Auto Shop Horror Story
 

This is a terrific site with a wealth of information. This is my first post. I have a 2003 X5 with a 4.4 liter engine. It has 52k miles. About a month ago the brake light went on and I took my car to Sears to have the brakes repaired. I live in Monroe, LA so a quality auto shop outside of BMW was unavailable. After the six trips to Sears they were finally able to remove the brake light, and they replaced the pads and rotors. They also claimed there was a leak in the axel causing grease to cover the sensor and they charged me to fix the leak. When I received the car back from Sears, the front of the suspension was much, much lower than the back end. It was undriveable. I took the car to BMW and they adjusted the self-leveling suspension but returned the car to me with a dead battery. They finally jumped the car but the navigation now had trouble reading the dvd. Sears said they'd pay for the BMW service to fix the supsension so I took it to them and had them put in the new battery as well. Two days later I was driving and the transmission stopped working. Now BMW is telling me that I have to replace the transfer case. BMW wants 3500 for this. Does anyone think this could be the mechanics fault? Does anyone have any thoughts on a used transfer case? A rebuilt one? The car was driving perfectly before I gave it to Sears

Wow, I don't know what to say. I think these transmissions are built to go more than 52k. I don't think the mechanic did anything to the trans. Just a bad set of coincidenses.

Nman..I hate to say it as I'm sure you already know by now...But taking your BMW to sears was a terrible terrible move..Don't EVER take your X5 to a sears, wal-mart, jiffy lube, etc.. These places can be murder on a BMW...You said you live far from a reputable shop, but you took the car to the dealer after the Sears fiasco? From this point forward only take your car to the dealer for whatever reason, or search this board and find a reputable BMW indie shop that is familar with these types of vehicles in your area..

I'd say its more then likely that Sears isn't telling you everything (meaning what they did with your car). But that becomes a battle you really probably don't want to fight unless you have substantial proof that Sears F'd your car up.. I'd say at this point, get what you can from sears as you stated they will pay for the suspension problem. But from this point on, have your car worked on by a real BMW mechanic..Not some chaud from Sears...

They probably took the axle out to fix the leaky boot and then they did not put the spline all the way in the transfer case causing your new found problems and they prob took off the front leveling sensor and never reset the computer. Always go to s reputable mechanic

Not to go off-topic, but this is another Sears story. Last week, I performed a tune up on a 2003 330ci (plugs, filters and install a new valve cover gasket). I noticed the car had a serious, and I mean a serious oil leak. I initially thought the oil separator broke. Turned out, the oil filter housing cap was not screwed on all the way. When I changed the oil, the oil was filthy and the oil filter was just about to tear apart. I made a comment to the owner that the oil needed to be changed and he then told me he had it changed two months ago at Sears. They definitely jacked up the car, since there was no copper o-ring on the oil pan bolt and the gasket on the oil filter housing was trashed.

As far as the transfer case issue, BMW could do a "good will" warranty. I had my transfer case replaced last year at 67,XXX miles for free. Something worth looking into.

Daniel

Sorry for the hijack but ...

Man, how'd you do that? What I mean is, what exactly did you say or how did you make your case?

I don't believe they would do that just because you said 'Please'. :D

I have an update on the story. I just found out that when my transmission went out, the tow truck company may have towed the car incorrectly to BMW. They towed the truck with the front wheels on the ground and the back wheels raised. I have been scouring the forum and have been reading that if the car isn't towed with all four wheels on the ground, it can directly result in a blown transfer case. Also, the axle leak that Sears was replacing was one from the half shaft. They claim that they didn't have anything to do with the transfer case when handling the axle leak, but they had to have some handling of the spline, correct? If anyone has any suggestions or any thoughts it would be much appreciates.

I think you might be onto something with it not being towed on a flatbed.
I'd PM weasel or killcrap.

Another option, and may be better, is to ask the local BMW dealer and have them confirm if towing it like that would cause damage. Then THEY can back you up on a claim against the towing company.

Over here, I have heard that if its not on a flat bed. DO NOT TOW!!!! It will F*** up the driveline. So if they didnt tow it right.... call the company and tell them... get some letters stating how it SHOULD be towed and tell them to pay.

If its not on a flatbed..its flat out screwed and the tranny is toasted most likely..Plain and simple..Man it sounds like you got some real genius like people down in Louisiana where you live...(No offense)

If its not on a flat bed it was towed wrong. Call the tow company right away.

Sorry hear that. Sounds like the tow company owes you a transfer case.

Tow driver should know better, but did you request a flatbed for tow? Where you there when the driver came?

Anyway, sounds like you have a case. GL.

When I called the tow truck company, they asked for the make and model of my car. They came an hour and a half later and towed my car to the dealership. I was in the passenger seat in the tow truck. The driver never asked me about the towing procedure. I was unaware of the correct way to tow the X5 until I came to this forum. How far does it have to be towed for the vehicle's transfer case to go out? BMW said the actual transmission is in perfect shape... are their any other reasons that the transmission wouldn't catch?

Isn't the 4x4 system ''kaput'', not the tranny ?

The towing company / driver should have known better, but it is altimately the owner that should be looking out for his vehicle's well being. Sort of like you and your doctor, you have to participate in your health care.

I think it's standard procedure for all BMW vehicles to be towed only on a flatbed tow truck. All the owner's manuals, regardless of the type of drive system, have pictures of what right and wrong towing look like.

This should be a reminder for folks to read the owner's manual and get to know their equipment. I know I'll be reviewing the manual again to refresh my memory.

Thank you for sharing your story. Hope everything works out for you.

Page 177 in the manual says.

With Tow Truck:
Do not tow the X5 with the front or rear axle raised individually, other-wise the wheels may lock and the transfer case may be damaged.
The X5 may only be transported on a flat bed.

Goodluck again!

NEVER, with any vehicle, take it to Sears!!! I used to work for them years ago (not in automotive) and the guys that worked there were useless - they were always having customer complaints. Think about it - why would a good mechanic/ auto tech work there instead of a dealer or indy shop??

With that said, any competent tow truck driver should know an all-wheel drive vehicle requires towing on a flatbed - looks like they are the ones you need to go after, although Sears has some responsibility here bc if they had done the job correctly in the first place, you would not have had to tow the vehicle.