Procion Posted October 28, 2022 Share Posted October 28, 2022 The shutters on my rad’ are stuck in the open position. From what I’ve seen on other forums this is not an uncommon problem on G30/G31 and others. There are no faults showing on the iDrive and if push came to shove I suppose I could replace the motor my self. However I think it needs ISTA to clear the codes and reset the positions. Does anyone know if this would be covered under a BMW extended warranty? I’m sure the first thing a dealer will say to me is “we need to run a diagnostic” at £175 upfront please. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Posted October 28, 2022 Share Posted October 28, 2022 28 minutes ago, Procion said: The shutters on my rad’ are stuck in the open position. From what I’ve seen on other forums this is not an uncommon problem on G30/G31 and others. There are no faults showing on the iDrive and if push came to shove I suppose I could replace the motor my self. However I think it needs ISTA to clear the codes and reset the positions. Does anyone know if this would be covered under a BMW extended warranty? I’m sure the first thing a dealer will say to me is “we need to run a diagnostic” at £175 upfront please. As you've found it is a not-uncommon issue. Whether ISTA will reset the positions I don't know but can do no harm trying and it should be covered under the BMW extended warranty so long as you have the all-component cover. This is not a wear and tear part so they should change it - not sure whether they'll want the diagnostic fee though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Procion Posted October 31, 2022 Author Share Posted October 31, 2022 (edited) Took the car to the dealers: Have to do a diagnostic 1st =£100 up front. Good news it should be covered by my extended warranty, subject to BMWs agreement. Bad news: I've got a £250 excess and they also need the car for the day. Couldn't make it up, it's a £60 part! Edited October 31, 2022 by Procion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dj123 Posted October 31, 2022 Share Posted October 31, 2022 check how easy it is to do yourself, if they're only £60 to buy. Should be a plug and play part Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr H Posted November 3, 2022 Share Posted November 3, 2022 (edited) When mine destroyed themselves by jamming, there was some "discussion" with the dealers until I produced a document showing that in the USA the warranty for these particular parts is extended to 15 yrs / 150,000 miles. End of discussion; all replaced foc. I've attached a copy of the document in case this is of any use. On 31/10/2022 at 19:55, dj123 said: check how easy it is to do yourself, if they're only £60 to buy. Should be a plug and play part I believe that is just for the fixed exterior grill and doesn't include the inner (moving) grill etc Active grill Warrant Extensions in USA.docx MC-10160279-9999.pdf MC-10170559-9999.pdf Edited November 3, 2022 by Mr H Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Procion Posted November 3, 2022 Author Share Posted November 3, 2022 Thanks for this, really useful stuff to throw back at the dealer, it might solicit some goodwill from BMW! Car goes in Wednesday, I'll post the outcome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ally Posted November 3, 2022 Share Posted November 3, 2022 (edited) Mines are stuck open too, with no warning message in idrive. I noticed poorer than normal MPG, and then noticed the upper shutters are permanently open. I’ve had a look in ISTA but can’t find the “how to” for replacing the motor, all I can find is a brief description of known issues. The lower shutter is also permanently open now, where it would normally be closed in some situations, I can never quite work out what that is meant to do, and when, in comparison with the upper shutters. Edited November 6, 2022 by ally Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ally Posted November 3, 2022 Share Posted November 3, 2022 10 hours ago, Mr H said: I believe that is just for the fixed exterior grill and doesn't include the inner (moving) grill etc I think dj123 is referring to the motor / actuator for the shutters. ISTA doesn’t seem to to show any procedure for the replacement nor settings for it (that I could find anyway), so maybe is just plug and play. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Procion Posted November 6, 2022 Author Share Posted November 6, 2022 I couldn't find anything in ISTA either so glad it's not me being thick. Think the issue with mine might go deeper than the shutters. Went down south Friday (140-mile ride) parking up in an underground car park. When I came back for the car this morning the shutters were closed! Latterly, I haven't noticed the cooling fans running after switching off, normally they sound like an idling gas turbine for anything up to 5mins or more. Admittedly I've not given her enough stick to get a "sweat on" recently, but the noise has been conspicuous by its absence. Like Ally, a defo drop in short trip fuel consumption and a longer warm up period. At the time of writing the cars been back in the drive for 3 hours in the wind & rain with the shutters wide open again. Temp' gauge has been stating all's well when running, just hope the turbos aren't cooking in their own juices when stood. Guess diagnostics will reveal all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Procion Posted November 9, 2022 Author Share Posted November 9, 2022 (edited) Diagnostics say....The bottom shutter has fallen to bits, jammed the works and broken everything. Parts not in stock at dealer, going back next week. BMW will cover cost. Edited November 9, 2022 by Procion I can't spell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ally Posted November 10, 2022 Share Posted November 10, 2022 Interesting, I emailed my local dealer to ask the question of extended warranty on these items, and have had no reply - no surprise as they really are not great at all. I take it the bottom shutter is not physically connected to the upper shutters, but likely is connected via control settings, and if either fails then it affects the other? I would be willing to buy and DIY the motor for the upper shutters but might not be the issue. ISTA didn’t show any errors yesterday when I checked, which is strange. It must see that they are permanently open when they shouldn’t be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Procion Posted November 17, 2022 Author Share Posted November 17, 2022 All done and sorted. They kept the car overnight as the front bumper had to be removed because of all the extra gubbins behind. About a full days work I'd guess. £99 for diagnostic + £250 excess on warranty, neither dealer nor BMW would budge despite my pleas and protestations. Don't know what a BMW specialist indie would charge but next time will ask. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NuggetsG31 Posted December 18, 2022 Share Posted December 18, 2022 (edited) On 28/10/2022 at 22:12, Procion said: The shutters on my rad’ are stuck in the open position. From what I’ve seen on other forums this is not an uncommon problem on G30/G31 and others. There are no faults showing on the iDrive and if push came to shove I suppose I could replace the motor my self. However I think it needs ISTA to clear the codes and reset the positions. Does anyone know if this would be covered under a BMW extended warranty? I’m sure the first thing a dealer will say to me is “we need to run a diagnostic” at £175 upfront please. The lower active air flaps (51137497285) on my G31 packed up a few months out of warranty (over 4 years, not over 100k). After I noticed them being constantly open (but no check control message) I ran a diagnostic myself using ISTA+ to confirm they were faulty, I then complained to BMW customer services first and then went to the dealership (didn't tell them I ran my own diagnostic of course). I argued that the same component in North America (with the same part numbers) has been given a BMW extended warranty of 10 years/120,000 miles because of failures. There is a BMW technical note on it - attached, so it's clearly not fit for purpose. The dealership started out saying it would cost be approx. £500 or at least a diagnostic cost but after a bit of sweet talking and making out like the dealership was helping me against the evil forces at BMW customer services, they replaced the component as a gesture of good will (otherwise it's a 4 hour job, front bumper off and £150-£200 part). I think getting it serviced at the same dealership all the while under warranty perhaps helped my case. BMW Warranty extension radiator active flap North America.pdf Edited December 19, 2022 by NuggetsG31 correct typos, add part number, add file attachment Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NuggetsG31 Posted December 19, 2022 Share Posted December 19, 2022 (edited) On 10/11/2022 at 00:20, ally said: Interesting, I emailed my local dealer to ask the question of extended warranty on these items, and have had no reply - no surprise as they really are not great at all. I take it the bottom shutter is not physically connected to the upper shutters, but likely is connected via control settings, and if either fails then it affects the other? I would be willing to buy and DIY the motor for the upper shutters but might not be the issue. ISTA didn’t show any errors yesterday when I checked, which is strange. It must see that they are permanently open when they shouldn’t be. If the lower flap is faulty you should get at least a position error when fault reading. In ISTA/D or ISTA+ you can command the lower air flaps to cycle. It operates independently of the upper flaps which can also be cycled to test them using ISTA. You cannot buy the motor for the lower flaps on its own, the