[utlax20]

Let me begin with saying that I am a big BMW fan and love the way the cars drive and handle. BUT with that being said my $80,000 BMW has been in the shop more than any of the other cars that I have owned (Mercedes, Porsche, Audi, Honda, Nissan).

My first F10 BMW had to be bought back because the car would make a metal on metal sound when you turned the steering wheel and this problem could never be solved by the dealership so they bought it back and ordered me another car. This was handled well by BMW.

I currently own the 2nd BMW 550i that BMW ordered as a replacement. I keep my cars in immaculate condition and even do oil changes at 7,000 miles because i love my cars.
1. This car has had 2 drive train malfunctions. (just had another one this week.)
2. Battery issues.
3. There is still a noise in the cabin of the car that they can not figure out that i have recordings of on my iphone.

These issues just make me not want to buy another BMW because this car has had so many issues and these issues never seem to be resolvable.

Just simply frustrated with a brand and car that I truly love!!!!!!

Please give advice.....
Thanks,
Joe F.

[raleedy]

Take it in.

[rborgia]

Hey Joe. sorry to hear about your headaches with the car...

I had the battery issue, it started when the weather in the north east got really cold... Last week during scheduled service I told them about that, and they replaced the battery. I too had a "drivetrain" malfunction, it happened once backing out of my driveway, and once on a hard acceleration onto a freeway. both times I stopped, shut her off, restarted her and everything seemed fine. I took her to the dealer after the second one, and they determined there were issues with the injectors causing misfires which caused the malfunction (not sure I buy it 100%). I haven't seen the issue in almost 6 months now, so maybe that was it... I don't really know.

Good luck, I hope it all works out.

Rich

[utlax20]

I had them fix it and it was fine for 6 months then it came back again with the drive train malfunction.....

[utlax20]

I decided to email BMW customer support to see if they could help......I got an email that they will be researching my claim and that they will be in touch...

[ajandhek]

I've had my car in the shop every other 3-4 months since I bought it...seems like a honda is more reliable than BMW

[ezmaass]

Seems like a good deal of the drivetrain malfunction messages for pre-LCI 550 owners were due to bad injectors.

[NC M550 VADER]

Just had my cylinder head replaced under warranty after drivetrain malfunction and dealer said "injectors were loose." She is running great now, fingers crossed!

[utlax20]

i was contacted by BMW today, and they asked me to take it into the shop again which it is scheduled to go in April 11th (1st day that they will have a loaner for me) and after they diagnose the issue to give them a call. They said that they would try to work something out and asked me what would make me happy. So I would like to ask the forum members if anyone has had any experience with this. I know my car is not new any longer but what would be fair for BMW to do...to get me into another car that would not have these problems....Please advise....

Thanks,
Joe
A True BMW Car Lover

[nal13]

Originally Posted by utlax20

i was contacted by BMW today, and they asked me to take it into the shop again which it is scheduled to go in April 11th (1st day that they will have a loaner for me) and after they diagnose the issue to give them a call. They said that they would try to work something out and asked me what would make me happy. So I would like to ask the forum members if anyone has had any experience with this. I know my car is not new any longer but what would be fair for BMW to do...to get me into another car that would not have these problems....Please advise....

Thanks,
Joe
A True BMW Car Lover

BMW North America is great. I had similar drivetrain malfunction problems as a result of fuel injector issues. BMW asked me what I wanted and I said a new car. I'll be picking my brand new 550 next week as it arrived in the New York New Jersey port today. Not costing me a dime. I did try to get out of the 550 and into an order for a new m3 as the lease prices are pretty much the same but since the car was a lease I had to do a simple swap and keep my initial contract. However, If you own the car there may be a chance you can get a different model with a similar msrp since this is already your second f10. Good luck.

[ezmaass]

Originally Posted by utlax20

i was contacted by BMW today, and they asked me to take it into the shop again which it is scheduled to go in April 11th (1st day that they will have a loaner for me) and after they diagnose the issue to give them a call. They said that they would try to work something out and asked me what would make me happy. So I would like to ask the forum members if anyone has had any experience with this. I know my car is not new any longer but what would be fair for BMW to do...to get me into another car that would not have these problems....Please advise....

Thanks,
Joe
A True BMW Car Lover

Given that the car is 3 - 4 years old now, I'm honestly not sure what they'll do for you. Nal13's car was literally a brand new '14. I'm not sure how quick they'd be to buy back a 2011. Is it leased or owned? I'm guessing owned as most leases aren't more than 3 years... and any 2011 3yr lease, at the latest, would probably be coming to a close soon.

