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Best Regards,
Shipo
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Is this free-lance, or do you have this sold? (is this nosy?)
regards,
kyfdx
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I like Shipo's idea, as well..
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hope springs eternal. and im still assuming my car has a problem that is fixable, but my dealer has not figured it out. mechanics i have spoken to at independent shops have suggested a couple of problems that bmw's have re leaks: like a plug that pops out in a drain line under the hood and allows water to run to the backseat; also a drain tube from the sunroof that gets clogged, so i'll try again to salvage this wonderful driving experience.
thinking back, every job this dealer has done has been done wrong, so it is plausible the dealership is poor. i mean if they can't even change oil, maybe the company is not to blame when they also cannot find a leak.
i have always been leary of dealers because of cost, but with my first beemer i thought i would pay the extra dollar and get better service. but the service is actually worse. that's a shock.
it makes sense though, since independent servicemen survive on expertise, but the dealer survives because you feel you have to go there.
tomorrow at 9 am, i try again. i have reached bmw north america and they have promised to talk to the dealer and see that they schedule an expert consult on my problem, so the company is trying to get the dealer to do a decent job, but they have not yet figured out how to do that.
i will say that everyone i have spoken to at bmw has been extremely polite and couteous. they have a wonderful customer service facade at least, i.e. they trreat you llike a prince, but the problem is they do not follow up with any kind of actual mechanical expertise.
we'll see.
Best Regards,
Shipo
response was "it is normal". Everyone who sat in the car commented on this
very intrusive noise, which occurred whenever the A/C was on, or when it
was very hot outside.
I now own a 2004 545i and while the fans are much quieter, they still make
more noise than most cars. It seems that it is part of the design of the cooling system.
I would still ask service to look into it, but don't be surprised when you hear
the answer.
good luck.
My current BMW, a 2004 545i is reliable overall, but I agree with you that they
are not anywhere near as reliable as the Japanese makes.
My 2003 Camry V6 was so dependable it scared me, and had it not been my
third Camry, I may have thought it was luck. Apparently not.
All three of them required only oil changes, and nothing else !! Not even a light bulb.
Furthermore their engines were Swiss-watch smooth to match, including their
transmissions.
My 545i, while it gets a lot of looks, has many small and mainly annoying problems, such as a creaky drivers seat (which is actually very annoying),
noisy/creaky window seals, a valvetronic system that sounds like a diesel
at idle, super-noisy sunroof, and a transmission that downshifts like
a shotgun and "lunges" from a standstill.
And lets not even discuss the run-flats which howl and wear out early in their
life span.
I know it is blasphemy, in some circles, to compare a Japanese vehicle to
a BMW, but I agree with you when it comes to the realiabilty aspect.
Note that German vehicles finish behind, both Japanese and American-made
vehicles in reliability and initial-quality surveys.
Said another way, you're both right. The 2001 E39 is probably rather noisy and the 2002 E39 is probably considerably quieter.
Best Regards,
Shipo
more noise than most cars. It seems that it is part of the design of the cooling system."
I own a 2004 530d and the fans are noiseless. I usually have the fan speed preset to 'low' by way of iDrive. When in "medium" position, they are a bit murmuring, but it is due to the blowing-air noise and not to the fan engines. When in "high" position, the blowing noise is however quite strong. Could that noise of you 545i be due to that?
Best regards,
José
Best Regards,
Shipo
My 2005 545 (build12/04) has none of the above mentioned problems. It has only 3,000 miles though and it is too early for tires (Re 050) to become noisy.
My 2002 540 (build 02/02) had a very noisy fan that made the car sound like an air-jet when accelerating (below 45 mph). 545's fan can hardly be heard and only when it is really hot and dry.
Best Regards,
Shipo
Best Regards,
Shipo
Best Regards,
Shipo
Best Regards,
Shipo
Any thoughts on this?
Thanks in advance.
Dz
But, but after 4 months, i had taken it to the dealer for schedule maintenance which as expected handed me a list of repairs needed to be done i. e. service + O2sensor replacement $550, drive belts replacement $200, catalytic converter x2 replacement $2461, rear main seal leak $1142, valve cover gasket replacement $548, radiator replacement $548, intake manifold $ 768. With discount we paid $5461 total.
Yesterday, we took the car for schedule II maintenance and paid almost $1000 and as expected we again got a list: coolant leak $1220, front control bushings $750, front crank seal $450, break and coolant flush $320. The car is driveable and there is no sign of trouble yet but there is a warning saying coolant is low. We opted not to have the recommended repaits done since it is not within our buget this month, but I need help, anybody who could recommend do this job for less or an independent technician in the Dallas, Tx area is greatly appreciate. I am a new BMW owner and need everyone's input. :confuse:
Reminds me of wind noise...has some high pitch noise in it along with flowing air noise.
