Warranty coverage on X5M

[chris604]

Just wondering about my coverage for the warranty I currently have. I had 2 new issues crop up, one is the headlight module died, (I tried a new bulb, and nothing.), so am sure it's a 'module' or ballast or something. form the diagram on realoem, theres more than one. But, looking at my warranty coverage, it states the following coverage:
"
Electrical: Alternator; combination turn signal switch; Control Modules; ... "

So, since it does specifically state 'Control Modules', that must mean all modules, so the lighting ballast should be covered, right? It's just that they warranty company insists on the dealer, and the other shop I go to doesn't want to work with that warranty company, as it takes a long time to get paid. And the dealer will charge like $200 just to look at it, so if it's not covered Im out $200, plus repair costs, (If I wanted to go ahead). What do you think? Should I risk trying to get it covered under warranty? They did actually cover my last repair which was the parking brake module, so I'm somewhat confident in them.

Thanks!

[chris604]

Also, my 2nd issue was the cooling system. It was leaking for like a long time, as I noticed it always wet underneath the truck pretty much every day, but the fluid was clear, so I assumed it was water, and just thought nothing of it. Since, normally coolant is green, I didn't think it was coolant, but this coolant is clear, so It's definitely leaking now, as I have the low coolant light on. It's leaking right under the drivers side by the coolant overflow tank or somewhere in that area. So, in my warranty coverage it states: "COOLING SYSTEM: Radiator, water pump and housings." So, since it's probably the coolant overflow tank it should be covered, since it is a 'housing'? It could be a hose as well, or something else. And, I'll have to take another look, probably remove that lower cover underneath to get a better look at it, but I've heard coolant overflow tanks die often. Good idea? Or no?

[chris604]

Also, I see that there is no leak anymore. Didn't bother filling the overflow tank any more. says low coolant, but not leaking now. And, not overheating or anything, so, it's probably the overflow tank then?

[chris604]

Also, is it bad to drive a car with low coolant? I mean would it do any damage to the motor or anything? It seems like it just leaks out everytime I fill it up, and then stops leaking after a while. So, somewhere in the coolant system it is empty.

[jiggz]

Only your warranty company can determine yes/no on coverage for a given repair, based on your specific warranty coverage.

If it were me I'd take it to the dealer and have them deal with your warranty company - that's how I always did it when I had my E70. The dealer is likely more inclined to work with a warranty company than a smaller indy shop, and probably less bothered by a delayed payment from the warranty company.

You have a warranty, why not use it? The repairs are either covered or they're not... which leads me to - what type of warranty do you have? If it's an exclusionary warranty just about everything will be covered. If it's an inclusionary, you'll have all sorts of exclusions - those warranties are borderline worthless IMO.

I personally wouldn't drive one of these vehicles around with low coolant - not worth the risk. Get it fixed properly so you can enjoy it and not worry about it.

Good luck sorting it out.

[chris604]

Originally Posted by jiggz

Only your warranty company can determine yes/no on coverage for a given repair, based on your specific warranty coverage.

If it were me I'd take it to the dealer and have them deal with your warranty company - that's how I always did it when I had my E70. The dealer is likely more inclined to work with a warranty company than a smaller indy shop, and probably less bothered by a delayed payment from the warranty company.

You have a warranty, why not use it? The repairs are either covered or they're not... which leads me to - what type of warranty do you have? If it's an exclusionary warranty just about everything will be covered. If it's an inclusionary, you'll have all sorts of exclusions - those warranties are borderline worthless IMO.

I personally wouldn't drive one of these vehicles around with low coolant - not worth the risk. Get it fixed properly so you can enjoy it and not worry about it.

Good luck sorting it out.

Thanks for the advice. I did buy an inclusionary one. It did cover my ebrake though, which was $2500. I paid $3800 for it for 3 years / 36K MILES coverage. So, I'm into it basically $1300, so wanting to use it every time if possible before it expires. The reason I bought that warranty, was because I couldn't buy any other one, as I had already purchased the X5, so it was too late. Except of course for the dealer, which was $7k Per year!!!!, More than insane, so I bought the 3rd party warranty. I guess I'll be going back to the dealer in a few weeks. every shop and dealer I called in Vancouver has a 3 week waiting period as like everyone drives bmw's, lol. And, you're pretty much right about the small shops, as they also told me the same thing, in that I should go to the dealer if I wanted to try warranty coverage.

