This BMW Turned Into An Absolute Nightmare! Learn From Our Mistakes!!

This BMW came in for a routine oil service and unfortunately it all went downhill from there. This video will help you not to make similar mistakes and also how to handle a client when things don’t go as planned. We hope this helps. Enjoy!
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[@kroatoaneight-four]

Owning 100% to a failure that is not 100% on you deserves a thumbs up and a subscription. A big percentage of the failure is on the car and the engineers who designed them. Kudos bro!!

[@damirzanne]

there is no failure here , it’s called maintenance, as cars get older , they need to be taken care of , any car that is … one little leak doesn’t mean the end of the world , it leaked , it got fixed right away , end of story , not a big deal

[@kroatoaneight-four]

@damirzanne shouldn't happen at 68,000 miles. 100,000 miles is understandable, less than that is most likely design and component failure.

[@aeroguy86]

@@kroatoaneight-fourexactly right, I thought the same thing when he said 68k

[@roofcamper3473]

@@damirzanne euro glazer 🤡

[@trimerista]

thermostat failure ... bmw has a plastic flaps which are likely to fail.... those flaps usually get stuck on upper radiator hose and block the coolant flow which causes overheating and leakages

[@codeythemechanic]

I have a policy at my shop that comes from the policy and experience of several other shops I've worked for over the years that we simply don't touch BMW cooling systems unless the customer is ready and willing to replace the entire cooling system minus the heater core. Once you fix the first leak and the cooling system is able to get back up to its maximum pressures it will blow out the next plastic junk, then the next, then the next. So many BMW's over roughly 7 or 8 years old just start falling apart, frequently starting with all the plastic cooling system parts. It's actually because of these issues that I completely turn down nearly every BMW owner that calls my shop.

[@onenikkione]

I guess after reading this Scotty K was right BMW's become endless money-pits

[@2491kridge]

I do not disagree with you, our shop also tends to not touch bmw cooling systems, especially the older they get. Yet we do for certain customers but we make it very clear to them the problems with bmw cooling systems and we absolutely want to replace at least anything we have to touch during the repair

[@jamesward5721]

You can add Nissan to that list as well. The plastic they use/d turns to brittle mush & everything breaks.

[@DonZenOfficial]

If you can’t handle maintaining a luxury car then you have nobody to blame but yourself. 99% of car issues are from poor owner maintenance. But this is KZbin where a cesspool of shitty irresponsible vehicle owners can circle jerk each other and pretend it’s everyone else’s fault, not YOURS. yes you’re very special

[@marcusmohorco380]

That's the way, mate! Let them deal with the BMW DEALER directly, pay through their noses, and become unsatisfied with the brand in general. Idiot customers. Thinking of buying a "great" used product for a "good price", and then taking it out on people who genuinely try to get them back on the road. Disgusting.

[@timlad123456]

The problem was the engineers at BMW took the day off when they decided on an all plastic coolant system. The manufactures do it on purpose, they know after the warranty is up the vehicle becomes a throw away or a money pit, ask me how I know. It is hard to find respectable techs that warranty a manufacturers defect, great work and excellent content thumbs up.

[@Ph3NiX80]

IF a mechanic told me what you told me and be that streight forward...THAT is a mechanic to keep for life :D

[@EE-hk8iu]

iam a mechanic too but trust me that most customers may think you are trying to scam and over sell more than u need.

[@JebiSe-no5yb]

True.. the problem is finding one like that 😂

[@eddiejones.redvees]

Plastic components are making cars unreliable but you pay a lot more to buy the car in the first place you have a great attitude to look after your customers

[@ADUSN]

The Germans adopted plastic early, and it is almost guaranteed to put the car in the scrapyard after 10 years

[@Mrstevejackson100]

​@@ADUSN😂😂😂 the ignorance. 😂😂😂

[@ghostwrench2292]

Plastic components - cooling system components in particular - do not make the car unreliable but they sure add to maintenance costs. I have preemptively replaced my plastic cooling system components on one of my cars after a catastrophic failure on my other car.

[@markkujantunen8298]

@@ghostwrench2292 When you buy a used car, what are you going to do? Replace the coolant system pre-emptively right away. If it were made out of metal there'd be no such problems.

[@ADUSN]

@@Mrstevejackson100 I agree, your ignorance is really showing.

[@letsreasonthisout2898]

I work as a contractor for BMW, and I speak with production engineers all the time. So much plastic has replaced aluminum that these cars make it to the warranty and not much longer before plastic parts start to fail. The BMW new car market is doctors, attorneys, businessmen...who turn their cars in when the warranty expires. After the warranty expires, you'll be chasing plastic failures in the engine bay for the rest of the time you own the vehicle.

[@stevenbatley8666]

Like you say,many professionals only keep these type of vehicals for the warranty period.

