[teknic90]

So as it started getting hot this summer, I began to notice a slight "clunk" noise from my front suspension on my 2020 M340i xdrive. I have felt this before in my E90 335 (albeit that platform was the last to have a direct steering link which rendered more feedback) and it turned out to be a control arm bushing.

Read in the forums that there was a SIB for a control arm with this exact symptom. Took it in to the dealership and after they finally heard the "clunk" they found that there was an "aftermarket" tension strut that had been put on. Seeing that I purchased this less than three months ago certified, I was shocked and immediately called the dealer where I purchased it (was out of state).

After some back and fourth, they were finally able to tell me that the previous owner had taken the car to an authorized BMW/Dinan shop and had the tension strut ball joint installed. So I immediately am questioning the integrity of this certified vehicle knowing that this was not vetted.

The dealer where I took my car to said they can't replace it (still believe it is faulty) with another Dinan joint, but rather the OEM one. I would rather have this ball joint on and after getting the original sales record, noted it was still under Dinan's warranty.

So now my car is in a certified Dinan dealers shop where they are verifying the part is indeed defective.

I have some questions for the group:
1. Should I be making a bigger deal that this car was sold to me as "certified" yet this was found on the car? Are there more aftermarket parts I don't know about? Has it been tuned and did they even check for that?

2. Does anyone have this ball joint and have experienced a similar issue?

I'm awaiting the shops response to the noise and the diagnosis (which I think will be the joint needs replacing). Dinan should cover this under their warranty (including labor) and you better believe that I'll be getting the dealer who sold this to me to cover any expenses Dinan refuses to cover.

Just wanted to get the opinions of the group here as this kind of predicament is new to me.

[Jerrytarg6_m340]

Originally Posted by teknic90

So as it started getting hot this summer, I began to notice a slight "clunk" noise from my front suspension on my 2020 M340i xdrive. I have felt this before in my E90 335 (albeit that platform was the last to have a direct steering link which rendered more feedback) and it turned out to be a control arm bushing.

Read in the forums that there was a SIB for a control arm with this exact symptom. Took it in to the dealership and after they finally heard the "clunk" they found that there was an "aftermarket" tension strut that had been put on. Seeing that I purchased this less than three months ago certified, I was shocked and immediately called the dealer where I purchased it (was out of state).

After some back and fourth, they were finally able to tell me that the previous owner had taken the car to an authorized BMW/Dinan shop and had the tension strut ball joint installed. So I immediately am questioning the integrity of this certified vehicle knowing that this was not vetted.

The dealer where I took my car to said they can't replace it (still believe it is faulty) with another Dinan joint, but rather the OEM one. I would rather have this ball joint on and after getting the original sales record, noted it was still under Dinan's warranty.

So now my car is in a certified Dinan dealers shop where they are verifying the part is indeed defective.

I have some questions for the group:
1. Should I be making a bigger deal that this car was sold to me as "certified" yet this was found on the car? Are there more aftermarket parts I don't know about? Has it been tuned and did they even check for that?

2. Does anyone have this ball joint and have experienced a similar issue?

I'm awaiting the shops response to the noise and the diagnosis (which I think will be the joint needs replacing). Dinan should cover this under their warranty (including labor) and you better believe that I'll be getting the dealer who sold this to me to cover any expenses Dinan refuses to cover.

Just wanted to get the opinions of the group here as this kind of predicament is new to me.

If it's tuned your lucky. Those of us with '21 would kill for that

[teknic90]

Originally Posted by Jerrytarg6_m340

If it's tuned your lucky. Those of us with '21 would kill for that

It is for sure not currently tuned. But if it has been tuned and the EEPROM data shows it has been tuned then I can kiss my warranty goodby unless I can prove it was done prior to me taking delivery. After the warranty is up then it's game on with all the tunes.

[jpowers36]

Doesn't surprise me the dealer you bought it from did that.

I bought mine from a dealer and found out months later (because of consistent CEL) that I had a JB4 installed. So I was upset with the dealer and asked them about it. They weren't aware either but I was worried about my warranty. It's off now but lesson learned. I need to inspect my next car more thoroughly before buying. I was excited to get it so I failed to even check if something was plugged into the OBD.

Dinan should definitely help you out on this. Keep us updated.

[teknic90]

Welp, the Dinan dealer said the ball joint was good and did not need replacing. So now I'm left to take it back to the dealership and have them further diagnose.

There are a few threads going about this mysterious "clunk". Apparently there is no real resolution and some members are even reporting BMW buybacks.

Brand New Clunk https://g20.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1935323

M340i knock in front suspension / steering rack on expansion joints 45mph or under https://g20.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1731942


My guess is that BMW will want to replace the Dinan part, thinking that will fix it, but then realize it wasn't that part and it will be back in the dealership. So frustrating.

[jpowers36]

Tell them if the new OEM part doesn't fix the noise, they need to put the Dinan ones back on. I'd like to see what they say lol.

I hate the dealer mentality of "Aftermarket part is the issue, need to replace it with OEM". I've had similar experiences. I've had numerous aftermarket parts for a lot of my cars that were engineered and built better than the OEM equivalent.

[teknic90]

Originally Posted by jpowers36

Tell them if the new OEM part doesn't fix the noise, they need to put the Dinan ones back on. I'd like to see what they say lol.

I hate the dealer mentality of "Aftermarket part is the issue, need to replace it with OEM". I've had similar experiences. I've had numerous aftermarket parts for a lot of my cars that were engineered and built better than the OEM equivalent.

Exactly. I agree. Especially a Dinan part. But yeah, that is probably what I'll do. Just a PITA