# Glow plugs: SES light on for couple of days



## bimmerdiesel (Jul 9, 2010)

I just heard back from my CA and he was saying my glow plugs are out. Only 1 is gone and it will cost $899. But it is advisable to get all done at one go. That will cost me $1500. He wasnt sure if they are covered under extended warranty?

Any idea if glow plugs are covered under extended warranty(Gold)? If not any ideas what would be best way to approach other than paying full amount.

Thanks


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## Hoooper (Jun 17, 2013)

Have your service adviser check whether its covered. If he cant do that whats he getting paid for?


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## KeithS (Dec 30, 2001)

If you have a warranty I certainly would expect that being an integral part of the engine they are covered. These are not suppose to wear out.


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## bimmerdiesel (Jul 9, 2010)

Hoooper said:


> Have your service adviser check whether its covered. If he cant do that whats he getting paid for?


I had same thought. My wife called dealer and someone else other than my CA gave her this info.

I am feeling very bad abt this as I paid 3k for warranty and if this is not covered then what's point.

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## FredoinSF (Nov 29, 2009)

Sounds like a nightmare. Who is the warranty issued by? Time to get the contract out and read the fine print. 

Warranty companies are for profit businesses. They bet that the repairs will be less - much less - than the premium. They have highly paid statisticians on the payroll who only keep their jobs if you lose and they win the bet. 

Hope this works out and the warranty company comes through for you. Either way post the name of the company and outcome. 


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## bimmerdiesel (Jul 9, 2010)

It seems glow plugs are covered in Gold extended warranty. I went through warranty book that I got and it doesnt mention Glow plugs in "What is not covered" section. CA also confirmed it is covered in warranty. I will know complete work order in a day or 2


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## Hoooper (Jun 17, 2013)

Good to hear. Havent heard of many glow plug failures on these. Being in MA you probably get a lot of glow plug starts though


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## bimmerdiesel (Jul 9, 2010)

So I finally got my car back last week. I got X6 as loaner for a week:bigpimp:. I always liked its styling and enjoyed drive. X6 changed my perception towards SUV. I will probably consider X4. hopefully by then they will come with 3.0 diesel engine.

Now about work done on car:
Glow plug controller and glow plug for Cyl#5. All of it was covered under GOLD Extended warranty. I never had problem with glow plugs while in boston. 

Apparently there was open campaign SIB 16 01 14. They replaced bunch of emissions equipment. I wonder when this came out.

I even got oil change and dealership forgot to reset oil service indicator. They promised they will do it next time. 

Attached are work orders


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## floydarogers (Oct 11, 2010)

bimmerdiesel said:


> ...
> Apparently there was open campaign SIB 16 01 14. They replaced bunch of emissions equipment. I wonder when this came out.


Looks like May 1 of this year. Bad DEF temperature sensor requires SCR tank changeout. Wonder which years/dates...


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## Nadir Point (Dec 6, 2013)

You can reset the oil service monitor yourself. Start the car seated with the belt fastened while depressing the manual odo trip button. Step through the gauge cluster selections displayed until you get to the oil service, and reset.


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## Flyingman (Sep 13, 2009)

My DEF Heater went out about a year or so ago and they replaced it under warranty. Had to replace the whole DEF Tank assembly it appears. There was no SIB that I am aware of at the time.


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## bimmerdiesel (Jul 9, 2010)

Flyingman said:


> My DEF Heater went out about a year or so ago and they replaced it under warranty. Had to replace the whole DEF Tank assembly it appears. There was no SIB that I am aware of at the time.


may be there were more similar incidents like yours and they decided to have recall


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## bimmerdiesel (Jul 9, 2010)

Nadir Point said:


> You can reset the oil service monitor yourself. Start the car seated with the belt fastened while depressing the manual odo trip button. Step through the gauge cluster selections displayed until you get to the oil service, and reset.


I will try this tomorrow morning.


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## Flyingman (Sep 13, 2009)

bimmerdiesel said:


> may be there were more similar incidents like yours and they decided to have recall


Be careful what you wish for!

Yesterday I got the glow plug cyl #5 error code. It is SES light and my Garmin Ecoroute HD shows the code P0675, shows it as Cylinder 5 Glow Plug Circuit/Open.

It wont reset so assume it is a hard error. I'm thinking it is not an urgent issue for me down in S. Florida, temps now in the low 80's!:rofl:

I have the middle class of extended warranty, I assume that is Gold?:dunno: I think I have a $50 deductible.

Debating if I should bring in sooner, or later. Don't have another service expected until maybe this time next year.


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## bimmerdiesel (Jul 9, 2010)

Flyingman said:


> Be careful what you wish for!
> 
> Yesterday I got the glow plug cyl #5 error code. It is SES light and my Garmin Ecoroute HD shows the code P0675, shows it as Cylinder 5 Glow Plug Circuit/Open.
> 
> ...


If problem is same as mine then in about week to 10 days it will start to misfire when you start first thing in morning. It is little bit creepy. So its better to get an appointment atleast.


