dailo

Hi,

So my car was towed from one shop who was fixing my PPF wrap to another shop to finish the wrap. The tow truck driver arrived with the front wheels being dragged and not using a dolly! (I was absolutely furious when I found out)
I was called over and had a look at the car, there is obviously damage done, as when I got in the car, every warning light was on (4matic unavailable, ABS Traction control unavailable, electronic rear differential lock inoperative, and a check engine light)

The towing company has said they will pay for the repairs, however I don't know the extent of whats been damaged and whats not.

I left the car there overnight, and the next day, no warning lights, nothing, car drives perfectly fine and I'm a bit confused now as to what has happened.

Has anyone had any experience with their 4matic being towed with the front wheels on the ground?

Thanks

bobblehead

Towing a vehicle equipped with a permanent AWD system on two wheels could result in damage to the coupling, as well as the transmission and various other drive components.

You should ask your dealer for the possible issues and have them check out the entire car. IMO, I believe there is damage done already.

TugboatBill

I agree. Take it to the dealer for a full check. Make sure they know what happened and how far it was towed.

Carac

Ooof. This might end up being VERY expensive for that towing company. Best case would be that your diff ate itself before the damage continued up the chain to the transmission and engine.

E634Me

Wow, so sorry to hear about this. You're trying to baby and protect your car and some oaf damages the car.

I wouldn't rule out a claim against the PPF wrap shop if they were the ones who contracted the towing company.

suby01

What a idiot. Hope it works out for you. Least damage and no out of pocket $$. Keep us updated.

dailo

Extremely painful....
The towing company took the car to their garage and wiped all the codes. They said since there are no more codes so there is no damage...

I am going to take it to the dealer for a full inspection, this week

Is there any possibility that something wasn’t damaged?

Dragging the front wheels I assume would only damage the transfer case?

E634Me

There's possibility and probability.

There is s distinct possibility that if I played it, I would win the next draw of the Powerball jackpot. The probability is low enough that I don't play except on an exceptional basis.

I don't know enough about how the front differential and transmission work together when the engine is off and transmission is in Park to opine on the probability that something wasn't damaged.

But either way, I hope for the best outcome.

bobblehead

wow. you should not have let the towing company clear the codes at all. Now, the dealer maybe unable to see what the codes are and will have nothing to follow up on.

TugboatBill

Here in the US that is the prelude to the towing company claiming there was no damage and denying any/all claims.

imack

Yikes! Time to get one of these: https://www.autocyb.com/

Ivan MacKenzie.

Carac

Since they wiped the codes is there any evidence that they improperly towed your car?...

It doesn't help now but I wouldn't have let anyone touch the car before a dealer printed off the fault code list and inspected the damage...especially the people that are hoping to avoid paying (worst case) for a new E63 drivetrain.

24Hours

Oh man, that is worst case... sucks and so sorry to hear. The towing company is definitely looking to cover their tracks, so retain whatever pics and records you have. I would push dealer on the inspection to dig deep too, not just a quick drive around the block.

Best of luck.

BlackC230Coupe

First off the dealer can still see the codes that were cleared. And 2nd, if there is damage and you are driving the car currently the codes will be back very very soon if (again if there is real damage). However you did not say, do you know how the distance they towed it like that?

dailo

Hey guys,

Just an update, I've had the car back for a couple weeks now. The tow was roughly 35km.

So far no codes, but I do notice some strange sounds coming from the front area of the car.
If I have the dynamic screen up, I notice a difference when the 4 wheel drive is engaged, the car has a weird slight grind feel to it, its hard to describe, but the drivetrain isn't smooth at idle, in drive, with the brakes holding the car.
If you come to a stop and the 4 wheel drive is disengaged, the idle is smooth as ever.

No codes have come back.

The dealership changed all the fluids in the gearboxes, and said there were no metal traces, although I would expect the filters to have picked these up if there were any.

Thanks again

bobblehead

did you tell the dealer of your mentioned concerns ? If it does not feel and drive right, there is probably something broken per se.

dailo

I have expressed my concerns to the dealer here, however they say they think the car is normal. Its definitely not normal, I can feel strange vibrations with the car in Drive and stopped when the 4 wheel drive is engaged. There are also random grinding noises when turning corners with steep inclines.

Does anyone have any ideas to help me ask for what to look for in terms of checking with the dealer? They seem to be clueless on how to diagnose the problem. Their opinion if there are no warning lights, there are no issues. They didn't find any small metal shavings in any of the fluids either.

Thanks!