E70 broken down :( <3000 miles, 2nd dealer visit

Satan1974 · #1 09-13-2007, 05:57 PM

And so here it starts, looks like I may have a lemon. About a week ago, car reported "low battery" and then "critical battery". Booked it in to the dealer, with a FIVE DAY wait. Error went by itself by the time it was due to go in (no surprise there) on Tuesday this week. They had the car all day, found no errors at all, and gave it back without doing anything (not even a free software upgrade).

Today, my wife goes to pick up the children from school. I get a call whilst I am at work, the car won't start. She has got to the school, got three children in it, and it won't start. A £54,000 2 month old BMW, around 2,500 miles, and it won't start. No errors or anything, electrics are all fine, push the "start" button and the starter motor starts turning, and keeps turning, and keeps turning, but the engine doesn't fire. I have to leave work and drive to the school, in the meantime my wife calls BMW Assist. They report "we'll be there in 90 minutes". NINETY MINUTES!!! So I pick wife + kids up, drop them at home, and drive back to the X5 to wait for BMW assist. They arrive (about 90 minutes after the initial call), spend 15 minutes unplugging the battery and plugging it back in, check the fuses, and then report they can't do anything else. The car is too new and they don't really know how to fix them, and it won't work with the diagnostic equipment they have in the vans yet either. So he calls for a recovery truck. 50 minutes later it arrives, and the X5 gets hoisted up and taken away. I drive home, 3 hours after the initial call to BMW Assist. So, tomorrow it'll be back at the garage. What is the bet it will start first time in the morning and they'll say "it's fine, have it back". Well sod that. I want a full engineers report on exactly what the fault was and what has been done to resolve it. If they can't supply it, off to the lawyer I will go, and back the car will go to BMW for a full refund.

I read so many reports from people on here and E60.Net about recent BMW reliability problems, and I always thought they had just got unlucky. But the frequency of such reports seems to be on the increase.

Sorry but you just don't expect cars of that price to develop faults like this, or if they do, you expect somebody to race over within 20 minutes, chauffeur you home, apologise profusely, give you cash and wine as consolation, and guarantee to fix or replace your car. Well, that's what I think anyway.

Oh, and just before the car went on the tow truck, I thought I'd try starting it one last time. The iDrive lit up like a Christmas tree reporting "4x4 disabled. DSC disabled. Assisted start disabled..." ding ding ding as the errors scrolled along. I took out the key, sobbed a little, and skulked back to the E60, half expecting that not to start either. (As a side note, I have a new E60 ordered for delivery in 6 weeks time. I am wondering if that was a bad idea...)

jkish · #2 09-13-2007, 07:06 PM

Sorry to hear about your troubles... especially since I'm close to changing out my E53 for an E70. Scary stuff.

Have you met sickyute:

http://www.xoutpost.com/x5-e70-forum/...s-already.html

Sounds like you and he have similar problems.

Wagner · #3 09-13-2007, 08:19 PM

That is because it is a POS. j/k

First MY glitches.

rh71 · #4 09-13-2007, 08:48 PM

too much electronics in a car scares me too.. and I do IT work for a living... this is a car and while it's great with gadgetry everywhere, it may be asking for trouble when you need it the least.

I have only joined here for the E70, so how has their track record been with all other recent models ?

drod · #5 09-13-2007, 09:40 PM

that is simply unacceptable!!! period!!

many will say it's a BMW with cutting edge technology and the introduction of new technology means we should expect some issues and glitches and blah blah blah!! that's a load of crap!!!!

when these "technology" enhancements begin to affect a vehicle's ability to provide the most basic functions (start, drive, get you home...) they must be returned without a second thought and the manufacturer must be held responsible for perfecting it at their own expense...

we should never, never, allow ourselves to become this ignorant! if it doesn't work fix it or return it!!

don't sell it or offer it if it isn't perfect!!

my Toyota Landcruiser has NAV, power everything, and other toys....never, never, never had a problem in the years I've had her...

not one single minor problem... that's QA!!

BMW needs to step up or admit failure!!

I am now cancelling my 08 order and will wait till I hear and see major improvements!!

BGM · #6 09-13-2007, 09:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by drod

that is simply unacceptable!!! period!!

many will say it's a BMW with cutting edge technology and the introduction of new technology means we should expect some issues and glitches and blah blah blah!! that's a load of crap!!!!

when these "technology" enhancements begin to affect a vehicle's ability to provide the most basic functions (start, drive, get you home...) they must be returned without a second thought and the manufacturer must be held responsible for perfecting it at their own expense...

we should never, never, allow ourselves to become this ignorant! if it doesn't work fix it or return it!!

don't sell it or offer it if it isn't perfect!!

my Toyota Landcruiser has NAV, power everything, and other toys....never, never, never had a problem in the years I've had her...

not one single minor problem... that's QA!!

BMW needs to step up or admit failure!!

I am now cancelling my 08 order and will wait till I hear and see major improvements!!

Landcruisers are Toyotas which are known for longetivity. But they are not as complex at all compared to BMW technology especially the X5. I agree though that there is no excuse for a new car not to start--regardless of what kind of car it is.

Wagner · #7 09-14-2007, 05:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by drod

that is simply unacceptable!!! period!!

many will say it's a BMW with cutting edge technology and the introduction of new technology means we should expect some issues and glitches and blah blah blah!! that's a load of crap!!!!

when these "technology" enhancements begin to affect a vehicle's ability to provide the most basic functions (start, drive, get you home...) they must be returned without a second thought and the manufacturer must be held responsible for perfecting it at their own expense...

we should never, never, allow ourselves to become this ignorant! if it doesn't work fix it or return it!!

don't sell it or offer it if it isn't perfect!!

my Toyota Landcruiser has NAV, power everything, and other toys....never, never, never had a problem in the years I've had her...

not one single minor problem... that's QA!!

BMW needs to step up or admit failure!!

I am now cancelling my 08 order and will wait till I hear and see major improvements!!

Major improvements, you'll be waiting a while BMW has had FY model issues for the last decade. Should they have issues, of course not and the majority don't and out of the thousands and thousands produced having one person report it will not start isn't even a blip on the issue radar. You can't judge their performance by an Internet forum dedicated to helping people with X5's. The sole purpose of the forum is to help people with problems...so it isn't a shocker that most posts here are issues. However, that said..I've said this before..and I'll say it again.

3 types of manufacturer:

German : performance, handling, luxury focus
Asian: reliability, simplicity, durability focus
US: performance, speed, comfort focus

wessew · #8 01-11-2008, 11:03 PM

Many of these comments are one off and not statistical in nature. There are several objective sources of vehicle reliability which indicate the X5 (E70) is below average in initial reliability. One example is JD Power. The source is owners relative to owners of other vehicle. It is clear when you examine the data that BMW has a reliability and initial quality issue with these vehicles. Complexity is implied to be the root cause. More testing before new features are introduced would make a lot of sense. Ultimately, the X5 is designed to haul families and should be highly reliable. It is not.

swesson · #9 01-11-2008, 11:20 PM

I can only speak for my experience and it has been very good. I bought my e70, second year model in October. I have driven it in all conditions and put over 5,000 miles on it. It has been fantastic. No trouble whatsoever.

whoopy-do · #10 01-12-2008, 01:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by drod

I am now cancelling my 08 order and will wait till I hear and see major improvements!!

you would cancel your order based on a few incidents that u have heard about online...hmm i think ure jumping the gun there a little bit , what about the others that love their e70's and have no problems at all .....