[Saffa_G]

Driving the other day and got cut off by some old fart, he moved into my lane and so I had to swerve to avoid him hitting me. As I swerved, with both hands on the wheel, I hooted and my thumb slipped into the roundel....as this happened the steering wheel tore on the ridged area around the roundel....

BMW say this is normal wear and tear and is not covered by warranty. I don't deem this is normal wear and tear. Wear and tear for me is when color and feel on the rim of the wheel starts to wear down etc etc....

What do you guys think about this? I think the steering wheel airbag perforations might be too weak in design and if pushed hard enough can cause a tear?

thoughts would be appreciated so I know if I should fight them on this or take it as a loss

[ZSP.3R]

Any pictures?




.

[VTECaddict]

picture?

[Saffa_G]

running down to the car quickly to get some on my mobile...be right back

[Saffa_G]

Whole Wheel - Look to the right side of the roundel in the following shots








Opinions peoples!!

[Saffa_G]

apologies for the huge images.... you want me to remove and resize? I wanted you all to see the close ups...

[dmz]

Well the perforation cannot be made too strong or they would not tear in a event of an airbag deployment.
You already admitted that you caused the tear by accident. Why would you expect BMW to cover the damage? On the bright side. This is an excellent opportunity to replace your steering wheel with the sports steering wheel.

[Saffa_G]

Thansk for your comments dmz, lets hope some other people can comment too....

Even though it is an accident this is a steering wheel and if you hoot in an emergency situation we don't expect the thing to tear.

Imagine if you are changing gears and shift a little harder than normal because you have to slam on the brakes or something and the shift snaps off! Lets see.....

[cb1111]

I can't imagine how that happened. While you might have caused it, I agree that a "normal" emergency action of whacking the horn should not cause that issue.

Unfortunately, most of us here on the board are from North America so we're really unaware of how warranty works in other places. Here, we'd just go to another dealer and complain that this is a safety hazard as it might affect the function of the airbag - there would be a 99.9999% chance of getting it replaced under warranty.

Let's face it - everything that breaks on the car is because of something that we "did" - the question is "was our action (driving over the expansion strip, hitting the "normal" pothole, honking the horn) so extreme as to cause the damage or was the damage caused by a parts failure that the manufacturer should have anticipated because it came about during a "normal" driving activity?"

A scratch on the roundel is "normal wear and tear," a dent in the roundel is "normal wear and tear" but a ripped airbag cover - caused by honking the horn - is not.

[Saffa_G]

Hey All, good news! BMW phoned today, the motorplan claim for the steering wheel airbag cover has been approved. They will replace it! Awesome news! Forsdicks BMW in Sandton, South Africa Rock!

[Bakeme521]

Thats good to hear, I def. think that should be covered b/c thats not normal wear and tear. The perforation line is needed in the event of an airbag deployment, but it should be strong enough that you can blow the horn.

[infinitigor]

Originally Posted by Saffa_G

Hey All, good news! BMW phoned today, the motorplan claim for the steering wheel airbag cover has been approved. They will replace it! Awesome news! Forsdicks BMW in Sandton, South Africa Rock!

i would try to push it, and ask for a sport. the difference in cost is probably marginal, and if anything pay the small premium for the wheel.

[fdriller9]

Replace the steering wheel? You guys realize the OP scratched the airbag right? So replacing the steering wheel would still leave him with a scratched airbag. And getting a new steering wheel would require him to get a new airbag so it would be very expensive.