M3 throttle body actuator recall

[cardioboy]

Why is there no recall on this obvious factory defect ? Do We need to do a class action suit? The sales of these parts is incredible, I purchased my M3 in Annapolis (from BMW) with a 4,200.00 extended service contract, Which didnt cover this part with the total millage of less than 42,000. There was a early string showing a recall , but it has disappeared. Dealer quoted the cost of repair at 3,300.00 (and reinstalling an obviously defective part). No changes in BMW manufacturing have been reported. The rebuilder (Mpower motorsports ) is loaded with orders.

[doogee]

Parts wear out on cars. Overall the E90/E92 M3 is very reliable.

Failure rate on these is pretty low. Definitely doesn't need to be recalled.

[JPS-ATL]

Originally Posted by cardioboy

Why is there no recall on this obvious factory defect ? Do We need to do a class action suit? The sales of these parts is incredible, I purchased my M3 in Annapolis (from BMW) with a 4,200.00 extended service contract, Which didnt cover this part with the total millage of less than 42,000. There was a early string showing a recall , but it has disappeared. Dealer quoted the cost of repair at 3,300.00 (and reinstalling an obviously defective part). No changes in BMW manufacturing have been reported. The rebuilder (Mpower motorsports ) is loaded with orders.

Why didn't the extended warranty cover this part? My warranty that I got from Carmax covered mine.

Of course the second bank went a few months after the warranty expired :-(

[Redd]

Just get one from MPower/Rebuild and never worry about it again.

[Powashiftin]

All Parts have wear and tear. Order from fcpeuro (lifetime warranty) and DIY it. It's relatively easy once the intake and plenum is off.

[besiktas]

Originally Posted by doogee

Parts wear out on cars. Overall the E90/E92 M3 is very reliable.

Failure rate on these is pretty low. Definitely doesn't need to be recalled.

I wouldnt say low. Every E9x m3 has bearing and/or throttle actuator issues for sure. These failures are at the core of the car and very expensive fixes. This doesnt include other random fixes people deal with such as AC blower, seatbelt extender, door lock actuators, lights and other stuff. 10+ years of ownership, every other month another light goes up in dashboard.

I dont think anyone who is objective can call this a reliable car compared to all other cars in the market. We just overlook it because of the thrill and performance of the v8.

[jd501]

Originally Posted by besiktas

I wouldnt say low. Every E9x m3 has bearing and/or throttle actuator issues for sure. These failures are at the core of the car and very expensive fixes. This doesnt include other random fixes people deal with such as AC blower, seatbelt extender, door lock actuators, lights and other stuff. 10+ years of ownership, every other month another light goes up in dashboard.

I dont think anyone who is objective can call this a reliable car compared to all other cars in the market. We just overlook it because of the thrill and performance of the v8.

I guess the argument comes down to if the TAs are "wear and tear" items or not. Apparently it's hit or miss with the warranty companies.

If they're not, then I think the failure rate is going to be really really high.

[Redd]

Originally Posted by besiktas

I wouldnt say low. Every E9x m3 has bearing and/or throttle actuator issues for sure. These failures are at the core of the car and very expensive fixes. This doesnt include other random fixes people deal with such as AC blower, seatbelt extender, door lock actuators, lights and other stuff. 10+ years of ownership, every other month another light goes up in dashboard.

I dont think anyone who is objective can call this a reliable car compared to all other cars in the market. We just overlook it because of the thrill and performance of the v8.

Not all have TA issues. My TAs were good at 105k kms. I changed them out just for peace of mind. At 105k, it's already above expectations for a wear and tear part.

My mech has a theory on why some cars suffer TA failures and some don't. He noticed that TAs tend to fail on cars that are driven less. They fail less on daily driven cars. He suspects that they stick when not used and when it's started again after a long time, the additional friction wears and damages the gears.

[doogee]

Originally Posted by besiktas

I wouldnt say low. Every E9x m3 has bearing and/or throttle actuator issues for sure. These failures are at the core of the car and very expensive fixes. This doesnt include other random fixes people deal with such as AC blower, seatbelt extender, door lock actuators, lights and other stuff. 10+ years of ownership, every other month another light goes up in dashboard.

I dont think anyone who is objective can call this a reliable car compared to all other cars in the market. We just overlook it because of the thrill and performance of the v8.

142,000 miles on mine with no issues.

If you're getting a warning light every other month you sir are incredibly unlucky.

[LakeSurfer]

Originally Posted by Redd

Not all have TA issues. My TAs were good at 105k kms. I changed them out just for peace of mind. At 105k, it's already above expectations for a wear and tear part.

