Chronic problem with E39s...run a search on this board and you will find numberous threads. They will lead you to an email address for a woman with BMWNA who is in charge of helping with a fix (even if after warranty). You should not have to pay more than labor to get a new one...before I bought my beast, I had to replace the pixel cluster in my 540i-6 (my current daily driver)..it cost me $150 at the dealer. My service tech did it without involvement of BMW after I bugged him about it. Good luck.

 

Thanks, I should have searched better before posting. I didn't really know how to spell pixel and the first five search results that I found looked like they had nothing to do with the display.

 

After I read your post, it prompted me to stop procrastinating and have my pixels replaced. I cannot tell you how easy the process was for me, but maybe my timing was a factor due to the holiday weekend. I sent Leanora a cordial email this morning in regards to the pixel issue. I only have one vertical column of pixels out, but as anal as I am about the beast it has to be fixed, and even better if it's not on my dime. Anyway, she responded about 1.5 hours later and told me that she would get an associate to contact me. I received the call slightly after noon, proclaiming that BMWNA would cover the parts and I would cover the labor, which is going to be roughly an hour. It all took place in less than 6 hours from my initial email. I cannot be happier and wish you the same luck!

 

I hope that I can do the same with my M5...

 

Can I get contact information for Leonora?

 

Will the mileage transfer over when they fix it?

 

bmwna contact info

Can I get contact information for Leonora?

Mike I contacted Leonora via email and got the cluster replacement process rolling. In my case they tried to get me to split the cost of the cluster...I replied that I've heard of many cases where the part is supplied for free and I pay 1 hour of labor. That's what we settled on...don't settle for less. BTW I was out of factory warranty at the time too. Good luck...

Leonora Vlaovich
Customer Relations Coordinator
BMW of North America, LLC
201-573-7742 (phone)
201-930-8362 (fax)
Leonora.Vlaovich@bmwna.com<!-- / message -->

 

Mike I contacted Leonora via email and got the cluster replacement process rolling. In my case they tried to get me to split the cost of the cluster...I replied that I've heard of many cases where the part is supplied for free and I pay 1 hour of labor. That's what we settled on...don't settle for less. BTW I was out of factory warranty at the time too. Good luck...

Leonora Vlaovich
Customer Relations Coordinator
BMW of North America, LLC
201-573-7742 (phone)
201-930-8362 (fax)
Leonora.Vlaovich@bmwna.com<!-- / message -->

Just found this thread after my search recently. Sorry about reviving an old thread, but I just got my M5 about a month ago and found 1 missing column of dead pixel. Is the cluster that BMW replaced the M version (with silver dials and M emblem in the middle) or is it the regular E39 non-M version of the cluster?

 

Will the mileage transfer over when they fix it?

Yes the mileage will transfer over to the new cluster. As I understand it the current vehicle mileage is stored in 3 different places in the car. You'll know that the instrument cluster reading doesn't reflect the actual mileage if a red dot is illuminated I believe to the left of the ODO display.

I'm not an expert on the matter..but I can say that my mileage was shown as it should be following the cluster replacement at the dealer.

 

Mike, as e39M5nut has explained, do not settle for anything less that paying just for the hour of labor. They know that it is a faulty item and should be recalled, but I guess it's cheaper to just fix them on a case-by-case basis since it isn't really a safety concern and most people have no idea that they can get it fixed so reasonably.

 

thanks for the response swifty, ill contact here next week...

 

customer service

I just had my 2000 cluster replaced as wellforlabor only. It cost me $100.00 as well. There was an SES light on at the same time and it has been determined that I need the "pipecleaner" taken to the cylinder heads to get this to stop happening. The service tech told me that this is at least a 30 hr job, and that he has only had this done once or twice before. That is not what I wanted to hear, but definitely not a surprise to me after being a member of this board and being an owner for some time now. The tech suggested that I call BMW to get them to foot the bill for this service since the car has low miles, and it has been serviced regularly. I will give Lenora anemail on Monday to see what they have to say.

 

I am having my done in my 03. It started happening a little bit ago but I ask the service rep and he said they are known to have little problems and they would replace it without charge. Its still under warranty but I think they consider this a cosmetic issue more than a "real" issue.

Glad that BMW is very aware of this for the BMW owners who buy a pre owned one out of warranty and find they cannot read their display.

Peace

 

any idea if this works in our part of the world ?

 

I recently contacted them about the problem as I need to have it done in my 2001 M5. I kept going back and forth with people at BMWNA, and I was told after much polite conversation that their policy is to do 50% parts and 50% of labor if the car is more than 3 years out of warranty. I have followed up several times noting that I have seen other people getting the deal announced in the forums I have read, but they aren't budging.

I should note that I was stern and professional with my request since it sounds like it could be a judgement call on BMWNA's part, but no luck. I'm going to check out VDORepair.com in SoCal since they charge around $300 to repair the cluster (permanently supposedly) while BMW would charge half of the $1100 for the cluster replacement and half of the $100 installation charge.

 

Thanks for the contact information. For some reason this didn't come up on my automatic reminder so I am just finding it today. What a nice surprise.

Mike I contacted Leonora via email and got the cluster replacement process rolling. In my case they tried to get me to split the cost of the cluster...I replied that I've heard of many cases where the part is supplied for free and I pay 1 hour of labor. That's what we settled on...don't settle for less. BTW I was out of factory warranty at the time too. Good luck...

