Warning to audiophiles considering BMW
JT
keep this in mind — ANY alteration to your factory stereo system will
VOID the car's warranty.
During my test drives of the 323i earlier this year I wasn't impressed
with either the base stereo system or the Harmon Kardon upgrade. But I
like the car and bought one last Saturday.
On Monday I posted a message asking for any suggestions/experiences of
individuals who had installed aftermarket equipment in their new 323.
What I got was a huffy letter from BMW's USA headquarters saying that I
shouldn't try it because it's difficult and will void my warranty.
I called up BMW and also spoke to my service advisor, and both sources
confirmed I will risk my entire warranty if I mess with the stereo
system.
If I were a rich man I'd sell the thing and tell BMW to stick their car
up their butt. Instead, I guess I'll have to live with a sub-standard
sound system for quite a while.
Oh well, I'll save money by buying fewer CDs and selling all my current
equipment.
As my mom says, if you've got lemons make lemonade. The car isn't a
lemon. It's fun. But the stereo is bad and BMW's Nazi attitude is bad,
too. I understand their desire to protect complicated computer equipment
in the car, but please, design an audio system that is either worthy of
the car or one that the car's OWNER can alter.
dboulter
like a policy out of the stoneage.
That's like saying you'll void your warranty with a RAM upgrade (which was
the case in the early 80's...).
d.
m...@nospam.com
>keep this in mind — ANY alteration to your factory stereo system will
>VOID the car's warranty.
>
>During my test drives of the 323i earlier this year I wasn't impressed
>with either the base stereo system or the Harmon Kardon upgrade. But I
>like the car and bought one last Saturday.
>
>On Monday I posted a message asking for any suggestions/experiences of
>individuals who had installed aftermarket equipment in their new 323.
>What I got was a huffy letter from BMW's USA headquarters saying that I
>shouldn't try it because it's difficult and will void my warranty.
>
>I called up BMW and also spoke to my service advisor, and both sources
>confirmed I will risk my entire warranty if I mess with the stereo
>system.
>
>If I were a rich man I'd sell the thing and tell BMW to stick their car
>up their butt. Instead, I guess I'll have to live with a sub-standard
>sound system for quite a while.
>
>Oh well, I'll save money by buying fewer CDs and selling all my current
>equipment.
>
>As my mom says, if you've got lemons make lemonade. The car isn't a
>lemon. It's fun. But the stereo is bad and BMW's Nazi attitude is bad,
>too. I understand their desire to protect complicated computer equipment
>in the car, but please, design an audio system that is either worthy of
>the car or one that the car's OWNER can alter.
This was covered very well in the rec.audio.car NG, go there for more
info
basically this is TOTALLY untrue, they can't do that due to federal
law
zoo nation
something? whats the power wattage of the base stereo??
BL
are they still measuring bmw amplifier distortion with double-digits these
days? as in, 10-15% THD or so...
just curious-
zoo nation <rai...@eclipse.net> wrote:
: how 'bad' is the audio on the new 3 series? is the sound distored or
bongo
>
>are they still measuring bmw amplifier distortion with double-digits these
>days? as in, 10-15% THD or so...
>
the $1200 premium system in the 5 is rated at a whopping 10% THD. amazing.
U Killed Kenny
you can't hear the engine over the stereo any way, which results in me
redlining the damn car all the time. To remedy this you have to turn your
stereo down or actually watch the tach when shifting.
John
Roland van Owens
dboulter wrote in message <370AE1CB...@neuspm.axion.net>...
>Any BMW sales/service/factory people out there who can confirm this? Sounds
>like a policy out of the stoneage.
>
>That's like saying you'll void your warranty with a RAM upgrade (which was
>the case in the early 80's...).
Nah...the whole thing is a bunch of bullshit. Why would the powertrain
warranty be affected by tweaks to the sound system. At the very most he
would render his sound system unwarrantable...not the "entire warranty".
Anyway just look at the timeline from his monday post to usenet and his
letter from BMW USA Headquarters. I doubt BMW responded at all, but if, in a
long stretch, they did why would they be huffy. One less thing for them to
warrant.
Anyway it has been proven time and time again that tweaks to portions of the
car do not render warranties to other unaffected portions invalid.
>d.
