i’m sure your aware of the subframe issues, and possibly are aware of the lawsuit as well. well my suggestion is that you go to an indy shop and have the subframe looked at, if its cracked take it to your local bmw dealer, be nice and ask to have them inspect the subframe mount as you believe its cracked. if it is they will take care of the repair and bill. their inspection will take about 1-1 1/2 hours as they unbolt the subframe to take pictures and whatnot, and will be probably a week or two in advance for scheduling(atleast at towne bmw 2 weeks was soonest i could get in). anyways, they then give you your keys, no charge for inspection, and give you your copy of the workorder and the info to call theyre collision/body shop. you schedule the time to drop the car off, it will take about 3 days to complete repair (mine was just cracked/torn…new updated seatpan is welded in) and bmw will take care of the bill.
so i suggest you do this before end of august when the rush of people come in wanting the free inspection/repair done come september as it is a 1 year 1 shot timeframe. (this is why i say check that its cracked then take it to bmw, otherwise you lose your chance of free repair)
cliffnotes: i got bmw to repair my subframe free of charge. this is how to do so.
edit: if you have suspension alterations or wheels other then factory, return it back to stock or you are disqualified from repair.
Chances are it will NOT take 3 days. a 3 day repair is to change a bumper or fender. If you are taking it to a slow shop I would say a week, a normal shop 2-3 weeks.
When I worked at Holtz I saw 2 done (I kinda wish I would have done it myself, would have been a good learning experience. but it looked like a pita so I avoided it like the plague)
A lot of the time is because the car has to go to service to get the subframe taken out. Then it has to get towed back to the body shop. then the repair made, then wait for service to get time to put it back together.
well, thats how it went down at hotlz, lol.
cliffs: 3 days is very unrealistic for that type of repair in a real world situation
I should probably get mine looked at, although being “only” a 325, and a wagon, I doubt it was driven hard the first 100k of its life (I’m currently making up for that hahaha). Also, I could be wrong but I thought it was mostly pre-facelift cars or that they were more prone to it?
hmm, well from what I noticed, the trunk floor has to come out and some other bracing under there. a lot of work for one day. plus R&R of the whole subframe and gas tank. idk…
The trunk floor has to be cut in specific locations. Here’s the left side:
However, yes, as a do-it-yourself job, in a driveway, it would definitely take a couple of days. With a lift, a good, stable trans jack, and the right tools, the entire subframe, complete with suspension can be out in less than 90 minutes if you’re really working it.
^^yea, towne had my subframe removed pictures taken and put back in for their inspection in about 1-1 1/2 hours when i had them look at it. their collision/bodywork shop is the shop that is doing the work.
Ironically the most common ones for this failure are 99 323 automatics since they are never taken care of and don’t get the bushings swapped when needed.
EDIT: This is all, you should have gotten the letter in the mail about it, as with the emissions recall for the M’s
