XSeries-forum

Hello everyone,

Thank you for a great forum I have been reading for some time.

I took delivery yesterday of a 2014 E71 X6 4.0D in Alpine White which has covered 23,000 miles, after many years of hankering after one. As I was returning from a stint working in the USA I took the plunge and bought from a reputable independent dealer sight unseen, but with the option of returning the car within 14 days if I was unhappy.

The good parts are that the car is absolutely pristine and unmarked and rides very well, and came with new tyres and brakes all round, but there are a couple of points that concern me so I would appreciate other views.

Firstly, I checked that the car had a full service history during the buying process. With the cars age and mileage at  23000 miles and 3 years old I expected to see a service at somewhere around 15000 to 18000 miles or 2 years old. The car saw its first service at 22300 miles from an independent BMW specialist. The car looks to have been on a 3 year lease and serviced just before it was turned back.

Secondly, I wanted the BMW straight 6 diesel as I had heard so many great things about the engine. When previously in the UK I had a 2013 Mercedes ML350 diesel and 2011 E350 cabrio diesel and the Mercedes V6 diesel was quiet and vibration free and most passengers didn't even realise they were diesel. By contrast the straight 6 in the BMW clatters at tickover and there is vibration through the controls at idle and a coarse vibration in the initial take up of power. At all other speeds you are still aware of vibration in the controls and you know you are in a diesel, you can always hear the engine, although it does have a sporty note. In short, the levels of refinement are what I have had from a 4 pot diesel.

Performance is good but not any quicker than the lower power and lower torque mercedes ML 350 which is my reference point.

So my questions are, should I be concerned about the service history, as this is the part I can't get fixed? (I have always serviced my cars on the nose of when the service is due). Is it worth rejecting the car based on this?  As it has only been to an independent could it have missed some recalls?

Also, am I being unrealistic about the levels of refinement I am expecting from the diesel or does it sound like a possible problem I need to get looked at by the supplying dealer?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

Kitboy_x6

Hello and

I think my first service was at around 20K as well, though it did have brake fluid changes in between at two year intervals (I'm on 35 K at almost 7 years).  I had a 5-year free service plan so never saw a service invoice and it has safety checks when the winter/summer tyre swap is done.

I can't say I notice either clattering or vibration to be honest, and certainly no vibration on power pickup.  It just goes, is smooth through all the gears and is very quick for a 2T vehicle.  This engine has won awards for smoothness and refinement.

The official service is not stamped in the book as BMW only do it electronically these days.  BMW also sell injector cleaner and a couple of bottles put through the system may help.

Might be worth getting the DPF looked at in case it is sooting up due to short journeys?

BMW Dealers will be able to confirm whether it needs any 'quality updates' or recalls.

Hi and welcome to the forum.

I was going to say X5Sport might be able to give you the best advice as he also has one in red. But he got there already.  )

I have the E70 X5 and as far as I know it's what they call condition based servicing, where the car tells you when it's due for a service. And you should be able to checked the car info on the central display and it should say how many miles to next service.

From what you have said the car is mint condition, which is good to hear especially as you bought it sight unseen.

I was a bit surprised by the fact you say it's no quicker than the Mercedes ML350, as a lot of member on here have the E70 X5 with a 40d and say how rapid they.

Sorry to ask but I assume you have set it in Sport mode with the lever to left? And usually diesels get better the more miles they do.

Graeme

Hi mines the E70 40D no clattering or vibration at idle or going through the gears.
Hope you get it sorted cos these engines are fab

Hi, A N other 40d with no rattles on idle,
Though do note the straight six of the BMW is harsher than the v6 of the Mercedes, though likewise, the tdv8 of the Range Rover is sweeter than the Merc, I wouldn't necessarily say it's an engine problem

I do relate to your lack of power, though also note that when abused the power should scare you and have you backing off, fortunately they handle as well as the torque curves.

By your post I'd suggest an adaption reset, as the car learns driving habits and adjusts set points accordingly.
Depress throttle to floor
Key in with foot off brake
Count to 60 secs, you may hear a clonking.
Then start car as normal, drive and enjoy
The car may initially be jerky between gears until adaptions are normalised to your driving style, it's a simple procedure and better still costs nowt!

Welcome, nice car you have there.

These cars do have a rumble to them, one possible thing to make them quieter is to make sure the engine cover is fitted, as they can cause extra noise from the engine bay. As a diesel, these cars will vibrate through the shifter and through the steering wheel at idle, although as your's is a N57 diesel it shouldn't vibrate as much as the older M57.
I quite like the rumble of the engine, somewhat powerful feeling.

The mercedes will be much quieter as the V6 is a much more refined unit, however they are now moving to straight 6 diesels as they pull better.

Ultimately, these are very refined diesels and very powerful, it is scary when these engines really get a move on during motorway drives, especially when the gearbox decides to kick down when overtaking at 70, really shows the power of these engines!

One thing I did notice going from my E53 to the X6 was that there seems to be less sound insulation on the newer cars.  I do find more tyre roar but that may be down to having run flats as well.