Starter motor replacement

Jonathan0880 · 01-15-2021, 03:27 PM

Has anyone tried to replace the starter motor on their X1??, just wondering what is involved, I'm seeing some youtube video's about this and it seems like a pretty big job on BMW engines (manifold has to be removed)... I already brought the vehicle to shop to have them do it, but just wondering as it will help me know what to expect in terms of labor cost atleast.

e36addict · 01-15-2021, 04:05 PM

They are typically around 4 hours of labor. Of course that depends on what engine you have. I've never seen an N20 starter fail, so I'd assume it's an N55.

Jonathan0880 · 01-18-2021, 12:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by e36addict

They are typically around 4 hours of labor. Of course that depends on what engine you have. I've never seen an N20 starter fail, so I'd assume it's an N55.

Ok, thanks. Interesting, it's a 2013 Xdrive28i so it's the N20 engine. I'd imagine the auto start/stop is hard on the starter. Before I brought it in, it was having trouble starting in cold temps, the starter would click but no dice. The tow truck driver, repeatedly pressed the start button until it seems like the starter hit the right spot and it started (so hence why we think it's the starter).

I'm replacing the battery and starter. But I'm not familar with BMW, maybe it was JUST the battery or just a loose wire somewhere along the line.

FWIW, the shop mentioned it's the starter but as we all know, they'll never tell you if it's just a wire or something stupid like that....

Jonathan0880 · 01-21-2021, 03:33 PM

Just a quick follow up here. This info should help some people out. So had the starter replaced and I replaced the battery at the same time. Starts like a champ now, super strong and quick. Just a note, the starter on the 2013 X1 xdrive28i is super weird and long, the starters they sell on auto websites, that say they will fit the X1 "xdrive28i" won't work.

I'm with people's choice for warranty. It was my first time going through them and this will be important info for anyone thinking about going for a used BMW and going with PC. Read the fine print in the contract regarding part replacement (I read everything through but glanced over this part and it's really important)....

"PARTS AND COVERED BENEFITS - SCHEDULE OF COVERAGES:
Replacement parts may be new, remanufactured, or of like kind and quality. We will pay for reasonable costs for parts and labour to repair or replace all the covered parts listed below"

This is not like a no questions asked dealership warranty program that just gives you new parts and sends you on your way. No. they basically try to source the cheapest $hit parts they can find, even used parts, then you have to haggle with them to try to use better parts or give more coverage. It's basically sketchy AF. So I went into this thinking, I would get peace of mind when really it just turns into a huge hassle, they're not really there to provide professional service, it's sort of a shit show courtroom style drama where you have to plead your case. To change a starter, it turned into a week long affair of back and forth between myself, my mechanic and the PC rep. In the end they covered labour (which I believe in most cases they usually do) and I just told them I'd take the value of their $hit used starter they wanted to offer me and subtract it from the difference of a brand new OEM BMW starter(which are pricey, but nothing too crazy IMO). I could have tried to hold out for more, but I was tired of waiting. That's what they do, they try to stall you and jerk you around so you just give up. Ontop of that, there's a 150$ deductible AND I have the highest level plan. Aside from the labor coverage, the parts coverage was a literal joke.

Knowing this now, I might have second guessed going with a PC warranty to begin with. I think the only time it could pose useful is if you have a catastrophic failure like full engine rebuild or tranny or something like that's 10+ thousand. But you're still going to have to argue it all the way through....Given the amount of hassle, I seriously doubt I will even make claims for small stuff. Not particularly because of the amount of coverage issue, but for me, it's the TIME and HASSLE of it all. When my alternator goes, I'm going to have to spend another 2 weeks trying to haggle for a proper replacement???? fuck it, I'll just pay full price along with labour and have my vehicle in a day or two. Time is money.

Anyway. Ultimately, sketchy practices like this suffer because #1. I'm writing this here today for other would be clients to see. #2. They probably won't have a future customer with me. I paid good money for a warranty, I expect a certain level of service. I don't feel like that's the case with them so far. That may change, but not too happy about this first experience.

FWIW. My mechanic has been with PC for over 20 years and said they've always been fairly good to work with but says he's noticed changes recently so, not sure...

