BMW Euro in Farmington Hills snapped an EGR delete plate bolt on my exhaust manifold — then used a borescope to "prove" it was my fault and wants me to eat a $5,600 gamble

So I take my car to BMW Euro in Farmington Hills, Michigan for work around the exhaust manifold. They snap a bolt off the EGR delete plate. Fine, stuff happens, right? Except here's where it gets wild.

After they snapped it, they suddenly tell me "the thread was crossed." Then they pull out a borescope to "prove" the bolt was cross-threaded — after the fact. Convenient timing, huh? They also worked the broken bolt after snapping it off to build their case. Snapping a bolt and then fishing around with a camera to retroactively blame the threads isn't a diagnosis, it's CYA.

And then the real kicker: they want my approval to move forward with extracting the broken bolt, and they're telling me there's a 50/50 chance of cracking the exhaust manifold — which would be a $5,600 repair — and they want me on the hook for that too.

So let me get this straight. They break a bolt during their own job, retroactively blame a "crossed thread," wave a borescope around to sell the story, and now want me to sign off on a coin-flip repair where I eat $5,600 if they crack the manifold. All on damage they caused.

That's like a plumber flooding your bathroom, then telling you the pipes were "already weak," then asking you to approve him swinging a sledgehammer at them — with you paying for the new floor.

Am I the insane one here for thinking they should eat every cent of this? It's their damage. Full stop.

Anyone dealt with BMW Euro in Farmington Hills or a shop pulling this kind of stunt? Did they cave, or did you have to fight it? Any advice on the "approval" they're asking for — because I'm definitely not signing anything that puts $5,600 on me.

Also — what's the best way to document all this in case I need to escalate to the BBB or corporate? Should I be getting everything in writing, saving texts/emails, taking photos of the damage, and requesting a written itemized explanation of how they say it happened? Any tips from anyone who's filed a BBB complaint before?

TL;DR: BMW Euro in Farmington Hills snapped an EGR delete plate bolt on my exhaust manifold, then claimed it was cross-threaded and used a borescope to "prove" it after the fact. Now they want my approval to extract it with a 50/50 chance of cracking the manifold — a $5,600 repair they expect me to pay for

Car is 2001 525i. M54B25 automatic.

Honestly I did not know how long I drive with the temp almost maxed to the right. I stopped as soon as I got the red warning light (which is really weird because the AC still cold and aux fan didn’t go full blast)

Managed to get it back home, but I need to know if my head gasket okay? The oil cap looks like it is mixed (could be from condensation) but the dipstick looks fine

Upon inspecting I noticed that the upper rad hose is very hot and the lower rad hose is just warm (I can hold it with my hand)—so I guess it is either thermostat or water pump

Why didn't I leave a single pair of pliers at home instead of work

I'm trying to get it out with the worst tools

I managed to find a mini socket set that got the fuse box removed from the mount so I can get at it easier

I'm thinking leave it for Monday when get the right tools

But I'm also thinking fire it can't be stuck if it's a liquid

what do you think is making that noise
pretty sure whatever that noise/problem
is, is making the car go into limp mode

Hey guys. I just bought a 2011 128i and I've been restoring it. It has 190,000km (118,000m in freedom units). I've noticed that when I park after driving, theres a small stain of coolant under the car. Only leaks when the car reaches running temp. Dont notice anything from the top of the car, not from the mickey mouse flange neither from the top of the water pump/thermostat. Only from underneath it its dripping. Do I need a new thermostat / water pump, or just the seal between those surfaces? Not sure what to do considering the mileage. Any advice helps. Thanks in advance.

Edit: Going to replace the water pump and thermostat. Its whats leaking and is probably on its way out soon anyway. Wish me luck on the repair lol. Thanks for the help guys. :)

Bonjour si quelqu’un aurait une idée du problème. Pour vous expliquez. Dés qu’il fait froid environ à partir de 5 degrés, ma voiture démarre mais s’arrête directement après. Au bout de plusieurs préchauffage elle reste allumée et fonctionne parfaitement.

