I just fell head long into this issue yesterday. I use my X5 4.8is for business travel and as such, all expenses are covered, so the lucky BMW dealer gets all of my service on this unit.

Being a believer in the long term ownership benefits of OEM service and following recommended PM to the letter (exceeding it in this case), my opinion is that BMW knew this was going to occur and after bringing up cold climate issues that I read about here at X5 World and inquiring about block heaters or any additional maintenance to mitigate the big repairs - nothing extra was recommend or done. So now its repair time and the quote is $1,800.00, of course.

I am not going to do it myself and will have the dealer do the job. My question is, has anyone been successful in lodging a claim with BMW head quarters? I have every angle documented and to me, the issue is air-tight negligence. I paid a ton for the X5, and she is under warranty for 2 more years.

Feedback is appreciated - Thanks.