passta

No real purpose to this post other than for me to vent...

Ok, I've got a CPO 07 550i 29k on it that I have had for about a month, I've posted on here a few times about some questions or problems I had with the car, most were very minor cosmetic/mechanical stuff that has been quickly fixed (grease on headliner, sunroof seal, power seat issue). 2 weeks ago, I had to have it towed in my home town, battery was dead, clock kept resetting, car wouldn't start. I've seen a few posts of here with simliar issues relating from the battery is bad, to comfort access, to cables, etc... I was told by the dealer that the issue was a bad negative battery cable and IBS lead which were both replaced. Got the car back, everything was great.

So fast forward to this past weekend. I was out of town on a fishing trip about 250 miles from home. On Friday night, I went to get something from the car and noticed the clock was reset, and I was worried the car wouldn't start. It started fine, I fixed the clock and let it run for 15-20 min to be sure it stayed running and shut it off. Sat morning went and checked, same thing, clock reset but it started and ran fine, drove it into town to get gas and food, no problems. Yesterday morning, 6AM getting ready to drive home, started the car, same thing, clock reset, and this time threw errors for Braking/Driving Stability issues and Transmission fault, and I could not put the car in gear with or without the brake depressed. I shut the car off, and that was it, wouldn't turn over anymore, tried jumping it, nothing.

I hit up roadside assistance (again, 2nd time in 2 weeks) and they offered to town the car to one of the 3 closest dealers. The closest one is about 150 miles from where I actually live, so I spent about 30 minutes arguing with them trying to get them to tow it back to my dealer. I was pressed for time and not getting stuck with a dead car 250 miles away so I caught a ride with the rest of my group heading back, leaving the tow hook out, car in neutral, keys with the front desk, and a buddy who was staying later to deal with the tow driver.

They towed the car yesterday to the tow company lot for overnight storage since dealer was closed. This morning they towed it to the dealership in Springfield MO, and they are now working on the car. I was told by both the dealer that cuurrently has my car and the dealership in my home that BMW has a service called re-unite that will basically pay for the transport via truck, of my car, to my home or office upon successful repair. I've been on the phone with both my dealer and the out of town dealer that is fixing the car and so far, my local dealer is in my opinion dropping the ball here. I still don't have a loaner or rental car, and they have refused to help me out since BMW won't let them give out a loaner without the dealership being in possession of, and repairing my car. They also ensured me the issue was fixed, and I understand the issues here can and are probably multiple but it really sucks they can't step up. The other dealership has been very helpful so far but I still don't have a car, I haven't needed one yet since I was using my wifes car, but thats not the point.

My next step is to call BMW directly and complain, not sure where that will get me but we'll see.

Howitzer

I hope you get a new transmission out of this. I also hope you call BMWNA and complain.

passta

I called them and basically all I've got was they would re-imburse me for a rental for 5 days, which isn't really the point. I will call back again tomorrow once I hear from the dealer with more info.

KREED_550i

Man, that sucks! I hope you work it out. I was going through the whole resitting my clock and battery\car won't start issues. It looks like the problem is finally fixed, well I hope so. My issue was the comfort access door handles.

You would think a luxury company like BMW would take better care of their customers. I think sometimes the problem may actually be the local dealership and not headquarters.

passta

The issue according to the dealer that has it is the same thing as last time, the IBS lead which cuts the power to the car in the case of an accident. They said that it looked like it was loose possibly from the last repair. In reading about the battery issues, I hope this was just a case of a bad part, but to have failed now 3 twice (original and replacement) makes me feel it might be something else although i have nothing to base that on except other peoples experiences on the boards.

My local dealer did finally give me a loaner until my car is replaced but only after several calls from me, and then a call from the other dealer stating the issue. Supposed to have the car trucked back by tomorrrow or Wed.

For people who have experienced simliar issues, has the culprit in most cases ultimately been the battery or is it across the board? It seems like BMW is hesitant to replace a battery, but they'll drop all kinds of money on tow's and a re-unite which can't be cheap here.

KREED_550i

My SA told me it wasn't my battery lead. I basically gave them a list of things to look for that I heard about from this forum.