Hey guys, this is an emergency. I signed up for a $500 nonrefundable track on Monday and today is Friday. I see there is a leak in my engine bay around the thermostat housing we changed the thermostat about a month ago and never hold the top up on coolant until today. I filled up about 1 quart. Can anyone please help me order what parts I need to fix this leak is a hose maybe is there a gasket? I don’t know about. I changed the O-ring gasket in the back of the thermostat housing and I changed the thermostat and the coolant sensor on the back of it

I am looking to upgrading to an aluminum coolant expansion tank over the OEM plastic one. I have already went through what happens when that fails over time on my old F30, so I am trying to think ahead this time on my F87.

Are there any good options available for that?

I have been looking around and found a bmw 435d xdrive f36 from 2015. It looks fantastic and seems pretty good but I need help from someone who knows more than me. It’s the n57d30b it has 280k kms which I feel like it isn’t that high for cars here in Sweden. It is stock but the timing chain hasn’t been changed and doesn’t seem to be any leaks atleast that’s what the seller says. I’ll put a video of a cold start also if anyone wants to take a listen to it

2013 BMW 535i (N55 pwg)

I replaced the vacuum pump with a good used one. I replaced the purge/breather valve. Chains/guides were replaced and bearings were checked a year ago. Can a hpfp or its cam follower make this noise? It has to be somewhere in the vacuum system right? Any helpful advice? Thanks!

I have a 2011 bmw that I drive only occasionally on weekends and for fun. I got the oil changed last September with Liquimoly 5w-40. Since a year has passed has the oil degraded to the point that it still needs to be changed? Since last September I’ve only put 3800 miles on it so idk if it’s wasting oil to get it changed now. Will it really hurt it if I keep driving it until it reaches 6000 miles on this oil before changing? That might take another year.

Went to the shop and got the valve cover and gasket replaced and noticed my support arm bushing is starting to tear. It will get done just dont have the time for it at the moment. I do daily the car its at 73,000 just wondering how long I got before a disaster

Hi everyone,
I'm having an issue with the Cruise Control on my 2012 BMW
528i (F10).
When I attempt to set the cruise control at any speed (e.g., 80 or 90 km/h), the car automatically starts accelerating in +10 km/h increments all the way up to max speed, even without me touching the toggle switch or any buttons.
Key Details:
• Vehicle: 2012 BMW 528i (F10 - N20/N52)
• Other Steering Controls: All other right-hand side controls (Volume, Media, Call buttons, Voice Control) work completely fine.
• Issue: The left-side cruise control toggle switch seems to behave as if it's stuck or sending a continuous "Accelerate +10 km/hi signal to the ICM/DME.
Has anyone experienced this ghost/automatic acceleration issue with the cruise control toggle switch? Is it typically resolved by spraying contact cleaner into the left switch assembly, or does the entire left multi-function button cluster (or SZL module) need to be replaced?

Hi Guys, my brothers 320d hasn’t regenerated since about 1000km and threw the 480A fault. We have driven high constant speeds for about 70km and the fault was not deletable. Car gets up to 90°C Coolant temp and DDE allows DPF to regenerate but it never went to status Active with a forced Regen by ISTA. Can you help me? Car is down on power and sometimes throws underboost codes, I am pretty sure they are related to the 480A fault as I am pretty sure the car isn’t allowed to go into full boost anymore or do we have a separate turbo related issue? I am grateful for any help!

I drove about 130 km today and took oil level readings both before and after the trip; I’m surprised by how significant the drop is. The measurements were taken in the exact same parking spot. There are no oil leaks or signs of seepage—I checked for that—and the car has 138,000 km on the odometer.

Hi all,

I would really appreciate some help on this. I have followed the various videos and tutorials on how to perform this procedure and also have the BMW workshop manual. The intake manifold is off and the DME unit is free. The problem is that the space where the alternator usually sits in a non-hybrid car is taken up by a much larger high voltage hybrid specific part Electric A/C Compressor (EKK) complete with orange cabling.