[chris604]

Originally Posted by chris604

Thanks for the advice. I did buy an inclusionary one. It did cover my ebrake though, which was $2500. I paid $3800 for it for 3 years / 36K MILES coverage. So, I'm into it basically $1300, so wanting to use it every time if possible before it expires. The reason I bought that warranty, was because I couldn't buy any other one, as I had already purchased the X5, so it was too late. Except of course for the dealer, which was $7k Per year!!!!, More than insane, so I bought the 3rd party warranty. I guess I'll be going back to the dealer in a few weeks. every shop and dealer I called in Vancouver has a 3 week waiting period as like everyone drives bmw's, lol. And, you're pretty much right about the small shops, as they also told me the same thing, in that I should go to the dealer if I wanted to try warranty coverage.

Got it fixed, (the headlight module at least.) $2100 from the dealer, but warranty covered it, YAY!! It cost me $100 deductible. They didn't cover the coolant expansion tank, and from another thread on here, looks like an easy job with about $100 in parts, ordered online I'm guessing. My crappy warranty is covering things though, so I'm happy. Cost me less than $4k for 36K miles/3 years. I made about $4500 in claims, with about 19 months to go in the warranty so far, LOL. I'm going for a record here, we'll see if I can get to $10k in claims by it's expiry. Wish me luck!

[quick]

Originally Posted by chris604

I made about $4500 in claims, with about 19 months to go in the warranty so far, LOL. I'm going for a record here, we'll see if I can get to $10k in claims by it's expiry. Wish me luck!

Be fair to the warranty company, use but please don't abuse it. Also remember there's also a max payout by the company too and if you keep going to BMW, they surely would suck all that out in few visits leaving you months of no coverage.

[chris604]

Originally Posted by quick

Be fair to the warranty company, use but please don't abuse it. Also remember there's also a max payout by the company too and if you keep going to BMW, they surely would suck all that out in few visits leaving you months of no coverage.

Yep, definitely. Well, the warranty company is trying to scam me looks like. I just saw my credit card statement, and even though I paid the warranty out in full back in May last year, they are now trying to sneak in a $200 charge, LOL. I will be calling them tomorrow to get that reversed, scammers.. OH, yes you're right there is a Max payout, it's $15K, so got a ways to go on it. But, I'm pretty sure, I'll have at least another $5k in the next year or so, as I can hear other things in the engine starting to go, like a loud wining sound when turning the wheels left or right hard, and the steering wheel shuddering when I do that (at a stand still that is), and the power steering tank overflowing all the time, and the auto levelling suspension is going wacky, the pump is like INSANELY loud now, when it pumps up the suspension and it never was like that b4. LOL.

[Spyro235]

Originally Posted by chris604

Yep, definitely. Well, the warranty company is trying to scam me looks like. I just saw my credit card statement, and even though I paid the warranty out in full back in May last year, they are now trying to sneak in a $200 charge, LOL. I will be calling them tomorrow to get that reversed, scammers.. OH, yes you're right there is a Max payout, it's $15K, so got a ways to go on it. But, I'm pretty sure, I'll have at least another $5k in the next year or so, as I can hear other things in the engine starting to go, like a loud wining sound when turning the wheels left or right hard, and the steering wheel shuddering when I do that (at a stand still that is), and the power steering tank overflowing all the time, and the auto levelling suspension is going wacky, the pump is like INSANELY loud now, when it pumps up the suspension and it never was like that b4. LOL.

will your power steering pump/ rack and the self levelling suspension be included in the warranty?

Does your X5 squat when it's been sitting for a while? Maybe a bag has a hole in it, and the pump is running too much. It's my impression that it's not usually the pump that goes, but the bags that go.

