New Member - Searching for a light in the dark world of BMW

[dpaanlka]

I'm a new member here, and an extremely unhappy owner of a 2001 BMW X5. It had been the family car since my parents bought it new in 2001, and I have seen it's many many problems come and go, and come back again! This was their first, and last German SUV, as they have replaced it with a 2005 Chevy Tahoe (a real truck) and have seemingly given me the problematic BMW, so that I don't have to drive my Camaro Z28 all over the place.

I want to like the car, and I love driving it. It handles great and still gets looks, like "what is that kid doing driving that." But the long long list of (often repetitive) problems makes me not like the car as much as the Tahoe. And it's kindof embarrasing:

1: Windows roll themselves up and down while the car is off, often in the middle of the night, and frequently during rainstorms. In shop twice for this. Once, because it poured into the car through the mysteriously open windows. And yes, my whole family, and large group of neighbors and friends, witnessed the car doing this, during a cook-out, while it was NOT in use, parked. It also happened once while I was alone with the car in the garage, working on my Camaro late at night, and it was very creepy.

2: Transmission exploded (!) in Pennsylvania. We live in Chicago. It was stuck out there for a month.

3: Rear seat climate control doesn't work. At all. No hot air, no cold air, no air period. (How can this be? How does air not get through a tube?)

4: Not a single cigarette lighter / DC outlet in the entire car works, except the two in the trunk. Yeah, that does me a LOT of good.

5: Doesn't play CDs. Your CDs, my CDs burned CDs, store bought CDs. It has the BMW Business stereo with DSP, and the 6 CD changer in back. Doesnt recognize any CD that I put in. Has been in shop twice for this, is going to have to go back for a third time.

6: Interior door handles don't like their paint. It comes off in your hands.

7: "CHECK COOLANT LEVEL". There is plenty of coolant, we've checked it ten thousand times. We can't check it anymore. Been to the shop once for this, and they said it was fine (FINE??). Went away for a day or two then came back. There was no coolant on the garage floor.

8: Engine oil temp guage clearly does not work. In the red on a cold startup, after sitting outside in the snow all night? Give me a break. No matter what, it is always in the red.

9: Rear cupholder doesnt stay closed. This is weird, since NOBODY ever sits in the back. I don't see how this could have been damaged. Maybe if it wasnt made in such a flimsy fashion.

This is what I can think of off the top of my head. If I think of anymore, I'll let you all know. Maybe I can look past all this and find the joy of driving the ultimate driving machine?