickyBobby]

Originally Posted by Richbot

I'm with RickyBobby, if they don't replace them it's just a good excuse to buy those bling PFC rotors.

But if they do replace them, I want the name of the dealer and the service rep!

[ring007]

Dealer replaced my front pads at 1,400 miles. Took them 2 days to convince BMW to pay for them as good will. Now I'm running Brembo's. Think they will cover pads for me now

Originally Posted by R A W L S

So I'm doing a DE event this weekend. My brake monitor system says I've got 6000 miles left before needing new front pads. I bet I finish them off in the first 30 minutes of driving. My car has 7800 miles on it. Do you think my dealer will provide a warranty break job for me when I take the car in next week, assuming there are no signs of tracking, other than fast pad wear?

[JC919]

Where did you get the PFC rotors?

[LateBraking]

^Bimmerworld sells them as a package.

http://store.bimmerworld.com/introdu...age-p1314.aspx

[LiM3y]

Originally Posted by R A W L S

So I'm doing a DE event this weekend. My brake monitor system says I've got 6000 miles left before needing new front pads. I bet I finish them off in the first 30 minutes of driving. My car has 7800 miles on it. Do you think my dealer will provide a warranty break job for me when I take the car in next week, assuming there are no signs of tracking, other than fast pad wear?

The monitor system is an ECU estimate rather than an measurement. My monitor went from 9000 to 1500 (I may be exagerating - but it was no more than 2000) in two days at NJMP. It is now back up to 2700!

[lucid]

Originally Posted by R A W L S

So I'm doing a DE event this weekend. My brake monitor system says I've got 6000 miles left before needing new front pads. I bet I finish them off in the first 30 minutes of driving. My car has 7800 miles on it. Do you think my dealer will provide a warranty break job for me when I take the car in next week, assuming there are no signs of tracking, other than fast pad wear?

I was told the pad replacement thickness is 3mm under the maintenance program. You can do a visual check to see what you have left. But if your stock pads are close to that spec, and if you plan to brake aggressively, they might not get you through the day. You don't want to wear them all the way down to the plate. My 2 cents...