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## spencer500 (Oct 21, 2012)

Flyingman said:


> My DEF Heater went out about a year or so ago and they replaced it under warranty. Had to replace the whole DEF Tank assembly it appears. There was no SIB that I am aware of at the time.


MY 2011 DEF tank assembly was replaced last year also at about 36,000 miles. Covered under warranty.


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## Flyingman (Sep 13, 2009)

bimmerdiesel said:


> If problem is same as mine then in about week to 10 days it will start to misfire when you start first thing in morning. It is little bit creepy. So its better to get an appointment atleast.


Now, two days later, it has cleared the SES. My Garmin still shows the code as hard set but no more SES, so I assume it is locked in the memory now.

I doubt I'll have misfiring with our warmer temps here in Miami. It was 80 F today!:thumbup:


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## bimmerdiesel (Jul 9, 2010)

Flyingman said:


> I doubt I'll have misfiring with our warmer temps here in Miami. It was 80 F today!:thumbup:


I had same thought but it misfired couple of times when temps were in 70s.

I had been getting SES light on and off since July. Since I had no code reader I assumed it self cleared it self. But it decided to stick in 1st week of Sept. Anyways if its glow plug it is covered in your warranty so nothing to worry about.


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## Flyingman (Sep 13, 2009)

Yep, it came back on again today.


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## Flyingman (Sep 13, 2009)

Brought car in and my SA is now saying the glow plug is $850 parts and labor and is not covered by my extended warranty.

Can anyone provide any evidence if it is covered or not under the extended warranty I bought from BMW? I'm looking for my copy.

Thanks guys!


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## bimmerdiesel (Jul 9, 2010)

Yup I have info u need . I m traveling so I will post info over weekend.


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## bimmerdiesel (Jul 9, 2010)

In my case it was glow plug controller. They first replaced 1 glow plug which was complaining then all glow plugs and then controller.


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## Flyingman (Sep 13, 2009)

bimmerdiesel said:


> In my case it was glow plug controller. They first replaced 1 glow plug which was complaining then all glow plugs and then controller.


The SA said the same, that the controller would be covered but not the actual glow plugs.

I just looked at a sample extended service warranty and the glow plugs are not "excluded", which in my book means it's included.

The next question is if I do have to pay for this, why not go ahead and replace all of them now. I saw where that was about $1500, which would be what I will spend when the second one goes out.

Any thoughts?


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## ninja_zx11 (Feb 13, 2014)

Good chances are that your glow plug controller is bad.I had cylinder 1 activation fault on my X5 35D and at first i thought it was glow plug but it turned out to be glow plug controller.

The root cause was failing thermostat which was keeping engine temp below 75 degrees.
here is a thread by lpcapital in detail.http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showpost.php?p=8491029&postcount=26


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## Flyingman (Sep 13, 2009)

Well, I trust that they know if it is a bad glow plug or a bad controller.

The controller is covered, the plugs are not.

The cost to replace the one glow plug was $850. All 6 was $1,260. So I advised them to go ahead and do all 6. If another glow plug goes bad in 1-2 years I'll be ahead.:thumbup:

The SA said the glow plugs cost about $130 each, just the part.

They must have looked in my intake and decided I don't have a CBU problem but did find a bad MAF meter, which they suspect was causing the lower MPG and slight hesitation at acceleration.

My Indy offered to do the glow plugs for $700 total but I just wasn't trusting he had enough experience with the 335D.

I'm giving the dealer the benefit of the doubt on this one or I'll bring it back, again and again.

Besides, they give me a loaner while they figure it out.:thumbup:


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## Flyingman (Sep 13, 2009)

The one plug and controller were bad. I went ahead and had them replace all 6 glow plugs. None of this was covered under the extended warranty but they did give me 15% discount on parts and labor.


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## Flyingman (Sep 13, 2009)

Folks, FWIW Bosch recommends that should one glow plug fail go ahead and replace them all. It wont be long before the other may fail.:thumbup:

http://www.choosetherightinjector.com/documents/11100/0/0/50653935-462c-4725-a949-4841de5da34c

I think logic supports this theory, much like a lightbulb which as we all know has a definitive lifetime of x thousand hours of life.

These are nothing more than resistance heaters. If vehicle is relatively new I would say don't waste your money changing all, but if you have a car that is 5 or more years old, definitely change all. The bulk of the cost is the labor to just gain access.


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## neo_ny (Aug 20, 2012)

Flyingman said:


> The SA said the same, that the controller would be covered but not the actual glow plugs.
> 
> I just looked at a sample extended service warranty and the glow plugs are not "excluded", which in my book means it's included.
> 
> ...


I know this is from 3 years ago but the glow plug error has popped up on my X5 35d and taking it in on Friday. I also have the BMW gold warranty and as you guys concluded there is nothing in the warranty language that excludes the glow plugs .. what exactly was their argument to only cover the controller and not the glow plugs? Also, my understanding is that the root cause of this issue most likely is from a faulty thermostat (which I believe is covered under warranty). I am trying to have all the information ready for Friday!

Also, on a slightly unrelated note - if you have BMW Gold warranty take it into the dealer and decide to have the work done at an indy will they charge you their full diagnostic fee or the $50 deductible?

Thanks!


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