X getting several issues fixed
 

My X must be telling me that it needs a rest or something. This morning I had to bring it to the dealer for the 3 following problems:

1) Burning smell and smoke from underneath the engine. I have been having this for a couple of weeks. Could not get this fixed sooner as I very busy at work which is good cause 2 other problems occurred since then.
2) Driver side window regulator gone (again!). Happened Friday last week
3) 'Groaning' noise when steering. New problem, just appeared today while driving to the dealer.

Here is my prognostic for problems 1 and 3. Will see if I am right.
Problem 1: Since the valve cover gaskets have already been replaced this year I am going to bet that the problem comes now from the oil separator line.
Problem 3: This happened for the first time while driving to the dealer this morning so I did not have time to check if the steering fluid level was low. I am going to bet that it is the steering pump which needs to be replaced. Another possibility could be that the fluid level is low but then that would mean that I have a leak somewhere as the level was ok a month ago.

Well I got it all wrong. Just got a call from the dealer. Burning smell comes from the valve cover gaskets leaking again! on the exhaust. The groaning noise I was hearing when turning was coming from the CV joints. They said the CV boots were cracks and the joints are worn although the last time I checked the CV boots 4 months ago they were ok. Anyway, everything should be covered under the extended warranty...pfeeeww!
I took the extended warranty on both of my BMWs the X and my daughter's 3 serie and on each of them so far I would have spent 4 or 5 times what I paid for the warranty. Bottom line, do not go without a good extended warranty with these babies.

Glad to hear these will be covered! :thumbup:

Glad to hear all of the repairs will be covered Alain. We too quickly learnt that the extended warranty is more than worth it when we had ours. The rr on those cv joints isn't cheap. Are you keeping your X5 past 100k?

Well I have 91k on it right now. My extended warranty will be over in June next year so I am seriously considering replacing it soon. However, between my daughter's college and the tone of money I am spending on my never ending divorce process I will not be able to replace it with a car of the same standing before 3 or 4 years from now.

Got a call from the dealer today. They say that there was a leak in the steering system and that they will need to keep the car probably until mid next week to fix that too. They said that it should be covered under the extended warranty but now because of the overall amount for all the fixes they need to wait for a warranty inspector to come and check it out. Bottom line I will not get my car before mid next week at the earliest. If it carries on like that I am going to end with a brand new X :-)

Got my X back today after a week of driving a f@#$ Chrysler Sebring as a loaner.
Here is what was done:

.Valve cover gaskets.
.Driver side window motor and regulator
.Right and left front axles (The CV joints were shot)
.Steering rack. (Steering rack was leaking)
.Coolant hoses

Total: $3200
I only paid $300 for the coolant hoses as they were not covered by the extended warranty. Everything else was :thumbup:

The steering is definitely better. I guess I did not realize that I had a slightly fuzzy steering before. Also I had a slight vibration around 80mph which I thought was coming from the tires. This vibration has disappeared so it was either related to the worn CV joints or the steering rack, I am not sure.

Gotta love a warranty! Mine runs out in April and I need to decide what to do.

Glad you are back on the road in your X :thumbup:

If you plan to keep the X5 buy an extension of the warranty if this is possible. With your mileage you are soon going to start having all sort of problems which will cost you an arm and a leg without a warranty.

Which extended warranty package do you have??

I bought my car from Carmax 3 1/2 years ago with their 4 years extended warranty. I must say that for me their extended warranty worked very well. I have bought 4 cars from them in the last 5 years which 2 BMWs and do not have to complain. They do not have the best mechanics but I never had to argue on anything related to the warranty.

Good to hear that they have taken good care of you. I've heard very good things about Carmax and their extended warranty seems to be very reasonable (in terms of price). I would certainly consider that route on my next car...sure beats taking the depreciation hit on a brand new car.

cv boots dropping like flies - maybe the aftermarket ones on ebay are better?

SELL YOUR CAR!!!!
Without the warranty you will run into MAJOR costs. Did you know a new/rebuilt transmission from the stealer is $6000 to replace? Odds are pretty good it will go out and you don't want to be stuck with that.

Just my two cents worth.