[@JaceJackson]

I’m convinced this is the best shop on the planet. I love watching these guys

[@marks2254]

It’s not the mistake that matters, it’s how it’s taken care of. And I’m giving your shop a gold star for how you took care of this customer. In general it’s cheaper to keep an existing client than to find a new one.

[@CyberManny23]

Takes a good man and business owner to be this transparent. Its refreshing 👌

[@BILLET1]

You rock. I tell all my clients, when plastic parts and sensors start going out, the rest are right behind them. Noone can be 100%.. 100% of the time. This is a refreshing.. refresher that im sure we all needed so BIG THANK YOU!!!

[@AM93000]

I bet your clients did not believe you and argued back

[@claytonolive5416]

It's a BMW that's how they work . But honestly if it's leaking in one spot the rest isn't far off 😅

[@damirzanne]

I’m glad to hear that no other cars leak but BMW lol

[@ozzierabbit587]

@@damirzanne The plastic engine components can break on any car, but I hear more complaints about the plastics on BMWs than almost any other car.

[@InfiniteSuccessAcademy]

Yup, replace the whole cooling system at 50-60K miles.

[@kgisabeast]

BMWs are amazing great cars, you just don’t know how to maintain them, you just have to replace the entire cooling system every 60k, rebuild the engine every 90k, and replace the suspension components every 60k and they’re super reliable!

[@juhatikka3429]

@@damirzanne It's just that BMW is the worst with this plastic garbage. Every car maker has the same problem but BMW is in a class of it's own.

[@michaelheselgrave2537]

I left working on German cars in the late 90’s, BWM for 23 years. Audi/VW, later BMW & Mercedes started with molded ‘zytel’ components including intake manifolds. Once an initial failure shows up at those miles/kilometers, assume cascading failure on remaining components. If the customer squawks, there’s the door!

[@Troy_Built]

I know a few shops that just won't work on these German cars anymore because the broken plastic parts tend to snowball. One of them was a BMW dealer tech for years.

[@billyfox384]

I started at a Mercedes shop in the 80's. They were GREAT cars. I know they can do great things now. But there horrible cars, Over 100K get rid of. I'm so glad my shop decided to stop working on them. Every once in a while we do an oil change on one. Even that is a nightmare, NO DIPSTICK- 15mins to reset the frigging maint light. GOD I hate those cars

[@greggc8088]

💯

[@stevenbatley8666]

Make cars to complicated and exsteamly EXSPENIVE to maintain ,but people must have one to show how well they are doing on life!

[@robbycheaib1719]

I believe all these leaks are from already compromised plastic components from age. Maybe once the first leak was sealed, it began blowing out from the next weak area. These plastic cooling system components have always been an extremely weak area on bmws since i can remember. The important thing is you learned from it and made things right 👍🏼

[@EmptyHandshake]

What a great client to have as in Greg! He could have stormed off, wrote a scathing review...but...he let you do your job and do it professionally. Kudos to both you and Greg!

[@keithspillman]

I have a '94 325i with 330,000 miles and a '06 X3 with 200,000 miles. I've done all the work on them, they have 1 trip to a dealer between them (warranty) and have both been GREAT cars. I retired from a 40 year industrial maintenance career and have seen "mission creep" MANY times. Just part of the game. Great channel and I truly appreciate your integrity.

[@eduardobaez6222]

Awesome to see honest mechanics/shop. Speaks volumes of your service as mechanics don't always get a good rep. Need shops to look at your honesty and the good it makes clients feel they can trust a good shop/mechanic

[@Ouishank651]

I love your channel. I am a DIYer and really appreciate seeing how an honest shop deals with these situations. You are a great asset to your profession. Thanks for your videos and your honesty.

[@bktodc]

I wish I can find a shop near me like this.

[@EmptyHandshake]

@@bktodc Been a lot of people in our town of 23,500 people asking on FB who they can take their vehicles to to be worked on and not being "taken". A vast majority of the respondents said to take it to 'XYZ' Auto Repair. I finally had to take my vehicle to be worked on. I took it to 'XYZ'. 1/2 the price of the stealerships, and honest. That is a quality I look for in an auto repair establishment. This is in Southeast Iowa.

[@curtgaskins6076]

Thanks for the content! I’m a 20+ year HVAC technician and I really enjoy watching your diagnostic process. It helps me go about my job better

[@F1fan007]

If we lived close to you, you would hands down be the shop we use. You are a class act!

[@algahiemamir]

I love this channel. Not many shops on KZbin will say they make mistakes even though they for sure make way more mistakes. You're guy's honesty is admirable. Great video!

[@jasonsimpson4805]

Wow, so much high failure plastics on a BMW!?! Super honest assessment of the situation and solution…keep up the excellent work.

