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JAIM3 · 06-24-2013, 12:12 AM

I took my car in to their spring clinic when they had it several months ago. My car (6MT, 2008, ~27k miles) is out of warranty. They said the transmission was leaking. I had no symptoms, and no fluids (aside from AC condensation) had leaked onto my parking space (reserved, indoor garage with concrete floors).

I changed my oil at a BMW CCA NCC DIY (great experience), and I asked for some help in determining if my transmission had any leaks. We did not take off the cover, but it did not seem to show any signs of leaks. (In retrospect, I should have just taken off the cover at that point!)

I wrote a negative review of BMW of Alexandria on Yelp with this new information. I was contacted by management, and they wanted me to bring the car back so they could verify no leaks. I took it back, and they put it up on the lift, and they used a flashlight to show me what they claimed was leaking transmission fluid. It was hard for me to see it--they did not take the transmission cover off--but I could kind of see something and just assumed they were right.

They said it was leaking from somewhere where it does not normally leak, and they said they would have to drop the transmission to determine what the cause was. They quoted $2,000 for dropping the transmission and said it would go from there depending on what they found.

I called an SA I trust at Faulkner BMW (Lancaster, PA). I didn't want to take the long trip, but he encouraged me to take it there. He said they have not encountered any issues with 6MT E9x transmissions, and even if they did, he felt that it would be possible to fix without dropping the transmission. I took it in, and they put it up on the lifts. They removed the transmission cover and invited me back to the shop. The body of the transmission was bone dry and the SA and several techs looked everywhere that there could be a leak (transmission or otherwise). They found nothing at all.

All in all, I'm not out anything except my time and some extra miles (they were fun miles though). In retrospect, I should have asked BMW of Alexandria to remove the transmission cover and show me. I am sharing my story so that others are aware and consider getting a second opinion before forking over cash that could be used for many other fun things (track days, exhaust, etc).

Has anyone else had similar experiences?

06-24-2013, 12:12 AM	#1
JAIM3 Private 6 Rep 93 Posts Drives: AW E92 M3 Join Date: May 2012 Location: Washington, DC iTrader: (3)	BMW of Alexandria trustworthiness I took my car in to their spring clinic when they had it several months ago. My car (6MT, 2008, ~27k miles) is out of warranty. They said the transmission was leaking. I had no symptoms, and no fluids (aside from AC condensation) had leaked onto my parking space (reserved, indoor garage with concrete floors). I changed my oil at a BMW CCA NCC DIY (great experience), and I asked for some help in determining if my transmission had any leaks. We did not take off the cover, but it did not seem to show any signs of leaks. (In retrospect, I should have just taken off the cover at that point!) I wrote a negative review of BMW of Alexandria on Yelp with this new information. I was contacted by management, and they wanted me to bring the car back so they could verify no leaks. I took it back, and they put it up on the lift, and they used a flashlight to show me what they claimed was leaking transmission fluid. It was hard for me to see it--they did not take the transmission cover off--but I could kind of see something and just assumed they were right. They said it was leaking from somewhere where it does not normally leak, and they said they would have to drop the transmission to determine what the cause was. They quoted $2,000 for dropping the transmission and said it would go from there depending on what they found. I called an SA I trust at Faulkner BMW (Lancaster, PA). I didn't want to take the long trip, but he encouraged me to take it there. He said they have not encountered any issues with 6MT E9x transmissions, and even if they did, he felt that it would be possible to fix without dropping the transmission. I took it in, and they put it up on the lifts. They removed the transmission cover and invited me back to the shop. The body of the transmission was bone dry and the SA and several techs looked everywhere that there could be a leak (transmission or otherwise). They found nothing at all. All in all, I'm not out anything except my time and some extra miles (they were fun miles though). In retrospect, I should have asked BMW of Alexandria to remove the transmission cover and show me. I am sharing my story so that others are aware and consider getting a second opinion before forking over cash that could be used for many other fun things (track days, exhaust, etc). Has anyone else had similar experiences?
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