cat question again.....

[mixman812]

first let me say thank you for all the advice on this subject the first time around. ok now for the problem. my truck 02 3.0 83,000 is tripping a code p2096. to make a long story short ALL sensors have been replaced, o2, cam, crankcase valve, maf, etc. after a month of not finding the problem and replacing every damn sensor on the truck i gave in and brought it to the dealer. their diagnos was bad cat conv. so i gave in and spent the $2600.00 for the replacment. ok now here come the clincher, THE CODE IS STILL THERE!!!! the ses light is still on and it still trips the code. now they are telling me when you change the cat conv you also need to change all 4 of the 02 sensors. is this accurate? i have already replaced all 4 o2 sensors less than a month ago, but with the malfunctioning cats. is it possible the old cats have ruined all 4 sensors in less than a month? or is the dealer trying to get another $1000.00 out of me? they have let me take the truck without paying the bill to be sure that this will fix the problem before i pay for it so i do feel they are being honest. but is that an accurate diagnos? or is it time to do an insurance job on this truck?

ps. with these repairs i have put in over $13000.00 in out of pocket repairs, $5000.00 of which was a new transmission at 53000 miles. let this be a lesson to the newbies buying an x5, buy the extended warranty!!

[Tomaz]

I think the nest thing you need to change it your service location! Sounds like your getting ripped off.

[King]

Originally Posted by mixman812

first let me say thank you for all the advice on this subject the first time around. ok now for the problem. my truck 02 3.0 83,000 is tripping a code p2096. to make a long story short ALL sensors have been replaced, o2, cam, crankcase valve, maf, etc. after a month of not finding the problem and replacing every damn sensor on the truck i gave in and brought it to the dealer. their diagnos was bad cat conv. so i gave in and spent the $2600.00 for the replacment. ok now here come the clincher, THE CODE IS STILL THERE!!!! the ses light is still on and it still trips the code. now they are telling me when you change the cat conv you also need to change all 4 of the 02 sensors. is this accurate? i have already replaced all 4 o2 sensors less than a month ago, but with the malfunctioning cats. is it possible the old cats have ruined all 4 sensors in less than a month? or is the dealer trying to get another $1000.00 out of me? they have let me take the truck without paying the bill to be sure that this will fix the problem before i pay for it so i do feel they are being honest. but is that an accurate diagnos? or is it time to do an insurance job on this truck?

ps. with these repairs i have put in over $13000.00 in out of pocket repairs, $5000.00 of which was a new transmission at 53000 miles. let this be a lesson to the newbies buying an x5, buy the extended warranty!!

Holy smokes! Personally I have never heard of anyone replacing the transmission on an X5. I thought they were built pretty solid unless it's been abused by a previous owner.

The DEALER suggested putting in a new cat, and replacing it didn't solve the problem, there's no way I would pay for it! Seeing that you have already dug a deep hole with them, I would go ahead with the extra repairs on one condition...if it solves the problem, great! If not, then I would not be paying for the cat OR the new O2 sensors. Ask them if they are willing to agree to that. If not, tell them to put the old cat back in and give you a damn loaner while your truck is in the shop.

Put your foot down and damand some service. Don't keep handing them your wallet until you see some results. Tell them you've spent enough and they can use their goodwill fund to cover the remaining work to be done! You were given an estimate to fix the problem and that is what you agreed to pay. I wouldn't pay another cent!

[mixman812]

you guys are right. the tranny was out of warranty so i had to pay but this stuff with the cats is insane. here in vegas there are only 2 dealerships for bmw and they are both owned by the same company. it sucks. btw i bought the truck brand new. i am the original owner. so i know this truck is taken care of but maybe its just a lemon?

[PersonaNonGrata]

Originally Posted by King

Holy smokes! Personally I have never heard of anyone replacing the transmission on an X5. I thought they were built pretty solid unless it's been abused by a previous owner.

Scary stuff. This is the second transmission replacement on an X5 at around 50K miles that I have heard of this week. I can't say that it is a common problem but nonetheless I am sure glad that I bought an extended warranty.

[mixman812]

the problem is i replaced all 4 o2 sensors and they are telling me that the brand new ones i put in went bad due to the bad cats. but i will take your advice and not pay for anything until it is fixed. i just hope that i dont need a lawyer pretty soon.

[chubyball]

It is easy for some else to say about putting the foot down and demanding things when you are not experienced to any of these. I have been in this situation before with my old lexus LS400. I didn not have $3600 bucks to replace the CATs so I took the car back and replace just one cat with dealer parts (install some where else with labor of $50.) I see a little if different with the acceleration after replace it. But the code came back up few weeks later, I keep reset the code and expect some other engine codes appear. One year later, my car was sudden shook violently, I realized the problem was the second CAT and time to replace them. Rightway, I purchased OEM part and replaced it. Now the freaking engine code is still on, I just recently swap the O2 sensor (left to right) and see if the code will change, it seems to solve the problem, but I did not bother to replace the O2 sensor, I am still driving the car without fixing the problem I know O2 sensor won't hurt the car.

I think the best way to approach the problem before replacing the cat is trying to check the O2 sensor first by replacing. It's cheapper that way than replacing the CATs