XSeries-forum

Hi Guys,

Im looking for a bit of advise to whether I've bought a pup or not.

The car in question is a mid 2010 LCI E70 4.0d SE with 79k on the clock.  Its got the 20" alloys and running BMW star rated tyres all round.  Previous owners opted for BMW extended warranty and hence its had most of the common things resolved already, both rear lights replaced, both front light washer mechanisms replaced and oil filter assembly replaced.

Ive owned the car 3 weeks now and it has developed a stuttering, hesitation when travelling slow and turning sharply.  It has successfully been diagnosed by BMW as a faulty transfer case.  They are quoting £3400 including parts and labour.

BMW have said they won't fix it under 'good will' due to it not being a BMW approved used car.  I have a years warranty via the non BMW dealer I bought it from, however the warranty plan is through an external company.

The warranty company have sent their assessor to the BMW service garage and asked them to reprogram the transfer box and see if that clears the fault.

I have a few questions, that maybe someone with experience can answer.

1.  Why would BMW not have tried to reprogram the transfer box?
2.  Will reprogramming the transfer case solve the problem?
3.  Should I walk away from the car, rejecting the sale under consumer law?

Thanks guys.

Ben

I would give them it back & buy one from a dealer , unfortunately there are some Friday cars built even by BMW , buying a dealer warrantied car is worth the extra , the last thing you want to do after purchasing the car is spend 3k plus when it should have been right in the first place .
  Some one was showing a 2011 /2012 40d yesterday with 54,000 miles from a dealer for 26k !

Reject it.

As an aside, what tyres are fitted and what is the tread deoth all round?  The reason for asking is these failures are starting to appear more often and it would be interesting to see if there is a common theme to these.

BMW won't do anything unless you pay for it.
Resetting the unit may work, but I'm doubtful as others with this have needed replacement units fitting.
BMW don't fix, only replace.

I am pretty sure its the transfer Box - there are a lot of posts on Xoutpost and its a well known problem on 2011/12 40d models. Mine is awaiting replacement, booked in shortly, luckily its a no quibble BMW AUC and will get a brand new transfer box.    This is the very reason I would never buy one of these from an independent as the warranties are very iffy and the companies look for every reason not to pay up.  I would reject the car unless you can get them to agree to a BMW dealership replacing the Transfer Box for you. No software updates or changes of pil are going to fix this problem, I can assure you of that.

Sid, its a known issue, the car needn't be a Friday car, just a well known issue on ths particular model year now.  This model year with a good spec has only just dipped recently under the £30k mark, they hold their value very well indeed. 


X5Sport -  dealer algorithm when diagnosing incoudes swopping wheels with another cars wheels - they did this with mine as part of the process. They are very quick to blame tyres until you,point out they are star rated, on the tyre configurator for the model year, and all the same tread depth..........I had changed from summer to winter and they tried to blame it on that but the problem was there with both sets of tyres.  Its quick to diagnose if they just disconnect the transfer box the problem goes away then returns,when its reconnected.  Mine doesn't throw up any fault,codes, but is faulty nonetheless. Maybe it'll give them a fault code when it goes in in 2 weeks time-I waited till I could book their rmX3 for a week! Hence the wait.  Didn't want to battle with some 2 or 3 series thing in the winter weather on my long commutes.

If the warranty company agree to replace transfer box, then I would accept it, but I think you can reject it once they have tried to repair it once and failed - perhaps you should point out the information about the transfer box failures and needing replacement, it is a mechanical failure not a software failure or update issue.

If the tyres are fine, Its 50/50 on atc450, software or mechanical.

Question....................

You said " I am pretty sure its the transfer Box - there are a lot of posts on Xoutpost and its a well known problem on 2011/12 40d models.

What about 2013 models ?  Do they have a different transfer box or was something else changed ?

Regards,

Nat.

Thanks for the info guys, perfect.

kkx5, do you repair these transfer case?

1.  If its a hardware fault, what fails? 
2.  How will a software reprogram help? 
3.  Will the VTG ECU just relearn whats normal?

I think the decision to reject or not will be based on the performance of the warranty company.

Watch this space.

Not sure Nat, the posts I have seen all relate to 2011/12 cars.

Benallenuk - either way, it should not be your problem, if the warranty company don't play ball, reject.  If it is not repaired and returned in perfect order, I would reject it.  These cars still cost a lot and are not bargain basement heaps yet, you should also contact financing company if car is on finance as they are also liable.

Update.

The reprogram didn't make any different, surprise surprise.  The warranty company caved in and agreed to pay for a transfer case to be fitted.  RESULT!

Wonder what will fail next?

[quote="benallenuk"]
Thanks for the info guys, perfect.

kkx5, do you repair these transfer case?

1.  If its a hardware fault, what fails? 
2.  How will a software reprogram help? 
3.  Will the VTG ECU just relearn whats normal?

I think the decision to reject or not will be based on the performance of the warranty company.

Watch this space.
[/quote]
Yes i do repair transfer boxes. Atc 450 is 2end gen of the xdrive system (2010-2013). We are now in III gen Atc 45L/35L (2012- on x3 2013- on x5).
1.Internal clutch system, chain, bearings
2.Latest software is more ^agressive^, sharp if you will. Sometimes does the job.
3.No, VTG values are set once on programming.

I understand the star rating being a bmw recommended tyre

But how many winter tyres are star rated; especially on the continent where some have to wear winters and doubt they are all star rated

Also what happens to extreme conditions to snow chains, actually studded tyres etc.?

I found no problems with winter tyres and '*' ratings.  Given the number of BMWs on the market, and the mandated use of winter tyres across large parts of the world, the market for those tyres is significant.

Snow chains and studded tyres are all designed to be run at slower speeds and on slippery surfaces where transmission 'wind-up' is much less likely due to there being significantly less grip so the system can unload any stresses.

UPDATE:

Called BMW this morning with the intention of collecting my X5 today.  The advisor said that the transfer case they fitted had an issue.  No idea what the issue was as he didn't embellish and I didn't ask as lost interest in the what whys and when, just want it fixed.  They've ordered another and will try that on Monday.

Wonder if this is normal?

Why would a new transfer have an issue?  Unless they ordered the wrong part and tell porkies.

My guess would be either wrong part, or a messed up change over.

Is this issue only with the X5 e70 40d 2011/2012 or is it known issue on the 30d model aswell? Mine is a 2012 model

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