BMW 8 Series Belt Handover System Fails at 131k km

Hey there! I actually had this exact issue with my 2018 BMW 6 Series last year. The belt handover stopped working suddenly, and it turned out to be more than just the tensioner. The entire belt bringer mechanism had to be replaced because of a worn-out motor and damaged wiring harness inside the unit. It was a pretty serious repair that took a full day at the shop. You definitely want someone who knows these specific systems, as they're quite complex and interconnected with the car's safety features. In my case, they had to recalibrate the whole system after the replacement. From my experience, this isn't something you want to postpone fixing, as it's a safety feature that's meant to ensure proper belt positioning. Make sure whoever works on it uses genuine BMW parts, that was key for my repair holding up well since then. Best of luck with the fix.

Thanks so much for sharing your experience! That's really helpful to know it was the whole mechanism and not just the tensioner in your case. My symptoms sound pretty similar to what you described. Would you mind sharing what the repair ended up costing you? Also, curious if you've had any other issues pop up with the belt system since getting it fixed? I've been getting mixed messages about whether aftermarket parts would work just as well, so your input about using genuine BMW parts is super valuable.

Hey again! Just wanted to follow up about the costs, since I had the repair done, it actually turned out that in my case it was just a bad belt tensioner after all, simpler than I initially thought. The total came to 455 € for fixing the defective belt bringer/handover itself. Way less painful than I expected, especially compared to what I was imagining when I thought the whole mechanism needed replacement! And good news, I haven't had a single problem with the belt system since getting it sorted. It's working perfectly smooth now, just like new. You mentioned aftermarket parts, honestly, I'd still stick with my earlier advice about going with genuine BMW parts. Even though my repair was simpler than first expected, using original parts really gave me peace of mind, especially for a safety feature like this. Trust me, it's worth spending a bit more for the genuine parts. The peace of mind alone is worth it, and you won't have to worry about compatibility issues or having to redo the repair later. Let me know how it goes with yours!

Thanks for the update! Just got back from the mechanic today, and you won't believe it, my issue was actually with the wiring harness! They found it was damaged and causing the whole system to malfunction. The repair cost me more than yours at about 800, but at least it's fixed now. The funny part was when they first looked at it. The mechanic spent a good 20 minutes just trying to diagnose the exact problem because these newer models have so many interconnected systems. He actually showed me the damaged wiring, it was pretty obvious once he pointed it out. You were absolutely right about using genuine parts. They initially offered me an aftermarket option, but remembering your advice, I went with the BMW original. Glad I did because apparently, these systems can be super finicky with non-original parts. Everything's working perfectly now, the belt handover is smooth as silk. Really appreciate all your help and advice on this. It definitely made me feel more confident about the repair decisions I had to make!