[@joshuawood24]

Glad to see another shop taking ownership/responsibility for problems on comeback vehicles even when it's not your fault. Some other comments are quick to point the blame at BMW engineers for building a cooling system made of plastic, but the fact is it's not only BMW/European vehicles with these plastic cooling system components nowadays - I just had a 2023 Colorado come into my dealer the other day with a CEL on due to a "water pump flow performance" DTC, coolant reservoir was empty, filled and pressure tested the system to find a leak at the upper radiator hose end which resembled a BMW coolant hose. Even my mother's 2019 6.7 Powerstroke has the same hose design. All in all, great work and customer service!

[@williamcusco379]

Good reminder here. Not only applicable to mechanical work but any professional work. The professional has to foresee any possible outcome. Awesome video.

[@Mamster3]

You are absolutely right about recommending the connector pipe when doing any coolant repairs. I always try to recommend to replace as a Package. Oil filter housing, coolant pump with support bracket, coolant hose, and connector pipe.

[@marknh3312]

Moral of this story - you’re a good amd honest businessman!

[@slocavky]

I really like how you guys will 100 percent admit when you caused something and not hide it. You absolutely will gain customers for life that way. Well done.

[@idunnoanymore2870]

Not to mention free advertising from referrals to other potential customers!

[@712_Performance]

It’s nice to see an honest mechanic. The manufacturers set the consumer and mechanic up for failure with a plethora of plastic that I’ve seen time and time again cause a cascading failure. It’s no one’s fault - just poor design. Save money to charge more for the car and put the mechanic and customer in a tight spot. Not all people understand and think the repair man is out to rinse their wallet. Most are, unfortunately. But the transparency you provide to customers is refreshing. I don’t know how many mechanics I’ve had refuse to show and explain the problem to me. Good on your guys.

[@michaelglasgow7287]

We work only on Volvo's at my shop and they have a similar but different cooling hose set up. If you have to touch another hose, even if it's not leaking at that time, it gets replaced because of what you just showed us. Love the video and your honesty. If I'm ever in Georgia I'd like to stop in and see your shop.

[@Spidious]

You can look at a BMW plastic connector and it will fail. I hated working on them, and recommended any connecting lines at the same time. Sometimes they didn't want to do it. But that's up to them. I had a top of the radiator where the hose connected fall apart when I took the hose off. Had to put a new radiator in at the same time, with the plastic coolant box that is also connected to it. Kind of like the old Cadillac engines with the hundred vacuum lines and tees on top of the engine. You could just touch them and they would fall apart.

[@zk9964]

Same, I hate anything 2000 and up for BMWs at least due to this. Pro tip anyone reading, if you touch one plastic connector, whatever it goes into will also need replaced on an "older" BMW.

[@zayd55]

I take my hat off to you and your establishment. You are a rare gem in the automotive field, to still exist in this era!

[@leebushong669]

Great Video Sherwood, been watching you guys for a month or so. Glad you popped up on my feed. Finding a mechanic shop that cares as much as you gets harder to find every year. Glad to see you guys doing it the right way. Keep it up, hopefully you will inspire a new generation cause we need them!

[@brianjohnson3833]

It was nice of you to take the hit for that one but BMW their parts are crap + you can foresee a lot of that in the future when you car gets older. But I respect you for what you and your company did. You were Straight shooter. That is very seldom seen. Good work

[@EmptyHandshake]

I am also glad he popped up on my feed!

[@JasonSawyer-e6v]

I appreciate your honesty. Easy to only report the fantastic repairs, but I have a lot of respect when you own the failure and show your willingness to be honest and make it right. Well done. Nice to see ethics are still around.

[@damirzanne]

I love those cars , and it looks like the owner is right on it with service and maintenance… and you guys do great job .. nobody to blame here , it’s a used car , and like any other used car , needs to be taken care of .. good job

[@mhk67091]

You guys are great honest mechanics no doubt. It’s a BMW after 100k miles it will never stay fixed. I agree with coolant hoses with that mileage if you touch them I would replace them with upgraded metal flanges.

[@Sami-lx7mf]

inspired glad to see the good guys in our industry showing real solutions to real challanges

[@labcoattheater6161]

I love your videos. Your high standards of honesty/ethics are commendable, and I hope some will learn from them.

[@Ashley_van_Schooneveld]

I have a BMW N55 engine in a 2017 X5 with over 120k mi, the coolant hose flange (cylinder head to thermostat) is known to crack over time, easiest fix is to upgrade to an aftermarket aluminum flange (similar to the one in the video) or replace the hose & flange altogether with an original part. This is on my to-do list before it breaks on me.

[@jaysoncordrey4272]

Love your rare honesty and how you took care of your customer! This is wisdom for you and your team! Awesome job!