[quick]

Originally Posted by chris604

Yep, definitely. Well, the warranty company is trying to scam me looks like. I just saw my credit card statement, and even though I paid the warranty out in full back in May last year, they are now trying to sneak in a $200 charge, LOL. I will be calling them tomorrow to get that reversed, scammers.. OH, yes you're right there is a Max payout, it's $15K, so got a ways to go on it. But, I'm pretty sure, I'll have at least another $5k in the next year or so, as I can hear other things in the engine starting to go, like a loud wining sound when turning the wheels left or right hard, and the steering wheel shuddering when I do that (at a stand still that is), and the power steering tank overflowing all the time, and the auto levelling suspension is going wacky, the pump is like INSANELY loud now, when it pumps up the suspension and it never was like that b4. LOL.

Don't brag to anyone that you had $18,000 of warranty work done to the car or they would run away like a scalded cat, I know I would. I personally won't buy that bitch for sure

[chris604]

Originally Posted by Spyro235

will your power steering pump/ rack and the self levelling suspension be included in the warranty?

Does your X5 squat when it's been sitting for a while? Maybe a bag has a hole in it, and the pump is running too much. It's my impression that it's not usually the pump that goes, but the bags that go.

Just had new airbags and lowered suspension put in a few months ago. Pump is definitely going now, super loud noise coming from it, like a distorted loud noise, bizarre.

[chris604]

Originally Posted by quick

Don't brag to anyone that you had $18,000 of warranty work done to the car or they would run away like a scalded cat, I know I would. I personally won't buy that bitch for sure

LOL. Well, my theory would be that if I was buying it and the work was already done to it, then it would be a positive? A lot of the annoyances have been or will be taken care of on this X5M though. Plan on doing the tune, as well. Do you think I should just keep it for a while, or? I heard bad things about the motor at about 100k miles or so, like it just up and dies, from some of the threads on here.

[Autobacs]

Originally Posted by quick

Don't brag to anyone that you had $18,000 of warranty work done to the car or they would run away like a scalded cat, I know I would. I personally won't buy that bitch for sure

Works the opposite for me. The previous owner had at least 30K of warranty work done on mine before I bought it: new transmission, new turbos, control arms, vacuum lines. I'd rather have a used car with a lot of new parts in it than one that has not had any parts fail on it.

[quick]

Originally Posted by Autobacs

Works the opposite for me. The previous owner had at least 30K of warranty work done on mine before I bought it: new transmission, new turbos, control arms, vacuum lines. I'd rather have a used car with a lot of new parts in it than one that has not had any parts fail on it.

I would look at it a different way. The car must/could have been driven hard and put to bed wet hence the turbos/transmission, control arms etc... These are the types that would constantly need repairs hence the need for an extended warranty.

[Thecastle]

Originally Posted by quick

I would look at it a different way. The car must/could have been driven hard and put to bed wet hence the turbos/transmission, control arms etc... These are the types that would constantly need repairs hence the need for an extended warranty.

Not me, thats just typical bmw break downs except maybe the transmission. My E70 4.8i had a similar list of things break and rang up about 8k a year in repairs and my E70 X5M has been about the same.

Honestly, my X5M breaks while in storage. I keep my X5M stored in a garage for weeks at a time. Never fails to make me chuckle when I start it up and drive off and I smell burning oil or a check engine light flashes. haha.

Really E70s are old and have plastic embrittlement issues that cause a lot of maintenance. There is nothing unusual about control arm replacements every 60-70K miles (bushings fail), etc.

My X5M has needed the following
turbo coolant lines
engine partition
alternator
Turbo oil lines / oil return block seal
valve cover gaskets
rear main seal (very common)
filtered air ducts
PCV vent lines
MAP sensors
Filtered air ducts again (2x)
EMTL pump
front tension arms (bushings failed)
evaporator core
MAP sensors
Expansion tank (blew and leaking)
Expansion cap
turbo pressure converters
drivers side mirror motors (stopped moving)
rear main seal 2x
upper and lower oil pan gaskets
ETML pump
auxiliary water pump (very common)

Its had the injectors and air bags replaced under recall.

Probably a ton of other things have broken too, this isn't maitenance items like tires, oil changes, coolant changes, etc.

