QuestionFirst Mr. Berlan had helped me before, so please see bottom for previous question and answer...but directly below this sentence is my follow-up and I need to know if this sounds fishy
Hello I just wanted to see what you thought of the service departments response. After putting my car "to sleep" overnight they concluded that it was my cellphone charger that was pulling too much voltage from the battery. They said they ran multiple tests and that everything electrical seemed fine. They charged it overnight and said that it was producing, I'm not sure if it's voltages but the minimum of 10 and it should be fine. Well a couple of weeks later my car doesn't start again, I leave and go to work and by the time the tow truck comes 45 minutes later and gets it, it magically starts again. Well since my car was still under warranty, I wanted to make sure everything was okay. Well that whole day it was in the service department, they never got to look at it and the service department customer service reps/manager came to their own conclusion and that it was more than likely my key because of the computer chip sending bad signals to the car. So I had to purchase a $175 key and wait for it to be programmed so that we can weed out the key being the problem. Well today still waiting on the key which I plan on getting tomorrow, same thing happens again, car doesn't start and they tell me to wait 5 minutes and try it again. I wait 10 minutes and start it again and it starts. I'm sorry but this is a 25,000 dollar car, it can't be normal for it to start when it "feels" like it.
Does this sound legit or am I getting the run-a-round?
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Followup To
Question -
2003 325i
Not sure of the VIN number because it's at the dealership now. So that I know what I'm getting into, before I get there in the morning. It's barely got 40,000 miles on it and all of a sudden the car will not start. Windows, horn, radio, and lights all work. When I go to crank the car it goes all the way to the last position but not turning over. Any ideas? Thanks
Answer -
Well it sounds starter related.It may just be a bad connection at the starter.
AnswerThis does sound like a bad vehicle master key. Also Do not leave your phone connected in your charger for any significant length of time (over night). It doesn't sound like they gave you a definate answer on your car drawing too much amperage when asleep (16 minutes after last electrical input recieved from your car). 40 milliamps is the maximum spec. for your car. A good thing to know. Your car is equipped with a Electronic driveaway protection system. This consists of an electronic chip in the key that communicates a password to the car to enable release of starter operation. The previous suggestion by Mr. Berlan has not been seen very often in my experiences. We just don't see that many starter problems in late models. Back to your key issue. If your battery voltage is not high enough you will see dash lights flicker and a definate "Click" noise from the Starter Solenoid when engine is cranked. If voltage is good and dash lights are normal when cranking and you hear no "click" then the most likely cause is the starter not being released electronically. When your car doesn't start next time, take the key out and mark an "X" on the back of the key. Take another Master key or even the wallet key and try starting the vehicle. If it starts with another key then the "X" key is bad. Unfortunately the dealer techs have to come to this conclusion in warranty cases such as yours. So this info is for your insight and not to fix your car because I can not control your Local BMW service department. Good news is I believe they made the right move in ordering a key. This is my desktop diagnosis. Hope this helps. P.S. I am not a warranty expert but I believe if your car still has the original 4year/50,000miles on it the vehicle master key is covered.
Evan