[@ArlynEmrys]

Quick connects.. use dielectric grease to coat the inside, before sliding them together.. way easier. Doing my rear bearings this week, before my road trip 🤞🤞🤞

[@Bad2Good-r4g]

pretty sure it started leaking because the orignal find was releasing pressure at a small amount, so when you did the first hose the pressure went to the second weak point. But you will keep banging your head thinking about . let go and carry on. Thank you for your videos. Live and learn

[@scottrayman5817]

When working on these B46 engines, you need to pay close attention to the turbo coolant lines, thermostat housing, water pump, oil filter/cooler, the carrier for the water pump/alternator/ac compressor, that main coolant lines pipe and the main coolant breather hose that is between alternator and block. We always do a pressure test cold and hot too as some of these leaks only present themselves when hot.

[@Sundayorie]

That was a real learning curve and it is true with most European cars. How you handled the client is 1st class and is a thing many garages try to cover by telling stories that even the wildest imagination cannot fathom just to get the client to believe that somehow he has to pay for everything that goes wrong with his car. You have a truly professional outfit there and thanks for letting us have an idea of the different tools that you have at your disposal. A real challenge for some of us but as they say Rome was not built in a day and so even acquiring these tools and equipment needs time and sacrifice and also a thirst to be as professional as one can get. Also the hints and tips you offer can save a bigger and more costly repair later . Especially with cooling systems on BMWs it is very important to be pro-active and alert the client of potential risks even if there is no current issue that is active. Just started folllwing you not too long ago but I can see myself keeping it right here and also tagging along several of my colleagues. All the best as we look forward to your next educative video.

[@kaseyc5078]

No one failed here except BMW

[@davidxu916]

Damn right! Bloody plastic heaven…. Or nightmare

[@justinhayward5027]

💯 all manufactures these days!!

[@MySparkle888]

The first mistake was keeping a BMW past its warranty period.

[@johnd8651]

Yep, I work at an indy shop and see a lot of 10+ year old bmw/mini products, touching anything in the cooling system is a roll of the dice. They are the worst as far as cheap plastics by far.

[@Car_Doc24]

Sherwood you guys are awesome. I don't think you did anything wrong here. I own a European specialty shop can we see a lot of these. Not just on BMWs either. Just today we had a Mercedes S550 come in that we just did a radiator and a couple of hoses on and the customer says that it was leaking again we're looking and looking and looking and find that one of the rubber hoses that fitted to an aluminum coupler going into the radiator had too much movement in it and under pressure it was pushing out of its aluminum housing and causing a small leak. No we didn't really do anything wrong but because we touched that hose we should have told the customer hey we're in here let's replace these hoses because it's a high failure point on a 12 year old Mercedes. Regardless I ordered the hose and we're going to be taking care of it. Hopefully I get to update you with some good news on how he takes it once the part arrives.

[@scottinkga]

This is a good example of the need for a shop to have integrity. And this video is a good example of the need for customers to find a good shop and stick with them. That way, when you get multiple calls like this owner did, you can be confident that the shop is being honest with you.

[@jodydewald19]

During an oil change on my VW, I noticed pink crusties on the water pump assy. I changed it and then noticed the coolant kept dropping a little bit. I found that one of the plastic connectors from one of the hoses was leaking that attaches to the pump. I was careful with them when handling them and made sure to lube all connections up when reinstalling. But, still, i had to replace the hose assembly. In retrospect, given the mileage on the car and age, i should have replaced them at the same time. Good on you guys for taking care of your customers.

[@robsp32]

That "quick" disconnect on those german hoses, that even audi/vw uses are absolutely terrible, because the orings are the most common failure point. After time the orings just wear out and once you disconnect them, thats it, gotta replace those orings.

[@V10PDTDI]

Yes you are correct but on some model the replacement o ring are not sold separately and if you use cheap replacement parts they might leak also I know I have been there before.😢

[@nickpappas4133]

5.0 litre V8 Ford F150 uses the exact quick connector.

[@ambitiouspurr]

I guess the quick refers to a quick buck for the manufacturer

[@randypozdnikoff4099]

Good job man! I have 3 BMW'S and in hindsight, at a certain point in a cars life, change all the hoses at a kit including the water pump.

[@bigmotor3845]

Been down this road before. Good advice. After working on the BM’s for many years the weak plastic gets a certain look to it. So you know to just replace it to cover that rear end or take the risk.

[@IgorD33]

Maybe the first leak was acting as a relief in a way. It’s like a rusty fuel or brake hose. You replace a section and then you get a leak somewhere else

[@_zeee9156]

Exactly what I had happen on my girl’s Honda last year. Every time I fixed one hose, it would pass a leak test but 300 miles later the next oldest hose would pop. If one hose is seemingly bad for no reason, they all will be soon. Unless I can see an isolated contaminant or damage source I’m gonna be concerned.

