XSeries-forum

[quote=""X5Sport""][quote=""pvr""]Work ... so we won't see X5Sport anymore online then [/quote]

You're not that lucky! It's only 2 hours a day to start with... [/quote]

Still double PVR

Glad your car is fixed and even better news with you being on the mend even if it means your back working.

Very strange about the instrument cluster going down but I guess it's more like a computer nowadays.

Interesting thought what would happen if you got stopped. Sorry officer, no speedo ...

I suspect she'd have got a ticket for it except there was a GPS speed unit readout so HRH knew how fast she was going.

Apparently the instrument unit is now one of the main computer modules and feeds data on the car to the master module (whatever that is) so losing it means no warning lights, speed, rpm, guages, clock, OBC data, fuel level, HUD data, gongs, bells, whistles or klaxons! Other than that everythin was fine!

Main suspect is the cluster PSU (which is a module that can be removed from the cluster module......it's like Lego in these cars now! Except of course Lego will last longer..

[quote=""X5Sport""]......it's like Lego in these cars now! Except of course Lego will last longer.. [/quote]

I suspect BMW also use 8 year olds to design and assemble these modules in much the same way as my 8 year old designs his lego.

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Now I have the car back and a copy of the fault printout it is clear that the loss of the instrument cluster is quite serious. Apart from the obvious issues for the driver in terms of loss of dials and lights it will also either impair or inhibit correct operation of all of the following systems:

External Temp, Clock, Combox Emergency Call, ECall speaker, Odometer, Milometer, DSC, Rear Air-Con (4-zone equipped cars), Rear Fogs, Adaptive Brake Lights (the second bulb won't come on under heavy braking), Rear PDC, HUD, Internal lighting intensity, PDC Receiver, Gearbox Controller, xDrive Controller, DDE/DME Unit, Light bulb check, Main Vehicle Controller, Engine Torque Controller, Rear axle Torque Controller.

Methinks the instrument unit is a major player in terms of the car modules.

Interesting and glad you've got it back.

I see most modern cars with high technology being built in becoming too expensive to run once they're a few years old/out of warranty.

Take an E60 M5 which can now be purchased from mid teens - can you imagine the cost to repair a technical fault on one of those if you can afford the car, but not to run it with the appropriate warranty.

These cars are still £50, £60, £70k cars with appropriate running costs.

I will very definitely be getting a good warranty in due course. I can't afford to replace the car with a new model for the time being given the job market (my employer has just announced 000's of losses).

When you look at the E53 sub-forum and the issues people are getting when buying second hand it's obvious that a number of the cars going onto the open market are because there is a fault which is going to cost large sums of money to repair. Given that self-repair is rapidly becoming a thing of the past, looking at the 'big picture' for likely costs, and doing good web research for any frequentky arising issues not declared (or even worse, actively denied) by Dealers is vital.

As you rightly say, these are expensive cars with expensive running costs. Of course the counter to that is that the components ought to last a damned sight longer for the price paid!