So, if you own the car, I'm not sure a buy-back is the right approach here. What would they buy it back for? What you owe on it may be a lot less than what it's actually worth... and if you're going to haggle on what it's actually worth, you might as well sell it to a private party yourself.

Maybe they can comp you an extended warranty? A credit of some kind towards future service? Personally, considering the car is 3 or 4 year old, though, maybe you'd consider selling it and buying something new. So maybe they can provide you with a credit towards a new car? I'm not sure what's in the realm of the possible, but if they want to make you happy, I guess they can get creative.

[utlax20]

The reason i did not make a big deal to begin with is that they had given me another 2011 550i after my first one was bought back due to having a metal on metal grinding sound when you turned the wheel. They attempted to fix this for months and months while i drove a loaner car and never were able to fix it so they bought it back. This car had more subtle issues such as when you drove it the car would tend to veer to the left...then it had battery issues....then it had the 3 drive train malfunctions.....so i was patient thinking that BMW would do the right thing since they did the right thing with my first car.....

[utlax20]

I took the car into BMW so hopefully will find out what this third drive train malfunction was caused by. The best part was when the guy asked if there was anything else that was wrong with the car. I wanted to say...well where should i start......

1. The car still does not drive straight (it tends to steer to the left)
2. There is an unknown noise in the cabin of the car that they still can't figure out and BMW Nashville chooses to ignore...even though i have recorded it...
3. Third drive train malfunction
4. The buttons in the car have had to be replaced because literally the symbol have disappeared ( they were able to fix this)
5. The car has rust inside the keyholes (outside of the passenger and drivers side keyholes)...on a car that has comfort access and the keyholes have never been used .....lol
6. Yet somehow I love BMW cars.....

[JetBlackBMW3]

I know I have heard horrible stories about Nashville service. I would suggest calling a maybe setting up a apt in bowling green BMW. I know several people that drive to BG from nville to get their car serviced because of that

[utlax20]

Originally Posted by JetBlackBMW3

I know I have heard horrible stories about Nashville service. I would suggest calling a maybe setting up a apt in bowling green BMW. I know several people that drive to BG from nville to get their car serviced because of that

BMW of Nashville Called today and said: They are not duplicating the issue so they need permission to drive it, to try to get the light to come on....They basically are saying we have to duplicate the problem to fix your car????

I guess I just made it up then....This dealership is becoming what everyone warned me about....Previously they have been good to work with but this time I guess they have choose to go to denial mode and pretend the car is doing just fine......

[STOOF]

I get this alot too. I thought it was from the JB4. Guess not.

I noticed if i let the rpms drop too low (not downshifting) it happens. But if I turn the car off for a few minutes it resets and goes away.

[utlax20]

I got a call today from our BMW Dealership and they asked me where I fill up on gas...and if I put premium gas in the car....My response was if I can afford to pay $80,000 cash for a car...do you think I can afford Premium gas for my vehicle???? What kind of service guys/ idiots do they have working there..... you really think when I can pay cash for this car I'm going to put junk gas in the car. I only fill up at EXxon or Shell stations here locally and use the highest octane gas ....This is getting even more frustrating.....

[LACSTER]

Well it looks like I'm a victim of the Drivetrain Malfunction as well!!!

WARNING!!! This is somewhat as a rant towards the end.

On 4/5/2014 I was driving home from dinner with the family when all of a sudden then light came on.
The F10 drove fine so I was close enough to my house to just go home and park it. After calling up a few friends to ask about the issue, I was told it should go away at restart.
The next morning when I started the car it was very very loud and the light came on again.
This all happening a day before I was going on my vacations so I told myself I'd take care of it when I get back on the 14th. Oh sorry I didn't mention my F10 was built in May 2010 and probably was one of the first makes of this model.

Fast forward a week. on the 15th I was driving to work after my vaca and decided to contact BMWNA because while I was on vacation I read on the forums about a possible recall. Here's the link possible recall The rep from BMWNA knew about the release and said it is not official as of now but they're doing more research.

I went on to tell her that I had the Drivetrain Malfunction and was pretty disappointed in the BMW's I've owned due to the issue of my carS having major issues after it falls out of warranty. I mentioned to her my wife's e93 335 which fell out a warranty last year due to the 4 years expiring had a fuel pump and thermostat issue that I replaced a month after the warranty expired now this issue with my F10 after my warranty expiring as well.

She was very understanding and said they don't want customers feeling they're left high and dry right after the warranty expired, so she told me to bring the car into a local dealer so they can diagnose the issue and depending on what they find BMWNA would possibly assist in the matter.