whole flap assembly needs replacing as it's one unit (part 51137497285). ISTA also published the control criteria for both upper and lower flaps which are activated when a combination of ambient temp, coolant temp and a few other criteria are met. The upper flaps do have a motor/controller that can be replaced separately to the shutters it is part# 51749854640 (pictures attached). I've not needed to do it on mine (yet) but its a stepper motor with a cheap plastic gearbox so bound to fail at some point (seen posts online about a lot of wear/play backlash in faulty units). When I changed from chrome to black kidneys I did have to do some extra dismantling because they do not make a black kidney for cars fitted with night vision, the grills come apart easily enough and the upper flap controller isn't too difficult to access and swap once the kidneys are removed and the grille bracket is exposed. To do this there are several retaining screws along the top, the bottom of the grille bracket is retained with a grommet which fits over an adjuster (part# 51137416456) so should just pull off, it's then a case of ensuring enough slack in wiring for camera .etc and then tilt the grille bracket forward to get at the controller on the back, two screws and its off and can be swapped. Edited December 19, 2022 by NuggetsG31 should read the thread I'm replying to more closely.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Procion Posted December 19, 2022 Author Share Posted December 19, 2022 Apparently on mine its a "FBJ" thanks to additional Alpina bits. They ended up having to take the front bumper off so it became a two day job. Exactly what was replaced I don't know, on both sets of shutters everything appears new. Had a fully loaded, 22 Plate, Mini JCW as a courtesy car - could think of better things to spend 35K on. If someone is brave enough to go DIY, please make a video and post it up for next time! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ally Posted December 20, 2022 Share Posted December 20, 2022 On 19/12/2022 at 09:16, NuggetsG31 said: If the lower flap is faulty you should get at least a position error when fault reading. In ISTA/D or ISTA+ you can command the lower air flaps to cycle. It operates independently of the upper flaps which can also be cycled to test them using ISTA. You cannot buy the motor for the lower flaps on its own, the whole flap assembly needs replacing as it's one unit (part 51137497285). ISTA also published the control criteria for both upper and lower flaps which are activated when a combination of ambient temp, coolant temp and a few other criteria are met. The upper flaps do have a motor/controller that can be replaced separately to the shutters it is part# 51749854640 (pictures attached). I've not needed to do it on mine (yet) but its a stepper motor with a cheap plastic gearbox so bound to fail at some point (seen posts online about a lot of wear/play backlash in faulty units). When I changed from chrome to black kidneys I did have to do some extra dismantling because they do not make a black kidney for cars fitted with night vision, the grills come apart easily enough and the upper flap controller isn't too difficult to access and swap once the kidneys are removed and the grille bracket is exposed. To do this there are several retaining screws along the top, the bottom of the grille bracket is retained with a grommet which fits over an adjuster (part# 51137416456) so should just pull off, it's then a case of ensuring enough slack in wiring for camera .etc and then tilt the grille bracket forward to get at the controller on the back, two screws and its off and can be swapped. Many thanks for the info. Strangely, the upper flaps appear to be working again, I haven’t been able to check the lower flap itself. I could previously hear it moving upon locking and unlocking the car, can’t say I have heard that moving for a while now. I’ll have a play about with ISTA once I get the chance, good to know you can command them from there. Once of the first things I did was change the kidney grilles to gloss black, no night vision on my car so it was very straight forward. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Igor Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 On 19/12/2022 at 20:38, Procion said: Apparently on mine its a "FBJ" thanks to additional Alpina bits. They ended up having to take the front bumper off so it became a two day job. Exactly what was replaced I don't know, on both sets of shutters everything appears new. Had a fully loaded, 22 Plate, Mini JCW as a courtesy car - could think of better things to spend 35K on. If someone is brave enough to go DIY, please make a video and post it up for next time! Good evening, Could you please which dealership you went to for the lower grille replacement? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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