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      08-22-2013, 09:31 PM   #1
Jlam86
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e70 x5 nearly kills me twice and BMWNA's response

***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!
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      08-22-2013, 09:41 PM   #2
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Sad to say some of the 4.8i's were lemons. This is known and has been known for some time.

A good friend of mine had a 2008 X5 and same issues/problems. Over 12 months it was in the shop over 100 days. Out it went and his wife got into a new F series car.

Every time I spoke with him his X5 was either in the shop or having problems. I think it was the electronics on overload and it was just a lemon.

I have an 09 X5 and no issues.
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      08-22-2013, 10:02 PM   #3
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Man, it is very unfortunate and I can fully understand your frustration.

My 3.0 X5 I bought in June 2008, it was also "Certified by BMW", honestly I think these certifications are only as good as the mechanic who does check marks, in short, they ain't worth a shit. Mine had a few issues, but all got fixed - it was a little frustrating going back to service after picking up supposedly thoroughly checked vehicle.

So, until today we racked up additional 80,000 miles, although the car didn't have stellar reliability, I am happy to say that I never regret the purchase. But again, I think I had to visit service way too often, but that's the reality with these cars...
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      08-23-2013, 12:50 AM   #4
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Yeesh that's a pretty lengthy set of bills too. I managed to fight to have mine covered under warranty but it was about the time invested and the sheer inconvenience. But the last straw was the near death incidents.
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      09-11-2013, 03:21 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jlam86 View Post

-vehicle in for repairs for a total of 75 days, 11 visits, in the past 1.5 years of ownership
With those stats, you'd think you owned a Land Rover...

Our LR3, while we loved it when it was doing it's thing, was in the shop more than any other vehicle I have ever owned in our three years of ownership. And I have owned some for more than 10 years.

So far, our X5 has been much better than the LR3. Just tell me that LR isn't the ship you jumped to??
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      09-11-2013, 09:28 AM   #6
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Can you use the lemon law in this case?
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      09-12-2013, 12:35 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by thorny View Post
Man, it is very unfortunate and I can fully understand your frustration.

My 3.0 X5 I bought in June 2008, it was also "Certified by BMW", honestly I think these certifications are only as good as the mechanic who does check marks, in short, they ain't worth a shit. Mine had a few issues, but all got fixed - it was a little frustrating going back to service after picking up supposedly thoroughly checked vehicle.

So, until today we racked up additional 80,000 miles, although the car didn't have stellar reliability, I am happy to say that I never regret the purchase. But again, I think I had to visit service way too often, but that's the reality with these cars...
So yours was a CPO? If it was, then why do I see you having to pay for all the repairs?
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      09-12-2013, 12:57 PM   #8
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I wish BMW listen to their customer. I had an 2006 X5 4.4I had lots of issues also.
Now I upgrade to a 2009 X5M 4.8i individual edition. I love it so much. I have 85K on it and hope and pray it last. My two cents
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      09-12-2013, 01:11 PM   #9
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So yours was a CPO? If it was, then why do I see you having to pay for all the repairs?

What do you mean. You see only 50 dollar deductables and whatever is not covered by extended warranty.
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      09-12-2013, 01:46 PM   #10
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BMW's CPO only covers defective parts, and little else. It is worthless as are any of their warranties. Even the platinum extended version offered by the dealers has an exclusion...."normal wear and tear not covered"! I had to fight to convince my dealer that 62k miles is not normal to have sway bar end links to wear out.

At this point in time, I am looking to trade in the X5m.
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      09-12-2013, 02:27 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by thorny View Post
What do you mean. You see only 50 dollar deductables and whatever is not covered by extended warranty.
So what happened on 3/18 and 5/16 was not covered by the CPO warranty? What about 11/22?
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      09-12-2013, 02:44 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by P1et View Post
So what happened on 3/18 and 5/16 was not covered by the CPO warranty? What about 11/22?

Yes, they know how to write their CPOs. Lots of stuff falls into not covered category. Engine partition wouldn't be covered, redying steering wheel is cosmetic, battery is not covered, etc. that being said, I still think
It was a good decision. It would have been a lot more if I hadn't extended warranty
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      09-12-2013, 04:22 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by thorny View Post
Yes, they know how to write their CPOs. Lots of stuff falls into not covered category. Engine partition wouldn't be covered, redying steering wheel is cosmetic, battery is not covered, etc. that being said, I still think
It was a good decision. It would have been a lot more if I hadn't extended warranty
Thanks for the explanation. Mine is a CPO, so I need to be realistic of what will be covered once my factory warranty expires. All cosmetic issues will definitely be taken care of before that. My very good friend has a 2008 X5 (but the six cylinder) and he's had so many issues, he's seriously debating selling it. As a matter of fact, today another light came one saying his handbrake had failed. If I were him, every day I would own it would be another day where I might have to dodge a $1000+ repair bill.