[@AmandaHugenkiss2915]

Yes, the next weakest point will always go next

[@losidude11]

I had a recently purchased OE upper rad hose for a m54 e60 go bad i shit u not 2 months after installation. The fused band for the hose going to the auto trans cooler started to leak :/. I had to dremel the band off and resort to the classic c clamp 😂. Its fine now but annoying that i initially spent the extra $$ for the OE part but still had to jerry rig it lol. to me i feel that this has been a trend with OE and OEM parts manufactured nowadays… you guys are great for acknowledging a mistake and making it right for the customer, despite the fault is with BMW.

[@RKSAINT]

I have a 2019 BMW X3 Sdrive30i and at 65k miles after a roadtrip, the same turbo coolant return line had crust build up but not leaking on the ground. Fixed it myself in about 2 hours, fast forward to 70k miles and there is crust build up on the plastic component of the water pump. Got a new one ordered replaced that and 2 balance shaft end caps because they were leaking oil and one of them sits directly below the water pump. I’m just waiting for the next leak to appear on my car. The b46/b48 are very solid engines but the cooling system is a very weak part of the engine. Oil filter housing is the only leak that gives me nightmares due to it being tucked under the intake. As someone who doesn’t work on cars much, I will say this engine is one of the easiest I’ve worked on, plenty of room and very straight forward.

[@erasmogonzales7428]

If you would have told the customer that they needed to replace parts that are not broken, they would have just said you are trying to up sale them! The customers more than most, will never understand that you as a mechanic know the parts that fail and need to replace before they fail. You guys did right the first time. It’s not the shops fault bmw makes plastic parts for thing that need to be metal or aluminum.

[@walter.bellini]

Honesty and good work is wonderful to see. Not at all common. Sorry to say the BMW and Mercedes are not worth there money. Tell Gary to sell it now that it is working and buy a nice Lexus instead. Thank you for sharing things that you guys could have done better.

[@NeilTomkins-t5u]

I worked on a production line for 20 years, the introduction of plastic parts, was in my opinion not fully tested, we had to store parts in moist containers until fitted, otherwise the plastic would go brittle.

[@drrm123]

Normal BMW leaks, I noticed in the first picture at 38 seconds how brown the thermostat housing is, it’s time for a complete cooling system hose replacement and overhaul of all plastic components. All the o-rings on the coolant system harden and fail from the heat cycling and age. Expensive but only way to do it right.

[@TrevorMilliren-cj7es]

I've run into similar scenarios with coolant leaks, years ago before all of the plastic components and quick connects. When one leak is fixed, then the next weakest point in the system starts to leak. I've also seen that with brake systems too.

[@ThomasHess-x8v]

I think ya'll did the right thing way above and beyond. I do all of the maintenance on my vehicles and understand parts fail sometimes if you just touch them. But good on you for stepping up. Few shops do this.

[@V10PDTDI]

We work on a lot of BMW’s at my shop and I have never replaced this flange before but it good to know that it a prone for leaks but the one flange that I tend to replace when I’m doing oil filter housing gaskets is the one just below it I always replace it with a aluminum aftermarket part our shop is in Canada it’s not has hot as were your cars are maybe the plastic coolant part will last longer in a colder climate but I can tell you when I get a older Z4 I have a tendency to replace most hoses and expansions tank and cap.

[@charlestimmis273]

Thanks for being honest with your customers. That goes a long way.. I think the main problem is it's the BMW... Cheap plastic junk...

[@Mr2004MCSS]

You recently did a video on vacuum filling the cooling system. If you did that on this vehicle when you replaced that first coolant line, that may have caused the upper radiator leak to happen and then it went downhill from there. Good video.

[@johnkaimins9998]

Wonderful to witness this exemplary attitude on your part ~ keep up the good work. Blessings.

[@brivas86]

I’m a BMW dealer tech. We see this all day. B48/46 have tons of cooling issues. Everything is made of plastic and fails. Oil filter housing will leak under the intake and also that coolant pump is part of the alternator/a/c bracket. It has a coolant pass through and will also leak, we normally replace that bracket with the pump. Don’t be surprised if it’s back for more, usually happens just like described one part after the next.

[@MrDemonnismo]

I am a BMW tech as well and I have also done a lot of these connecting pipe, oil filter housings, water pumps and turbo coolant feed line.

[@ambitiouspurr]

Is B58 also like this?

[@brivas86]

@@ambitiouspurr not exactly but definitely coolant problems, mainly water pump on b58

[@InfiniteSuccessAcademy]

I've owned a few BMW's and at 60K Miles, the whole cooling system should be replaced. The cooling system is a weak spot on BMW's. They use way too much plastic, and those click fittings are junk. If you get one off, it will never reseal properly, even with a new o-ring. BMW, Mercedes, Audi (older models excepted), should just be leased and turned back in once the warrantee is up. Otherwise, they become a money pit. You guys did everything right. Good video.

