E60 problem thread

[jbaxter]

Originally posted by Josh_953@Sep 6 2004, 06:00 PM
I have a 2004 530i with the premium package and the dynamic handling package.

I have several problems with it:
1. There is a rattle in the passenger window when the car moves. It often occurs when I brake, accelerate or go over bumps.
2. There is a creaking in the driver's seat when I move around in it.
3. There seems to be a click, almost like a beep, coming from the rear right wheel well when the car is in motion. I only hear it when the car is moving slowly.

Any idea what these things may be?

Thanks.

[snapback]181536[/snapback]

I have a hydraulic stick-slip noise which comes out the the rear dynamic drive actuator when the car is driven at low speed in corners (eg. in a parking lot). Also a noise comes out of the actuator when the car is pulled up to a stop. The creaky (stick slip) noise last for about 0.5 - 1 second, then stops. Very annoying, but only happens when the power steering fluid (which drives the Dynamic Drive system) is warm - John

[dkeyes]

Hi there,im new to this board.I just got my 05 525 a week ago and ive driven it for 200 miles only.Problems already come.First bluetooth come on and off all the time secondly the lights on the pass air bag off is on 3rd there is a rattling sound coming from somewhere hope you could help me thanks

[dkeyes]

testing...

[kscarrol]

Originally posted by dkeyes@Apr 24 2005, 12:58 AM
Hi there,im new to this board.I just got my 05 525 a week ago and ive driven it for 200 miles only.Problems already come.First bluetooth come on and off all the time secondly the lights on the pass air bag off is on 3rd there is a rattling sound coming from somewhere hope you could help me thanks

[snapback]337051[/snapback]

1) Can't help w/ Bluetooth, sorry

2) Need some clarification. Is the Pass. Air Bag light on all the time. If no one is seated in the passenger seat, or if that person weighs less than something like 50 lbs., the air bag is deactivated and the light overhead comes on indicating that the passenger airbag is not active. When someone large enough sits in the passenger seat, the airbag is active and the light goes off. If this is not how yours is working, bring it to the dealer.

3) Going to have to narrow this one down. Turn off the stereo and figure out where it is coming from. BMW has had a terrible problem with the rubber door seals creaking or rattling. A new seal will be available soon and I am one of many waiting for them to come in. Some have reported a rattle in the back, either from the skibag or fold down seats, or from the rear window deck. Just going to have to figure this out. Early on I had a rattle I thought was in the rear passenger door, but I took the car in and rode around w/ a tech who figured out it was actually a loose screw in the headrest. Rattle gone...

[kch525]

I just got a 2005 525i. I have had the car for a little over a week and have noticed that driving over rough surfaces that there is a rattle in the steering wheel/dash area. It seems to only happen at slow speeds. I have tried to localize it but can't. It's bugging me but I am going to wait it out and see if it goes away as the car breaks in or my first service comes up. A few other disappointments so far: for a car of this price you would think the switchgear and interior materials of a car of this price would be better. I also find the 2.5 six is a little underpowered for this car. I knew this going in so it is not a surprise. One surprise is the idrive. I find it easy to use once you get the logic down. Any thoughts on the dash rattle??? Thanks

[kscarrol]

Originally posted by kch525@May 30 2005, 10:37 AM
I just got a 2005 525i. I have had the car for a little over a week and have noticed that driving over rough surfaces that there is a rattle in the steering wheel/dash area. It seems to only happen at slow speeds. I have tried to localize it but can't. It's bugging me but I am going to wait it out and see if it goes away as the car breaks in or my first service comes up. A few other disappointments so far: for a car of this price you would think the switchgear and interior materials of a car of this price would be better. I also find the 2.5 six is a little underpowered for this car. I knew this going in so it is not a surprise. One surprise is the idrive. I find it easy to use once you get the logic down. Any thoughts on the dash rattle??? Thanks

[snapback]348826[/snapback]

Are you sure it the dash? The E60 has a well known issue with door seals that give off a creaking sound that can be hard to isolate and may even sound like a rattle from elsewhere. It is present a low speeds on bumpy roads, but even the slightest bump in the road can give you the creaking. One test that may help, find a rough patch of road where you usually hear the rattle and very slightly lower your windows, don't even want a visible crack. If that makes the rattle stop, it the door seals. BMW has just introduced new ones to replace the creaking ones. I am waiting for my dealer to get the parts in to have mine done. It is really quite annoying.