My only mods on the X5M are window tinting, 90C thermostat (installed this month) and a trailer hitch. Otherwise totally stock and with 60K miles. I would never own an M without an extended warranty.

My auto nation gold paid out nearly 20K in warranty repairs in 3 years for the above.

The other common failures I'll run into will be transfer case (replaced that on my 550i) and turbo failure. Which is common on the m, along with the rear main seal.

[quick]

Thought ^ you sold your X5M, no?

What coils have you all had luck with, elgar vs Bosch vs adelphi vs NGK?

[Thecastle]

Me? The M is paid off, so yes, I still have my 2011 X5M. I bought a second extended warranty that is exclusionary for 60 months/72k miles about 2 weeks ago. So I plan to keep the vehicle for a while. I don't actually drive it much maybe 6k miles a year, primarily used to tow my travel trailer now a days. So it’s accumulating mileage slowly. I daily drive a 2016 550i.

The m is a lot of fun to drive and we like it. But it definitely follows the industry average of where you’ll spend about 5% of the original purchase price per year on maintenance. So It should average about 5k a year to keep on the road, plus the m tax.

I have the stock coils on mine and never replaced them. I debated replacing them when I did the plugs when the car rolled 60k miles in December. But opted not to, as they don’t seem to fail a lot. Plus their about $180 for a set of 8 that maybe good for several more years. I’d probably go with the oem match which I think is Bosch.

[Thecastle]

P.s. I would not say that all BMWs need an extended warranty or are problematic. My 335d for example was the most reliable car I’ve owned outside of the emissions (which had real reliability problems). But the D didn’t have an extended warranty and the only thing I had go wrong outside of emissions was the ac compressor died. But it was really great. My wife’s 2013 mini has caused us nearly zero issues as well. Just a temp sensor failed requiring me to replace the tstat. Other than that it’s been solid as well.

The 2x e70s I’ve owned have been anything but trouble free. My f10 has been decent though I’ve had several issues as well. So moral of the story it really depends on the bmw model you own.

[luv135i]

Originally Posted by Thecastle

Me? The M is paid off, so yes, I still have my 2011 X5M. I bought a second extended warranty that is exclusionary for 60 months/72k miles about 2 weeks ago. So I plan to keep the vehicle for a while. I don't actually drive it much maybe 6k miles a year, primarily used to tow my travel trailer now a days. So it’s accumulating mileage slowly. I daily drive a 2016 550i.

The m is a lot of fun to drive and we like it. But it definitely follows the industry average of where you’ll spend about 5% of the original purchase price per year on maintenance. So It should average about 5k a year to keep on the road, plus the m tax.

I have the stock coils on mine and never replaced them. I debated replacing them when I did the plugs when the car rolled 60k miles in December. But opted not to, as they don’t seem to fail a lot. Plus their about $180 for a set of 8 that maybe good for several more years. I’d probably go with the oem match which I think is Bosch.

Which warranty did you find?

[Thecastle]

Motorist Assistance Plan (MAP). Purchased from advantage mini clear lake. I purchased this same warranty for my 2016 550i in June and had no problems with them covering new transfer case, engine mounts, and oil pan leak. So I purchased the platinum 6yr/72k mile, 100 deductible for the x5m for 5k. It requires an inspection and 30 day wait before coverage begins. Lifetime coverage 24,995 or approximately the retail value of my 2011 X5m with 60,882 miles.

The Autonation warranty was a better deal, but it’s nearly impossible to deal with the Autonation dealers here, they never call back, their phones often don’t work and you have to wait hours to meet with someone in finance. Plus they screw up your contract...... so if you can get it..., get it.

Otherwise this is a perfectly good alternative. I have no doubts I will get my 5k investment out of the warranty. One or two oil leaks, an xfer case, turbo, and etc. will break even in on this. Plus I can transfer the warranty to a buyer when I sell the car which will improve resale value for me. Or I can get a refund on it...

[Autobacs]

Originally Posted by quick

Thought ^ you sold your X5M, no?

What coils have you all had luck with, elgar vs Bosch vs adelphi vs NGK?

The consensus is that the Eldor coils are the best.