Worried with those subframe stories

[Alx]

Hello,

I hope everyone is doing well.

A lot of those subframe stories have made me quite worried.

It sometimes even makes consider selling my CSL.

The BMW "specialists" in my area have never heard of it - just like the guys in Munich actually...

I have heard that BMW doesn't recommend the foam injections anymore.

Some say that this procedure was just supposed to delay the problem in order to pass the 10-year goodwill repair, but that it does not solve the problem.

My car gets regularly checked (at each inspection), but I am wondering if I could do any preventive work.

It seems that the cars are harder to repair once the foam has been injected.

Thank you for your advice and kind regards,
Alex

[Monkey]

Originally Posted by Alx

Hello,

I hope everyone is doing well.

A lot of those subframe stories have made me quite worried.

It sometimes even makes consider selling my CSL.

The BMW "specialists" in my area have never heard of it - just like the guys in Munich actually...

I have heard that BMW doesn't recommend the foam injections anymore.

Some say that this procedure was just supposed to delay the problem in order to pass the 10-year goodwill repair, but that it does not solve the problem.

My car gets regularly checked (at each inspection), but I am wondering if I could do any preventive work.

It seems that the cars are harder to repair once the foam has been injected.

Thank you for your advice and kind regards,
Alex

Hi Alex,

You could get the aftermarket reinforcement plate kit fitted as a precautionary measure. It's quite expensive though, around £1000 for us to do it. I would say though, if yours has not cracked by now, there's a good chance it wont.
I have seen them crack in 3 different places, so make sure you get it checked thoroughly by someone who is familiar with the issue.
If you need to know which areas to check, let me know and I will take some photos of a car at work and upload them on here.

[Alx]

Originally Posted by Monkey

Hi Alex,

You could get the aftermarket reinforcement plate kit fitted as a precautionary measure. It's quite expensive though, around £1000 for us to do it. I would say though, if yours has not cracked by now, there's a good chance it wont.
I have seen them crack in 3 different places, so make sure you get it checked thoroughly by someone who is familiar with the issue.
If you need to know which areas to check, let me know and I will take some photos of a car at work and upload them on here.

Hi James,

Many thanks for your precious advice.

If you were not that far from where I live, I would have taken my car to you.

I am sure there are some detailled pictures on where to look for the cracks, but if you don't mind, I would be grateful if you posted some.

The guys here in Geneva don't really seem aware of the issue.

I often drive the car without the radio on and I'm always trying to listen to any suspicious noises. It seems fine so far...

I'll pray that it doesn't hapen to mine as I am not too keen on the foam injection.

Again, many thanks for your help.

Kind regards,
Alex

[LeinsCSL]

Alex, I went with both the reinforcement plates and the foam injection as a purely precationary measure. With no cracks found and the 10 year period from BMW running out I decided it was worth doing for my peace of mind, as my CSL is a keeper long-term I think

[Alx]

Originally Posted by LeinsCSL

Alex, I went with both the reinforcement plates and the foam injection as a purely precationary measure. With no cracks found and the 10 year period from BMW running out I decided it was worth doing for my peace of mind, as my CSL is a keeper long-term I think

Hi Leins,

I remember talking to you about this at the bar of the hotel in Munich.

The ideal would be to find a competent garage to do it either here in Switzerland or even in Germany.

Many thanks,
Alex

[LeinsCSL]

Can't advise on Germany I'm afraid, but I'd be very surprised if there aren't some good indepedent garages there who have done a few CSLs before. There must surely be a demand for it I would have thought?

[Alx]

There might be some specialists, but the BMW dealers in my area don't really put me in confidence when it's something other than their regular business.

[mick csl]

when i bought my csl I also concerned about the subframe stories.
My csl with 45k miles had no cracks, but let them welt preventive the reinforcement kit on the car.
when i read the horror stories on the web every e46 M3/M3 CSL will get it at some time of its life.
(I paid 1000 euro for the job with new subframe bushes, PSG Geel M specialist in belgium)

(Sorry for the bad english)

[Alx]

Originally Posted by Monkey

I would say though, if yours has not cracked by now, there's a good chance it wont.

Thank you again James, that's good to read.

My car has currently 60'000 km, but with all those horror stories, I'm not sure it will not break one day.

@The Gorilla: That would be a nice solution!

I'm wondering if any car had cracks even after the foam injection.

I won't do anything before the spring anyway.

[MCSL]

Does anyone know how long warranty BMW give on the replacement floor?