Strangest electrical problem ever...any suggestions?

[TiAgX5]

Expect to spend big $s if you own an older X and DON'T DIY (especially an N62 V8).

I've dropped over $1500 on parts/special tools for my '03 4.4 M62 over the last year (avoided the later N62 because of added complexity/failure/costs). The repairs I DIYed would have cost over $8000 had a dealer done them.

In order to keep cost of ownership less then 1/5th the dealer maintained cost, I ALWAYS find the time to troubleshoot/repair it myself (In the 4.5 yrs of ownership, my X has NEVER been to a dealer/indy shop, (the only work not done in my garage is tire mounting/road force balancing (done by Classic BMW, $260 a full set).

[pokemon]

Originally Posted by Budarooski

My last two repairs weren't done at the dealer...they wanted almost TWICE as much as what I paid. My last repair, because it was a mysterious electrical issue, had to go to the dealer to insure it was properly fixed.

As for doing it myself...a lot of the repairs requires special tools, computer equipment and reprogramming of the car afterwards. Heck, you can't even replace a battery without the car being programmed so that the alternator and battery play nicely. I've built several drag cars that ran in the low 9's, so I know a bit about cars. But with my travel schedule I don't always have time to wrench on the car...especially when the root cause isn't known. You want me to build you a Ford small block with a solid roller that run 9s on pump gas...piece of cake. You want me to figure out why my POS X5 kept dying on me when a european auto repair shop tested the alternator and every module for four days and couldn't find a problem...well, I can't do that.

The point is that no $80K car that is labeled "the ultimate driving machine" should have so many problems. That's just unacceptable. A stupid ass coolant pipe design cost me $3000 to repair because the transmission had to be pulled just to remove the coolant line...sorry, I don't have the tools or time to do that myself. When I bought the car I thought I'd drive the wheels off it...heck, it's German engineered...it's quality, right? Bulllllllshit. It's junk.

Very true. I don't need to be a male mechanic to own a piece of "ART", full or part time.