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      04-18-2019, 10:14 PM   #1
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Broken bolt near my car. Help!

My wife found this in the driveway where I normally park my car and it has me stressed out. Can anyone identify where this might have come from, if it actually came from my car? We did have the lawn guys here a week ago, but it seems I would've seen it sitting there for a week if it came from some piece of their equipment.

It's very light, like aluminum, and it's sheered off. Printed on the head are AK and AL9. There appears to be some sort of sealant between a couple of the threads.

Thanks!
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      04-18-2019, 11:17 PM   #2
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That's a long ass bolt. It's a torx head which bmw loves to use but I doubt they would use a torx head on a bolt that long because of the amount of torque on such a long bolt nor would they use aluminum for such a sizable piece. I personally don't think this is from your car.
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      04-19-2019, 01:12 AM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bmtespar View Post
That's a long ass bolt. It's a torx head which bmw loves to use but I doubt they would use a torx head on a bolt that long because of the amount of torque on such a long bolt nor would they use aluminum for such a sizable piece. I personally don't think this is from your car.
I agree. Plus it looks pretty beat up. Maybe from the lawn guys trailer or a mower chute.
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      04-19-2019, 01:12 AM   #4
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Those are all the same reasons I'd think of that it's not from my car as well. A really big torx head on a long aluminum bolt doesn't seem likely, but it sure looks like a common BMW bolt head.
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      05-05-2019, 07:05 PM   #5
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Welp, I found where it came from.

I had the car up doing front discs and pads and noticed a bright, clean ring reflecting at me from the darkness. Low and behold, I found the location of my broken bolt.

It's one of the bolts holding on the electric power steering assist. And, judging by the bolt, there must be some length of it still stuck way inside.

I'm going to gamble on not *really* needing it. It looks like it's just holding on the power steering assist, so even if it fell all right off, I'd just be left with no power steering, right? Not the worst thing in the world if you ask me.


***EDIT***

Also, it looks like this is a common F series problem including MY 2014-2016 228i:

https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...1469927&page=3
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      05-05-2019, 07:20 PM   #6
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interesting.
I'd replace it.
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      05-05-2019, 08:02 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ScottSinger View Post
interesting.
I'd replace it.
I'd replace it too - hopefully covered by warranty. Removing the part that's still in there could be a real bitch.
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      05-05-2019, 09:30 PM   #8
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I notice you have a 228i and this is one of the models covered by the extended warranty. It extends to 10 years/120K miles, so you should be covered to get this replaced. Seems to be happening in cold climates where calcium or magnesium salts are used instead of NaCl salts on roads and apparently those salts are causing the (Al?) bolts to corrode.
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      05-05-2019, 09:37 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Uridian View Post
...even if it fell all right off, I'd just be left with no power steering, right? Not the worst thing in the world if you ask me.
That might make it hard to drive, esp. in parking lots.

Since our cars are so smart, it would probably just park itself until it was fixed.
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      05-05-2019, 10:09 PM   #10
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Get it fixed, that's my opinion.
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      05-06-2019, 11:33 AM   #11
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My VIN is apparently not listed as effected, and therefore I will have to embark on a journey of rigmarole to have it repaired without paying for it. I would just do it myself if the bolt hadn't sheared off inside. It's going to be a major PITA to get it out I suspect.
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      05-06-2019, 03:47 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Uridian View Post
My VIN is apparently not listed as effected, and therefore I will have to embark on a journey of rigmarole to have it repaired without paying for it. I would just do it myself if the bolt hadn't sheared off inside. It's going to be a major PITA to get it out I suspect.
BMW has extended the warranty, so it would be best to have them do the repair, which most likely will be to replace the whole part instead.
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      05-07-2019, 09:35 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AndDown View Post
BMW has extended the warranty, so it would be best to have them do the repair, which most likely will be to replace the whole part instead.
Right, except that I called my dealership and BMW corporate both who told me my VIN does not have the part specific extended warranty. So the extended warranty is not a blanket, but rather specific VIN ranges that they've decided are effected.

