Insurance row
 

My 2005 X5 was hit from the rear, and since then 3 warning lights - the red exclamation, the orange abs light and "4x4" light have been on.

The bumper was loose and one parking sensor was damaged due to the hit. The insurance company's body shop did the repair and called me just now that they had managed to clear the exclamation light. They suspect that the other two lights are not relevant to the accident, but probably related to the gearbox and may be cleared by a service. What a coincidence!

I am thinking to ask them to take my car to a BMW dealer for a service. If the service clears the faults and the faults don't come back in, say 3 months, I will foot the service bill. Otherwise I would insist the repairer getting my car back to drivable condition.

I am wondering if my request is reasonable and I would appreciate some opinions from you guys. Thank you!

BTW it's a non fault claim.

Tony

The repairer called again... The exclamation light is back on again. He said the exclamation and abs lights could be due to the age of brake pedal, and the "4x4" light due to gear box.

Stop listening to what they think and have the codes read and explained, in words of one syllable, to the insurance company so they can understand.

i would have the shop take it to the dealer to fix under the insurance. they weren't on before the accident. could be anything in the back. there are modules back there and there could be more damage than the found. was it a bmw certified autobody shop?

Agree with Mywidebody.

what insurance company did they have... let me guess, progressive, aka "nogressive"

Thank you for the advice. I will ask them to fix under insurance and keep you informed. Yes the body shop is bmw certified.

Let the shop fix it, but be aware that a common cause of both the 4x4 and ABS lights being on (given that they are two separate systems) is a failure of a wheel speed sensor or the wiring to the sensor. Both systems rely on the signal from each wheel speed sensor. Checking the codes will tell them if a sensor is out, and which one.

Guys, my insurance company told me that they asked an INDEPENDENT engineer to inspect my car and he concluded that the lights are not relevant to the accident.

The independent engineer is going to call me today, how should I proceed? Another engineer told me that he suspected changing the gearbox oil will put the 4x4 light off.

Tell them you want BMW dealer mechanic to check it. Does this engineer work for BMW or now how BMW systems work?

I am not sure if he's a BMW dealer mechanic... forgot to ask him.

He basically told me that the lights are not relevant to the accident but no information what's causing the problem... The car is due to be back tomorrow morning. I've contacted another BMW dealer in my town and am going to book a inspection service (£275 out of my pocket, the car is due a service in November though), which I guess should conclude what's the problem.

Please advice if I've been too kind to them. :yawn: :dunno: