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Fuel Sensor Strip Warranty

I read here where the Textron additive can help the fuel strip work better. Just curious, but could the ethanol in the fuel we use cause any problems with the strip? It does have an effect on rubber, so how about the fuel strip. Just sayin...
 
Marvin Snyder said:
I read here where the Textron additive can help the fuel strip work better. Just curious, but could the ethanol in the fuel we use cause any problems with the strip? It does have an effect on rubber, so how about the fuel strip. Just sayin...
Click to expand...

The fuel strip has an epoxy like block at the top which encapsulates the connection of the film strip to the external wires. As far as I could determine, the block was never damaged and the film strips were like new and measured like they should...but were not connected to the wire(s). The failures appeared to be mechanical ones inside the blob much like the notorious key antenna failure.
BMW never does anything wrong, but instead, they are victims of their customers bad habits...ethanol, overtorqueing the rear wheel flange, etc. even though my wife's S had its fuel strip fail at 10 miles on the speedo and was still on German gas.
So just zap it with a grill starter module to reweld the contact, and ride to the dealer to have the extended warranty replacement.
 
Oh, and we've had about 6 or 7 bad strips on 6 BMWs and bought I think 4 of them.
 
Marvin Snyder said:
I read here where the Textron additive can help the fuel strip work better. Just curious, but could the ethanol in the fuel we use cause any problems with the strip? It does have an effect on rubber, so how about the fuel strip. Just sayin...
Click to expand...

The lesson here is not to believe everything you read here.
 
Authorized

I think that there are shops which are not dealers that employ techs who are certified to do work on BMW bikes. My bike was way out of warranty when I had the fuel strip replaced. I took it to my mechanic who is authorized to work on BMW bikes.

I just learned that BMW is refusing my claim for reimbursement of the cost of the fuel strip only because the repair was not done at a dealer. That is not how I read the warranty letter.
 
authorized

Then what does make it an authorized shop?

Besides, the warranty letter merely states that they will cover the price of the part if its replaced at an "independent repair facility". They still won't reimbursement me for the part.
 
That's what we're asking you. You're the one saying it.

It doesn't matter, though. The answer is almost certainly that they are an independent shop, and if the letter states that you are eligible for reimbursement then the problem is either that you are talking to the wrong person or there is a complication that you are not aware of or not telling us about.
 
Or

They could just be incorrectly denying my claim.

That is why I posted in the first place to see if anyone else who had their fuel strip replaced at a place other than a dealer got their claim paid.
 
elgin mary said:
They could just be incorrectly denying my claim.

That is why I posted in the first place to see if anyone else who had their fuel strip replaced at a place other than a dealer got their claim paid.
Click to expand...

Call these folks...
Contact Us
Since the first one rolled out back in 1923 we have been building motorcycles for real riders. You, with your love of the ride and high standards for performance, have driven us to keep innovating, keep refining, keep improving. So if you have something to say, good or bad, we want to hear it.

Call our Customer Service Department at 1-800-831-1117 and follow the automated voice prompts. There is a live representative between the hours of 9:00AM - 9:00PM EST. Mon-Fri, if someone's not there to take your call, you can wait and the automated voice will prompt you to leave a message.

You may also reach our Customer Service Department by sending email to CustomerService@bmwmotorcycles.com.

We will get back to you as soon as possible.
 
Customer Service

CJack, those are the people who denied my claim. They said they would not pay the price of the fuel strip because I did not have it replaced at a BMW dealership. I pointed out the language that said they would pay for the part if the repair was done at an independent repair facility. They still said no, trice.
 
elgin mary said:
CJack, those are the people who denied my claim. They said they would not pay the price of the fuel strip because I did not have it replaced at a BMW dealership. I pointed out the language that said they would pay for the part if the repair was done at an independent repair facility. They still said no, trice.
Click to expand...

Oh. Do you have a BMW service bulletin or some such that specifically refers to the fuel strip extended warranty. Could you post it here?
It's beginning to sound like the warranty and "extended" warranty have different support levels.
 
I think the outcome of coverage is that the strip has to be determined faulty by an authorized BMW dealer. That's the only way BMW can be sure they are paying for a truly failed strip.
 
I am on my 5th original type fuel strip. It had been working somewhat intermittently. I have been thinking about getting it replaced under the extended warranty with the new style unit. I was just on a trip and visited a dealer to have new tires put on, and I needed the tire pressure sending units replaced as well, and it had to be hooked up to the computer for that. On the rest of my trip the fuel gauge worked perfectly. I don't know if there was some type of new flash or something that may have helped, or if it's just a coincidence. I will probably call the dealer next week and see if something was done that may have helped.

If it starts behaving wonky again I will definitely get it replaced, even though I consider it just a convenience. I tend to reset trip meter 1 to zero after filling up and mostly go by mileage anyway.
 
They can do a recalibration with the service computer which might remake a connection within the strip. But that technically requires a dried out of tank strip. I would think they would not have done that unless they replaced the strip.
 
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