05X3lover · 01-22-2021, 05:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jonathan0880

Just a quick follow up here. This info should help some people out. So had the starter replaced and I replaced the battery at the same time. Starts like a champ now, super strong and quick. Just a note, the starter on the 2013 X1 xdrive28i is super weird and long, the starters they sell on auto websites, that say they will fit the X1 "xdrive28i" won't work.

I'm with people's choice for warranty. It was my first time going through them and this will be important info for anyone thinking about going for a used BMW and going with PC. Read the fine print in the contract regarding part replacement (I read everything through but glanced over this part and it's really important)....

"PARTS AND COVERED BENEFITS - SCHEDULE OF COVERAGES:
Replacement parts may be new, remanufactured, or of like kind and quality. We will pay for reasonable costs for parts and labour to repair or replace all the covered parts listed below"

This is not like a no questions asked dealership warranty program that just gives you new parts and sends you on your way. No. they basically try to source the cheapest $hit parts they can find, even used parts, then you have to haggle with them to try to use better parts or give more coverage. It's basically sketchy AF. So I went into this thinking, I would get peace of mind when really it just turns into a huge hassle, they're not really there to provide professional service, it's sort of a shit show courtroom style drama where you have to plead your case. To change a starter, it turned into a week long affair of back and forth between myself, my mechanic and the PC rep. In the end they covered labour (which I believe in most cases they usually do) and I just told them I'd take the value of their $hit used starter they wanted to offer me and subtract it from the difference of a brand new OEM BMW starter(which are pricey, but nothing too crazy IMO). I could have tried to hold out for more, but I was tired of waiting. That's what they do, they try to stall you and jerk you around so you just give up. Ontop of that, there's a 150$ deductible AND I have the highest level plan. Aside from the labor coverage, the parts coverage was a literal joke.

Knowing this now, I might have second guessed going with a PC warranty to begin with. I think the only time it could pose useful is if you have a catastrophic failure like full engine rebuild or tranny or something like that's 10+ thousand. But you're still going to have to argue it all the way through....Given the amount of hassle, I seriously doubt I will even make claims for small stuff. Not particularly because of the amount of coverage issue, but for me, it's the TIME and HASSLE of it all. When my alternator goes, I'm going to have to spend another 2 weeks trying to haggle for a proper replacement???? fuck it, I'll just pay full price along with labour and have my vehicle in a day or two. Time is money.

Anyway. Ultimately, sketchy practices like this suffer because #1. I'm writing this here today for other would be clients to see. #2. They probably won't have a future customer with me. I paid good money for a warranty, I expect a certain level of service. I don't feel like that's the case with them so far. That may change, but not too happy about this first experience.

FWIW. My mechanic has been with PC for over 20 years and said they've always been fairly good to work with but says he's noticed changes recently so, not sure...

Sorry this happened OP but I have to be honest, I would never buy a warranty like this. Remember car (and home) warranty companies are not in business to pay out money. They frame their coverage to totally favor themselves, and then often argue with the customer over claims. Occasionally someone gets their bacon saved by some catastrophic repair they'll pay for, but mostly people just pay a fortune for a warranty that in reality offers little protection. Lot's of info about this online.

Jonathan0880 · 01-22-2021, 10:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 05X3lover

Sorry this happened OP but I have to be honest, I would never buy a warranty like this. Remember car (and home) warranty companies are not in business to pay out money. They frame their coverage to totally favor themselves, and then often argue with the customer over claims. Occasionally someone gets their bacon saved by some catastrophic repair they'll pay for, but mostly people just pay a fortune for a warranty that in reality offers little protection. Lot's of info about this online.