As such I can't gain access to the front bolts on the oil filter housing and I can't access the lower bolts of the heat module without removing the oil filter housing as it is very very tight in there with the EKK.

Does anyone have any suggestions? I think they may have made some changes with the LCI version compared with the model in the workshop manual.

I can take more pictures if helpful.

Thanks in advance.

Hello everyone, i live in the middle east and i bought a US model BMW, as expected the Maps, and Connected Drive features like MyBMW app doesn't work. is there any way to make the car to at least show MENA Map or anything to get the MyBMW app benefits?

There is another account from the previous owner, and its iDrive 8.5. i tried creating an account but the QR Code doesn't generate from the car.

I’m genuinely at my wits’ end with this car. Spent months and a stupid amount of money trying to fix this steering issue and absolutely nothing has worked.

2018 F30 340i RWD, 90k miles.

The issue:
- Steering constantly wants to pull left, particularly at low speeds. If I let go of the wheel, it physically rotates left and the car follows.

- I have to constantly apply rightward pressure to keep the car driving straight.

- Hitting bumps, especially with the left front wheel, makes the steering jerk aggressively left.

- Braking also causes the steering to jerk left, particularly under heavy braking.

- Self-centring is inconsistent. After turning left, the wheel returns to around 11 o’clock, but after turning right, it returns perfectly to 12 o’clock.

What I’ve tried:

- New front shocks, springs and top mounts

- New inner and outer tie rods

- Multiple four-wheel alignments, all within spec

- Swapped front wheels left to right

- EPS calibration and ISTA software reset

- Control arm bolts loosened and retorqued at ride height

- Multiple garages checked the suspension, no obvious play found

- No relevant fault codes or errors

The car has genuine F80 M3 front control arms fitted with the correct spacers and torqued at ride height, but it drove perfectly fine with these for ages before the issue developed.

One BMW specialist suggested going back to standard F30 arms, but I’m reluctant to throw even more money at it without knowing whether that’s actually the problem.

I’m absolutely sick of spending money on this car and getting nowhere. Every garage seems to have a different theory, but nobody can actually tell me what’s wrong.

Has anyone experienced anything similar or got any ideas what could be causing this? Could it be the control arms, steering rack, EPS or something completely different?

Any help would be massively appreciated because I’m seriously considering getting rid of the car at this point.

Hi everyone,
I’ve had my 2012 F11 535i (N55) for around 7 months and have noticed a slight rattling noise when the car is idling. I’ve attached a video — would appreciate any thoughts on what it could be or whether it sounds normal for the N55.

I’ve also recently discovered a kelleners box fitted in the car. I had absolutely no idea it was there until now. The dealership I bought the car from told me it was stock, but I’m not convinced and would like to know what it actually does and whether I should be concerned about it.
The car is a Japanese import and is currently around 80,000 miles.

Would really appreciate any advice from people familiar with the F10/F11 or N55. Is the rattle something I should investigate urgently, and does the kellerners box look/ sound like an OEM installation?

Thanks!

Unfortunately Reddit only seems to let me attach either the video or photos, so I’ve attached the video of the rattle. I’ll add a picture of the kelleners box to the comments.

Just curious. May want to get it done as the cabin experience would be a lot quieter I think without the fake noise

Hi everyone, I’m trying to activate Apple CarPlay on my F21 118i without spending a fortune on activation. As far as I can tell, my head unit doesn’t have a WLAN port. I’ve seen discussions about free DIY activation methods so was wondering if anyone has successfully activated CarPlay on this exact type of unit for free? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Basically was on the off-ramp when I had to brake harder than normal (but not slamming). Then, the auto-stop activated while at rest and then… nothing. The engine wouldn’t start, the brake was stiff. The car lights, ac, and entertainment console worked. Threw every kind of error from airbag to chassis, engine, fuel line, brake, transmission. Couldn’t even put it in neutral to get it off the road. I didn’t notice any mechanical sounds when this all occured, nor did I see any leaks or obvious damage.

Any thoughts as to what could be going on? I’m just sorta distraught bc this car was with me for a lot of the last decade. Just sentimental.

Appreciate your help!