Murphy's Law here -- just bought this 5 series last week and 70 miles later this happens:

Driving Stability warning comes on the display unit...



2006 530i w/ 36k miles -- any idea what this might cost to fix? Obviously a diagnosis from a mechanic needs to be done but I am a little skiddish on what the dealer is going to tell me needs to be done.

Any inisight/help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

and chance of taking it back? or did you buy privately?

Sounds like your DTC or DSC isn't working properly- unless you have dynamic drive and it is referring to that...

 

First, I would have it looked at as soon as you can, but, in reality, you can probably drive safely with this warning/malfunction under 99% of the road conditions you are likely to encounter. Not many of us push the handling to the limits (such as on the track) where this system needs to step in anyway, and unless you encounter slick road surfaces (snow, ice, gravel, wet, etc.), you'll probably never see the system kick in anyway.

Click on this link, Electronic Stability Control, for a description of the system. As it says, it monitors the driver inputs (steering angle, throttle) plus the car response and applies the brakes/reduces the throttle to keep the car from skidding.

 

I have a similar issue on my 07 550i, and it is in the shop now to have the SZL replaced, which is part of the steering angle system, I beleive. I just bought the car recently, and it is being fixed via the dealer, at a quoted price of $968 (not being paid by me!).

 

Thanks for the help -- I appreciate you taking the time to respond.

 

I purchased from a private party -- contacted the previous owner and he says he has never seen that warning message before (likely story) -- I guess in the end it is always 'buyer beware' -- thought there was a little more integrity in people though.

 

+1 Probably a steering angle sensor ... on my '07 530xi had mine replaced under warranty at about the same mileage. Don't know what the parts and labor charge out of warranty might be and also unsure if an indy could do the repair. For electronics issues like this you might be better off with a dealer repair though it will likely be more expensive initially. You could try to see if BMWNA will help out with the cost of repair esp since your car is such low mileage.

 

That happened to me a couple of years ago and it was my control arms were outta whack !