After 30-45 mins or so of putting up with it the noise disappears for the rest of the day and shows up again the next morning after the car is warm again...
If I put the a/c fan on the second lowest speed it is drowned out...so it is faint but noticeable for people with normal or fine? hearing...anyone else notice that as well and it is normal for A/S?
Though all this the car has run just fine. I called my BMW Service Center and they say it's a software glitch and to bring the car in for a software update which takes 5,000 hours (or seems to); actually it's an all day affair.
Anyone else have this problem? If so, what was the cause? Also, after the iDrive tried to call BMW, it announced the call had failed. What does that mean?
As for your current problems, it sure sounds like the dealer is hosing you-for both scheduled maintenance and repairs. Why were the 02 sensors and cats replaced? Was the check engine light on? Were the cats rattling? As for the cost of an Inspection II, my independent BMW shop only charged me $700 to do the service on my wife's 528i-and that included new BMW brake pads on all four wheels. Now, your V8 would be a bit more, but certainly not over $300 more. As for the brake fluid/coolant flush, my BMW dealer only charged $143(BTW, the brake fluid only gets changed every two years while the coolant should be changed every three). I've owned my 1997 528i since 3/01 and it currently has 122000 miles on the clock; my total service and repair costs have averaged less than $800 per year-and that includes one set of tires.
As for the dealer's current attempt to shaft you, I'd want to know:
Just exactly where is that $1200 coolant leak?
How much oil is leaking past the front seal?
Why do the control arm bushings need replacement-is there a shimmy or vibration in the front end?
It really ticks me off when dealers treat service customers the way you have been treated. I hope this information will help make your BMW ownership experience considerably less expensive.
I am having some crazy electrical problems with my 1998 528i. The car has recently just been shutting down completely after I park. All the electrical system shuts down, Bad Battery? I just replaced the darn thing no more than 2-3 years ago. Now this is the crazy thing, after the car electrically completely shut down, I wanted to put my briefcase in the trunk since I could not even lock my doors, the trunk would not open.When I turned the trunk key lock, the car regenerated itself! All the electrical system kicked back on. What's Up with that?!?! Am I missing something? :confuse:
the fan. Now I know I wasn't going crazy.
Great information, thanks.
Martin
Run, don't walk, to the customer relations manager at the dealership. Take a summary of the dates, issues, number of days out of service and if the issue was resolved with you. I originally had a 2003 325i that was was in the dealer 8 times in 12 months for electrical, water in the car and transmission problems. :lemon: I kept complaining about my experience to the service manager but it went nowhere. I went to a Lemon Law lawyer here in CA. BMW agreed to take the car back. I replaced it with a 2005 530i and it has been flawless since taking delivery in late Jan. The first comment from the customer relations manager was "Why didn't you come to me in the first place?" Didn't know and wasn't told that she was there to help with these problems.
Good luck.
Earlier today, I had the V Belt and Air Conditioning belt replaced on my 99 528i, tonight, when I picked it up at my mechanic's after hours, after I started it, the Canadian "Check Engine Light" and the TrTransmissionafe Mode light were on, do these need to be reset, bebecausehe battery was didisconnecteduring the belt process, or do I now have a bigger problem. thanks Troy
This shop has been working on my car for a couple years adn was recommneded to me by another BMW owner. He has the equipment to read the codes. I thouge it strange that I woudl go from a belt problem to a Transmission problem, because when I took it in the tranny was fine. Originally the battery light was flashing, they check the starter, alternator, and battery and they were fine, when they looked at the belts, the V belt was cracked adn stretched and the AC belt was really cracked. I would agree I have a sensor problem and not a Transmission problem, I hope (-:
O2 sensors: is there any difference between Bosch universal and Bosch OEM besides the connector and $35? If not, seems sensible to use the universals and solder or crimp the OEM connectors to them
Spark plugs: The OE plug is NGK platinum with 4 prongs. These have performed perfectly for 100K miles, so I would ordinarily plan to install 6 new ones. But--I have always (well, since I bought the car at 60K) had mild detonation under acceleration between 2000 and 3000 rpm. Would a different plug help eliminate this?
Thanks for all your help!
2. The OEM plugs(assuming the plugs in your car are OEM) should not be causing detonation. I run 93 octane and have never had any problems. There must be another cause if the detonation is so bad that the DME can't eliminate it.