Last edited by P1; 09-12-2013 at 04:28 PM..
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      09-12-2013, 05:03 PM   #14
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Wanted to share similar life-threatening experience I had with my 09 X6 recently. First time driving it on highway got a "transmission malfunction" error message, putting vehicle in limp mode. Actually completely disengaging wheels from the engine. Took it to my local dealership with this problem. Was told that it is nothing major, just had to reset transmission to factory default settings. Took it back and within a week saw same error "transmission malfunction". My wife drive the car and sent me same error as a screen shot on her phone, asking me what is this. I called the BMW dealership and explained to them that the problem has not been resolved by resetting transmission to factory default settings. They asked me to bring the car back in and they will take a look at it again. On my way to the dealership, I took highway 101 and at 65-70 mph same error with cars in front of me and cars in the back of me. My car is going into limp mode, no connection between wheels and engine, error message "transmission malfunction". This time I almost killed myself. Stopped in the middle of highway 101, restarted the vehicle and slowly continued to the dealership. Now I was told that it will cost me two hours of re-programming transmission and traction control units. Car has been at the dealership almost a month now. I will keep you posted on the progress. I love BMW for performance reasons, but safety does not seem to be #1 choice.

Last edited by igorbmwx6; 09-12-2013 at 07:55 PM..
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      09-12-2013, 06:53 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by igorbmwx6 View Post
Wanted to share similar life-threatening experience I had with my 09 X6 recently. First time driving it on highway got a "transmission malfunction" error message, putting vehicle in limp mode. Actually completely disengaging wheels from the engine. Took it to my local dealership with this problem. Was told that it is nothing major, just had to reset transmission to factory default settings. Took it back and within a week saw same error "transmission malfunction". My wife drive the car and sent me same error as a screen shot on her phone, asking me what is this. I called the BMW dealership and explained to them that the problem has not been resolved by resetting transmission to factory default settings. They asked me to bring the car back in and they will take a look at it again. On my way to the dealership, I took highway 101 and at 65-70 mph same error with cars in front of me and cars in the back of me. My car is going into limp mode, no connection between wheels and engine, error message "transmission malfunction". This time I almost killed myself. Stopped int the middle of highway 101, restarted the vehicle and slowly continued to the dealership. Now I was told that it will cost me two hours of re-programming transmission and traction control units. Car has been at the dealership almost a month now. I will keep you posted on the progress. I love BMW for performance reasons, but safety does not seem to be #1 choice.
Holy shit. That's crazy. Both this post and the OP's problems. Might be time for me to hit the highway away from BMWs.....
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      09-13-2013, 06:58 AM   #16
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What bugs me, is that BMW doesn't care. Once they've sold you the car, its adios MF'r!

I've been reading the Cadillac CTS V forums, as I'm considering the CTS V as a replacement for the X5m, and 1 thing I've noticed, is that Cadillac monitors the forums, and if you have an issue with either the vehicle or dealer, they get involved and resolved. Kinda wish that BMW did that here.
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      09-13-2013, 09:32 AM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by igorbmwx6 View Post
...I love BMW for performance reasons, but safety does not seem to be #1 choice.
Have you disclosed to the dealer that you've coded your car several times?
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      09-13-2013, 11:26 AM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by smyles View Post
Have you disclosed to the dealer that you've coded your car several times?
Smyles, I was not aware that by adding original BMW oem equipment to the BMW vehicle and coding car's VA to recognize it and be able to work with it will cause "transmission malfunction" error code to appear and put driver in a close to a deadly collision type of a situation.

There are individual BMW forums out there, dedicated specifically to retrofitting and coding your BMW with 1000's of enthusiasts and professionals, assisting each other with these projects.

What about BMW dealerships, who sell these retrofit kits directly at their Parts department counters? With suggested installation and coding instructions included?
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      09-13-2013, 11:44 AM   #19
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Woa, this is some dis-concerning stuff. I guess I better hold on to my 07 Tahoe since I have not had an issue with since I purchased it new.

Sorry to hear about this stuff but thanks for sharing.
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      09-13-2013, 12:54 PM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by i001947 View Post
Woa, this is some dis-concerning stuff. I guess I better hold on to my 07 Tahoe since I have not had an issue with since I purchased it new.

Sorry to hear about this stuff but thanks for sharing.
My 03 Cadillac Escalade did not have any problems either. But comparing performance between the two, driving Cady was like riding a horse with carriage. Sitting behind the wheel of an X6 gives me adrenaline rush every time. Lately for safety reasons
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      09-13-2013, 01:15 PM   #21
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Originally Posted by igorbmwx6 View Post
My 03 Cadillac Escalade did not have any problems either. But comparing performance between the two, driving Cady was like riding a horse with carriage. Sitting behind the wheel of an X6 gives me adrenaline rush every time. Lately for safety reasons
So true. I guess we can't have it all after all. It would be nice pair one of the X5 version with my 13 M3 for Winter driving duties while my baby sleeps until the spring. After hearing about all of these problems with the X5, X6 it's hard to find something affordable, reliable with some excitement too.
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      09-13-2013, 01:18 PM   #22
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Quote:
Originally Posted by igorbmwx6 View Post
Smyles, I was not aware that by adding original BMW oem equipment to the BMW vehicle and coding car's VA to recognize it and be able to work with it will cause "transmission malfunction" error code to appear and put driver in a close to a deadly collision type of a situation.

There are individual BMW forums out there, dedicated specifically to retrofitting and coding your BMW with 1000's of enthusiasts and professionals, assisting each other with these projects.

What about BMW dealerships, who sell these retrofit kits directly at their Parts department counters? With suggested installation and coding instructions included?
I'll take it as "no".
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