[@markkujantunen8298]

If those particular Germans need a coolant system rebuild and maybe something else, too, only at the age of 10, it means the leases will be expensive. Are those cars like peacock tails: a handicap broadcasting "I can afford wasting money on this piece of shit" to everyone in sight? I'd rather have a car that's really nice and luxurious for a long time. I prefer broadcasting brains in addition to money as well.

[@InfiniteSuccessAcademy]

@@markkujantunen8298 they never used to be, the older models were quite robust. But then things changed and they wanted to save money on parts (cheap plastic) and then make it so you had to bring it back to the dealer for fixing. In other words - double-dipping. However, many car manufacturers have followed suit, Ford, GM, and especially Chrysler (Stellantis) products are no more reliable. In fact, Some of those models won't last 5 years or 60,000 miles before major problems, including drive train issues. Most people buy the German brands because they drive very well (and they do!), and they want people to notice the badge on the hood. Personally, when I want luxury and reliability, I will chose a Lexus. I had a Lexus SC430 for a couple of years and it was awesome. The 4.3 V8 engine was one of the best and most reliable ever built. I t wasn't the fastest, or the best handling, but boy the miles would pass by quickly and effortlessly. I've owned Porsches too, but they also are going the way of dealer maintenance. I had a 1986 944 Turbo that I rebuilt myself and man, what a nice car. Fast on the track, and looked good doing it. I've owned 49 cars in my lifetime, some I wish I never sold (Pontiac Trans Am 455, 4-speed), some I'm glad I got rid of. However, today I stay with Toyota and Honda. I guess I either got smarter, or I'm just getting older.

[@UrielX1212]

The weak spot on a BMW is the BMW. Trash German "engineering".

[@thisguyshorty3554]

​@@UrielX1212Ive never have had to replace an engine or trans in any of my BMW as much as I did with my domestics. Never had a Domestic hit 300k

[@davidchin3940]

I've owned them too. I just replace the whole car. Problem always solved. 😊

[@brucemadden1626]

Very nice and professional of you to give the client a freeupgrade; one thing we do is get rid of those "factory/easy spring clips" that lose their grip and have the hose blow off(worm clamps for the "save")

[@DonB1full]

Man you look like a great guy to work for , honest and fair, you dont see that often any more Are you looking for a technician ? Let me know i have about 23 years of experience 😁👍🏼

[@ronaldbrosius7488]

Top notch company!! It is hard to find great repair shops anymore. Keep up the great job!! (I wish you or south main auto where closer😂)

[@mmatejka01]

Crummy timing.. I work in the copier industry and this drivers me nuts...But you are so right about knowing something that is going to fail. My 33 years of experience is hard to teach to new guys because I can just see a problem down the road. Love your videos guys. You are not only teaching how to repair something but also how to handle a customer service issue the correct way. Honesty always is the way to go.

[@Codadams]

It’s a lose lose situation, people unfamiliar with your shop will be like these guys are trying to upsell me all of this for a simple problem here. What they don’t understand is the years of failures your company deals with. They don’t understand when you move or touch one part then other parts fail or get weak. Just like you said it’s common with that car - all you can do is document. Great explanation, it’s very important to explain. Thanks for taking the time to show us.

[@1982dietzkev]

405k on my 98 e36 and only downfall was plastic tank and plastic tstat housing. Swapped to metal and the euro tank at 125k never had problem after

[@saiautorepairs]

It happens. So many components on vehicles. Sometimes you fix one leak other one shows up great video

[@MJR67]

Congratulations for your honesty. I am not in the repair business but I do fix my own older cars, German and for my sins, British cars. Any time a hose goes which is under pressure, I have learnt the tough way to replace the whole lot. The leak allowed the psi further down the line to drop , hence no leak. Fix the leak, psi goes up and the hose further down the line suddenly leaks. Fix that and further down the line goes. Hence best replace the lot. Hydraulic systems esp are very sensitive to that. Believe me, I have learnt this the hard way, esp when it comes to British cars that start with a B. And no, not Big Ben. All the best for the holidays.

[@wisco_evo]

good video of taking ownership of the issues and potentially helping others. Only thing that would be even more helpful is providing a list of the vehicles with years, that are equipped with this style of coolant system.

[@LetsWorkBmws]

B46 and b48 major coolant components. Water pump, coolant connector for upper coolant hose. Heat management, oil filter housing gasket. And both turbo coolant lines. Take care of those. And no more problem. Highly recommend to look at those every time car is in service . Bmw tech high here.

[@garysgarage3669]

If you were a BMW dealer, then I would expect you to know this. You are an independent shop, that works on all brands of cars. I wouldn't expect you to do an hour research on every job in your shop. You told him about what you found and you fixed it. Once again, you are going above and beyond normal expectations.

