[Jlam86]

***This has been written to share my experience with the fellow community on how my BMW almost killed my family and I twice and BMW North America’s response to it***


*******For those of you who aren’t a fan of reading, here is a summarized version************

-Purchased a certified pre-owned BMW X5 while still under full bumper to bumper warranty
-car has a slough of problems from day of purchase
-vehicle in for repairs for a total of 75 days, 11 visits, in the past 1.5 years of ownership
-car went into limp mode twice nearly killing my family and I
-After discussions among BMW executives and a one-month investigation, BMW North America has waived one month’s payment and reimbursed me for a repair done recently (~$275) as final means of compensation. WHAT A SLAP IN THE FACE!
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On February 3, 2012., I decided to take my driving experience to a new level by purchasing my very first BMW. As a young family man, I selected a Certified Pre-owned 2008 x5 4.8i with the following factors in mind: luxury, style, performance, and most importantly, safety. Three weeks after taking delivery, my vehicle was back in the service bay for malfunctioning parts and missing goods that were not sold accompanying the vehicle despite being advertised.

As it stands, for the past year and a half of owning my CPO X5, it has returned to the service department for eleven (11) separate occasions with a total of seventy-five (75) days for repairs. Each visit did not only have one issue nor was any of these eleven visits for regular scheduled maintenance work.

When I initially shopped for this vehicle, my sales associate and pre-owned manager said there was no room for negotiations at all and the vehicle was priced higher than similar vehicles of the same make and model at other dealerships because it was part of the BMW Certified Series. According to the BMW website, this would have meant that my X5 has had to have undergone a “comprehensive 360-degree survey and reconditioning process”, “performed by factory-trained BMW technicians” followed by “rigorous checklist [ensuring] that everything is absolutely perfect before [customers] get behind the wheel”.

With 75,xxxkms on the odometer, 11,000 of which were mine, I have experienced the following failures: water pump failure, vacuum pump failure, water in lights, self closing mechanisms falling off, gaitors on the sun roof falling off, corroded wires, bad battery, broken trim pieces, squeaking components, coolant expansion tank failure, exterior window moldings detaching, cracked alloy rim, keys replaced, throttle body harness malfunction, new rear differential, transmission reprogramming, oil leaks from both valve cover gaskets, and oil leaks from both timing cover gaskets.

As mentioned above, I have put a total of roughly 11000kms on this vehicle only and with the extent at which this vehicle is requiring servicing, it is quite evident this X5 is not of quality and is definitely not fit for the service implied. On the contrary, I had $2000 worth of aftermarket audio equipment that was completely fried after having my vehicle serviced recently, but was told it was out of coincidence. When I had my vehicle towed in for repairs, everything was working flawlessly but now I am left with $2000 worth of paperweight and no compensation whatsoever.

Reiterating the reasons why I purchased this vehicle, it has not fulfilled my expectations at all. The build quality is delicate and fragile; performance is sub-par due to constant malfunctions, and the safety aspect became obsolete on June 6, 2013 when it nearly claimed the life of my family and I twice. My X5 went into limp mode twice, once while making a left turn against oncoming traffic, and once while in the fast lane along the high way.

The first error stated, “4x4 and DSC malfunction, reduced power” in the middle of a left turn against oncoming traffic. The reduction in power barely allowed me to execute my left turn completely. Had the vehicles moving towards me not applied their brakes hard enough while maneuvering to the next lane, my family and I would have been dead. After my first near-miss incident, I turned the vehicle off and turned it back on. To my dismay, the car was fine and all error messages were clear. The vehicle drove fine for a couple of hours. Then a second incident occurred, only this time, in a much more dangerous environment, the highway. I was driving in the fast lane on the highway, when suddenly, another error message displayed on the I-drive, “Engine malfunction. Reduced power”. The vehicle reduced speed so rapidly; vehicles behind me nearly rear-ended me. With every attempt to pull over to the shoulder lane, other vehicles behind me had to swerve out of the way to avoid colliding into my vehicle. As you may imagine, these incidents caused quite a commotion in the vehicle; moreover, the outcome of these two incidents could have easily been catastrophic for members of my vehicle or for other drivers on the road. To make matters worse, the tow truck driver dispatched from BMW arrived to tow my vehicle sixty minutes later and accidentally left my family and I stranded on the side of the highway as he drove off with my vehicle.

Needless to say, I am not happy with my BMW and doubt the integrity of the automaker as a corporation. I did not expect to be driving a courtesy car every few weeks, be limited to my travels over fear of being stranded, and certainly not have my vehicle jeopardize the life of my family. I have been very patient with BMW throughout this ordeal and all of the inconveniences and stresses this vehicle has brought upon me. In light of the recent near death experiences, I have contacted BMW Canada Finance Department, BMW North America, CEO of BMW Canada, the owner of the BMW dealership I purchased the vehicle from, and the only compensation I have been granted is one months of payment waived and a reimbursement to a programming issue I had with my transmission recently despite still being qualified for the CPO warranty. This was the best solution BMW North America came up with at their executive level and have made it very clear to me that my case is considered closed as there is nothing more they can do for me.

I am sure some of you have had much better experiences out there with BMW than I have had and some may have had it worse, but I think many can agree that when it comes to building automobiles, safety aspect is a high priority to any consumer and when it is compromised to the point where it throws you into the line of fire, an automaker would really need to step up the game to retain the integrity of their name if not the client themselves. With an insulting compensation presented, I have moved to another automaker and will never consider buying another BMW. My Ultimate Driving Scare is officially over!