Leonora Vlaovich
Customer Relations Coordinator
BMW of North America, LLC
201-573-7742 (phone)
201-930-8362 (fax)
Leonora.Vlaovich@bmwna.com<!-- / message -->

 

I should note that I was stern and professional with my request since it sounds like it could be a judgement call on BMWNA's part, but no luck. I'm going to check out VDORepair.com in SoCal since they charge around $300 to repair the cluster (permanently supposedly) while BMW would charge half of the $1100 for the cluster replacement and half of the $100 installation charge.

curious to hear how the vdo repair goes. I would not mind finding an original black cluster and getting it repaired and reinstalled. Could probably recoup a lot of the costs selling my gray cluster.
mike

 

curious to hear how the vdo repair goes. I would not mind finding an original black cluster and getting it repaired and reinstalled. Could probably recoup a lot of the costs selling my gray cluster.
mike

A friend of mine works at the warranty department in BMW Sweden and he has queried their "pro's" about this matter and it is not possible to reprogram a used cluster. It would get a wrong mileage and a tamper code activated somewhere in the system. :crying2:

 

Does anyone outside of the US have any experience with BMW covering the cost of the cluster?

My '99 beast had LOTS of pixels out when I bought it. I thought I could live with it, but it bugs the hell out of me now. Obviously I'm waaay out of warranty.

So far in my conversations with my $tealer i've only mentioned it in passing and they replied off-handedly 'yeah, they all do that. AUD$2000 to fix it.'oohhh:
So obviously I dropped the subject.:confused3

But to hear that BMWNA have at least decided to take some responsibility for what is surely a design fault makes me feel that BMW here ought to take better care of its customers.

Any Aussies tried / had any luck with this issue after warranty expiry?

Cheers

 

I recently contacted them about the problem as I need to have it done in my 2001 M5. I kept going back and forth with people at BMWNA, and I was told after much polite conversation that their policy is to do 50% parts and 50% of labor if the car is more than 3 years out of warranty. I have followed up several times noting that I have seen other people getting the deal announced in the forums I have read, but they aren't budging.
.

Interesting. Yours is the first case I'm aware of in the US where there wasn't 100% coverage on parts, even for out of warranty vehicles. Perhaps BMWNA has a new policy on the pixel silent warranty. I might ask them why there is inconsistent application of the coverage and see how they respond. They may come back with the standard 'but it has always been goodwill...'. However I believe there are legalities that have taken the pixel coverage far beyond simple 'goodwill' into implied warranty territory. Have you gone beyond the first-line rep to the regional CR rep? You might request that person's contact info from whomever you have been dealing with. BMWNA CR can be quite cagey, but I think the regional CR can authorize pretty much whatever they feel is in the best interest of long term customer relations on a case-by-case basis. You can also learn some interesting things if you can get a decent conversation going.

Good luck,
Dave

 

Swwweeeeeet ride mike, love the colour, of course. Same year as mine 2000.
WillM5AD

 

Interesting. Yours is the first case I'm aware of in the US where there wasn't 100% coverage on parts, even for out of warranty vehicles. Perhaps BMWNA has a new policy on the pixel silent warranty. I might ask them why there is inconsistent application of the coverage and see how they respond. They may come back with the standard 'but it has always been goodwill...'. However I believe there are legalities that have taken the pixel coverage far beyond simple 'goodwill' into implied warranty territory. Have you gone beyond the first-line rep to the regional CR rep? You might request that person's contact info from whomever you have been dealing with. BMWNA CR can be quite cagey, but I think the regional CR can authorize pretty much whatever they feel is in the best interest of long term customer relations on a case-by-case basis. You can also learn some interesting things if you can get a decent conversation going.

Good luck,
Dave

I wound up speaking with Gene Stewart who is apparently in the BMWNA executive offices. He said, "BMW evaluates each request for out of warranty assistance on an individual basis. Even though your car has been beyond warranty coverage for 3 years, we have made an offer to cover 50% of the cost of parts to replace the instrument cluster."

So I can pay $600 for a replacement cluster that very well might develop the same problems (and apparently, replacement clusters have even been repaired by VDO Repair... I spoke with Andy over there) or I can pay half of that with a 1-year full warranty on the work... Seems like a pretty easy decision to me.

Obviously, I'd like to get it done through BMW since it would be cheaper if they covered 100% parts, and I would cover $85 in labor, but if they aren't going to budge, I have no problem going elsewhere. If anyone has experience dealing with someone in charge of the California region at BMWNA, PM me with the contact info so I can follow up with them.

-Kevin

 

curious to hear how the vdo repair goes. I would not mind finding an original black cluster and getting it repaired and reinstalled. Could probably recoup a lot of the costs selling my gray cluster.
mike

Sounds like they have a really quick turnaround too... He said from Northern Cali, it is usually 3-4 business days between when you send it down and when you get it back (assuming you use priority mail). If you find one, we can try a Group-Fix kind of thing through them... I am considering driving down to LA within a week or two, so I could even bring the consoles down, drop them off at their shop, and bring them back up this way (no shipping charges).

Let me know if you are interested, and I will get back in touch with Andy.

-Kevin

 

Does anyone outside of the US have any experience with BMW covering the cost of the cluster?

Cheers

My friend at BMW is in the position that handles warranty and goodwill cases and he told me that the goodwill with the pixel issue only applies to BMWNA.
He could not help me with any goodwill repairs on my cluster :crying2:

 

I always wanted to know what mine would look like with the CAI inlet holes in the grill. Yours looks great! I think I will go out and order the kit.

Swwweeeeeet ride mike, love the colour, of course. Same year as mine 2000.
WillM5AD

 

does anyone know where i can fix my pixels in this part of the world?
it is totally missed up... or should i buy a new one and how much will this thing cost if i did buy one !

 

I had my pixels replaced under warranty. BMW orders the mileage on the new display to match exactly. As a result, BMW had to keep my car 1 night. No big deal.....at lease this is what they told me.