[@marceltorres2577]

A few years ago i worked at a shop and a young apprentice was finning cooling systems with concentrate coolant and not mixing because he thought it was good to go from the bottle. We had cars coming in with leaking hoses left right and centre for months it happens but that is something that basically causes all hoses to start leaking.

[@virtisconsole12]

Great video and a lesson in there for the BMW and Audi/VW people. Those manufacturers use a lot of plastic , I.e VAG use that modular W/P and rear outlet flange on the head .. both are highly prone for gasket deformation and becoming brittle any ultimately just leaking and falling apart.. those are considered 65-75k mi service intervals replacement items. Seems silly for plastic, I know but I do prefer oem plastic over Graf, Rein aluminum upgrades because of the fitting just seems to be off with aluminum, maybe those were just bad units I experienced.. but my preferred on these is OEM, and yeah agree those plastic quick connectors on the water pipes can be tricky I try to never hit those with petroleum based penetrates bc of it’ll degrade plastics but soapy water after completely releasing the clip.. kinda work it so it gets to the o ring.. but I have to say you guys run a great, honest shop with utmost integrity.. really appreciate it.. if I were a bit closer to you guys I’d give you me business no questions.

[@paulmarcum5892]

Been there done that. I always tell the service advisor that on BMW coolant leaks that they can be a gift that keeps giving.

[@gregblau8082]

Good job making things right as always. I just did one of those turbo lines with a oil filter housing on an x3 yesterday. I've done it on a different model and it took maybe 15 minutes so I didn't add any labor. Big mistake because on that particular car it's a 7 hour job (my mistake so I took the loss). We always replace that outlet when we do anything else in that area. By the way you can usually access that little hose by removing the throttle body bracket and then you're not disturbing any of the other hoses under the intake

[@hankitytankity]

Cooling aystems on older cars are tricky. The pressurization can create leaks where there was none. The quick connect to radiator are another source of leak. Plastic coolant outlets attached to the engine, forget about it. Complicated cooling system combined with age is just trouble.

[@lanwickum]

Ouch, You went above and beyond. Good on you. Sometimes that is good. They will likely brag about your service. How well you delt with this mess.

[@dknollRX7]

It’ll be back next week with a cracked oil filter housing gasket area. The cooling system is the Achilles heel of these engines. Those water pumps leak all the time. That snout that you swapped over to aluminum tend to leak often as well. We price them out whenever we do an oil filter housing. The oil filter housing is plastic, and they’ll crack where the gasket mates to the block…then it DUMPS coolant. The small plastic hose on the expansion tank had a recall, because they would shear off at the head. You get to snake that hose above that upper hose under the intake, and work some magic to secure it under the intake manifold…easy once you figure out how to do it. But I’m not joking about it possibly coming back before too long for the oil filter housing assembly. Also, with the newer BMWs, we typically use the vacuum filler/bleeder, and it works pretty well for us.

[@Jpilgrim30]

I don’t usually work on many BMW’s and I’ve replaced THREE oil filter housing gaskets on BMW’s the last few weeks. Two of them on 2.0l turbos and one on a 3.0l. I didn’t realize how big of an issue that gasket was until seeing multiple ones back to back

[@dknollRX7]

@ I’ve been working at the local BMW dealer for about 17 years now…man, I’m old. BMWs have always had issues with the oil filter housing gaskets leaking…just like any other gasket. However, when they decided to go to the plastic oil filter housing- it’s gotten worse. On the 4 cylinder engine before the one in this video (N20), they had a short production range where the filter housings were plastic, and they came out with a recall to swap them over to aluminum. The new B series engines (new 3/4/6 turbos) all have plastic oil filter housings. We see them quite regulatory where the plastic cracks right where the gasket area boosts to the block. This also allows cross contamination between oil and coolant. Pretty crappy design, and it’s also a ticking time bomb. You don’t really have any warning, but when they go bad, they go bad in a big way and you’ll be stuck.

[@ShowMeWhatINeedToKnow]

@@dknollRX7 I'm guessing they all go bad out of warranty, too. Right?

[@dknollRX7]

@ I’ve done quite a few under warranty, or covered by CPO. Customer pay, they’re about 8 or so hours of labor, depending on the chassis setup.

[@Milkeywhey]

I totally respect you and your techs. Why would a low mileage BMW have this problem? Sure, I makes you look bad at first, but why does BMW have this type of design? Would the stealership, oh I mean would the dealership have been any better? This is a design flaw. I have owned late 80's and early 90's Toyotas where the coolant hoses including throttle body coolant hoses last 200,000 miles. I save the old hoses and use only Toyota hoses. I change the coolant every 30 to 40 thousand miles. BMW is to blame, not you or your techs. Your honesty is impeccable!!!

