Customer Service

[stakker]

Hello, I also posted this on the other R18 forums site to find out if anybody here is affiliated with a US Motorrad dealership?

I came back from a business trip back in early September and was about to go on my weekend ride but alas, I am getting the dreaded clicking sound even though the bike(2021 R18FE) have been on a tender. I trailer-ed my bike to my local BMW motorcycles shop on September 9(Saturday) and they have per-determined that it was a dead battery but will know for sure when their mechanic double check it. I approved the work order for a battery replacement and did mention that the bike is still under the 24-month battery replacement warranty. The team said they will give me a call for updates and so I went home . Friday came and no phone call..I gave their service team a call and they stated that their battery order have not arrived yet and will let me know..you know how this goes, every week I have to call and check on the status and same status of battery order have not arrived to the shipment is coming from Germany which I find hard to believe as the battery is supplied by EPM in Maryland US for our R18s here. I emailed their manager about the situation and I immediately got a call back from service that they are trying to expedite. I emailed BMW Motorrad corporate support and got a call from a case manager and he said he will contact the local dealer as this should not take this long for a battery replacement. This was 2 weeks ago. No phone calls or email for updates so I called the local dealer again today and they said they still have not received their battery order and in fact it is now marked as backordered across the board. I asked if they could at least try and check with other dealers that might have it in stock(to which why didnt they do this from the start?!) and service said they will check.

To somebody out here that works at a Motorrad delearship/service..is there really a backorder for the R18 batteries? Is this the current state of customer service? All I ask is to be updated, I never showed my frustration on the phone calls and even just try to joke about "they're killing me smalls" for it to be taking this long. You all would understand that my patience is running thin at this point as we are approaching two months for a battery replacement. YES, I could have ordered it online somewhere but I did not want to mess with potentially breaking warranty and do things right.

I miss riding, it is my escape. My saviour from depression.

I hope somebody can assist here. Thank you!

 

[akbeemer]

If at all feasible, I suggest you take the bike to a different dealership. It sounds to me like your current dealership is either unethical, or not overly motivated to help an owner with an issue that will not generate any revenue. You could at least call a couple of other dealerships to see if they have a battery in stock.

You should also check the battery yourself or have it checked to determine if the battery is faulty. Many auto parts stores will check a battery for no charge, as will Batteries Plus outlets.

 

[stakker]

If at all feasible, I suggest you take the bike to a different dealership. It sounds to me like your current dealership is either unethical, or not overly motivated to help an owner with an issue that will not generate any revenue. You could at least call a couple of other dealerships to see if they have a battery in stock.

You should also check the battery yourself or have it checked to determine if the battery is faulty. Many auto parts stores will check a battery for no charge, as will Batteries Plus outlets.

Thank you for the suggestion! I am considering taking it to the other dealer even though it is almost 2 hours away. I did get the battery checked and it was faulty. I checked in the shop today and of course the GM no longer works there and the other person in management was in a meeting. I will try again next week and pull the bike out after I get in contact with BMW corporate case manager again.

 

[gregfeeler]

If at all feasible, I suggest you take the bike to a different dealership. It sounds to me like your current dealership is either unethical, or not overly motivated to help an owner with an issue that will not generate any revenue. You could at least call a couple of other dealerships to see if they have a battery in stock.

You should also check the battery yourself or have it checked to determine if the battery is faulty. Many auto parts stores will check a battery for no charge, as will Batteries Plus outlets.

That might be a short term solution to this problem, but if I were the OP, I'd be concerned about any future service needs and if I could trust them.

 

[stakker]

That might be a short term solution to this problem, but if I were the OP, I'd be concerned about any future service needs and if I could trust them.

I called the shop yesterday to check in and said the same thing about battery orders still not in. I just said my usual "just please keep me updated" and hanged up. Got a call an hour after that my bike is ready so it sounds like they went ahead and pulled one off from their display bikes to get me going. They also honored the 24-month battery warranty so no charge on parts and labor. I still hope this is one isolated incident as I truly support anything local business and I root for these guys to keep going. I think it is just a leadership failure for not providing the proper tools to their teams. Thank you all again for the suggestions I got my bike back today.

 

[pauls1150]

Yaaaay! I'd still arrange a meeting with the General Manager (NOT the Service manager or advisor) just to ask "Why all the B.S.???"

 

[Toruk]

FWIW If using the Optimate 4 canbus edition with the BMW canbus enabled 12v DIN socket/charge port you must plug into it BEFORE turning the cycle OFF. If using a charge lead hooked directly up to the battery this does not apply.

 

[kbasa]

FWIW If using the Optimate 4 canbus edition with the BMW canbus enabled 12v DIN socket/charge port you must plug into it BEFORE turning the cycle OFF. If using a charge lead hooked directly up to the battery this does not apply.

This is solid advice.

 

[mikegalbicka]

FWIW If using the Optimate 4 canbus edition with the BMW canbus enabled 12v DIN socket/charge port you must plug into it BEFORE turning the cycle OFF.

I can plug mine into either powerlet port after the bike is off just fine..

 

[allemande]

Dealer service issues

Hello, I also posted this on the other R18 forums site to find out if anybody here is affiliated with a US Motorrad dealership?

I came back from a business trip back in early September and was about to go on my weekend ride but alas, I am getting the dreaded clicking sound even though the bike(2021 R18FE) have been on a tender. I trailer-ed my bike to my local BMW motorcycles shop on September 9(Saturday) and they have per-determined that it was a dead battery but will know for sure when their mechanic double check it. I approved the work order for a battery replacement and did mention that the bike is still under the 24-month battery replacement warranty. The team said they will give me a call for updates and so I went home . Friday came and no phone call..I gave their service team a call and they stated that their battery order have not arrived yet and will let me know..you know how this goes, every week I have to call and check on the status and same status of battery order have not arrived to the shipment is coming from Germany which I find hard to believe as the battery is supplied by EPM in Maryland US for our R18s here. I emailed their manager about the situation and I immediately got a call back from service that they are trying to expedite. I emailed BMW Motorrad corporate support and got a call from a case manager and he said he will contact the local dealer as this should not take this long for a battery replacement. This was 2 weeks ago. No phone calls or email for updates so I called the local dealer again today and they said they still have not received their battery order and in fact it is now marked as backordered across the board. I asked if they could at least try and check with other dealers that might have it in stock(to which why didnt they do this from the start?!) and service said they will check.

To somebody out here that works at a Motorrad delearship/service..is there really a backorder for the R18 batteries? Is this the current state of customer service? All I ask is to be updated, I never showed my frustration on the phone calls and even just try to joke about "they're killing me smalls" for it to be taking this long. You all would understand that my patience is running thin at this point as we are approaching two months for a battery replacement. YES, I could have ordered it online somewhere but I did not want to mess with potentially breaking warranty and do things right.

I miss riding, it is my escape. My saviour from depression.



I hope somebody can assist here. Thank you!

Why don't you just replace the battery with an aftermarket model? Take the battery out of the bike, make sure you know the physical dimensions and either order a matching battery online or try you're local autoparts store.

 

[lee]

Why don't you just replace the battery with an aftermarket model? Take the battery out of the bike, make sure you know the physical dimensions and either order a matching battery online or try you're local autoparts store.

Read post #5.