Originally Posted by TAMR_GUS98

The car was Certified Pre-owned when we bought it.

Originally Posted by TAMR_GUS98

I go to pick it up the next day and they tell me it's normal to have the engine burn 2 qts of oil in 5k miles

Originally Posted by TAMR_GUS98

Trading in the wifies 330i was the best thing we did since we bought it. Don't get me wrong, I think the 330i was a nice car and it was fun to drive when it ran like it was the ultimate driving machine. But once in a while the check engine light would come on and it would run rough. The first time it happened we brought it back to Peter Pan BMW in San Mateo. They refused to give us a loaner car. They replaced the cam position sensor. A month later it happened again, this time I decided to try Weatherford BMW in Berkley where we got the thing. No loaner again. They kept the car for a couple of days only to tell us that there is a Service Bulletin that states this condition is normal if you run the gas down to a quarter tank or less. No mention of any fix. Even when I told them that the gas tank is ALWAYS filled back up before it reaches a quarter tank. We get the car back and I decide to test out what they were telling me. I ran that puppy down way past a quarter tank. I drove it to work in Fremont. I live in San Bruno. The low fuel light came on before I even got on the San Mateo Bridge. Guess what, This thing ran like a champ. No miss, No check enging light. So, another month goes by and it starts to miss again on my way to work. I happen to work next to a BMW dealership so before I go to work I drop it off with the CE light still on and the car running on four cylinders. I told them to let me know if they need to keep the car overnight and they said it should be ready by the end of the day. I dropped it off before 7am. I was on a test drive and decided to go over and check on the progress at 11am. I was told they would call me when it was done. I made sure they had my cell # and they even knew I was one of the Techs next door at Lexus. 4pm comes and no phone call. So I had to call the wifie and ask her to drag the kids and come over to pick me up. Next day was my day off. But I decided to go over and check to see what was up. I was told the car was ready yesterday and was given a bs story about them calling and leaving a message with the recieptionist. WTF........... Why leave a message when they have my cell #. I was fumming and asked to talk to the service writer. Who was magically unavailable. So I ask to speak to the Service Manager. This guy just blew sunshine up my ***. A total waste of time. I asked about why we don't ever get a loaner. His response is "We don't have very many of them like Lexus" He said reason being is that instead of allocating money to go towards loaners they allocate the money to offer free maintenance. Keep in mind, these people don't recommend changing the oil untill 15k miles. Thats right the oil change interval is 15,000 miles not 3k, not 5k........15,000 miles. How much money are they saving by not changing the oil untill 15k miles. The trans fluid is LIFETIME. Free maintenance, Riiight!!!. He goes on to say that the few loaners they have are reserved for people with an appointment. He gives me his card and tells me next time to call him and make an appointment and I will get a loaner. So, weeks go by. I'm commuting to work, and the low oil level light comes on. I check the dipstick and refill with two quarts of synthetic oil.
I check how many miles we drove since we bought it since I know they change the oil and do an inspection before they certify the car. The car was Certified Pre-owned when we bought it. We had put a little over 5k miles.I set up an appointment so they can check the car for oil consumption and have them change the oil while it was there. I finally got a loaner..............A ford Focus with roll up windows. WTF............. O.K. So I leave it with them again and off to work in my POS Ford Focus. I go to pick it up the next day and they tell me its normal to have the engine burn 2 qts of oil in 5k miles. O.K. So the the free maintenance is done every 15k. The engine holds approx 6.5 quarts of oil. And it will burn 2 quarts of oil approximately every 5k miles. So by the time you bring it in for the free 15k mile maintenance you will only have approximately .5 quarts of oil. Time to get a new IS............................................................................................................

Originally Posted by newr

1st time - The car misfired and CE light came on. They changed the CPS. Normally when these things happen the computer throws a code and most of the time it's right on the target.

2nd time - same problem - I am curious to what did they finally ended up fixing?



If the car was a CPO, they should give you a loaner everytime you have your car serviced.


I am surprised you did not give him a whack on the head when he told you that and I would stay away from these guys.

Not sure why don't you like the FREE service. It is free for god sake. If you don't like changing oil every 15K, then do it yourself at every interval you desire, then when the 15K come, bring it in for FREE service maintenance at 15K, 30K & 45K. What is so bad about getting FREE service? I guess some rather pay, but I'd take free service any day.

Originally Posted by flipside909

Technically it's not free because that free maintenance marketing ploy is something that's added into the price of the car. Hence the inflated value of a BMW. There's nothing free in this world, the money for the maintenance came from somewhere. And you can bet on it that it was factored into the price of a new or CPO BMW.

I think it's time to focus back on the IS350 maintenance topic...not BMW.

Originally Posted by wolverine

on my 2002 toyota highlander, the tranny dipstick says no need to change tranny fluid unless under severe conditions.

Originally Posted by TunedRX300

If you believe lifetime ATF, take a look at this Audi A8 after 30k miles. Audi claims the tranny fluid is lifetime.
http://www.audipages.com/Tech_Articl...servicing.html

Originally Posted by gsrthomas

Thanks for pointing that out!

I cant believe people actually think ATF fluid could be lifetime.

No fluid out there can be lifetime!!