My mech has a theory on why some cars suffer TA failures and some don't. He noticed that TAs tend to fail on cars that are driven less. They fail less on daily driven cars. He suspects that they stick when not used and when it's started again after a long time, the additional friction wears and damages the gears.

Mine recently failed at 35K miles and its a 2011. perhaps there is an amount of truth to your mechanics conclusion.

I wouldn't necessarily consider the Throttle actuators as a wear and tear / consumable item. At some point its just poor design and the actuators are definitely that. A steering wheel is a moving part, would anyone consider that a wear and tear part? based on this forum it looks like more TA's fail then not and fail early. I think for mine to fail with such low mileage is pretty ridiculous.

BMW designed the gears to fail otherwise they wouldn't have use plastic. it was a super shity move on their part.

-Mark

[Helmsman]

Originally Posted by Redd

Not all have TA issues. My TAs were good at 105k kms. I changed them out just for peace of mind. At 105k, it's already above expectations for a wear and tear part.

My mech has a theory on why some cars suffer TA failures and some don't. He noticed that TAs tend to fail on cars that are driven less. They fail less on daily driven cars. He suspects that they stick when not used and when it's started again after a long time, the additional friction wears and damages the gears.

Not sure I agree. I pretty much daily mine year around since 6 years, developed TA codes at around 43k miles, low mileages in my book.
DCT with constant rev shift which I realize doesn't help, but want it.
Folks like Rebuild UK refurbish the units to hold up, i.e. BMWs design is far from optimal but have thrown the cost over to their customers in this case.

[kavo11]

Originally Posted by cardioboy

Why is there no recall on this obvious factory defect ? Do We need to do a class action suit? The sales of these parts is incredible, I purchased my M3 in Annapolis (from BMW) with a 4,200.00 extended service contract, Which didnt cover this part with the total millage of less than 42,000. There was a early string showing a recall , but it has disappeared. Dealer quoted the cost of repair at 3,300.00 (and reinstalling an obviously defective part). No changes in BMW manufacturing have been reported. The rebuilder (Mpower motorsports ) is loaded with orders.

Originally Posted by cardioboy

Why is there no recall on this obvious factory defect ? Do We need to do a class action suit? The sales of these parts is incredible, I purchased my M3 in Annapolis (from BMW) with a 4,200.00 extended service contract, Which didnt cover this part with the total millage of less than 42,000. There was a early string showing a recall , but it has disappeared. Dealer quoted the cost of repair at 3,300.00 (and reinstalling an obviously defective part). No changes in BMW manufacturing have been reported. The rebuilder (Mpower motorsports ) is loaded with orders.

I'm in Annapolis too. This makes me upset that I almost bought an extended warranty through them 2 months ago. Was yours the Fidelity platinum warranty? It's supposed to be an exclusionary warranty and there was no mention of TAs being excluded. They swore up and down that almost everything was covered including TAs and RBs. Glad I opted to self insure if that's the case

[Ab28]

My first M3 needed them at 40k miles. Second M3 needed them at 107k miles.

I've helped a few members from the forum with theirs as well and the mileage also varied by a big margin. Replacement point is all over the map here.

Best bet is FCP as I have more faith in their lifetime warranty than any competitor.

[InnerBlueSkies]

Originally Posted by kavo11

I'm in Annapolis too. This makes me upset that I almost bought an extended warranty through them 2 months ago. Was yours the Fidelity platinum warranty? It's supposed to be an exclusionary warranty and there was no mention of TAs being excluded. They swore up and down that almost everything was covered including TAs and RBs. Glad I opted to self insure if that's the case

A BMW Service Contract (one activate before the 4 year expires) is different from any third party a BMW dealership may offer. It is quite possible Fidelity covers throttle actuators.

[kavo11]

Originally Posted by InnerBlueSkies

A BMW Service Contract (one activate before the 4 year expires) is different from any third party a BMW dealership may offer. It is quite possible Fidelity covers throttle actuators.

I wasn't sure if OP has the bmw warranty or the fidelity. Definitely understand that there's differences between the two and even coverage level selected. More info would be helpful here

[InnerBlueSkies]

Originally Posted by kavo11

I wasn't sure if OP has the bmw warranty or the fidelity. Definitely understand that there's differences between the two and even coverage level selected. More info would be helpful here

Good Catch, I paid $4200 for mine (the BMW service contract) so I assumed thats what he had. This is actually my 2nd M3 and I got a majority of the contract money back when I sold the first one. I would have been pissed if I was in the OPs situation...I definitely dont see it as a wear and tear item.

Fidelity covers it

https://fidelitywarrantyservices.com...cle-protection

"Electronic throttle control"

BMW doesnt

https://pictures.dealer.com/bmwofriv...aab1eeea54.pdf