My problems include:
1. Stuck cup holder after about 2 mo.-replaced
2. Hood out of alignment-upon delivery-adjusted
3. Driver door window scratched-upon delivery-replace
4. Mechanical belt tensioner making tapping noise, after about 1k miles=replaced with hydraulic
5. Loud ticking in front of motor, after about 2k miles (in the shop now) is supposed to be the electronic thermostat. I was told this was normal operating condition. Car sounds like a model T. I heard another 530 and it was absolutely quiet. Had a discussion with Service manager. Dealer still insists that it's normal and refuses to do anything.
6. Bridgestone Potenza run flat (right rear) has a slow leak, problem has been on-going, probably delivered that way. Needs to be checked by Bridgestone certified run flat dealer. Found one by calling the Bridgestone Tech Hotline.
7. Air cover scratched-upon delivery-replaced
8. Air bag light stayed on, upon delivery- replaced switch
9. Steering wheel doesn't automatically move up after turning off motor, after software update-need to investigate
10. Dynamic Drive System Failure displayed on screen. Didn't drive car. Started car the next day. No DDSF on screen. wtf?
Other irritations:
1) fixing hood alignment took 3 tries (damn noobie techs)
1a) front passenger windshield pillar scratched during hood alignment fix-
2) Belt tensioner fix took 2 tries (noobie tech sprayed the belt with belt lube the first time)
3) door panels had driver boot marks 3 times-had to send car back for cleaning
4) one time had to send the car back for washing 3 times (stopped having them wash it)
5) Left rear run flat picked up a dry-wall screw (damn construction near my home).
The left rear rim was severly scratched during tire mounting and needed to be repainted
6) right front rim has 5 inch curb rash from dealer drivers (damn fools-in shop now)
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.
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.
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?
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!
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???
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
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?
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.
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!
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. !
I started this thread in 6/04. It's now 3/08, almost 4 years later and 4 years, 3 months since I purchased my 2004 530i. I thought I would report in on the current status of my ride.
I took the car in just before the warranty ran out and got them to replace all the brakes/drums...It had just a minor squeal.
The right rear tire has had a slow leak since the car was brand new. I finally got them to keep the car over night and test the wheel in a water barrel. The tech found no leak and no problems with the tire. I went in the next morning and I had the tech take the air pressure in front of me---sure enough---it was down 1.5 lbs. The tire and the rim were replaced.
I also had them replace the front windshield rubber molding...it had some areas that were coming apart and had small tears.
I had them detail the car. The scuffed up my 3m clear bra that I have on the hood.
Idiots. I mean, it still works and everything..it's not torn. I just don't have time to follow through on a complaint. (Shelly BMW-Buena Park, CA)
Everything else has been working fine. Have only 21k miles on it, though. Not much so the jury is still out on this car. It still looks brand new, in and out.
We drove Hwy 101 from Santa Cruz (near San Francisco) to Los Angeles and the car was outstanding. Handled great, especially at high speed (up to 120mph), averaged about 80mph. Got 24 mpg, xlnt acceleration. Great sound system. A bit of wind noise at speed.
Sport seat were okay in comfort, a little stiff. We stopped along the way a couple of times to stretch our legs. The sport suspension was like traveling on rails and is pretty stiff as well. If you want to tour with the new BMW's, get the standard suspension.
With the problems sorted out, it's been a fun driver but it took too much effort to get them straightened out, though.
Bottom line, don't buy a first model year car, especially one filled with electronics.
By the way, with all the negative press about the idrive, once you have it set, it's not that big of deal. It takes a bit of studying to get all the details, but imho, it's better than have a ton of buttons with icons that you might not remember.
I'm the designated home electronics tech in my family and spent years in IT, so I'm def. biased.
One thing I did spend a bit of time on was adjusting the sound system e.q. As a musician and sound guy, my ear is tuned to finding fault with any system.
It took awhile but what I came up with is to set the EQ with (from left to right, from memory) 6 bars, 2 bars, 2 bars, 4 bars, 6 bars, 8 bars, 10 bars), stair step it up like that.
Then with the treble/bass controls, I dial in how much overall treble/bass I like, sometimes depending on what song is playing because all the 60's- 70's tunes were all mixed differently. The E.Q. can be fine tuned to your liking but the main thing I did was really knock down the mid-bass because the subs are too small and those frequencies get emphasized.
Also, Consumer Reports is recommending the 5 series for those of you who are contemplating buying one. Check out their reviews, new and used.
I have a 2008 535xi and the yellow engine light went on last night associated with a very rough engine idle. The dealership's closed due to the holiday weekend so I thought I'd throw this out to the community. Any thoughts? Thanks.
hi i have a problem on e60 530d 2004 when the car is warm and accelerate full throttle from being stationary the car doesnt go beyond 3000 rpm and takes its time to change gear, any ideas
Hi to all BMW fans.
