[DaleHeinz]

I'm not blaming BMW per se, but I do feel that the particular product I purchased is inferior to the other ones on the road. Many people have the Stage 1 Elite and have no issues, but mine seems to keep going down the same road over and over. Not to mention the various other warranty issues I've had. Now the exhaust is making a god awful clanging noise on cold starts.

My main point with the dealer was that this tuner was a product they sold and talked me into based on their relationship and partnership with Dinan and the "warranty" claims. While they have made good on all of that so far, I still don't own a car that I'm confident taking anywhere outside of my home area. God forbid I get another drivetrain malfunction and the car goes into limp mode on a road trip through the mountains. I've only had the car since February and now I'm entering weeks 6-7 of loaner car time. Just too much of a headache this soon into ownership.

The dealer is looking into the buy back at this point for me. They are pretty sympathetic and understanding. I'm hoping to get into another model, as I really do still love the car. I just want one that doesn't have the bad juju mine does.

[DaleHeinz]

So far, the dealer has not considered my buy back request and is putting this all on Dinan. I am into my 2nd week of this current loaner, 6 weeks into out of service time, and am awaiting Dinan to send a new wiring harness for their stage 1 elite tuner. That is their best guess for a solution for my issues. The tuner and sensors were replaced, and did not solve the issue, so this is their next step. I am trying to be patient and hope that this solves the issue. I really miss the car. The 2018 X5 35i loaner is nice, but it is a far cry from the tight little beast that I hoped to own for some time.

[p912guy]

Sad to say, but it sounds like you might have one of those cars that's going to be prone to issues. It's weird how a manufacturer will produce thousands of cars which are essentially perfect, which is what you'd expect with current manufacturing quality controls, and mixed in the group of perfect cars there will be a few clunkers which went through all the same processes but aren't quite as perfect. Knowing this, "Lemon Laws" were created. Ordinarily your car might have qualified as a "lemon", but you made the unfortunate mistake of "modding" your possible "lemon" which muddy's the waters significantly. Your best bet may be to just sell it as soon as you can once it's fixed and running well. You may take a loss financially but at least you can move on at that point. Best of luck.

[DailySleeper]

Sorry to hear about the issues with the car, I know how frustrating it can be to track down gremlins.

As someone who is considering installing the Dinan Elite tune, I'm curious to know if the problem resolved itself with the tune removed/bypassed? That is, does this only occur when it is active?

[DaleHeinz]

Just heard from the dealer. Looks like tues/wed next week my car "may" be ready. Wiring harness is still yet to arrive from Dinan.

I'm slowly pressing the issue with the dealer about my reliability/lemon-ish issue. They were the ones that called me after purchase, told me they had just partnered with Dinan, the company was awesome, reliable, and would make the car perform even better. All rainbows and unicorns. Now they tell me it's all Dinan's fault and won't even talk to me about a buy back.

BMWNA is obviously off the hook because the car is modded, but I'm putting the dealer on the hook because they actively sought me out to purchase the product and talked me into it. It's not like I dropped my car off with a tuner I found online and had them install it.

I don't want to profit off of this, or even get a discount on another bmw. I just want my $$$ back at this point.

[Rayscott]

Originally Posted by morphomeman

I don't understand. The car is not stock. It has a Dinan tune. Why blame BMW for something that is as likely as not due to the tune.
I see this cropping up time and again. Someone has a problem with a tuned car and immediately jumps on the manufacturer of the car.
There is a reason for calling these things mods. They are modifications to to original. BMW spends billions designing and testing these cars, as do all manufacturers. Dinan does not have billions. Which company is likely the culprit?

I agree, mine is and will continue to be bone stock. It more than satisfies my needs so why screw around for a little more performance at the risk of voiding the warranty.

[DaleHeinz]

Originally Posted by Rayscott

I agree, mine is and will continue to be bone stock. It more than satisfies my needs so why screw around for a little more performance at the risk of voiding the warranty.

In hind sight, this would obviously be the safest route to go. My contention is that the dealer sold me on this by contacting me and making the sales pitch for the product/tune. IF the Dinan tune proves to be the culprit, then I'll be upset with the dealer for backing a product that has caused such a headache and nearly 8 weeks of out of service time. If Dinan proves to not be the issue, then BMWNA would be my route to go for a buy back based on the length of time I've had my car out of service, but most signs are pointing towards the tune. I didn't mod the car and then start ripping BMWNA for a shitty product. I fully understand "modding" the car is ultimately my decision, however, considering the dealer was the one that initiated this and made such a lofty sales pitch for it, I would like to see them own up to some responsibility in the matter should the Dinan prove to be my reliability issue.

Sure, if the Dinan is the issue, and simply removing the tune could restore my car to a reliable automobile once again, my contention is that the car has already been out of service for about two months because of something the dealer talked me into. Also, I would have concerns about long term reliability based on what other damage the tune may have caused that might manifest itself after my warranty expires.

It's a quandary and I'm reserving judgment until the issue is fully resolved or at least pinpointed. Nonetheless, a new car inside of a year should not have this many days out of service. Regardless of what product caused the service issues, the dealer claimed reliability of both the car and the tune. I would think that they should have the most skin in the game should it come to reimbursement.

[pikcachu]

Originally Posted by DaleHeinz

Just heard from the dealer. Looks like tues/wed next week my car "may" be ready. Wiring harness is still yet to arrive from Dinan.

I'm slowly pressing the issue with the dealer about my reliability/lemon-ish issue. They were the ones that called me after purchase, told me they had just partnered with Dinan, the company was awesome, reliable, and would make the car perform even better. All rainbows and unicorns. Now they tell me it's all Dinan's fault and won't even talk to me about a buy back.

BMWNA is obviously off the hook because the car is modded, but I'm putting the dealer on the hook because they actively sought me out to purchase the product and talked me into it. It's not like I dropped my car off with a tuner I found online and had them install it.

I don't want to profit off of this, or even get a discount on another bmw. I just want my $$$ back at this point.

Just wait till they replace the harness and see what happens....

Other option would be to have the dinan uninstalled completely... and get a refund

[kadify]

Sorry all of this is happening to you I've gone through a whole host of warranty issues though they've been electrical not mechanical like yours. Unfortunately even with over 2 months in he shop and numerous attempted fixes on my car I wasn't able to get Bmw to offer a buyback on my car. This will be my first and last Bmw but I hope you have better luck with your dealer!

[Ron Jeffries]

I had harness problem with my Z4 and when it was finally diagnosed it never acted up again. So with luck, that'll sort it.

I've had quite a few BMWs and never a lemon. Sorry to hear from folks with trouble. And keeping my fingers crossed.

[DaleHeinz]

Originally Posted by Ron Jeffries

I had harness problem with my Z4 and when it was finally diagnosed it never acted up again. So with luck, that'll sort it.

I've had quite a few BMWs and never a lemon. Sorry to hear from folks with trouble. And keeping my fingers crossed.

Nice to know the harness issue resolved your problems. Hoping it does the same for mine.

Got the car back two days ago. Everything seems to be working just fine. I guess time will tell.

Service advisor mentioned that Dinan was concerned about the coding I did with BimmerCode and was suspect that could be causing the issue. I can't see how coding mirrors, and windows, etc, would be remotely related to temp and pressure sensors failing. Maybe it's their way of trying to wash their hands of responsibility?

If it continues to be an issue, I think I'll just take my Dinan $$ back and walk away from it. Would be tough though, because the car is a beast with the Stage 1 Elite.