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BMW X5 Recent Cold Temp Problems

44 messages,  Last post on Apr 18, 2008 at 8:23 PM

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What is this discussion about? BMW X5, Auto Repair, Engine, Oil, Transmission, SUV

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#35 of 44 Re: BMW Oil Separator failure in cold weather [dhr48864] by jonghan Apr 07, 2007 (6:12 pm)
Replying to: dhr48864 (Feb 23, 2007 8:27 am) I motion. If one of the most expensive SUV should stop on the highway during the winter, what else can qulaify "recall" than this?
#36 of 44 Re: Recent cold temps problems [dhr48864] by jonghan Apr 07, 2007 (6:36 pm)
Replying to: dhr48864 (Feb 09, 2007 2:19 pm) It sounds like the dealers in North America have been received the same training from the manufacturer that every BMW customer has a bad driving habit. That was the consistent message and sometimes a sermon that I got from my dealer too. I really don't like the fact that one of the most famous brand name in automobile industry has such attitude and does not admit the design problem of oil separator. Ultimate driving machine should stop due to cold weather and moisture on the highway!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
#37 of 44 BMW X5 Oil Separator Leaking Problem by jonghan Apr 07, 2007 (7:19 pm)
http://www.lemonauto.com/complaints/bmw/x5.htm   I just put this absurd design problem of Ultimate driving machine, BMW X5 into the web link above. I think this web receives, collects and studies vehicle problmes from customers. Replies to this message: grassosf (Apr 09, 2007 8:01 am)
#38 of 44 Re: BMW X5 Oil Separator Leaking Problem [jonghan] by grassosf Apr 09, 2007 (8:01 am)
Replying to: jonghan (Apr 07, 2007 7:19 pm) I have been a loyal BMW owner for over 15 years. I can’t help but feel the company is a victim of their own success and has lost connection to their customers. I made 4 calls to the corporate office receiving no meaningful help in resolution of this issue. A very frustrating experience ... They knew about the problem, but did not take preventive action. Even though the car is currently under CPO warranty (48 1/4 months old), BMW charged for all the “ware” items requiring replacement due to the oil contamination. Any part I paid for got changed immediately…. any part they pay for only gets changed after days of testing and evaluation. Their solution for cleaning out the system was to burn through ¾ of tank of gas as opposed to any disassembly and cleaning. After two visits totaling a period of 6 weeks (they finally provided a car for after the 5th week… a FORD) in the service center, my car is still not running properly. It blows smoke, has an unpleasant odor after driving (smells up my house), and idles rough when stopped in drive. Only this week has the service center started detailed evaluation and check-out. At this time, they can only identify that the engine has a slightly off-aim (rich) fuel mixture. Also, when I asked if the OSV part has been updated to eliminate this defect, the dealer stated that he is unable to tell me this type of information.
#39 of 44 Re: Recent cold temps problems [dhr48864] by dhr48864 Jun 14, 2007 (6:11 am)
Replying to: dhr48864 (Feb 06, 2007 3:42 pm) RESOLUTION! I finally was able to resolve the out of pocket expenses with the dealership. I want to thank all of you for your input because without other recorded cases, I don't think the dealership would have budged.   As you may recall, I went to the dealership and there were other vehicles that were going to be serviced for the same problem. I called BMWNA as suggested, got no help from them because they referred me back to the dealer. My attorney who also USED to go to this dealership directed me to ask for the BMW field rep. to step in and look at the situation. He did and the dealership offered to pay $500.00 in services or "trinkets" but would not go beyond that. I presented the dealership owner with instances of other BMW users with the same problem nationwide (at least the northern part of the nation ) and told him that BMW corporate may be able to take care of themselves, but this reflected badly on all dealerships who could not stand behind the name of their product or their local reputation. They came back with a check for full reimbursement and a boilerplate legal document stating that upon being reimbursed, I waived ALL AND ANY future claims to service (such as recalls, future discovered manufacturer defects, etc.) for this vehicle. I told them it was unacceptable and re-wrote the document to waive future claims to only the oil separator parts and labor.   They agreed, I signed, I got my reimbursement and I now have an appointment with my local Toyota and Honda dealerships. Not the outcome I expected, but I don't care to re-live this experience a second time. Best of luck to all. I will remain online, but please think kindly of any little old lady you see driving her Honda down the road...
#40 of 44 X5 2007 Transmssion? Problems by nycx5er Jan 18, 2008 (3:57 pm)
I am new to this forum, so please excuse me if my issue has already been discussed. Leased '07 X5 3.0 in August. No performance issues for the first 3 months. Since November experience the following symptom. Start her up "cold" (whether outside in 30 degree or inside 70 degree garage). 2-5 minutes warm up. For the first 3 minutes or so of drive, after stopping & release of brake pedal, the CAR LURCHES FORWARD. After 3 minutes, the symptom is gone. In December dealer "checked" for 2 days & told me that they were not able to duplicate the problem. They did, however, "reprogram DME and complete vehicle with latest software". The symptoms were corrected for 5 days and the X5 seemed like a vehicle with a miraculously different personality! However on Day 6 through today the lurch condition has returned. Now, 3 days at the dealer and I'm again told that they cannot duplicate the complaint. To add insult to injury (God forbid) I was told by their service manager today that the "condition" that I am experiencing is "NORMAL". In fact, he said, his 530 does exactly the same thing. He explains that until the transission fluid is allowed to warm up this lurch is normal. ARE THEY FOR REAL? I would appreciate knowing if anyone out there has experienced this condition. All suggestions on how I should proceed will be most gratefully appreciated.
#41 of 44 Re: cold temp problem [bmwnightmare] by strider13 Mar 10, 2008 (10:11 am)
