[grocerylist]

I just got a cpo 2016 m235i. I'm reading about charge pipe failures, some even with no other mods. I'm wondering if BMW would void the 2 years of warranty that I have left if I install a charge pipe with no other mods?

I tried searching for this but didn't find anything.

Thanks!

[Sportstick]

Originally Posted by grocerylist

I just got a cpo 2016 m235i. I'm reading about charge pipe failures, some even with no other mods. I'm wondering if BMW would void the 2 years of warranty that I have left if I install a charge pipe with no other mods?

I tried searching for this but didn't find anything.

Thanks!

Under Magnuson Moss Warranty Act, the warranty may be voided if BMW can establish a connection between the part and a failure. The use, per se, of an aftermarket part is not a sufficient basis.

[grocerylist]

That sounds like, even if unlikely, it could be an uncomfortable and costly lawyer up situation.

So nothing official from BMW on an unreliable oem charge pipe or no idea if anyone has had BMW voided a warranty because of a 3rd party charge pipe?

[Maynard]

IIRC, the only real benefit of the piece would be reliability, not performance. If this is the case, I'd leave it alone and hope against the unlikely failure of the stock piece. Even though it is a noted weak spot, it isn't like most of them fail, and I think mostly on modded engines. Or see if Dinan makes one so you keep warranty. You might ask the dealer if they are cool with it, but that doesn't really matter much for big warranty issues - there I think you are dealing with factory reps from corporate HQ who might be looking to avoid buying you a new engine.

[khj24]

I had 4 injectors fail and taking all 6 plugs with them, my car had an upgraded FMIC and charge pipe and they didn't even mention it. It probably all comes down to the dealer and the nature of the warranty issue. I would personally be very upset if a dealer tried to pin off a similar issue on those two mods.

Edit: There was no charge on the CPO sheet, but I would estimate this would've been around $2k out of pocket at the dealer.

[morphomeman]

Why run the risk of voiding your warranty simply because you are concerned about the possibility of a part failing?

[RoundelM3]

Installing an aftermarket charge pipe will not "void your warranty" - if anything, you might get a warranty claim denied if there is some engine issue that is directly related to the charge pipe and they can prove that it caused the problem. The warranty stays intact for everything else.

[morphomeman]

Let me get this straight.
There is a remote possibility that the charge pipe will fail.
If the failure occurs under warrantee, and the car has not otherwise been modded, BMW will most likely pay to have it repaired.
Only BMW has enough data to tell if there is a pattern to this failure, but rumor has it that it occurs under stress: persistent high revs.
There is a greater possibility that BMW will deny a warrantee claim on a vehicle that has had an aftermarket charge pipe installed, prophylactically or not.
It is always in BMW's interest to deny warrantee claims.
BMW has a platoon of in-house lawyers sitting around looking for things to do.
Under these circumstances it is, IMHO, CRAZY to install an aftermarket charge pipe.

[chattanooga240]

As someone who has had two OEM charge pipes fail on the M235, I'd say BMW needs to look into going aftermarket themselves...

[learntocode]

Originally Posted by nvmaddog

As someone who has had two OEM charge pipes fail on the M235, I'd say BMW needs to look into going aftermarket themselves...

Sorry to hear about that. Curious to know at what mileage for both instances did your CP fail, and is your M235 modded or tuned?

[chattanooga240]

Originally Posted by learntocode

Sorry to hear about that. Curious to know at what mileage for both instances did your CP fail, and is your M235 modded or tuned?

Was stock from new until it sold, first time was at 11k, the second time was at 33 or 34k.

The Florida heat definitely played into it, but these pipes seem to be weaker than most.

[Luftwaffe1O1]

Interestingly my car is at 54k miles havent had the charge pipe go boom yet.

[XutvJet]

Originally Posted by nvmaddog

As someone who has had two OEM charge pipes fail on the M235, I'd say BMW needs to look into going aftermarket themselves...

My guess is they use the plastic design at the collar because it's a more secure fit than metal. As we've seen, the metal charge pipes don't break, but some have issues sealing correctly, especially at the throttle body. The plastic collar has some give to pop on. The metal pipes do not. The metal pipes rely solely on the rubber o-ring for the seal.

BMW doesn't design the charge pipes to handle additional boost or support people's racing programs. The reality is charge pipes do and often fail, but most of the time it's on 4+ y/o cars and/or cars running more boost than stock. I'm sure BMW figures 4 years+ life expectancy for a majority of these pipes is acceptable.

[XutvJet]

Originally Posted by grocerylist

I just got a cpo 2016 m235i. I'm reading about charge pipe failures, some even with no other mods. I'm wondering if BMW would void the 2 years of warranty that I have left if I install a charge pipe with no other mods?

I tried searching for this but didn't find anything.

Thanks!

You likely be ok. The aftermarket charge pipes are very similar to the OEM design. They don't add power or modify the intake system in any way. What BMW won't warranty or fix are issues caused by the aftermarket charge pipes such as vacuum leaks, rubbing on under hood parts, etc. Running an aftermarket charge pipe does give them the opportunity to point the finger at the part when a driveability issue pops up.

[Poochie]

Originally Posted by XutvJet

My guess is they use the plastic design at the collar because it's a more secure fit than metal. As we've seen, the metal charge pipes don't break, but some have issues sealing correctly, especially at the throttle body. The plastic collar has some give to pop on. The metal pipes do not. The metal pipes rely solely on the rubber o-ring for the seal.

BMW doesn't design the charge pipes to handle additional boost or support people's racing programs. The reality is charge pipes do and often fail, but most of the time it's on 4+ y/o cars and/or cars running more boost than stock. I'm sure BMW figures 4 years+ life expectancy for a majority of these pipes is acceptable.

True that..

I've been running the stock charge pipe with a Dinantronics stage 1 and Dinan Intake for over 3 years and I drive like a maniac; I've given a couple of my adult passengers Shaken Baby Syndrome and my license was just restored for speeding, so I get it in

I'm still on my original charge pipe, in my third vehicle with a N55 and not an issue.

I know the stock pipe is plastic, to prevent heatsoaking but it works fine for me and lead me to believe that the whole charge pipe issue is just overblown or is only needed if your pushing an unreasonable amount of boost. The stock setup targets load with a PSI boost spike of no more than 14 pounds.

Folks can't convince me that stock pipe is not fine when I actually thoroughly tested it myself, for years on many related vehicles.

I actually tried to get it to pop, so I could learn it's limitations. All that happen is I ran out of gas..

As far as an aftermarket pipe goes, logically, it can't "void" your entire warranty but it makes them question the reason you changed it in the first place and can cause them to infer that the vehicle was modified for possible performance enhancement.