[@santstravels]

I don't drive a bmw or work on my car, but I watched the whole video because the guy is brilliant at explaining things!

[@ARobFpv007]

Very common problem with BMW I had the same issue. BMW’s diagnostics found the issue straight away. Unfortunately if you don’t work on theses cars every day you won’t no the issue. At least you owned up to the mistake, where a lot of mechanics won’t.

[@angelagzx14]

It is refreshing to see how you took ownership of your oversight. Kudos to you sir make me wish you were my mechanic but I live in Miami. Though luck for me.

[@pepeshopping]

Respect for his honesty/fairness and customer service. I would have done the same as I do also like to be fair, have pride in my expertise and strive to know more always.

[@flycatchful]

My 2013 Mini Coope S had a water pump failure. Mini advises that when the pump is replaced the cross over pipe should be replaced at the same time. I knew this before taking the Mini into the shop for repair. The owner of the repair facility said the same thing.

[@jeanfrancoismenard705]

I got 100% your point and very interesting. You said you know a bit on thoses cars. But you can't know all week parts on all car and all years. I know very well my Audi S4 B9 cuz i study it a lot. Like a lot. So i know. But when you start digging in a use car it can always snowball like that quick. Customer need to know that before doing any job. You guys do your best and are not magic. Well explained tks. And you know what if i need to pay 1/2 or 1 hrs of labor for someone do research and fix everything in one apt. it's a win.

[@neverstoplearning382]

Way to go, we always eat our mistakes too, that is how you do it.

[@charleshines2142]

A lot of fluids may even have a UV dye in them that is of course going to show as orange or whatever the fluid is. The CVT fluid in my Nissan works that way and without UV light it looks just like oil when it is on some surface. Next time you see a fluid leak get a UV light and see if it glows. The color of it should indicate what the fluid is for that vehicle if no aftermarket or universal stuff was used.

[@john_dee1431]

This serves as good education for the car owner. Cars today have plastic parts that break when disturbed. Give service guys some slack and appreciation.

[@betancourtl]

Good job fixing the car! The cooling system was a ticking time bomb.

[@dmack7328]

You are exactly correct. I have been in the business for over 50 years, and I preach the exact thing to my techs.

[@trevorsutherland5263]

My first BMW was a 1991 525i that I bought in 1996 with 60K miles. I was not a "gearhead" at the time but I knew enough to get the oil changed every 5K miles. The only thing I ever replaced on that car were the front shocks when they wore out. I sold it to a friend in 2001 with 120K miles on it; original water pump, AC compressor, alternator, etc. I never changed the trans fluid, brake fluid, power steering fluid, not even the brake rotors. It never leaked, rattled, made funny sounds, spewed blue smoke, shifted hard or shuddered. An absolute TANK of a car. Once BMW stopped making them like that, I stopped buying them.

[@CarsYouCanFix]

Thanks for the heads up! Same with Mercedes too, so much plastic for the cooling system.

[@idontexist3514]

Just do the research on the bmw you are buying or even after purchase, I was skeptical on buying one because I heard of the coolant issues and leaks and what not but I was confident enough that it did not bother me I got my car at 65k miles I’m now approaching 100k and I’ve only had a couple coolant hoses go bad and I’ve replaced them all myself I’ve replaced my heat exchanger I’ve been around the cooling system and I know whats possibly going to be bad and what’s going to be better just keep on eye on things, make it a note to plan for it in the future, unless you just take everything to the shop to get fixed then just let it become a money pit and let someone else tell you how to take care of your car. These are great cars I’ve had a couple but they can be a headache if you ignore the little things and let them build up.

[@mentalmechanic]

Modern cooling system weaknesses aside……..when I was an apprentice tech 30 years ago, my boss always told me that new coolant always finds weak points in cooling systems that haven’t leaked until the coolant has been changed. And it was true to an extent, more so with rusty old systems but I think it could also apply to modern stuff too.

[@41BeachComber]

Like watching your videos. You and the shop you run seem very up standing on repairs. Very nice of you to own up on some of the problem and not charge either. I like that you get the customer involved too. Call them, shiw them the problem. Many shops don't do that. I'm in Milton, fl area. If I'm ever in your area I'd love to stop by and say hi, especially if I'm driving my 2002 Saturn Vue with over 195,000 miles on it.

[@oznetyoutube125]

People have no idea how hard these modern cars are to work on ... Great Lessons Learned. It's like every repair becomes an individual Bid-Spec, with Scope Of Work and Contingency ... Good Service Providers and Good Customers, make for best possible outcome.

[@vinnieluther6589]

Is it possible the radiator cap pressure is higher than it was designed? Did you test to see if the cooling system pressure was exceeding the design? I do agree these newer engines using plastic parts in the cooling system is just planned obsolescence. You have to be much more careful touching old brittle plastic.