e60 had a meltdown...
05-08-2009, 06:14 AM
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Driving to Knoxville from Nashville for my little brother's college graduation and the 545 had a meltdown...
Luckily I didn't even make it out of the city so I wasn't stranded somewhere in the East Tennessee darkness.. not where you want to be, at least I wouldn't think..
Anyway, I'm cruising along in the multitude of lanes and interchanges as I cross through the maze of interstates making my way across the city (I live on the west side, so I'm heading east). I just make it to I-40 and that will be my path the entire way to Knoxville, smooth sailing.. so I thought... As I merge from one of the connecting loops (440) I get her up to about 80 (which will still get you passed regularly in our traffic scene) and I'm approaching Nashville International Airport. It's about 5 lanes across in this area and I'm the lane next to the HOV lane cruising along avoiding airport traffic... All of the sudden I get a huge ABS Malfunction warning on my dash and I-drive screen. Then, before I can even read the message I get the Dynamic Drive Malfunction. Then, another error and my dash is lit up like a Christmas tree with errors galore...
At this point I still have power, my brakes still work and I'm trying to navigate my way across traffic to get near the shoulder should I have to abort mission of making the next exit... My I-drive screen goes black and my A/C is off... no power windows, steering...nothing. All I have at this point are headlights, taillights and engine power. Then I start to lose power and manage to get it off the road about the time it's barely moving.. I shut her off and let it sit for a moment. Tried to restart and nothing.. not a sound, just some flashes of different malfunctions on the dash.
BMW Assist had a tow truck out there pretty quickly, I will say that...
As I was waiting for the truck, one of the Roadside Hazard trucks pulled up behind me. I'm sure most states have these, in Tennessee they are big yellow trucks that will give you whatever assistance they can. He hooked up a mobile boost to the battery and my car started right up, but as soon as he removed the ground cable it died withing 10 -15 seconds. He didn't want to attempt to jump it completely (nor did I want him too) because of the nature of the car. He said if it were a Toyota Corolla, he would, but not a "newer BMW." He seemed to have a pretty working knowledge of the e60.. (I don't know if that's good or bad, hahaha)...
Anyway, it's at BMW of Nashville and they've had it for a day now and don't know what's wrong with it...
Yuck
Luckily I didn't even make it out of the city so I wasn't stranded somewhere in the East Tennessee darkness.. not where you want to be, at least I wouldn't think..
Anyway, I'm cruising along in the multitude of lanes and interchanges as I cross through the maze of interstates making my way across the city (I live on the west side, so I'm heading east). I just make it to I-40 and that will be my path the entire way to Knoxville, smooth sailing.. so I thought... As I merge from one of the connecting loops (440) I get her up to about 80 (which will still get you passed regularly in our traffic scene) and I'm approaching Nashville International Airport. It's about 5 lanes across in this area and I'm the lane next to the HOV lane cruising along avoiding airport traffic... All of the sudden I get a huge ABS Malfunction warning on my dash and I-drive screen. Then, before I can even read the message I get the Dynamic Drive Malfunction. Then, another error and my dash is lit up like a Christmas tree with errors galore...
At this point I still have power, my brakes still work and I'm trying to navigate my way across traffic to get near the shoulder should I have to abort mission of making the next exit... My I-drive screen goes black and my A/C is off... no power windows, steering...nothing. All I have at this point are headlights, taillights and engine power. Then I start to lose power and manage to get it off the road about the time it's barely moving.. I shut her off and let it sit for a moment. Tried to restart and nothing.. not a sound, just some flashes of different malfunctions on the dash.
BMW Assist had a tow truck out there pretty quickly, I will say that...
As I was waiting for the truck, one of the Roadside Hazard trucks pulled up behind me. I'm sure most states have these, in Tennessee they are big yellow trucks that will give you whatever assistance they can. He hooked up a mobile boost to the battery and my car started right up, but as soon as he removed the ground cable it died withing 10 -15 seconds. He didn't want to attempt to jump it completely (nor did I want him too) because of the nature of the car. He said if it were a Toyota Corolla, he would, but not a "newer BMW." He seemed to have a pretty working knowledge of the e60.. (I don't know if that's good or bad, hahaha)...
Anyway, it's at BMW of Nashville and they've had it for a day now and don't know what's wrong with it...
Yuck
05-08-2009, 06:26 AM
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My Ride: 2004 E60 530i, 2012 E70 X5 35i
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You need a new alternator and new battery. I had something similar like that. Dealer replaced it for me. =)
05-08-2009, 06:38 AM
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My Ride: 530I Silver gray with gray leather with Premium Package, Logic 7 Premium sound system with Ipod interface, xenon adaptive headlights, Active steering, Power retractable rear sunshade, Comfort seats, Cold weather package and M5 OEM 166 wheels, Sprintbooster. Ceramic Tint all around, Bilstein Sports shocks with Eibach springs, Brake performance Rotors and Axxis ceramic pads.
Originally Posted by Krozi' post='872209' date='May 8 2009, 09:29 AM
From what I have read on the forum, it sounds like only your battery is shot.
05-08-2009, 06:51 AM
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No, if the battery was shot it would still be getting juice from the alternator while driving. To me it sounds like the alternator is dead and the battery might be just fine.
05-08-2009, 07:01 AM
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I am thinking alternator too, however it's surprising that they couldn't identify the problem after having it all day. .
Seems like you could make that clarification reasonably soon
Who knows..
I will say that this came out of nowhere. I never had any trouble starting it or any other power related issues with electronics...
Cruising along the highway and in the blink of an eye it was out of commission
Seems like you could make that clarification reasonably soon
Who knows..
I will say that this came out of nowhere. I never had any trouble starting it or any other power related issues with electronics...
Cruising along the highway and in the blink of an eye it was out of commission
05-08-2009, 07:06 AM
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My Ride: 2008 550I M Sport, Premium pkg, Logic 7, Sport Automatic Trans, Paddle Shifters, Nav, Comfort Access, Rear Shades, Satellite, PDC
Same thing happened with my X5. Alternator went bad. The sad thing was that there was no indication the alternator was going bad until the dash lit up with all the malfunctions. There should be better monitoring to let you know when the alternator goes bad. I barely made it into my driveway with no headlights at night when mine went.
05-08-2009, 07:07 AM
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My Ride: 2004 E60 530i, 2012 E70 X5 35i
Model Year: 2004
Originally Posted by UTVol545i' post='872237' date='May 8 2009, 11:01 AM
I am thinking alternator too, however it's surprising that they couldn't identify the problem after having it all day. .
Seems like you could make that clarification reasonably soon
Who knows..
I will say that this came out of nowhere. I never had any trouble starting it or any other power related issues with electronics...
Cruising along the highway and in the blink of an eye it was out of commission
Seems like you could make that clarification reasonably soon
Who knows..
I will say that this came out of nowhere. I never had any trouble starting it or any other power related issues with electronics...
Cruising along the highway and in the blink of an eye it was out of commission
Hopefully you still have warranty and you pay a $50 dollar deductable. =)
05-08-2009, 07:13 AM
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Originally Posted by Howitzer' post='872222' date='May 8 2009, 10:51 AM
No, if the battery was shot it would still be getting juice from the alternator while driving. To me it sounds like the alternator is dead and the battery might be just fine.