Replying to: bmwnightmare (Mar 13, 2007 8:30 am) I just want to start out that I am SO relieved to find others who feel my pain. I have a 2002 330xi with the same oil separator problem. I live in Minot, ND where we are below freezing almost half of the year and very often get -10F or lower temps in the winter. My car began leaking oil from the top valve cover. BMW told me over the phone that it was most likely a siezed engine oil separator which was not properly exhausting and so was causing overpressure in the engine and thus effectin the leak. The rep started to tell me how much it would cost when I mentioned that my boss had a problem with the same part. Only then did he mentioned that BMWNA knows about the problem and covers people on a case by case basis based on ownership history and maintenance records. I have the car used and some of the inspections/oil changes were done by the owner. So with my limited documentation BMW agreed to charge warranty rates for parts/labor and split the cost after that. So I ended up paying $500 for the upgraded parts which include more insulation and wider orifices so that water does not pool and freeze there. I was NOT happy considering BMW has known about the problem for at least 7 years and should have issued a recall long ago. They tell you the car is off warranty but that doesn't sit well with me considering they knew about the issue while it was on warranty and did nothing.   I can also offer some more background on the problem. My boss actually has the same car as me but he has a 2003. The dealership told me that there are actually 2 different ways the oil separator can fail. If it siezes in closed position you get overpressure and valve cover leakage. If it siezes the other way you get catastrophic failure which includes all of your engine oil shooting out the back tailpipe. This actually happened to my boss and stranded his wife on the interstate. He had good documentation and he was fully covered. The funny thing that really deflates BMW's "good maintenance claim" is that he had a newer car with all maintenance records from certified dealerships and his car failed worse than mine which had DIY work done on it. Furthermore his car is garage kept and mine isn't. Even after all this his car just recently suffered the same fate again! BMW just came out with another fix to the problem, now they include a temperature sensor and a heated manifold. I guess only time will tell if this is effective. I don't think they had this fix 5 months ago when I got mine fixed. Anyway he called dealership and TOLD them they were going to ship car to Minneapolis (the closest dealership), pay for his rental, fix car and ship it back.....and they did.   Now my car is once again leaking (it seems to be fine until temps go below approx -10) and when I explained it to a service guy at a dealership he immediately diagnosed it as a failed separator. When I called to have it replaced with the newly designed manifold I was told that they would have to have the car there first to diagnose. Additionally I was told they didn't even have time to deal with my car at the moment because they had so many other people dealing with the same issue. The service guy told me literally they had had 35 dead cars brought in that week alone due to the cold weather separator failure.   This is a huge problem that BMW is well aware of. The sad thing is they don't put the word out unless you know about the issue beforehand. I called some import repair places in the Minneapolis area and they all told me that they replace dozens of separator parts each winter from people with the same problem. So all these people are unknowingly paying out of pocket for something that BMW should be alerting them to and paying for.   I am so pissed at BMW right now, if they don't fix my car and cover all associated expenses [to include rentals] I will put this issue on every forum I can find, report it to the Better Bussiness Bureau, the local news. Anything I can do to return the ass pain BMW has sent in my direction. They can say the car is off warranty and i'm not lawyer but something has to be said for selling and MARKETING a car with all-wheel drive towards people in the snow belt and with a "cold weather package" and knowing at the same time that the the car in fact is no good in extreme cold weather. If you know anything else about this issue that can help to further this cause please let me know.
#42 of 44 Wow! by sky23213 Mar 11, 2008 (2:33 am)
Let me start with my thanks to the posters who shared their experience with the cold weather issues the X5/X3s have had. WOW! I guess it's good to do a little research in advance. We are planning to replace one of our cars this summer, and I started my research early. One of the vehicles considered is the X3, probably CPO 2005-2007. What really concerned me was not only the fact that I live where cold means COLD, but the way BMW NA treated people. This is BMW after all, not Kia. As a comparison, one of our cars is a '05 CRV, so I follow closely the forums for the vehicle. Older CRVs had an issue with the A/C, but Honda treated people quite differently than the way described here regarding the Oil Separator issue. Many posters were covered 75-100% for vehicles way out of warranty, even though with Honda's A/Cs it was more of a matter of inferior quality part, rather that inferior design which appears to be the case here. Maybe someone will say that a few people are overblowing rare problem here, but I'll have to disagree - as the previous poster mentioned "The service guy told me literally they had had 35 dead cars brought in that week alone due to the cold weather separator failure.. That seems a lot. And here in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area there are only two dealers, so not much of a choice.   I guess I'll have to do some more thinking. We were ready to make a step up, actually waited until we were comfortable not only with the higher price of BMW, but the price tag of its maintenance. I fear $100+ oil changes and $500-700 maintenance no more... but a blown engine on a BMW really brings fear to a man's heart. Replies to this message: psm18 (Apr 18, 2008 8:23 pm)
#43 of 44 Re: Wow! [sky23213] by psm18 Apr 18, 2008 (8:23 pm)
Replying to: sky23213 (Mar 11, 2008 2:33 am) Hello, I have the same problem on my 2002 X5...who do you call at BMW to ask for money?

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