Stupid rearview camera stopped working again

[BMWMN1971]

As I posted 2 weeks ago my rearview camera stopped working and when the car was in reverse all I got was the image attached. Note that all settings are greyed out and inactive. Car spent 1 week at dealer and they replaced the camera and it did not solve the problem. Then they torn the car apart (removed seats, carpet and God knows what else) to check the wiring and connectors and finally got the camera to work and according to the dealer the issue was a connector that was not tied correctly. By tearing the car apart they damaged the indoor panel of the rear door which was fixed last week. For 1 weeks the camera worked fine. Today in the morning it was working but when I used the car in the afternoon it did not work anymore and all I get is the same image attached.

Any thoughts on what to do next? I don't want to have the car again for 1 week at the dealer so they can figure out what is wrong by taking all the pieces of the car apart and try every connector again.

[opasha]

Hm....if this car is acting up this badly and they've already done this much damage and are going to keep doing damage to it to open it up and try again to figure it out, they should just compensate you in some way. It's not your fault the camera is messed up. If it's bad wiring, what if something else goes wrong related to the wiring that might be more serious such as the car just shuts off while you're on the highway. I wouldn't take any risks - it's not worth the headache. You paid for a $75K+ vehicle. BMW also gives BS loaners in my experience (everything is clearly under 40K bone stock - only had X1 or X3). The funny thing is, Acura MDX ($50K-56K) gave us a loaner that was fully loaded exactly like our model when I had to give it for service for 3-4 days. I know there's no real comparison in terms of brand, but the compensation when such long service is needed should be equal.

[BMWMN1971]

I will take it back to the dealership on Tuesday and see what they say. I will ask to get a BMW engineer involved this time since I don't want them to play a game of "try and error" and take the car apart again to find what is causing this problem.

Regarding loaners I am positively surprised with the 2 dealers I use here in my area. They have a bunch of 3 series but I always get a 5 series or X5. I was told it depends what car you have and they will try to give something similar. Last week I got a 2014 535xi with less than 3k miles. They had 2 F15 as loaners and I even saw I guy dropping of a 750 and he got a 750Li as loaner.

[opasha]

Originally Posted by BMWMN1971

I will take it back to the dealership on Tuesday and see what they say. I will ask to get a BMW engineer involved this time since I don't want them to play a game of "try and error" and take the car apart again to find what is causing this problem.

Regarding loaners I am positively surprised with the 2 dealers I use here in my area. They have a bunch of 3 series but I always get a 5 series or X5. I was told it depends what car you have and they will try to give something similar. Last week I got a 2014 535xi with less than 3k miles. They had 2 F15 as loaners and I even saw I guy dropping of a 750 and he got a 750Li as loaner.

Well, I hope they get everything worked out smoothly . Yeah, they only have 1 5 series (always taken), 2 older X5s that I have never seen (always taken), about 4-6 X3s, about 5-6 X1s, and 1 328 GT,at the dealership closest to me, which is actually a big dealership. You're lucky to have one that actually gives decent loaners. Hope they give you a proper loaner this time around. Make sure you tell them to prepare it ahead of time so they actually make an effort for you.

[NPickles]

Originally Posted by BMWMN1971

Any thoughts on what to do next? I don't want to have the car again for 1 week at the dealer so they can figure out what is wrong by taking all the pieces of the car apart and try every connector again.

If it was me I'd be back at the dealer telling them that I want a new vehicle. You've paid big money for a new F15 and the dealer has already ripped it apart once and not properly fixed the original issue and done damage in the process.

If the dealer doesn't co-operate go straight to BMW.

As someone else said, what if it shut down due to a more serious wiring issue while you were on the highway?

[BMWMN1971]

Well, we all know that it is not that simple. Living in MN we are covered by the "Lemon Law" http://www.dmv.org/mn-minnesota/auto.../lemon-law.php As you can see the dealer has to try to fix the same issue up to 4 times before I can even start the process and a camera may not qualify for the law :"Lemon Law does not apply if vehicle problem or issue does not impact the vehicle's use or value". You may say it impacts the value but not sure I have much leverage here.

The problem is that the camera is working randomly. Since I posted this thread it worked 2 or 3 times out of 10 times I put the car on reverse. Thus, I have no clue what may be causing the issue (nor does the dealership). And guess what? I am pretty sure than when I take the car tomorrow to the dealer the camera will work there (Murphy's Law).

It is very frustrating though since I cannot enjoy a $75K investment the way I should.

Originally Posted by NPickles

If it was me I'd be back at the dealer telling them that I want a new vehicle. You've paid big money for a new F15 and the dealer has already ripped it apart once and not properly fixed the original issue and done damage in the process.

If the dealer doesn't co-operate go straight to BMW.

As someone else said, what if it shut down due to a more serious wiring issue while you were on the highway?

[BMWMN1971]

Do you know how I can get BMW involved on this? Talked to the dealer this morning and they can only get my car in next Monday. I was told they will contact BMW to get their guidance on what to do next but I want to make sure BMW understands my frustration and does not just tell the dealer to take the car apart again trying to find another bad connector.

Originally Posted by opasha

Well, I hope they get everything worked out smoothly . Yeah, they only have 1 5 series (always taken), 2 older X5s that I have never seen (always taken), about 4-6 X3s, about 5-6 X1s, and 1 328 GT,at the dealership closest to me, which is actually a big dealership. You're lucky to have one that actually gives decent loaners. Hope they give you a proper loaner this time around. Make sure you tell them to prepare it ahead of time so they actually make an effort for you.

[opasha]

Originally Posted by BMWMN1971

Do you know how I can get BMW involved on this? Talked to the dealer this morning and they can only get my car in next Monday. I was told they will contact BMW to get their guidance on what to do next but I want to make sure BMW understands my frustration and does not just tell the dealer to take the car apart again trying to find another bad connector.

I called my service guy at BMW and left him a message about your issue to see how you can proceed further more effectively. Once he gets back to me, I'll update you.

In the meantime, call BMW Corporate Customer Relations about your issue @ 1-800-831-1117. Get to a supervisor or someone who actually knows what they are talking about because majority of the time we know more than the basic reps (sad, but true).

Another option is to PM wdimagineer since he has BMW friends and might know how to go about this in regards to contacting BMW directly to get involved regarding your issue.

I do believe you should be rewarded with a new car rather than dealing with your issues, but like you said it may not be covered under Lemon Law unless proven otherwise; if you have a good lawyer that knows his stuff regarding safety risks etc., you could pursue that option or find a loophole to at least force them to compensate you for your time and money (you spent $75K+ after all for something that is defective making it worth less than that price).

Keep us up to date. Sorry for the late reply. I don't check these forums as quickly sometimes due to being busy, but next time PM me if you have an urgent question and I'll try to respond sooner. Good luck, buddy!