# Pixel failure - UK owners



## corplug (May 18, 2003)

Following on from J Carlos fox post about pixel failure and BMW NA replacing the deffective units. I have contacted BMW GB on behalf of myself and several UK owners suffering the same fate, the response from the UK operation is totally negative. If any UK owners are as p******d off as myself, write to BMW GB, the person to contact is either J O'Donell (MD) or/and Jane Townsend (Customer Relations Manager), please send me a copy of your letter as I am still persuing the issue.

BMW GB
Ellesfield Avenue
Bracknell
Berkshire
RG12 8TA


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## journeyfan (Jul 6, 2006)

Hi there. In response to your pixel failure problem i can confirm im in exactly the same position as yourself at the moment... and several others by the look of things...and pretty p****d off with the situation. By the way i own a year 2000 728i with 74k on the clock, full BMW history and in fantastic condition... but with most pixels from the display unit non existant. After the dealer contacted Customer Services on my behalf, as a goodwill gesture i was willing to contribute towards the labour charge (approx sixty pounds). Two days later, it was refused with no reason why. Then having spoke directly to the manager of my region who refused the claim she said because it was two months out of warranty and that i hadnt bought it from a BMW Dealership it was still a no.( a forty five k car) After numerous e-mails and non returned phone calls i was finaly given the address you spoke of above but with the name of Richard Price who is National customer Service Manager. I am in the process of writing.. Sorry for being long winded but i have had nothing but hell trying to get any satisfaction from a so called " Prestige Car Manafacturer" like BMW
Steve


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## corplug (May 18, 2003)

I wish you well in your quest. 
I eventually gave up trying as BMW GB would not budge, insisting that this is not a recognised inherent problem requiring any out of warranty rectification. This is despite the fact that BMW in the US DO recognise that this is a problem, BMW GB told me that just because the US recognise the problem it does not mean that BMW GB do. BMW in Germany were just as un-helpful stating that any dispute was to be handled by BMW GB and was not really their concern.
I seem to think that the same display is used in some of the Rolls Royce models, it would be interesting to find out if these have been replaced out of warranty......me'thinks that they would.
Let me know how you get on.

Dave
:thumbup:


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## journeyfan (Jul 6, 2006)

Thanks Dave. Will let you know the outcome all though i aint holding my breath 

:thumbup:


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## petah (Feb 24, 2005)

Been there, done that and spoken to a ton of people here in the US that have had the same experience. Turns out that BMW North America has no set policy on this - sometimes if you ask politely they'll provide parts and you pay labor (or labour, if you prefer). I was lucky enough to get that deal. Paid US$200 and got a new cluster and MID. Others have been less fortunate, sometimes negotiating a 50/50 split with BMWNA, other times getting the same answer you have received from BMW GB. BMW Canada has (from what I've read on the posts) been very reluctant to help. There is a company that repairs your MID and/or gauge cluster, if you go to vdorepair.com you can read about their service. Good news, your cluster is what comes back so there's no recoding necessary, and it costs far less than replacing the cluster / MID. Bad news, you'll be out of action for as long as it takes them to do the fix and ship it back to you. Hope this helps. Best Regards,
Petah


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## journeyfan (Jul 6, 2006)

Well ive offered to contribute to all labour charges under the so called "Goodwill Gesture" but to no avail. It seems that BMW are in total denial of this problem and are not interested in helping one bit. Over the last month alone i have come across countless frustrated people like myself just by browsing various internet sites and forums with the same issue and no one seems to have had any satisfaction...so after my final letter to the GB Headquarters i think i may have to throw the towel in regretably....gggrrrrr...oh and in the words of my friendly BMW Customer Service Advisor at my local dealership "they can go at any time..10k, 20k, 30k..etc etc" (refering to my lack of display pixels)....now thats confidence for you !!!... Thanks for the advice about the repair which can be done. Much appreciated and if i have any luck i will let all know !!! 

Steve


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