So it happened with my brand new M235i
I was in Gdansk, Poland, on a business trip and - passing an intersection at a rather high speed (traffic light was just about to change to red) - suddenly I noticed that exposed and unsecured tramway rail (renovation of crossroads) at the very last moment. The rail was sticking up so high that I decided not to drive over it (which would probably have ruined all my 4 wheels and suspension), but instead - fighting to avoid collision - hit the brakes and turned the steering wheel all the way to the left, hoping I would manage to stop in time. I was very very close to successfully avoid this unexpected obstacle, but unfortunately - jest before coming to a halt - hit the rail with my front right wheel. Still have this impact in my ears, so hard and loud it was (metal to metal)...
Right after leaving the damn intersection I stopped to take a look at the damage. The only thing I could see with my naked eyes was the rim curbed on same 2 inches long area (perimetrically), but of course I was expecting the worst: loss of air (and the city of Gdansk is some 700 km away from where I live, and I have no spare), plus lots of damages to the suspension, as a minimum. So, it looked very bad...
But I decided to continue driving (planning to at least get to the hotel I was staying in before all the air is gone). To my amazement, I didn't feel anything wrong in the way my car was riding and handling! No warning from my TPMS, either! Also the next day morning, my car status reported exactly the same air pressure as before the hit - so I decided to take the risk and drive back home (700 km away), so at least I could be there during repairs.
On my way back home, I still didn't feel any obvious proof of damage - the ride and handling just normal, not even slightest pull to left or right, steering wheel in dead center position when following straight line, the hit tire inflation still correct... To make the story shorter: not only did I make it home safely, but on my visit to the dealer it turned out that:
- the wheel wasn't even bent (bravo the 461M wheels!!!)
- there was no damage to the suspension or steering parts
So what I did next was of course have my dealer check alignment, again expecting the worst... But the alignment check results (attached) didn't show anything that - in my BMW dealer opinion - would warrant any repairs; not even adjustment! The only out-of-tolerance value I marked with a red rectangle in the attached b&w scan (has been printed in red on the original diagnostics printout)
And the latter (toe adjustment necessity) is something I'm unsure about. The Dealer's opinion is that the slight of-of-spec- ness is not worth correcting, because - as they claim:
- it's so small that probably another measurement would show the only value printed in red fall into the OK range
- if they tried to correct it now, it could as well result in my car starting pulling to one direction, or the steering wheel no longer in its current (dead centered) position, etc....
However, I do suspect they were just unwilling to start the correction attempt which indeed could have taken them a number of working hours the slight toe discrepancy is not worth sacrificing.
What do you guys think: should I stand up and make them at least try, or are they right it's not worth it?