Originally Posted by X5Sport

Get BMW UK involved ASAP.

They are sometimes useless, but have on a couple of occasions been helpful. And remember that if you've been charged incorrectly for work that did not need doing you may have a legal case against the dealer. Talk to your local trading standards folks too.

I would have expected that problems of this type should have shown up in the fault log.

I had a dealer try to charge me £500 ($1,000) for work that completely misidentified the problem. Eventually a different dealer found that the starter motor was the issue (this was completely missed by the original dealer) and all is now well with the X. I have grave misgivings about the technical abilities of BMW dealers in the UK. There is far too much reliance on the computers fault diagnosis systems, and not enough working from first principles. If the computer wasn't programmed correctly then it will never correctly identify the fault. A properly trained and highly experienced mechanic would work his/her way though the problem from basic to complex. They "talk the talk" but don't seem to be able to "walk the walk" - and yes it is probably fair to say the whole motor industry in the UK needs a major shake-up. It's been shoddy for too many years. I doubt I will ever buy another bimmer because I don't trust the franchised support available in the UK, and we don't have a decent independent dealer nearby.

If they misidentified the fault first time around demand a refund!! I certainly would not pay for more work.

You are quite tight about the glowplugs, I don't think they come on above 5deg C and a diesel WILL start without them - it just takes a couple more cranks. I've done it many times and never had an issue.