BMW of Austin

On Monday, February the 10th, I brought my car in to BMW of Austin to have 2 recalls serviced. I was assigned to their service coordinator Alejandro and I left the car in their care (I was initially told o of Austin to have 2 recalls serviced. I was assigned to their service coordinator Alejandro and I left the car in their care (I was initially told on the phone it might take a couple of days). Alejandro initially called me back 2 hours later and said the recall was on the sports model so that wasn't necessary for my car so it was ready to go. Baffled, I informed him that there were 2 recalls as he apparently missed that. After realizing his mistake, he told me he would reach out when it was done. The next day Alejandro called and said after they did a scan, they got a "check engine" light and that my FRM module looked to be on the verge of going out and that I needed a differential service. As I've had countless bad experiences with dealerships, I was a bit annoyed when I heard the news and asked him if it was safe to drive (I was definitely going to get a second opinion from my certified BMW mechanic in Round Rock). He said "yes" and I asked exactly what would be the result if the module did go out. He said it controlled the electronics in the car so I could expect things like the door locks and windows not to work. Upon starting my car and exiting their lot, there was an icon lit on my dashboard with a car on a rack. About halfway home, I needed to make a lane change and found my turn signals did not work. I thought "great", let me roll my windows down so I can hand signal. Nope....those weren't working either. Then I tried the emergency flashers...also not working. Obviously this was a very unsafe situation despite the fact that Alejandro told me the FRM module was on the verge of going out...not that it was already out (very bad communication on his part). I drove directly to my mechanic and left the car there after informing him of what happened on the way over. He checked out the car the next day and asked if the car had been scanned recently. He didn't know anything about the recall so I found it an interesting question. I informed him I had a recall done at BMW of Austin and he said "oh, they're the ones that caused your problem". He said mechanics are supposed to hook up a charger to the battery when they do a scan and in all likelihood, he didn't do that and fried the FRM module. At which point I was pretty irate as I think it's reasonable if you go in for a recall, that your car would be returned in the same condition they received it (the car was running perfect, shy of a halo light that needed replacing). I further went on to look up the cause of an FRM module failing and this is what is quoted from BMW.... Key reasons for FRM module failure: * Battery Disconnection: Removing the car battery without following proper procedures can often lead to the FRM failing. * Low Battery Voltage: A consistently low battery charge can stress the FRM and cause it to malfunction. Needless to say, this was clearly in line with what my mechanic said. After a lengthy exchange between Alejandro and his service manager, they held to their original story that this was an ongoing problem that BMW was aware of and they had extended the warranty on it for 10 years (no communication was received by me on this despite getting all the other communications for recalls). They refused to acknowledge it had anything to do with the battery not being hooked up to a charger when they did the scan and claimed it had to do with the flash drive. The service manager openly admitted that they do not hook up a battery charger unless it's an older car or had electrical issues. My car is a 2011 and has 153k on it so I think that would qualify as an older car. After offering some impractical remedies, it was apparent they weren't going to do anything. This is par for the course with the experiences I've had with dealerships. A complete lack of empathy for the customer, no admission that they did anything wrong, and more interested in arguing then resolving the problem. More

This dealership is a scam. They lied to me about the condition of my vehicle and now are refusing to honor the warranty. My next step is to now consult an attorney as they are They lied to me about the condition of my vehicle and now are refusing to honor the warranty. My next step is to now consult an attorney as they are breaching our contract and failing to honor my warranty. More