just brought my 2008 X5 3.0 to the dealer for 3 issues - so far a poor experience!

[chania98]

not even 4 months in and I already have 3 issues:

1. Sunroof when put into vent position, does not always want to close and if it gets stuck I have to shut down the car and let it rest for 15 mins and then it may close.

2. this morning I started the car up and the damn idrive screen was completely dead. I tried restarting and only after I let it sit for 15 mins before the 4th restart did it come back on.

3. one fog light on occasion is lit when I start the car. if i flick the fog light switch on and off, it turns off.

these all sound like computer related problems.

so far I have had a really poor experience on what is now my third bimmer in a row. if this continues, they will lose a bimmerfan to some other make.

I leased the car from BMW of Bloomfield (NJ) and I must have had the worst experience ever (I highly recommend that you do not get a car from them)

I had made a deal with them which included eating my two last payments of my outgoing X5 as bmw had $2500 back in Feb. Since my lease was only $500 per month, I figured I would net win $1500. They ended up paying only one of the payments and then acted like they never agreed to this. I escalated to multiple management levels and nothing. I am slightly at fault since I didn't specify it in the contract. Either way, I had an agreement with the sales person. Then the GM told me that he tends to forget things since he had some illness. No offence, but why is no on checking the deals he makes if he has an illness as a backup.

I took the car which was before the issue above with the last payment (i had received the bill from bmw fs). Once I took the car, I drove onto the highway and the left turn signal light was giving me errors. In the end, the car was missing the light assembly for the rear left signal. I had to drive from Brooklyn all the way out to them to et it fixed. All they said was oops, we must have used the original for a part on another car. Guess what else was missing...the ipod cable. Great...another thing that they used for another car. i sometimes wonder what else they took that I will eventually find ot the hard way.

All in all, this is one of the worst experiences I have ever had. BMW of Bloomfield is a mis-managed dealership with incompetent sales people. I had much better experiences at Life Quality in Brooklyn, the problem was that they could not get me a car during the window for the $2500 back.

[motordavid]

Other than that, Welcome to the X5World Board, ...
BR,mD

[kimg9582]

Just in case, if you haven't already, I recommend to double check the tire pressure.

[drod]

sorry to hear about your recent experiences... hope it ends there!!

i've had one minor problem so far (faulty PDC switch which was easily replaced) so i have nothing but good things to say about my bimmer...

but you're not alone on computer related issues... most manufacturers are doing the same (incorporating sophisticated software applications into their designs for monitoring and maintenance) and honestly they are also experiencing similar issues..

Honda/Acura and even Toyota forums mention software related glitches...

make sure you get the latest firmware update... give it some time... if it doesn't get better than chuck it!!

[chania98]

don't get me wrong, I do love the car, especially the way a 5,000 truck drives !, but the damn problems and Dealer issues are a real turn-off. We are paying good money and should not be experiencing these issues.

[erick_c]

Welcome to X5 World.

I've had horrible dealer experiences here in Korea and I don't speak Korean (can you imagine the frustration multiply exponentially with the language barrier). But I think I demanded too much. I expected that because I owned a BMW, that I should be treated like I own a BMW. Well, EVERYONE coming to the service center owns a BMW and some own one that more expensive than yours. So it didn't work out to well, especially when a guy drives in his M5 and parked it next to my 3-er .

So, I found a new service center (since I've successfully managed to alienate the other one) and became more compliant. Now, I wasn't a pushover, when I wanted something done quickly, I still demanded it but I do it with tact.

What do I get for being agreeable?

My car was once picked up (from my garage) by a service center representative and a '07 525i was left as my loaner. Now, BMW Korea has a limited pool of loaner cars to hand out to ALL of their service centers. So, getting one is a PITA.

So far, my experience with my 'new' service center has been great. I've befriended the Service Center Manager and I'm A LOT more compliant now because I know I don't want to piss this guy off and because I know he'll try his best to take care of my car.

Find one that will take care of you.

[alexmish]

The #3 complain on your list - this is not a problem! If your wheels were turned left or right when you parked the car, that side's "cornering" fog light will lit up. This is normal, as designed !

[rh71]

Originally Posted by alexmish

The #3 complain on your list - this is not a problem! If your wheels were turned left or right when you parked the car, that side's "cornering" fog light will lit up. This is normal, as designed !

Yup. And also for #1, make sure you're pressing the button ALL THE WAY forward to bring the moonroof back down from the vent position. The button should actually click.

For #2, I've had the idrive be unresponsive twice so far. Once was the DVD/NAV didn't want to cooperate but everything else worked. The other time just this weekend was the NAV map was up and tracking while I drove but no other idrive functions, including the side screen, would come up. Menu button did nothing. Both times a restart of the car next time resolved it. Dang computers - this thing needs a reboot button (while driving - perhaps not very safe though).

[X5audi]

Originally Posted by erick_c

I've had horrible dealer experiences here in Korea and I don't speak Korean (can you imagine the frustration multiply exponentially with the language barrier).

I'm sorry, but how does that even work?

Carry on.

[erick_c]

Originally Posted by X5audi

I'm sorry, but how does that even work?

It doesn't... you use 'external resources'. (friends, etc.)

or you find a service center with an English Speaker...