I saw this ad pop up in my Gmail; it is a law firm that filed a class action against BMW for the E46 rear subframe issues...

http://www.wcclaw.com/CM/Cases/BMW-Subframe.asp

No idea what the deal is, ymmv, cya, etc; just passing it along at face value for those that may have or may know folks with rear sub frame issues.

Maybe the settlement reward can be new 335 coupes (or if the new M3 is out by then...)?? :)

I'm worried about this too...
I've just heard way too many cases about this and it really isn't a cheap fix.

Makes me want to see if one of the club-friendly shops will put my car on the lift for a small fee so I can take a look underneath...

If a bunch of E46ers are interested, maybe we can arrange it with one of the shop folks one day and do a lift'n'look all in a row.

I went to the Turner subframe fix section (http://www.turnermotorsport.com/html/detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=TDR4675412) and noticed that the law firm's website text was virtually verbatim to the text on that page, as well as the Turner pdf instructions (http://www.turnermotorsport.com/image/suspension/susp_e46_subframe_reinforcement.pdf) on how to install their fix.

I'm worried about this too...
I've just heard way too many cases about this and it really isn't a cheap fix.

Is it really that many? I'm guessing maybe about 50-100 cases, but that's out of hundreds of thousands of cars. Doesn't that equate to a very small percentage?

Is it really that many? I'm guessing maybe about 50-100 cases, but that's out of hundreds of thousands of cars. Doesn't that equate to a very small percentage?

Those are the failures that are publicized/detected. Apparently cracks form, and it may take a long time for them to make themselves known due to their location, being hidden behind undersealant, etc., so there may be lots more cases where the problem is nascent but not visible.

I guess the question the suit is asking is, is it acceptable for it to happen at all, given the history with the E36? if they prove that it is an issue, it'll help owners who are beyond warranty get their vehicles repaired/strengthened, as it is something that shouldn't be acceptable even if it only happens to 1% of the cars built, since it is happening to normal, daily driven cars not just the tracked/modded ones. Things break, for sure, but suspension mounts (and diff mounts for our Z brethren) shouldn't be pulling out. IMHO, that's not a maintenance issue anymore, that's a failure...

YMMV...

Makes me want to see if one of the club-friendly shops will put my car on the lift for a small fee so I can take a look underneath...

If a bunch of E46ers are interested, maybe we can arrange it with one of the shop folks one day and do a lift'n'look all in a row.



Count me in! You guys got me worrying now. :eek:

More info on this with the Z3 community...however, same issue as the E36 & E46!

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=402183

the ultimate driving machine.
lol

the ultimate driving machine.
lol
It is for the Sales, Service, and Parts dept. ;)
However, there are dealerships that will do the repairs @ N/C, but I'm not certain about BMW of Hon.

Makes me want to see if one of the club-friendly shops will put my car on the lift for a small fee so I can take a look underneath...

If a bunch of E46ers are interested, maybe we can arrange it with one of the shop folks one day and do a lift'n'look all in a row.

I went to the Turner subframe fix section (http://www.turnermotorsport.com/html/detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=TDR4675412) and noticed that the law firm's website text was virtually verbatim to the text on that page, as well as the Turner pdf instructions (http://www.turnermotorsport.com/image/suspension/susp_e46_subframe_reinforcement.pdf) on how to install their fix.
As nice of a solution that the TMS reinforcement is, it's not an easy install. You'll need to find a good welder and it takes near 10 hrs to do from what I've heard.
But you know... it would've been such an easy thing for BMW to add something like a TMS subframe reinforcement when they were building the new model E46s. I mean... what... the reinforcement is like only $120 (think how much cheaper it'd be if manufactured in bulk for BMW). And since it's the building process... it's a lot easier and cheaper to do. Still... I guess BMW just decided to ignore it rather than doing a preventative measure like this.

Is it really that many? I'm guessing maybe about 50-100 cases, but that's out of hundreds of thousands of cars. Doesn't that equate to a very small percentage?
Well, that's just people on the forums. Over the years, I've probably only seen like about 25 cases of people reporting subframe damage. It is quite small compared to the hundreds and thousands of E46s BMW has sold. I really have no clue how many people not on the forums have this kind of problem. It is a small percentage, and probably less likely for those who don't drive it hard, but if you were someone who did drive it hard, wouldn't you feel better if something was done to fix this kind of problem? You know... at least a solution that BMW offered instead of leaving the people with the problem to foot the bill after the warranty expires. PCP JR pretty much hit it on the mark.

As nice of a solution that the TMS reinforcement is, it's not an easy install. You'll need to find a good welder and it takes near 10 hrs to do from what I've heard.


Actually, when it was laid out in Woody's garage, it looked like it was easy. Time consuming, yes, but not hard.

woody??? reinforcement on the roadster???

yeah, when he still had it

Actually, when it was laid out in Woody's garage, it looked like it was easy. Time consuming, yes, but not hard.
Actually, I was talking about the welding part as being hard.

Actually, I was talking about the welding part as being hard.

There's always "JB Weld" :D

Actually, I was talking about the welding part as being hard.

Actually, that was the part I was referring to as "easy" ;)

Actually, I was talking about the welding part as being hard.
I thought the same thing, but then theres Iwantoneofthose that came to the rescue!
I was 1 weekend away from doing it, when the wife said she wanted to do more home improvements! :(
Now my roady is upstairs in the Master Bedroom!
I must say it looks good there too! :D

Actually, that was the part I was referring to as "easy" ;)

Oooh... you gots the skills! :buttrock