DavidS9307
car do not render warranties to other unaffected portions invalid. >>
I seem to recall my 325i having a sticker on the windshield when I bought the
car warning me that installing any non-BMW radio equipment would void the
warranty. They may not be able to enforce their refusal to honor warranty
claims on unrelated components, but it does put you on notice that you can
expect problems from BMW if you have a claim. I think legally it might shift
the burden to the owner to show that the malfunction was not attributable to
the non-BMW parts, so you probably wouldn't have a problem if you had a
radiator leak or something, but if you had any electronic part go bad, you'd
probably have a fight on your hands to get it fixed.
Benstinia
car in the Spring of '94. I've never had a problem with the warranty. I think
you've got a couple of lemons there at BMW trying to scare you into not giving
them a headache later if something does wrong.
I think there is a difference too as to how extensive a modification you're
considering. I didn't do anything but splice my head unit into the wiring so I
could swap the factory and the Alpine unit anytime I want. I admit I hate the
pararrel wiring BMW has and the crazy arrangement they have with the antena,
factory amp, and the cross-overs. They build it that way on purpose to make it
difficult for anyone to change the radio.
BMW does the same thing for the headlights. The first 5 Series (E34) cars had
headlights that you could replace with parts from Walmart if you wanted but now
they have propriatory headlight assemblies and we end up shelling out over $100
a pop for a stupid lowbeam lens! This is great business for BMW but it's
horrible for us, the consumer.
Ben Waite
Roland van Owens
DavidS9307 wrote in message <19990407143014...@ng07.aol.com>...
You are overreacting. My radio is warrentied different from my auto, just as
my tires are....so there is immediate seperation to begin with, but the
companies cannot dissolve a warranty for just any reason and indeed
warranties are active and in place if your tweaks have not implicated any
other portion of the warrantied auto in the problem.
If you screw with the radio, why should they continue to warranty it...but
that does not indicate they are looking for a fight. The bigger problem is
having the dealer/service shop figure out what the real problem is so when
modemed to BMWUSA for approval you get a response that is equal to the
problem. Often shops ask for warranty permission based upon incorrect
information given to BMWUSA.
Remember...for the warranty to be approved the dealer/shop must give
accurate info to BMWUSA.
Magic2626
system... a multiplexing system that allows one wire to control and monitor
multiple functions in the vehicle. Install aftermarket electronics and you may
discover that a warning light is tripped and the onboard diagnostics need to be
reset. Worse.... you may find that the radio has other vehicle electronic
integrated into it... like heater controls ( though I doubt it on this model)
What to do? I hope that you will be able to find a top notch high end car audio
shop with a certified master installer that has worked on other BMW's and
already knows which parts and interface modules are needed to do a proper
installation. I'd also check with Bavarian Auto Parts and Korman on upgrade
issues.
Also, please consider that the factory system may have some good parts in
it.... and may need only carefully chosen upgrades and not total replacement.
Federal Law makes illegal such attempts to discourage use of aftermarket parts
is. Your warranty is only void if the part or fluid or modification causes the
failure.
An example might be an oil and filter change or use of coolant or gear lube
that is not BMW approved and a part fails. As long as it meets BMW specs it is
ok ... but many new cars do have such demanding specs that I'd research every
non-BMW part or performance part that is used.
Only the warranty for the damaged component or system, and certain general
troubleshooting costs should be affected...not the entire warranty.
Good luck!
FKemper
schreibt:
>I understand their desire to protect complicated computer equipment
>in the car, but please, design an audio system that is either worthy of
>the car or one that the car's OWNER can alter.
Maybe you could have a BMW dealer do the installation for you?
Frank
Message written by Frank Kemper in Munich/Bavaria
Die Welt ist ein Wolf!
Adam Jordan
fine the way it was. I do suppose that if you really wanted to swap out the
old engine in place of an aftermarket one it would have an adverse affect on
your warranty.
Oh wait,... you meant the stereo didn't you? Disregard the previous then.
Adam Jordan
P.S. I just don't understand audiophiles. Go HOME and listen to music!
(or) Turn it down so I don't have to listen to it too! - (I know, I know.
Not all audiophiles are boom, boom heads)
TimJSmith
installing a non-BMW phone would void her entire warranty. After much huffing,
they agreed to install her Mitsubishi phone, but only if done by a BMW
mechanic.
They are definitely trying to scare people away from performing any upgrades...
By the way, I hear the "factory phone" option in the new cars costs $1800. Are
they serious?
Colin Schroeder
better off with an automatic...and don't use your cellphone when
driving!