She even told me that all the letters letting owners know about the extended warranty have been sent out, and mine is not "pending" in any way. So I'd have to bring my car to a dealership, have it diagnosed and repaired out of pocket and only then could they begin to discuss whether or not it might be covered later after the fact.

According to my dealership, this process almost never plays out while the work is being done/car is at the dealer. Instead, I'd have to pay out of pocket for diagnosis and replacement of the rack, something very likely to be in the vicinity $2000. Then they would submit to BMW, possibly get engineering involved, and hopefully at a later date, get me some kind of reimbursement for the process. That's not something I'm willing to undertake at this time.

Here is the BMW TIS Service Bulletin SI B32 08 18 - as submitted to NHTSA *by BMW*, which clearly states that it effects F22/23, but since my VIN is not associated, there is nothing anyone can do. So now I'll just wait to see if I end up with the extended warranty or if my power steering dies. I'm not willing to pay that amount of money to repair what is a clearly documented known issue in the hopes that the red tape falls in my favor eventually.
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      05-07-2019, 03:45 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Uridian View Post
Right, except that I called my dealership and BMW corporate both who told me my VIN does not have the part specific extended warranty. So the extended warranty is not a blanket, but rather specific VIN ranges that they've decided are effected.

She even told me that all the letters letting owners know about the extended warranty have been sent out, and mine is not "pending" in any way. So I'd have to bring my car to a dealership, have it diagnosed and repaired out of pocket and only then could they begin to discuss whether or not it might be covered later after the fact.

According to my dealership, this process almost never plays out while the work is being done/car is at the dealer. Instead, I'd have to pay out of pocket for diagnosis and replacement of the rack, something very likely to be in the vicinity $2000. Then they would submit to BMW, possibly get engineering involved, and hopefully at a later date, get me some kind of reimbursement for the process. That's not something I'm willing to undertake at this time.

Here is the BMW TIS Service Bulletin SI B32 08 18 - as submitted to NHTSA *by BMW*, which clearly states that it effects F22/23, but since my VIN is not associated, there is nothing anyone can do. So now I'll just wait to see if I end up with the extended warranty or if my power steering dies. I'm not willing to pay that amount of money to repair what is a clearly documented known issue in the hopes that the red tape falls in my favor eventually.
Sorry to read that, looks like you’ve done everything to get them to cover this item. Hopefully, the other bolts will continue to hold.
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      05-07-2019, 05:50 PM   #15
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Has anyone found a range of VINs that are associated with this notice? I've not been able to find anything.
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      05-08-2019, 07:10 AM   #16
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Originally Posted by Xi-Xi View Post
Has anyone found a range of VINs that are associated with this notice? I've not been able to find anything.
I haven't seen the VIN range, but my dealer excluded my 2015MY car from this service bulletin this morning when I dropped it off for oil change. He said there was a VIN range, but mine was not in it, but they will inspect anyway. He did say he's had several 3 Series with this condition in their shop.
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      05-08-2019, 01:14 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Uridian View Post
Right, except that I called my dealership and BMW corporate both who told me my VIN does not have the part specific extended warranty. So the extended warranty is not a blanket, but rather specific VIN ranges that they've decided are effected.

She even told me that all the letters letting owners know about the extended warranty have been sent out, and mine is not "pending" in any way. So I'd have to bring my car to a dealership, have it diagnosed and repaired out of pocket and only then could they begin to discuss whether or not it might be covered later after the fact.

According to my dealership, this process almost never plays out while the work is being done/car is at the dealer. Instead, I'd have to pay out of pocket for diagnosis and replacement of the rack, something very likely to be in the vicinity $2000. Then they would submit to BMW, possibly get engineering involved, and hopefully at a later date, get me some kind of reimbursement for the process. That's not something I'm willing to undertake at this time.