[msmuller]

ghead

New to Forum. At wits end w/ my '04 E60. Numerous problems, but top two are multiple Active Steering failures and a passenger seat that doesn't recognize my pregnant wife sitting there ~1/3 of the time.

AS: Three extended sleepovers at dealer. AFS steering rack replaced. No subjective improvement later confirmed w/ subsequent warning light and complete loss of assist. Today, picked up car after latest fix - Micro Power Module replaced and car reprogrammed. Working.... for now. I'm skeptical. Are there smarter questions I should be asking? i.e. s/w versions, will this ever get right?, etc

PASSENGER AIRBAG: Love my wife. She weighs more than 50lbs, especially pregnant. Today, after picking up car w/ new "MPM" and reassurance it would fix the airbag issue AND the Active Steering problem (huh?), I place pregnant wife in car and.... the light stays on during ~one-half the afternoon shopping errands. No wonder we're pulling the US Army out of Germany. For heaven's sake, I'd rather keep the kids/dog permanently in back seat than risk not having airbag deploy for her. Any chance this thing can be set permanently "on"? It seems I'm not the only one w/ this problem... again, am I missing the right question? Should I be investigating lemon laws?

BTW, the dealer customer service department today also stated 1. that my vehicle is not compatible w/ Bluetooth (not true, I have the BMW Service Bulletin which describes the s/w upload and retrofit coding for my production date), 2. that they "were not sure" if I had rear air bags which would jeopardize the babyseat (thank god BMW NA was able to answer the question), and 3. that they are unaware of any problem history w/ the Active Steering or the Passenger Side Airbag.

Any and all advice welcomed... and to think I was contemplating buying the new version of the X5 in 2007. Never again on a first year model.

Thanks!

[JAH-04 E60]

I have an 04 530i with active steering, dynamic drive, and the premium package.
I am absolutely enamoured with the car; however, I do have several problems which include:
1. A rattle coming from the rubber door seals. BMW has repeatedly "fixed" it, but the rattle comes back after a month or two.

2. An occasional rattle coming from behind the odometre module which sounds like boiling water.

3. A rattle coming from the back seat. BMW says that this rattle is created by the rubbing of the leather on the seats and that this problem can only be alleviated, not fixed, with the application of Lexol in between the cracks. The sound is quite aggravating.

4. Sometimes when I unlock the car, a grinding or cracking noise will come from around the front of the car, possibly one of the front wheel wells. BMW attributed this noise to a door locking mechanism and they replaced it, but the problem was not solved by this.

5. For some inexplicable reason, the rear seat heating, which was rarely used, has ceased to function. When I try to turn it on, the green lights which indicate the level of intensity blink on and then go off.

6. Everyonce and a while, when I turn the car on and the steering wheel descends, a grinding or cracking noise which lasts about 1-2 seconds can be heard coming from around the steering column. When this happens, I almost always get a message telling me that there is an "Active Steering Malfunction" and it feels as though there is no power steering. This is resolved by turning the car off and then back on.

Please ask me to expand on something if needed.

[ray4bmw]

Got a question for you guys. I had a great 1999 528i that I sold. I bought a S 430 that I do not like. So i want to buy another BMW 5 er . With all of the probelms I see on this and other forums should I buy a 2003 or a 2004-2005? I buy used so I'm not interested in a new one. What do yo say?

[Charleston Chu]

Originally Posted by ray4bmw

Got a question for you guys. I had a great 1999 528i that I sold. I bought a S 430 that I do not like. So i want to buy another BMW 5 er . With all of the probelms I see on this and other forums should I buy a 2003 or a 2004-2005? I buy used so I'm not interested in a new one. What do yo say?

Kinda in the same boat... but i'm not lucky enough to have bought an s430... and not llike it...!! Anyways... Maybe BMW needs to get together with Pentium... to solve the computer problems!!