Im prou owner of E60 530d. Ewery thing is in order, but im having trouble with noise in uper left part of the dash board. Sound like wnen U grind plastic with a metal stick. Its seams like boults loosen up. Where can i find schematics with boults positions to check.
Ok 2 things i need opinion about before i take it somewhere and they rip me off.
At low speeds my car has some vibration , if im going at a constant 60 km/hr the car tends to vibrate a bit and the steering wheel shakes.
When i accelerate from like 0 - 60 and i let go i find that sometimes my car stays reved up and takes a while to come down. My fuel consumption meter also stays up even though i let go on the gas. Anyone with similiar problem?? I thought it was the transmission but it shifts normally wen im accelerating so im confused. Can anyone provide help
Ok 2 things i need opinion about before i take it somewhere and they rip me off.
At low speeds my car has some vibration , if im going at a constant 60 km/hr the car tends to vibrate a bit and the steering wheel shakes.
When i accelerate from like 0 - 60 and i let go i find that sometimes my car stays reved up and takes a while to come down. My fuel consumption meter also stays up even though i let go on the gas. Anyone with similiar problem?? I thought it was the transmission but it shifts normally wen im accelerating so im confused. Can anyone provide help
This has been a very interesting thread to read. I'm contemplating buying a 2006 530xi that has just over 48,000 miles on the meter, so this has been very informative. I have to give Silver4evr a lot of credit for keeping this thread going and updated. Thank you. This kind of thing is what is best about these forums.
It is hard to believe all you people are having so many problems. Hopely newer models don't have those issues. I am afraid 535 do have fuel related problems due to turbo, I assume. I hear 528i is solid! Good luck with you guys in love with Bimmers. For sure it is an ultimate driving machine that everybody enjoy driving.
having had a fair range of bmw's e30 2.3 -e28 2.0 -e34 2.0 -e39 2.8 and now e60 545.....i thought i had a gem.....mystic blue cream leather etc..
started having problems with i-drive,sat-nav,blue tooth cd player radio & the screen playing up intermitently......i found water in bottom of spare wheel well (not used due to runflats) after having crytical electronic system failure show up on i-drive screen whilst traveling in outside lane of motorway.......engine faltered, steering went tight etc...due to partial close down of electronic systems.....
being quiet handy with situations i bought a new control module,cleaned all connections dried out the well and found all items now were working....
the main $tealers said the new part needed to be mapped into the on-board computer...well if they service the vehicles they ought to know so i booked it in....the agent advised there may be a few hiccups as the mapping means any available programme upgrades will also be added but at times they do have issues with this up grade......quoted £150.00 + tax
after three attempts to complete work i am told that there is a problem with my m.a.s.c unit (audio controller) and if i want my car back functioning as it did before they touched it (all items working) it will cost me £2065.00 inc tax
this i declined at this time.....
i collected my car from them to find partial up-grade of software with the bluetooth and cd player not working....still debating how to approach BMW customer service without telling them what i think of their agents....
any constructive criticism gratefully recieved
Hi, My 2006 530xi wagon's auto lift rear hatch is having problems. The problem began with the hatch not remaining in the fully opened position after opening normally via the automatic opening mechanism. With in a few days of doing this, the problem got worse and the hatch would only open about 3/4's of the way and then begin to desend. It seems that the hydraulic system is not developing the needed pressure. Now when more than one passenger is in the rear seat the auto-level suspension system pump runs but can't level the car and the error light comes on. Is it possible that these hydaulic systems are related?
Has anyone experienced similar problems? It appears that there is a small bit of fluild that has leaked from the strut that lifts the hatch but it is only a few drops so it doesn't seem it is enough to make a difference.
Does anyone know where to check the fluid level for this system?
Mine is a E60 Late 2007 520d with the tweaked engine.
Problems:
Fuel System Problems (BMW Admitted Flaw-Replaced)
OBC Issues (Replaced)
Bluetooth connect ability failure (Replaced, cost me nearly 2.5k US)
The bluetooth is a big problem, since i live in Taiwan, every part is exported therefore twice as expensive. The Bluetooth was alright and working before my 50k checkup, and when the car came back, which they resetted the computer, the bluetooth stopped working. This really sucks, because I have to pay for that.
I got really pissed off therefore the manager gave me a lifetime 30 percent off for all maintenance )
Yes agree in your Active Drive System Failure.
Dealer replaced "valve block “reappeared and another valve block.
What is color of Exhaust Gas?
PREVENTATIVE VEHICLE MAINTENANCE
I have 2004 525i E60. on my iDrive screen additionla information window which is in the left part of the screen disappeared and I cannnot swith it on.
When I go to Navigation the screen is totally black. All other fields, communication, climate and entertainment are working. Can anyone help with this?
Maybe someone hhad similar issue.
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