Official 3.0 Diesel Engine Issues & Comments Thread

[stef]

First bad news for you, driving a X5 after a BoxsterS will be as cool as driving a smoothing-iron !

Second bad news, only the Range Sport and the X5 have a pleasant interior comparable to the Porsche.

The toughest might be the Toyota, but the driving experience will really be an "experience" for you !

The BMWdealer's bills are much cheaper than the Porche's one, don't worry...

;o) Stf.

[JBF]

Yeah tho the Boxster isn't as great as you'd think. Sure it's lovely on a sunny afternoon in the countryside but it's hell to drive in the city with huge pot holes, traffic jams etc. I remember when I first had the Boxster I couldn't believe how much power/acceleration it had on tap, you soon get used to it though and then it just becomes another car. Better to have one as a second car but I can't afford to run two at the moment and don't want an old banger of a daily drive.

Porsche haven't been too bad in terms of servicing costs, it's the other things they try to sting you with. I had a Major service (40k) at Xmas which cost me £500, not bad.

After the service they recommended new tyres all round (because one on the rear was a different brand and unevenly worn) at £1400 for the set, new discs and pads on the front at £700, brake fluid flush at £250 and a new climate control unit at £450 because there is a little bit of coffee damage to the display.

I had the rear tyres replaced elsewhere for £250 (and I recouped £100 by selling the tyre which was still only half worn on eBay). I brought the new discs/pads/sensors etc for the front brakes, plus new brake fluid for £300 and did all of that myself in an afternoon (means £650 labour if I had let Porsche do this!). They would have tried to make £2800 out of me when I put everything straight for £450!

Point being I guess that I won't get the Stealers to replace or fix something I am perfectly capable of doing myself because you know they'll milk it for all they can. It's the catastrophic failures which happen without any warning that scare me!

[stef]

Originally Posted by JBF

....It's the catastrophic failures which happen without and warning that scare me!

That's why Porsche are scary ! Especially early 2.5 boxsters, 996 & 997 ! (brooooaaaa, broooooaaaaa, POUF-pschhhhhhhhh !)
(Last one I've seen was a 997S with 3000km on the clock, 2 weeks ago during a trackday...it really sucks )

I've drove the 986 Boxster S (but I prefer my Elise... ) and it's one on my favorite Porsche because of the weight repartition compared to a 9XX (except the 964RS that I love) and the sound of the flat 6 when the top is open.

As a daily car in London, I can easily understand you. The best choice might be...... an e-bike !

Just have a test drive beetween the RangeSport the X5 and a Lexus RX400h to make your decision....

;o) Stf.

[omodos]

Have you checked other forums on what touareg or audi owners say about their 4x4s?? I haven't read of many catastrophic failures on the x5 diesels yet, I suppose do a routine check to see if coolant is up to par as is the oil level, and to be frank it is rare for any vehicle not to have any problem whatsover in it's lifetime, my wifes window mechanism on her 318 i packed in after 45k miles, turned out to be because of crappy quality plastic just gave way under the pressue of the spring at the end of the wires the roll up the window....thing is the n42 engine it has is so sweet.

I must confess the days of simplicity in most cars are gone now, and suppose it is a price we pay literally for all the extra luxuries, the more technology the more can go wrong, but I am sure the safer the cars too, see if you can find the right balance and you will be fine.....I drive the x5 but on my way home everyday I see a toyota landcruiser (1980's) model, and wish I had that too but wife says noooo...and wallet says no as well...gonna start using my moped to work as ironically enough moped owners do not give a damn about cars drivers and before you know it you have a broken wing mirror etc.

Anyway let us know if you find and x5 diesel owner expert or stats on how they rate please????

[JBF]

Looking at WhatCar owners reviews the X5 3.0D gets an average rating of 1/2 out of 5. Almost every review of the diesel model has a complaint about transmission or turbo failure. It's not just one or two of them either, there are pages and pages with many 'worst car I ever brought' horror stories. This is what's putting me off.

Out of interest, anyone running B30 in their X? How about B100; anyone made the leap yet?

[omodos]

Don't get one, I wouldn't have if I had read the reviews on the site

[JBF]

I know, scary.

But now I've brainwashed myself, I really want one and have eliminated all other potentials in favour of the X. The petrol models just won't do either.

They've got me by the balls!

[omodos]

Personally I wouldn't, I checked most sites like parkers etc etc prior to buying and they only gave a low level review of what to look out for, transmission or turbo failure was not on the list......to be frank I don't remember if anything was on the list, cos I am worse than you and would have been put off instantly! having said that it maybe a case of a few dud 3.0d and not all of them?I iwsh I new some bmw mechanics to see if the 3.0d do come in regular but alas I do not

[JBF]

Yes it could just be that one in every few thousand were duds and the people who had them are the only ones bothering to go online and share their experience. In a few of the out of warranty cases it looks like BMW have given a 50% discount on replacement tranny which does kind of suggest that there's a manufacturing defect. Where people are reporting bad lurches but not total tranny failure they are telling them 'thats just how they drive'. I wonder whether many aftermarket warranties would cover this or whether they would class it as wear and tear.

Like you say it would be nice to have an insiders view, ideally a BMW mechanic.

Edit:

The TSB at the bottom of this forum is interesting, the TSB is for the 5/6-series but they apparently use the same gearbox.

This thread is also interesting, tallking about the same gearbox.

[omodos]

JBF the threads were good, like I said in the 1 year I have drive then X I have had the thump feeling twice, once when I slowed approached a roundabout and then hit the gas violently and another time when I slowed at lights and then did the same, it is unnerving but as long as it does no damage then I can live with it, besides I have no other option I really do not want to splash out on a gearbox at 35km miles ! JBF for me the car is the best I have owned so far, and anyone driving it is amazed, if you get superchips to ‘ tinker ‘ with it, you will take off!!! .

Your best bet is to go for a test drive, and like you say most people who do go online do so to reports issues and not praise their cars, tricky one really, Japanese are reliable but doubt they have the same handling….. compromises have to be made, the more you scan sites the more you will become confused, reason I went for the x5 was the torque of the diesel the 30mpg town driving, the fact that I can park on the very high kerbs out here which you cannot risk for example with an M3 , and the space it has for passengers…..

Having said all that I suppose if like some of the unlucky lot on whatcar site you will just be happy to see the back of it and be happy with driving a Suzuki vitara! I was considering a rav and other japanses cars, but the interiors were pants, tooooo plasticky, and since I have been used to audi Mercedes and saab, I just could not make the jump to something inferior in terms of interior….will keep ya posted on my x5 ‘features’ hope it goes well for you, take your time on deciding, what about lexus in black?they look good…