DSC/4x4 inactive message

[DaveB]

I got this message the other week along with the 4x4 and ABS warning lights. After looking at all forum messages about this, it seems it could be lots of things. I took it to my local BMW independent who thought it was the transfer box actuator at fault.

They'd only replace the entire unit, so I bought a new plastic gear from Overdrive in the US, removed and stripped the actuator only to discover there's nothing wrong with the plastic gear - it's perfect. I replaced it anyway, put the whole thing back together and as I expected, the fault is still there.

The exact symptoms are:

• Start car and there's no warning messages.
  Drive around like a granny and there's no warning messages.
  Once you get up to speed or drive normally the message appears.
  Stop, turn the ignition off, give it a few minutes and start the car again and the messages have gone.

The cars drives really well, no noises and it feels like all wheels are being driven. So any ideas on this?

[briankerrys47]

For its worth check on state of Battry recharge it and see what happens!

[DaveB]

Yep, I've done that and all voltages are looking good.

[fenj66]

I had similar issue with abs/4x4 yellow light coming on after driving for exactly 11 miles!
Turned out to be a bad abs sensor on one of the front wheels.
I bought a new one from stealers for about £60. Had to try new part on both wheels to find out which one was at fault.it didn't clear the fault until I reset the abs module with my scanner.
Been fault free since. Hth.

[Horizon]

I've read on another forum that this warning can come up on especially X3 's when driven spiritedly.
They found it was down to unevenly matched tyres. Front and rear mainly, or even having a worn tyre where its mate has good depth of tread.
Have you changed any of your tyres lately, just a thought.

[shadrack]

I had this when I replaced rear only tyres!

[DaveB]

Well after lots of exhaustive checking by me and my local indy, the transfer box needs replacing. I'm now faced with the decision. Do I go for the lottery of a second hand unit with no or dodgy warranty or go for the piece of mind, brand spanking new one with a no quibble 2-year warranty from BMW?

Second hand, it looks like the rarer 4.6 and 4.8 unit I need are the same, but the 4.4 one has differences.

The new one is about double the cost, but it feels like the better long term decision.

[Horizon]

I would be worried if the problem was still there after they have fitted a new transfer box. Where would you stand if you spend a grand on a new part and it doesn't cure the problem.
Is there visible damage to the internals of the transfer box, this would be a definite reason to swap it out.
Back to the original question, I would spend a couple of grand on mine if it was needed, as its worth nothing broken. Also if I had to trade it in for something the trade in value is pitiful.
If your going to keep it for a while I'd go new parts.
Hope you get it sorted what ever you decide.

[DaveB]

Since I plan to keep the car for a while and I really like it, I've decided to get a brand new BMW unit fitted.

Interestingly, when I bought the car it came with a Silver warranty from World of Warranty. I thought I'd see if this was covered. My local indy contacted them for authorisation. They 'may' cover the transfer box replacement but only if it is first removed, stripped and assessed by someone they appoint. Given this is essentially a sealed unit with no main dealer serviceable parts this becomes a waste of my time and money. It means if it does need replacing and they agree it's at fault I still have to cough up for the labour involved in stripping and assessing it. If they decided it's not covered, I'm even worse off.

I understand they won't just cough up for any old thing, but if even a BMW main dealer won't attempt to fix it and it's seen to be broken, surely it's broken.

Ah well, I won't be extending that when it runs out.

I'm not moaning cos I understand that if you run a car like this, you can end up with big bills. Just a warning to others these warranties cann seem too good to be true......

[X5Sport]

Warranties can be a nightmare, but it's not helped by your sort of situation where BMW Dealers are not allowed to repair them by BMW itself.  Same with gearboxes.  They probably could, but a forbidden to do so.

I had a similar issue with an ECU fault some years back where Network Q would only pay for the unit if it was proved faulty after an independent inspection.  I doubted the chances it would be found faulty but would instead conveniently be OK and I'd end up paying £800 for a new one either way.  I handed they keys back and took summat else off the forecourt thus leaving them with the issue to fix.

Richard

[northernlight]

Good luck with this. I had exactly the same problem a few months back.

Took it into Jason (tuning guru on here) and he concluded it could be transfer case, front diff or both. At that point I decided I didn't love the car enough for a £3k + repair job and traded the car in. Was rather glad to be rid in the end, was a shame as it only had 60k on the clock and in all other respects had been great.

[DaveB]

Yep it's a difficult one. I now have a brand new BMW warranted transfer box, but there's other problems. The front diff is basically screwed.

Having read everything on this, there seems to be a common problem. I now suspect that a dodgy front diff caused the transfer box problems. Having replaced that, the front diff went pop. Sounds expensive, but it seems BMW have suspiciously dropped the price of front diffs by more than 50% recently.

I plan to keep the car so I'd rather it was sorted and right.

[X5Sport]

Probably trying to clear 'Ended' parts from their stores.  Not heard of many diffs going though.

Richard

[DaveB]

Try googling for x5 blown diff and you'll see what I mean.

[storminmike]

I once got the DSC/4x4 inactive message that would clear on the key out....then drive and come back again. A look at the coding said improbable steering angle....and the steering wheel was slightly off too

re-centered wheel and re--tracked in that position....problem went away