4.8 iS Misery

[Nat]

Am I the only one ? I dont think so having read lots of forums.
Having had a very nice and trouble free 4.4 for 4 years I took the plunge and swapped it for a 4.8 iS. Sterling gray , black interior and a very long list of options and only with 28 K and a full history, fortunately from BMW AUC. Ive had the car since February and this is the list so far :
1. Pan Roof .............new one fitted.
2. Valvetronic levers.............all replaced
3. Exterior folding mirrors wouldnt fold ................all replace
4. Parking sensors faulty............constant tone. Replaced by dealer and still faulty so going back.
5. Sat Nav MKIV DVD drive malfunctioned.......to be replaced.
6. Suspension inactive came up today......................so going in on thursday to be replaced.
7. Bluetooth stopped working today .......................again in on thursday.

I am begining to hate this car. From what I read most of therse faults are not uncommon, but to be honest its costing an utter fortune and its just not worth the agro.
Anyone else experience such misery or did I get the built on a friday lemon ?

Regards

Nat.

[Pewters]

That's loads going wrong in 7 months ..........no wonder your losing faith in her.


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[5hep]

That does sound like a right PITA

Hopfully you got a warranty in place

[jeegnesh]

Assuming you got the warranty then no better time to get as much as you can replaced. I'd also keep an eye on that radio module bm54 notorious for blowing speaker outputs and damn expensive to replace.

[AW8]

Ironically car with a few miles under belt well cared for and hopefully milked of its warranty or AUC cover in early years can be more reliablwe than a car that needs items sorting. I'd stick with it and milk the warranty. Ironically If you do decide to part company sods law says the necxt owner will have a relatively trouble free car & probably due to your lack of fault tolerance.

By all means have a good general check for signs it's a lemon but you could sell & buy another car only to have further issues.

[Nat]

I will take the advice and stick with it. I would love to know what the renewal price will be for the warranty when it becomes due. If they look at this cars history it will be through the roof ..........!

[Nat_h]

Thats a long list!

Any idea whats up with your bluetooth? As my iphone 4 won't connect or pair anymore, and even when the phone is switched off, the phone book is still displayed. All very strange.

Nat

[Pewters]

Gotta agree with AW8.........when its all done the car will be sweet for a long time

[Ricko]

You’re certainly not the only one to experience problems with a low mileage BMW Approved 4.8is. Looking at what you have experienced I reckon my car was right behind yours on the production line.

In the first year I had the following work carried out under warranty.

1. New FSR (Hedgehog)
2. New A/C unit control panel
3. New Auxiliary heater
4. New Auxiliary heater fuel pump
5. New Battery
6. New Navigation computer

All told from the pro forma invoices that I requested the work carried out came to just over £4500.

It is very disappointing but the warranty comes through………….Just the aggro of going backwards and forwards to the dealer.

As far as renewal of the warranty goes I was quoted 3 prices for the type of warranty available. Based on the problems in the first year I was reluctant to take any chances so I went for the comprehensive option which came in at £899 with a £100 pound excess.

If I remember rightly someone else on the old forum was quoted the same prices as me – assuming that your car has less than 50000 on the clock. The prices go up considerably after this.

I thought that they would take into account the cost of the work carried out in the first year and screw me accordingly but this appears not to be the case………….

Just as well I extended the warranty as my suspension has failed after 6 months without any problems and it’s presently in the dealers being looked at. They have assured me though that I will only have to pay £100 whatever work is carried out……… Just hope it’s really expensive so I feel as I am getting a good deal………

I’d stick with the car………Like others have said it would be a shame to get it all sorted, then sell it to someone else with them getting the benefit……..I spent ages looking for my car and whilst its been a bit of a pain in the arse I’m in it for the long haul and not prepared to give up yet…….Could you really give up the V8 roar………and the kick in the back from a standing start with your foot to the floor………

[CondorX5]

Ricko and Nat.....I sincerely hope your two 4.8s were a long way from mine on the production line!!! What year are they? I just collected my carefully-searched-for 4.8is from Hexagon BMW in East Finchley on 31 July.......it only had 27K on the clock and a huge list of options.....and the all-important AUC warranty that my "little" 3.0i X5 didn't have. Rather like your own two low mileage 4.8's!!!

I guess its just the luck of the draw - I hope I am fortunate this time, anyone who long-sufferingly owned a Range Rover for 6 years really needs a good break!!! At least the AUC warranty seems to be a no-quibble one - I felt reassured about the purchase being an AUC and was most reluctant to buy a 4.8 from an indy, despite getting it inevitably cheaper that way. If loads of stuff is replaced or repaired, then the chances of it being trouble-free for a long time after that are good.....so I would also stick with it - hope I can keep my mileage under 50K for a year, not much chance of that sadly!!!

Hope you get it all sorted - don't give up on the 4.8 yet, the roar of that stunner of a V8 and the sheer pleasure of the driving experience brings a smile to my face everytime I use the car

[x555]

[quote=""CondorX5""]...and the all-important AUC warranty that my "little" 3.0i X5 didn't have.[/quote]
someone seems to have changed there tune a little...i remember a certain member on the old forum ranting about how powerfull her LITTLE 3.0i was ........how they change when they hit the big league

Ohh and btw @Nat...hang in there as the others have said your car won't need much doing to it after that long list especially if you have the warranty

[Ricko]

Mmmmmmmmm..........Don't want to worry you here but I also bought my car from Hexagon..........Also very low mileage (19200) with an extremly high spec............Mine was registered Jan 2005

The FSR fault, AC control panel and auxillary heater problems were existing faults that were not picked up by the supposed 120 point AUC check.....The rest came after so in reality you could say its not been too bad......For a 5 year old car anyway......