Anyone have anything to say about a late 1990's 5er like a 1998 or 1999 540? I agree with an earlier post that is seems like the one swith the problems are the ones with ALL the additional accessories... I live in Canada and there are almost NO maps available for NAV... so that's a waste... and also... Active steering? That just seems like one more thing to go wrong at a bad time... which seems to be the case... I find it pretty funny that the cup holder issue was EVERYONE'S problem... something that BMW must have overlooked! Something so simple!

Preston

[THE__ONE]

Hi ppl I'm from Australia and have just ordered for a 2006 plate BMW 530i E60 with few additional accessories...and oh my god...the problems seems quite major...the cup-holder i can do without...but Active Steering and rattling noises seem to be the main issues...I'm now having doubts whether to buy this car or just go with Merc E or Audi A6... what do you guys think???

[deeablos]

Hello

I have a 5.25 e60
I get a lot of noise when i apply brakes
carried the car to the dealership to have things checked out
and was told nothing was wrong
Got back the car and it makes a lot of noise still
I will appreciate any info how to solve the noise problem

[prash]

The car is silver on white interior (the interior is dirty but it can be reconditioned) and has 175Km. It's an auto and the tranny was replaced about a year ago (+/-10000km of driving). The engine was replaced underwarantee with 77,000km. I have yet to verify that with BMW Canada, but I plan on doing that tomorrow.

What are some of the common problems on these cars?

[d3ity]

Originally Posted by Alin10123

Holy crap! #2 is dangerous! what if you were doing some spirited driving on a curvy road?
"active steering initializing" that sounds like the computer tried to initialize the "software" but then sort of froze. You know? like sometimes your PC freezes up? I think they ought to stick with a more mechanical BMW and just let the computers monitor stuff like the e39 generation... that would probably cause a lot less problems.

New 5ers are apparently bieng shipped with Windows XP. If your car can "lock up" like that, the maker of the car should replace every car made with a working version, return the customer's hard earned money, beg for forgiveness from his customers, and if he refuses to do any of the aforementioned, be shot... repeatedly.

Granted, I love in car electronics, and shiny displays and cool tricks. However, when one of those things breaks, it should not under any circumsances directly cause a loss of control/accident situation. When it comes to steering, I do not want, nor need, a BMW engineer playing with what I am telling the car to do. Steering, is one of those things I DON'T want electronics involved in, especially unproven electronics. I want a piece of metal, hooked up to another piece of metal (Not plastic, like every carmaker thinks everyone wants) hooked up to the wheels. I want to be damn sure that the car will turn when I tell it to turn. I don't even like automatic transmissions. Automatic transmissions, much like "Automatic Steering" (or whatever you want to call it) is even more dangerous. Automatic transmissions have minds of thier own, rather than have a transmission guess when I want it to shift, I will tell it when to shift and it will stay in that gear until told otherwise. I lost my first car due to...well..inexperience, and an unexpected downshift from my transmission in the middle of a hard corner. Had I stayed in the gear that the transmission had originally decided I should be in, I would still have that car.

It's really a shame that BMW put out this car with such major issues. You'd think that thier R&D people would be able to catch such problems and incorperate failsafes.

[Alex MPower]

Ok....
As read all of the above some of you have a lot of problems!
So,my cusine 4 month ago bought a 2006 530, i love thet car! And you know what since he bought it he have never had any problems!!! I drove it meny times and i love it!!!
Some answers:
About steering wheel: at low speed it have a low rate,at high speed the rate is higher,and some times when you go from low to high speed very fast,on the corners the computer doesn't have enouth time to change from low to high and back,it takes some time to change it! And i realy think it depends on car and on driver. but when my cusine bought the car i drove it from dealer,and told him first 2 months be careful,don't over accelerate,don't do crazy things like on TV because it is new and it is not used yet for extrim driving. After some time you will feel the car and will be able to drive it decent! And he did,now the car it's perfect,runs great,no problems. I don't know maybe it's something wrong with thet special one!
My advice: If you just bought it don't try to do things as they show you on TV,yes,the car can but it is new,and the engine and computer is not yet ready for crazy stuff! after a 2-3 months try to begin to drive it faster and do what you want!
Good luck!