I took the warranty in the heat of the moment while negotiating for the vehicle, so didn't have time to research, which I ALWAYS do, spent 3 years researching vehicles before I bought my X1.... so yeah, little on me but not really my fault either. Knowing what I know now, the best way to work this is to not buy the warranty, just pay out of pocket until you have a catastrophic failure, 3000+$ repair... then buy it and it will pay for itself in one shot, but I'm not even sure you can do that. Oh well, they pay labor and now I know what it's all about so I'm just going to use my beater car and haggle them for weeks. If they want to be dicks about it, I have my ways

01-15-2021, 03:27 PM	#1
Jonathan0880 Private 10 Rep 64 Posts Drives: 2013 X1 Xdrive Join Date: Sep 2019 Location: Ottawa iTrader: (0)	Starter motor replacement Has anyone tried to replace the starter motor on their X1??, just wondering what is involved, I'm seeing some youtube video's about this and it seems like a pretty big job on BMW engines (manifold has to be removed)... I already brought the vehicle to shop to have them do it, but just wondering as it will help me know what to expect in terms of labor cost atleast.
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01-15-2021, 04:05 PM	#2
e36addict Captain 137 Rep 952 Posts Drives: 2013 X1 35iX Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Tim @ BMW of Dallas iTrader: (5)	They are typically around 4 hours of labor. Of course that depends on what engine you have. I've never seen an N20 starter fail, so I'd assume it's an N55. __________________ 13 X1 35iX, 98 Z3 2.8, 01 M Coupe, 96 Z3 1.9 DASC, 95 318ti, 13 smart fortwo
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01-21-2021, 03:33 PM	#4
Jonathan0880 Private 10 Rep 64 Posts Drives: 2013 X1 Xdrive Join Date: Sep 2019 Location: Ottawa iTrader: (0)	Just a quick follow up here. This info should help some people out. So had the starter replaced and I replaced the battery at the same time. Starts like a champ now, super strong and quick. Just a note, the starter on the 2013 X1 xdrive28i is super weird and long, the starters they sell on auto websites, that say they will fit the X1 "xdrive28i" won't work. I'm with people's choice for warranty. It was my first time going through them and this will be important info for anyone thinking about going for a used BMW and going with PC. Read the fine print in the contract regarding part replacement (I read everything through but glanced over this part and it's really important).... "PARTS AND COVERED BENEFITS - SCHEDULE OF COVERAGES: Replacement parts may be new, remanufactured, or of like kind and quality. We will pay for reasonable costs for parts and labour to repair or replace all the covered parts listed below" This is not like a no questions asked dealership warranty program that just gives you new parts and sends you on your way. No. they basically try to source the cheapest $hit parts they can find, even used parts, then you have to haggle with them to try to use better parts or give more coverage. It's basically sketchy AF. So I went into this thinking, I would get peace of mind when really it just turns into a huge hassle, they're not really there to provide professional service, it's sort of a shit show courtroom style drama where you have to plead your case. To change a starter, it turned into a week long affair of back and forth between myself, my mechanic and the PC rep. In the end they covered labour (which I believe in most cases they usually do) and I just told them I'd take the value of their $hit used starter they wanted to offer me and subtract it from the difference of a brand new OEM BMW starter(which are pricey, but nothing too crazy IMO). I could have tried to hold out for more, but I was tired of waiting. That's what they do, they try to stall you and jerk you around so you just give up. Ontop of that, there's a 150$ deductible AND I have the highest level plan. Aside from the labor coverage, the parts coverage was a literal joke. Knowing this now, I might have second guessed going with a PC warranty to begin with. I think the only time it could pose useful is if you have a catastrophic failure like full engine rebuild or tranny or something like that's 10+ thousand. But you're still going to have to argue it all the way through....Given the amount of hassle, I seriously doubt I will even make claims for small stuff. Not particularly because of the amount of coverage issue, but for me, it's the TIME and HASSLE of it all. When my alternator goes, I'm going to have to spend another 2 weeks trying to haggle for a proper replacement???? fuck it, I'll just pay full price along with labour and have my vehicle in a day or two. Time is money. Anyway. Ultimately, sketchy practices like this suffer because #1. I'm writing this here today for other would be clients to see. #2. They probably won't have a future customer with me. I paid good money for a warranty, I expect a certain level of service. I don't feel like that's the case with them so far. That may change, but not too happy about this first experience. FWIW. My mechanic has been with PC for over 20 years and said they've always been fairly good to work with but says he's noticed changes recently so, not sure... Last edited by Jonathan0880; 01-21-2021 at 03:40 PM..
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