Being serious though I did a fair bit of research on what type of X5 to buy......One thing I gleaned from this was that the 4.8is in particular seems less robust than all the others in respect of electrical problems........My car certainly supports the fact........Still wouldnt swap it for the world...........At the moment anyway....

[Nat]

Hi,

Well I bought mine from Eastern BMW in Edinburgh . Spooky, It had 27 K on the clock. Sept 04 . Owned by BMW +1
Huge speck.............Pan roof, full comms , Aux, DSP , Heated rear seats, rear air , privacy glass , tow bar , reversing camera , etc etc etc ........
I got it on a wednesday and on the saturday the pan roof broke the first time of being used. It was during the very cold weather. Everytime It was started from very cold it would missfired like it was running on 4 cylinders.............valvetronic levers was the issue. Thats a big job. My local dealer wouldnt touch it as aparently the engine fault was present when it was sold to me. ( dont say it ) After some seriously cross words/emails it was recovered all the way back to scotland to be repaired and returned some 3 weeks later. Its been a right pain in the arse ever since with bits and bobs as you know.
I hear what everyone says, its a great car when it runs well, and I just love the noise ( which is the main reason every bloke buys a 4.8 ) but I have to be honest as an overall experience its been really crap. I had a big row with my wife when I sold a very very nice 4.4 to buy thi 4.8iS , and boy am i wishing I hadn't .
I will persevere with it a bit longer, but I cant see myself putting up with the old back and forth to the dealer much longer, especially as they cant seem to fix anything the first time round and courtesy cars seem to be rarer than hens teeth. The whole experience is really testing my patience and im not without transport, its my wife who is inconvenienced. Out of guilt this time , im leaving her my car and catching the train/lifts to work till the 4.8 comes back. Therefore if you see a particularly pissed off woman whizzing around in an E39 M5................give her some room.....................shes having her fair share of grief.

Regards

Nat.

[CondorX5]

[quote=""x555""][quote=""CondorX5""]...and the all-important AUC warranty that my "little" 3.0i X5 didn't have.[/quote]
someone seems to have changed there tune a little...i remember a certain member on the old forum ranting about how powerfull her LITTLE 3.0i was ........how they change when they hit the big league

Ohh and btw @Nat...hang in there as the others have said your car won't need much doing to it after that long list especially if you have the warranty [/quote]

Well it is....the 3.0i is a surprisingly good performer for the size/weight ratio and I would never knock the car - its a superb engine with a great pedigree. And its plenty fast enough and powerful enough to do its job. Let's face it, NO-ONE NEEDS A 4.8!! Those who can, who really want one, buy one......maybe foolish, maybe just for sheer enjoyment - I rack up many thousands of miles a year, hate diesel cars, really don't care too much about fuel consumption (or I wouldn't be driving an X in the first place)and I missed the V8, having owned and driven a V8 almost exclusively for over 10 years. I thought I would be fine with the 3.0, and it did the job well and the winter driving experience was a great one. I just wanted the bigger engine and bigger spec, I didn't need it.....and there was nothing wrong with the 3.0i - if I didn't need the space on the driveway and I'd already got rid of the Rangie, I may well have kept it as an alternative car.

[CondorX5]

[quote=""Ricko""]Mmmmmmmmm..........Don't want to worry you here but I also bought my car from Hexagon..........Also very low mileage (19200) with an extremly high spec............Mine was registered Jan 2005

The FSR fault, AC control panel and auxillary heater problems were existing faults that were not picked up by the supposed 120 point AUC check.....The rest came after so in reality you could say its not been too bad......For a 5 year old car anyway......

Being serious though I did a fair bit of research on what type of X5 to buy......One thing I gleaned from this was that the 4.8is in particular seems less robust than all the others in respect of electrical problems........My car certainly supports the fact........Still wouldnt swap it for the world...........At the moment anyway....[/quote]

Hexagon seem to have quite a number of excellent specc 4.8s - none of the other dealers had quite the same choice or high specs, and I've been looking for a few months now. It was quite a good buying experience from them, prices a bit high but then they did give me a good price for the 3.0i - Mine was registered Feb 2005, so lets hope the same techies that worked on your build in the factory were off duty that day I'm allowing a month or so to make a list of things that need doing - must remember to check that aux heating, now that I think about it, would like it to work when its freezing monrnings again. I've noticed a slight whirring noise behind the instrument panel after I switch off the igition, it seems to disappear after about 15 minutes and doesn't seem to cause any noticable battery drain, so not sure if it may be the FSR or not. Aircon is like a fridge its so cold, was great in the hot spell. Tried the pano roof a few times and so far it seems ok, will try to use it regularly just to make sure I don't miss a trick with that very expensive repair!!

I think we should also run a 4.8 thread like the US guys do on Xoutpost......with pics and specs and comparisons, and the many good and desirable things about the 4.8, so we don't just have a negative thread running!!!

Hope you guys get the 4.8s sorted soon - I think there are quite a few more complicated bits of electrickery in this model than some of the others, and things will go worng......especially in cars over 5 years old.