Here is the BMW TIS Service Bulletin SI B32 08 18 - as submitted to NHTSA *by BMW*, which clearly states that it effects F22/23, but since my VIN is not associated, there is nothing anyone can do. So now I'll just wait to see if I end up with the extended warranty or if my power steering dies. I'm not willing to pay that amount of money to repair what is a clearly documented known issue in the hopes that the red tape falls in my favor eventually.
You may want to take this further even though it will take some effort and time. You can send a physical certified letter to the CEO's office of BMW NA:

Bernhard Kuhnt
BMW of North America, LLC
300 Chestnut Ridge Road
Woodcliff Lake, NJ 07677-7731

He won't read it, but someone assigned to his correspondence will and will respond. Tell them how much you like BMW. State politely and concisely that your vehicle has suffered a safety-related defect (this has a specific definition for the NHTSA) which has been recalled on other vehicles but yours is not included. Tell him you cannot afford to pay for this up front and you feel that BMW should cover the repair. Then state that you would prefer not to petition the NHTSA (this also has a specific meaning) to expand the recall and just want to get your car fixed so that it is safe to drive.

I have attached a link to the NHTSA website that describes the process if you have to resort to that. It is relatively easy and they may be inclined to look into it since the defect has already been established.
https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/recalls/recallprocess.cfm

I have had success doing this kind of thing. They would prefer to just tell your dealer to fix it and have you go away.
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      05-08-2019, 02:14 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rocky58 View Post
You may want to take this further even though it will take some effort and time. You can send a physical certified letter to the CEO's office of BMW NA:

Bernhard Kuhnt
BMW of North America, LLC
300 Chestnut Ridge Road
Woodcliff Lake, NJ 07677-7731

He won't read it, but someone assigned to his correspondence will and will respond. Tell them how much you like BMW. State politely and concisely that your vehicle has suffered a safety-related defect (this has a specific definition for the NHTSA) which has been recalled on other vehicles but yours is not included. Tell him you cannot afford to pay for this up front and you feel that BMW should cover the repair. Then state that you would prefer not to petition the NHTSA (this also has a specific meaning) to expand the recall and just want to get your car fixed so that it is safe to drive.

I have attached a link to the NHTSA website that describes the process if you have to resort to that. It is relatively easy and they may be inclined to look into it since the defect has already been established.
https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/recalls/recallprocess.cfm

I have had success doing this kind of thing. They would prefer to just tell your dealer to fix it and have you go away.
Nice information, thanks! I may look into that. My plan was to keep checking and see, but then possibly consult a legal professional (and inform BMW NA that I would be doing so beforehand). Though, it seems to me that a more industry-specific process like the one you've outlined could be something that might be more successful, without resorting to "nasty" tactics.
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      06-08-2020, 02:22 PM   #19
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Hello from the future!

I never took any action with this until I went to go to the store a month or so ago and the most horrible noise came from my steering rack. Got out, checked and at least one more bolt had broken off. No more power steering.

I called BMW NA again the check and my VIN had still not been added.

I brought my car to the dealership to be "diagnosed" and repaired. Low and behold it is exactly the type of failure described in the TSB. Both my SA and the Service Manager agreed that it's exactly the problem in the TSB so they called BMW NA to find out if they'll cover it. In the meantime, if they wouldn't, then the damage would be $4039.65.

The resolution so far is that BMW will split it with me, and since they're splitting it with me, the cost of the part also goes down. I guess that means out of pocket parts are more expensive than warranty parts as well. Shady.

So, final cost to me is just over $1500.
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      06-08-2020, 02:47 PM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Uridian View Post
So, final cost to me is just over $1500.
Sorry to hear that it's come to this. I swear, there are times with these cars that you don't know whether to laugh or cry.

I know that few BMW owners will ever read this thread, but it's a perfect example of why it's wise to plan for one or more multi-thousand dollar repairs during your "ownership experience".
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      06-08-2020, 03:34 PM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Uridian View Post

I called BMW NA again the check and my VIN had still not been added.

So, final cost to me is just over $1500.
No way I am settling for that resolution.

I don't think there is any debate that your VIN should be included, and your symptoms are described perfectly in the TSB unless I am missing something.
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      06-08-2020, 05:35 PM   #22
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Very sorry to hear. Guess we can add this to the preventative maintenance list...
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