Update on first problem
 

Just received phone call from AD- they will be replacing the WHOLE steering wheel column in the brand new car/ 300 miles-4 day old/. Service department doing their best, but this is really sucks......
QUALITY is a major issue for BMW. We all loves driving bimmers including myself, but with quality so low japanese cras looking more and more attractive.
Thanks, I guess needed to vent:confused:

Typical first year problems
 

It's a shame this had to happen to an X5 with only 300 miles on the clock:rolleyes: The good thing is that it will be done under warranty and you'll be back on the road. I would not compare BMW to any of the Japanese manufacturers. I'm a big Toyota fan and love their products, but no Japanese manufacturer makes a car or truck that handles like a BMW:thumbup:

You are right.......
 

ofcourse,but I just needed to vent my frustration. No japanese car can compare with the great ultimate driving machine/ o... they fixed problem and I am happy again/
ALEX

what was the problem that resulted in a total replacement of the steering column?

ignore my last reply, just found your original post.

Go ahead and vent... we are here to listen.

Keep in mind that all cars are built with parts that are mass produced. There are times when items make it thru the process and get installed but do not work properly.

I am not sure what the exact problem was with your steering wheel but... I am sure your dealer will replace everything with genuine parts and it will be just like new.

Add mine to the list of a new steering column replacement. Miles: 128

Also add:
1. Check engine light. Bad oxygen sensor had to be replaced. (On at 35 miles.)
2. Sirius radio installation gone awry. They cannot get the software on the vehicle to recognize the radio...despite having new "software shipped directly from BMW."

Total time in my hands: 3 days.
Total time in dealer's hands (post-sale): 5 days.

This is nothing short of unreal. It really makes me wonder how often I'm going to have to put up with these things. I expect FAR better than this from a 70K vehicle.

Joel

Glad I got my car early..... Everything works good.

They just loaded in the new software and I like the changes.

Woudln't getting it early open you up to more risk of early problems...?

Guess not.... ;) I am running good.

Well, not everyone is going to experience the same issues regardless, or any issues necessarily.

I even told myself, before buying the vehicle, not to get a 1st year production. So, of course I did.:nanana:

I really am a bit worried, however. I don't really want to get to know the BMW dealer that well. As luck would have it, they've at least put me into an X3 loaner. But that was only because I had a problem so soon after purchase. Otherwise, they were herding others over to the Hertz counter in the dealership. I cannot even begin to say how peeved I'd be if I were shuffling around in a Taurus right now, when my pricey vehicle was in for a repair.

I also worry that all this work will introduce rattles. I have the most sensitive ears in the world to rattles. All of my friends who buy cars have me ride in them to find out where a rattle originates. That's how bad I am.

Well, enough of my whining. I do like the vehicle...that is, I think I do. I really haven't had it long enough to say that I really do like it.

By the way, I forgot to mention what necessitated the steering wheel replacement: It would always lower to the lower-most position when I turned off the car, and never go back up unless I adjusted it manually. I read about that here, though it was after I took my vehicle in. If it is a software issue, I'll be back to being annoyed. (Why tear apart my vehicle for something that won't be fixed?!)

Joel

[quote=jbhorner] It would always lower to the lower-most position when I turned off the car, and never go back up unless I adjusted it manually. I read about that here, though it was after I took my vehicle in. If it is a software issue, I'll be back to being annoyed. (Why tear apart my vehicle for something that won't be fixed?!) [quote=jbhorner]

I had this issue too...went to the dealer and they witnessed it happening...one thing that the salesman did do (which I never did the first few days of ownership beause I have comfort access, was actual insert the key into the dash. Haven't had the problem since...wonder if this "initializes" the system? (The salesman didn't know what fixed it) Just my speculation in retrospect.

Yeah, the sales guy did the key in the ignition thing when I picked up the vehicle. He then shut the door, locked it, and then unlocked it. I presume this does something. He was very methodical about it.

I don't have comfort access (there wasn't a vehicle that had it on the lot), so I'm pretty much stuck with insterting the key every time. :-)

Thanks for the tip, though. For searches, this kind of information is important.

Joel

I don't understand. Isn't the wheel supposed to rise when you "remove" the key so you can get out and then go back to the memory position after you get back in and insert the key.
Sounds like your saying it goes up when you put the key "in" or am I just not understanding.

That's how I read it, sounds like the X5 is doing the opposite of what other cars would do. Is the X5 even supposed to move at all (to allow easier in/out)? I didn't think it had that feature.....

Hmm, Other than easier in/out what reason is there for the wheel to rise and go back to a memory position.

I meant as opposed to harder, the way it is doing it (incorrectly) now... I thought I was told or read somewhere on here that the X5 doesn't have that feature, that it's not supposed to move at all. And I don't recall it doing that on any of my test drives.

I'll try and describe better than I did earlier. The nuance with my particular vehicle's steering wheel issue is as follows:

1) I adjust my steering wheel so I can see the guage cluster in its entirety. For me, it is down a bit from the full up position, and up more from the full down position.
2) After I've done this, when I turn off the vehicle and remove my key, the steering wheel moves to the full down position.
3) When I next get into the vehicle, and start it, the wheel stays in the full down position it went to in step 2. Step 1 is completely lost---until I repeat it again when I start the vehicle.

It is silly to have to manually adjust the steering wheel every time I get into the vehicle.

Joel

Mine moves up when parking the car and then moves back down when I unlock the doors. Works great so far.

That is exactly what I want to happen. Heck, at this point, I'd be happy if it just stayed where I put it!

Yep, ours does the same. I was just admiring how much I liked this feature the other day. Sorry to hear you guys are having problems with it.

You mean it moves up from where you set it when you put the car in park, right? Then back down when you unlock the doors to get back into the car, or not until you sit in it and put it in drive/reverse...?

correction-
when I turn off the ignition (press the button) the steering wheel moves UP to the highest position.

When I get back in the car and start it (push the button) the steering wheel resets itself back down to the position I had saved.

After step 1, did you memorize your desired position ?

If you don't want to mess around with the memory button, try activate "Last seat position" thru i-drive and see if that help.

Great, just making sure... I wonder if that's an option you have to activate in the i-drive or something along those lines, I'm pretty sure none of the vehicles I test drove did that.

I did both. No go. I presume that the service tech. exhausted these things as well, before replacing the steering column. At least, I hope he did. :-) I'd be pretty annoyed if they replaced the sterring column for no reason. (I'm a firm believer that factor placement of parts is always better than service replacement of parts.)

Joel

Does the seat move back at all as well?

the seat will only move if you have two keys programed to two different settings.

as an example:
Key 1 has a position all the way back and Key 2 has a position all the way forward. Driver w/ Key 1 exits the vehicle with seat in his position.
Driver w/ Key 2 then enters and starts vehicle- seat will then move forward to her position.