X5 at the dealer for the last 2 weeks (and perhaps a week longer) [UPDATE BELOW]

[X5Boston]

Its been in for a laundry list of items. A couple have been with the vehicle since I picked it up in mid March but only recently got around to bringing it in.

- 2 recall items
- Transmission would shift abruptly and spend alot of time hunting for the right gear.
- In dash CD player which I do not use would turn on and start looking for a CD
- 3 dynamic drive failure. Occured once when going over a bump and twice while just traveling down the highway
- Loose exhaust
- Squeaking noises from the cargo area
- Front drivers heated seat only works for 5 minutes at a time. Requires turning off the vehicle and restarting to get heated seat working again. I was given the excuse that it's "normal" behavior. Of course the passenger seat does not do this
- Front drivers vented seat makes very loud buzzing noise when in operation

There might be more items but I honestly can't remember at this time. I did get a 325xi as a loaner but I do miss the power of the 4.8i. People always think I'm crazy when I remark that a 5000lb+ truck gets better performance than a 3 series. I'm not a big person at 5' 8" and 140lbs but I find myself smacking my head on the sunvisor, driver side window, and even the windshield. Call me spoiled but I miss the creature comforts of a nearly loaded E70. In the 3 series there is no nav, no bluetooth, no PDC (although it is a small vehicle), no power seats, no soft leather, no premium sound, no HUD, etc. Strangely I miss comfort access. Many people told me to "save my money" but I never realize how convenient it was to never have to search my pockets for keys.

I've been told many parts are on international backorder so all I can do is wait. In particular, several suspension parts appear to be in short supply. Not much else to say. Just wanted to rant a little.

[rufusdedog]

What were the recall items, or are they listed in your post?

[drod]

bummer... hope you get these things resolved quickly!

note: to be ashamed to let the dealer know how you feel...

if you don't cry, you don't get fed!!

good luck!

[topgear66]

Here is the script of my thread I have regarding my X5. The car was in the shop for 33 days and the delaer decided to buy it back. Sounds like you have some of the same problems I had!

Here is a link the the thread: http://www.xoutpost.com/x5-e70-forum/...-car-back.html


Hey everyone, its been a while since I've been on the board. Alot has happened since I was on, at least to the X5.

This has been a problem since the first week I got the car, the car malfunctions. I get multiple warning displays such as ECU FAILURE, IDRIVE FAILURE, HAND BRAKE FAILURE, DSC FAILURE, TRANSMISSION FAILURE and more I cannot think of. The car then trickles down as though its going to hibernate and lets me drive no faster than 10mph which has been a problem when this happens on the freeway. I am going to say this has happened 5 times now, even after repeated visits to the dealer. I have sent the car down to the dealer I bought it from now and they are inspecting it tomorrow. I'm fed up! I payed 80k for this car. I have spoken to my salesman and we've started talking about making the dealer buy the car back and ordering a new one. I asked him if I would claim it as a lemon and he said no because when they try to auction the car off as used the title must say why the dealer bought it back etc.

I know they are taking the best care of me, I have sent friends there who have bought cars and Im taking delivary of an M5 next week.

Im stuck in the mud...any suggestions?

(UPDATE) 9/23/07

My car has now been in the shop for two weeks now. They dealer said that the car cannot be claimed as a "lemon" car because it has only been documented once and it needs to be twice. Bullshit, I took it into the dealer 4-5 times which shows they either did not look at it or they didn't record it. Service ordered a new electronic handbrake after claiming the handbrake failure set off the transmission failure which is not possible because the transmission failed first. Once the new handbrake came in they tried reseting the whole system (ECU etc), which then rejected it. They have been in constant contact with BMW Germany ie. What to do etc. I have spoken to my salesman about ordering an 08 but I am going to wait it out and see what happens...So far we are at; new electronic handbrake but car will not take reprogramming.

(UPDATE) 9/24/07

Today I got a call from BMW Customer Service, I'm not sure if it was my dealer or BMWNA, and a lady was asking me how I was enjoying the purchase of my new BMW. I quickly interrupted her and told her I was actually thinking about terminating my lease contract and selling the car back. She stumbled and put me through to BMWNA customer service. I explained in detail what happened from the time the first problems occured which dates back months ago. I went onto tell her that the customer service at Bob Smith BMW has been appauling, I try repeatedly throughout multiple days to get a hold of the Service Manager or an engineer to speak to me personally and tell me exactly what's the diagnosis. I have still not heard from an engineer nor the service manager. I continued to tell customer service I have givin Bob Smith 10 cars of service, 5 cars of my own. Service also refuses to bring me up a loaner car, an x3, because I am an hour's drive away. The customer service rep then says she will out in a complaint to BMW's Service Department at Bob Smith, which does not even help becuase I still don't bave my 5 month old X5! Today, I sent all emails between me and any associate at Bob Smith, any signed papers and all financial paper work that was exchanged.

9/30/2007

Bob Smith BMW called yesterday telling me they are going to buy the car back, it is officially a lemon car. I'm driving my M5 for now and I really can't decide if I want to order another one, let alone another X5. I loved the car and still do but I don't know if I can risk having it happen again.

Let me know what you guys think I should do...

[jamesboags]

I've experienced two of your issues....

- In dash CD player which I do not use would turn on and start looking for a CD
- Squeaking noises from the cargo area

I am taking my car in on 30 October for some other items as well....

[The Big Easy]

TopGear, some of us know how you feel, my first E53 was also a take back as there were just too many things going wrong. It sucks, cause for the money, you really do not expect this - but it seems that now and there are some cars that just don't work from the start.

Good luck,

[drod]

I am so nervous about my 08 I'm almost tempted to purchase something else..

problem is there isn't anything else out there that compares with the X5's looks, performance, and wow factor!

but I can't spend my my work days going back and forth to the shop and having to fight with my dealer each time something goes wrong!

[golfer4life]

Originally Posted by drod

I am so nervous about my 08 I'm almost tempted to purchase something else..

problem is there isn't anything else out there that compares with the X5's looks, performance, and wow factor!

but I can't spend my my work days going back and forth to the shop and having to fight with my dealer each time something goes wrong!

I tell you, I was in the same exact situation. I was so nervous with my 07 E70 that I did not actually made the final decision until I saw the car at the dealer and I said the hell with the problems, the car is just too beautiful to not take home with me. You said it right, there's nothing else out there. If I want minimal problems, I can easily get a GX470 or MDX but the looks are not there. I was this close to a RR Sport, but then again, reliability. My E70 is 1 month old, 1600 miles. Took it to the dealer twice. The first trip, they didn't do anything. Never going back to that dealer. I went to another dealer. They upgraded the software and everything has been good ever since (knock on wood).

Yes, it's a gamble with reliability. I understand, this should not be happening to a 60 - 70+ K car. But life is never fair. If you ask me, it's a gamble worth taking, not an opinion but from my personal experience so far.

[X5Boston]

Well,

Got the usual spate of "Technician Cannot Reproduce" messages. One of the "fixes" was so off the mark I'm surprised they worked on the correct vehicle.

To sum things up:
- 2 recall items which included a brake cap replacement and one related to a possible defective line of some type
- Squeak in the rear was caused by a cargo cover. That is on order.
- In-dash CD player turning on at random is "normal"
- Front vented seat noised caused by defective fan which was replaced
- Software up to date so the transmission issue is considered "cannot reproduce"
- Loose exhaust caused by "defective suspension part" in the front which was replaced. Of course within 5 minutes of leaving the dealer, I went over a pothole and got the familiar "THUMP, THUMP, THUMP, THUMP" of a loose exhaust hitting the bottom of the vehicle.
- The seat heater issue is considered "normal and working as designed" which is BS. All the technician did was plug the car in and "found no fault codes" which means he didn't even sit in the seat. Of course this weekend, I turned on the seat heater and did the same exact thing. Works for 5 minutes and then stops warming the seat. All the light stay on and I can even change the settings in the iDrive. No matter how I try to turn the seats on of off, they never heat up again. The only fix is to shutdown the engine for 5 minutes and then restart.

New Issue:
- Whatever they did to fix the seat now broke the active seat. The seat only works for 1 - 2 minutes at a time before shutting itself off. Every 5th attempt at turning it on doesn't even cause the LED light in the button to indicate the seats are working.

I have a funny feeling the dealer is trying to work outside of BMW to fix things. I've been told to bring it in but it will "not be in the computer." They will provide me with a "loaner" but it will be a non-BMW and be from the local rental agency. All in all, this sounds kinda fishy to me.

Do they know something I don't? I checked into local lemon law requirements for personal amusement and it appears that I technically meet the guidelines. My vehicle has been out of service for 12 service days (as indicated by the days the dealer service department is working) within the first 12 months of owner ship. If this issue is not logged, then technically they can claim I was never there. Plus as far as BMW NA is concerned, everything was "fixed" the first time.

I know another BMW dealer did that to me once. They claimed "all service" was performed. On the drive home, the hood wouldn't latch even though it was "greased," I had to put 2 quarts of oil in even though the oil was "checked and topped off." and 2 tires were at 27PSI even though all tires were "32 PSI" That was another one of those "Bring it in and don't have them do a write up" incidents.

[seventhirteen]

Some advice on Lemon Law, with all the gadgets in cars today it's very important to know your rights when getting service. In my case the service department would remove my complaint / reported problem from the workorder if they could not reproduce the problem or not faults were found. They also attempt to give my car back after 3 days in the shop without handing me paperwork. I refused and they gave me a copy of the pre-workorder with my complaint of the problem. Under my state's law the dealership is required to give you paperwork stating what you brought the car into service for and what they did to diagnosis and/or repair the problem. It seems most service departments will only give you paperwork if they actually attempt to repair the issue. Under my state's lemon law it's diagnosis and/or repair. So, know your rights and refuse to take your car back unless you get the appropriate paperwork documenting what was done!