Parking Brake

jlforlife · #1 02-03-2008, 09:41 AM

So my parking brake decided not to release last night just as i was leaving a friends house in a -20 weather. I tried manually releasing it in the trunk and still did not work.

Any tricks at all? I havent towed it yet since it was going to take 4 hours for the tow truck to come. So i told BMW assist i will phone them this morning instead and have it towed. Thank God i was not in a remote area.

I have had some issues with my X. The brakes whistles when i stop, and i mean really loud whistle and the delear told me its normal - BS

stereo sound like crap although i have a premium sound. Steering wheel makes noise and now this. I only have 7000km on it. I really love this vehicle but why!!

brojor · #2 02-03-2008, 10:15 AM

I have premium sound and it sounds great. The clarity and punch are similar to what I get from large B&W speakers in my family room. There must be something seriously wrong if your system doesn't sound good.

I'm wondering if the extreme cold had an impact on your parking brake. With all these problems, you should not let the dealer/BMW off the hook.

Is there a "lemon law" in Alberta? Not saying that's your situation, but in MA, I believe if you bring the same substantial issue (not exactly sure how that's defined) to the dealer 3 times and it remains unresolved, you can get the car replaced.

jlforlife · #3 02-03-2008, 10:42 AM

thanks for the reply brojor,
i dont know if we have a lemon law. I will find out. BMW asist said tow truck will take 6 to 7 hours.
I even wonder how they can tow it if the tires are siezed by the parking brake.

lakai · #4 02-04-2008, 02:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brojor

I have premium sound and it sounds great. The clarity and punch are similar to what I get from large B&W speakers in my family room. There must be something seriously wrong if your system doesn't sound good.

I'm wondering if the extreme cold had an impact on your parking brake. With all these problems, you should not let the dealer/BMW off the hook.

Is there a "lemon law" in Alberta? Not saying that's your situation, but in MA, I believe if you bring the same substantial issue (not exactly sure how that's defined) to the dealer 3 times and it remains unresolved, you can get the car replaced.

Um.. Which B&W speakers do you have because the "Premium sound" is crap. I have B&W 802d btw.

brojor · #5 02-04-2008, 12:42 PM

Lakai, I have the B&W 803S speakers driven by Parasound amps and processor. Not as beefy as the 802Ds, so your standards may be higher. Yet I'm surprised that we're so far apart on the perceived quality of the Premium Sound. I know that sound quality is subjective, but I'm wondering if there is something different in the installations in our respective X5s.

fyi, the source I've been listening to is an iPod, with all content stored in lossless format. The tone settings are all flat (both tone and equalizer) with Surround Sound turned on. What seems to really help my aging ears is the high mounting position of tweeters in the corner pillars. The bass is reasonably sharp. The weakest part of the range seems to be in the midrange where it's hard to compete with B&W's kevlar drivers. But I'm satisfied with it nonetheless.

Good luck with yours. I hope you find a way to make this expensive option pay off for you.

jlforlife · #6 02-04-2008, 04:30 PM

well, just got back from the dealer. They "claim" thy dont have any loaners so the gave me a freakin ford fusion rental - not happy

Secondly, the nearest date they take a look at my X is March 11th.
Im more pissed. Im phoning BMW Canada. I doubt they can do anything about it though.

dkl · #7 02-05-2008, 12:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jlforlife

well, just got back from the dealer. They "claim" thy dont have any loaners so the gave me a freakin ford fusion rental - not happy

Secondly, the nearest date they take a look at my X is March 11th.
Im more pissed. Im phoning BMW Canada. I doubt they can do anything about it though.

So, you're basically making an expensive car payment, but only get to drive around in a fusion? That is absolutely unacceptable. I would demand some type of compensation for it at the very least. I hope you find out if there's a lemon law in Canada. In California (if I remembered correctly), if the vehicle is ever out of service for more than 30 days within a year's period, or if it takes the dealer more than 3 tries and still cannot fix the same safety related issue, then you'll get to make a lemon claim on it.

rh71 · #8 02-03-2008, 11:19 AM

This parking brake issue we've heard about a few times is getting worrisome. Is this an '08 model that you just picked up the last couple months? That would mean it already has the latest updates too and it's still happening.

Tango22 · #9 02-03-2008, 11:52 AM

I'm getting worried too. This is the second time in a week that I've read about this issue on the forum. I think I may avoid the parking brake when I get my X5 unless I park on some sort of incline/decline.

I'm curious to see how many people actually use their parking brake. This could be a serious issue with the vehicle and most folks wouldn't even know it because they never use the parking brake.

rufusdedog · #10 02-03-2008, 11:59 AM

You have to really pull on the cable with the tool to release it. If I remember right, it's about 3-4 inches of cable that will pull out.

I just got my parking brake failure fixed at the dealer. They have no idea why it happens, they just reconnected the cable and cleared the code.

I still can't believe this is something that won't happen from time to time due to poor engineering. Why would they include a tool, specifically designed to release the brakes after they fail, in the trunk?