turbo problem with 320d

[Campbell]

Greetings all,

I would appreciate if anyone has any information on the BMW E46 320d turbo problems.

A bit of history:
I test drove the 320d and was amazed at the power the vehicle had and was due for a new car & ordered a new 320d. Delivery was in Aug 2000 and really enjoyed the car.

One thing that really stands out in my years of driving beemers is that BMW’s after-sales service (PRO) has taken a serious nose-dive. I could go on & on here but in short I had to phone BMW Germany from here in South Africa before I got any type of response to a two-year old / ongoing complaint / battle. It would seem that the problem of rattling windows has never really been rectified (I stand to be corrected) on the E46 models. The so-called BMW repair was to change my black window trims to chrome. This has helped but not totally cured the rattle. To be honest the on-going fight / saga with BMW was exhausting. In my previous run-ins with BMW I went straight to the local MD, now it is impossible to get to him. I heard that his complaint calls are routed to his advertising agency, I wish!!

My question:
The turbo on my vehicle was replaced this year (seems to be a big problem on the 320d) and since then the car just does not have the vooma that it did before. Apparently the turbo software / management has been clipped by BMW as the turbos were failing due to high running temperatures & probably a high fail rate here in SA as we do get a fairly hot climate.

I would like to know what my situation is & where I stand as I bought a vehicle that was stated to have X/Y/Z specifications & BMW have now decided that they will downgrade that for me. The result is my vehicle that I purchased in good faith has just had a major wing-clip.

I would really like to hear from anyone sharing or knowledable with regards my unpleasant experience and if I have any leg to stand on with regards getting BMW to get my car (still under it’s original warranty) to go like I was told it would when I bought it.

Bye the way that last sentence is not to be misunderstood as the car has only done 58 000 kms (36 250 miles) and one would not expect a change of performance with a vehicle of this mileage.

Thanks for reading & those that take the time-out to reply.

Campbell.

[peterkulesza]

you absolutely do.

the fact that they misjudged the wastegate, vane angles etc (whetver they did), IS THEIR PROBLEM. can you prove that the car is a dog though ??

in the u.s. ford cheated on horsepower figures on mustangs (they since owned up and are offering a retrofit at their cost), and mazda similarly on the miata (mx-5 where you live i guess). so there is precedent....

you bought a car that you test drove. write to munich, and threaten a law suit. in the u.s, if you d'found enough pissed owners this would qualify for a class-action ( i.e. try to prove that bmw cheated a bunch of angry people), i have no clue what is available in s.a.

i am sorry that this advice is so lame, but usually it just takes huge patience to deal with stuff like this... ghead

peter

next time buy the 330d. pavement pealing torque.