That was pretty fair to me so I told her I'd do that and get back to her. The call was documented and she would follow up with me.

Not even five minutes after hanging up on her my car died on the freeway and I was stuck on the shoulder for over three hours.

I had a freeway safety tow truck come and try to tow me off the freeway but I insisted on having a flatbed do the tow. The driving dispatched a flatbed which came and did not know how to get the car into neutral so he can pull up on the flatbed. I contacted the local deal and they said I should have used my BMW Assist because those trucks don't know what they're doing. That being said I contacted BMW Assist to advise them of the issue and let them know that the last truck that came did not know how to get the car into neutral when the car couldn't start. They mentioned to me that all their tow companies are authorized BMW towing companies and they all use flatbeds and know exactly what they're doing.

Fast forward one hour. A real fancy triple A flatbed pulls up and starts to setup the tow then asked me how to get the car into neutral?!?!?! I told him heck I don't know that's what you're here for. He said I don't know how and left!!!! I kid you not when I say he just left, at that point I was completely pissed at the situation and contacted BMW assist again to let them know what happened. It took another hour to get another flatbed to come and he pretty much said the other guy didn't know what he was doing. He told me to pop the hood so he could jump start the car to get it into neutral which worked but then died again while he was trying to get the car on the bed. After about 20 minutes of him trying to figure out a way to get the car on the flatbed I used GOOGLE and searched " how to put a BMW F10 into neutral when battery it dead" and found out how to do it within minutes.

So to let you all know where I'm at now. The car is at a local dealer awaiting response while I'm driving around in a Toyota Corolla.

[NC M550 VADER]

Originally Posted by LACSTER

Well it looks like I'm a victim of the Drivetrain Malfunction as well!!!

...and what is the moral of the story here, Kids? NEVER drive a non-manual car!

Seriously, though, @lacster, I hope this is a minor fix and that BMWNA does the right thing for such a brand ambassador and BMW loyalist/aficionado.

[utlax20]

BMW Dealership called and told us that they reprogrammed the car.....Now can someone explain to me what a reprogram is going to do for a drive train malfunction.....I am so tired of these excuses and pretending to fix my car and then i go pick it up and the car has the same problems that it has had since day one...

It is hard to love a brand when the dealership would rather skirt the issues of fixing your car or dealing with BMW North America to resolve the issues. I mean what would happen if we actually did what was right and we make the Customers who happens to be very loyal to the brand happy.......

[WCH]

I too have had two drivetrain malfunctions in a 2012 550xi. The first time they replaced the injectors. The second was attributed to a software issue where a lowish battery charge and cold temps caused an error. The car drove very rough during this second episode. They reprogrammed the car and it has been fine now before several weeks.

I previously had a E70 X5 that would get low battery warnings if I parked it overnight in the garage unlocked. Lots of discussion in X5 forums about this a few years ago. Several people including me discovered that if you lock the car, these issues occurred much less frequently as an unlocked car led to periodic start-up of the electronics.

Based on this, I have been locking the 550xi every night. Don't know if this has helped.

The second repair took a week and the dealership seemed willing to discuss options if they couldn't fix the car. My lease is up in the fall so I am hoping that the car has no further problems. They have already offered an additional discount if I get another BMW - thinking about an M5...

[geminiys]

Reprogramming means flashing what is stored in the Flash/ROM/RAM with new Software. Not necessarily a new version of the software but reinstalling it from scratch. Similar to reinstalling Windows OS on your computer or another Application that stalled.
Think about it. Today's cars are all computerized and over-computerized. Most of car mechanics are either 1 or 2 steps behind of what they are servicing in their shops. Even certified, dealer trained mechanics are clueless sometimes when they have to deal with electrical malfunction or computer saying that something is not to its liking. In those situations they all purely rely on OBDII diagnostic tool to point them to a problem area but in "Drive Train Malfunction" there are many things that can go wrong. No doubt it is very easy to fix something that is broken and very, very difficult to diagnose something that is intermittent. I am not trying to defend Mechanics and BMW Dealers. All I am trying to say is mechanics are most likely are frustrated too not been able to identify and fix your/our problems.
To address your problem in particular, if there are not mechanical issues I would personally go after replacing an Electronic Module (not ssure which one) that is responsible for controlling Drive Train block. Some little components like Capacitors can have manufacturing defect and leak at times. Those problems are very hard to identify unless you study it and probe it under utilization. In addition, IC's can be marginal in timing and under certain condition miss the necessary signal causing a false alarm.
Don't think this type of problem only exists on BMW's. Lexus, Acura, Audi, Merces, Infinity are all in the same boat.
Good Luck having your problem resolved.