cattman

Thanks for the info.
One question: what have you been using on the leather? And I assume you are using the same product on the steering wheel?

LowOrbit

Thanks for your observations.

Can you tell me when things started going downhill? (rattles etc.). My last car (Audi A6) felt pretty new even after 4 years when I sold it.

TexaZ3

I can somewhat relate, as I have 04 model (built 12/01/03). Both cupholders broke at least once, door seals creak, instrument cluster rattles, I got active steering malfunction at least twice, TCU replaced, battery replaced, and few other minor things. I take great care of my cars, and it looks great as far as wear and tear goes, but I can see why some would complain.

bankerboyz

I have used an assortment of products over the years from top of the line down to the ordinary. I just think that the quality of the leather used in the cockpit is to be desired. I try to use products that are not drying in nature or that are harsh to the leather. I just find it surprising that the quality of the leather has diminished this quickly.

bankerboyz

I would say that the rattles started to increase over the past year to the point where if I drive on a rough patch of pavement I turn up the volume on the radio to drown out the rattling. The other stuff just seemed to dawn on me over time. Its just not aging gracefully. And believe me, I take very good care of my car.

bankerboyz

So I have a little over three months before I return the car at lease end and was prompted to start this thread after my car decided it was in no mood to cooperate with me this morning while I was running late for a meeting. I got in and backed out of the garage when suddenly, ding! ding! " your active steering is malfunctioning, drive carefully and have it checked out by the nearest dealer." I just pulled her right back into the garage and got in the X5 and threatened her ass that if she pulled any stupid stunts I was going to leave her ass on the side of the road. Anyway she got me to the office without incident.

As one of the early owners of the E60 ( I took delivery in October of 2003) I must say that after almost three years the car has not aged as well as I thought it would. The car's ability to deliver an ear to ear grin drivability is still there, however I am starting to realise that it was not put together as soildly as the previous generation of 5 series. For example:

1) The seats have worn very poorly. I have the sports seats and the leather seems quite haggard even though I regularly treat it with a leather conditioner;
2) The center console has started to shake like its coming undone;
3) After being replaced about 4 times, the cupholder is broken again;
4) The leather on the steering wheel has started to wear out;
5) Used to be that the back shelf was the only thing that rattled, now there is rattling every where;
6) The gloss on the wood trim has dimimished.

There are also quite a few other little niggles. The interior of the car just doesnt seem quite as posh as it use to and I am actually looking forward to returning it. Keep in mind that I am not one to beat up on a leased car, I try to take care of it as if I owned it, plus I have other vehicles that I also drive besides the E60. I hope the post 2004 models hold up a lot better. I know that with normal wear and tear certain things will start to deteriorate over time but I was not expecting them to fall apart so rapidly.

Well, I am going call my service advisor later and see what the deal is with my active steering. After this car I made a promise to myself not to buy a first year model car ever again.

Sans

Interesting. How many miles do you have on the car?

I have a 9/03 build and I would say that after the initial gremlins my car has aged better - with two notable exceptions. Tire noise (second set of free Dunlop RFTs still sound like a Mack truck - never again) and the cockpit is decidedly more squeaky.

To the first point, I have 25k miles on the car and use snow tires in the winter so the few thousand miles on the these free tires to be making such racket again is inexcusable. I blame Dunlop.

The cockpit squeaks are irrating though. At two different service intervals I have asked my service folks to silence the interior with detailed explanations of where the sounds are coming from. Both times the fix would last a few weeks and before I knew it the noises were back in full force. In the interest of full disclosure - I do drive the car pretty hard so perhaps on some level I'm not allowed to be mad that I've pounded it out of silence over the last three years....still....

Also, if you don't mind me asking, how big a guy are you? I'm skinny and I pretty much baby the interior and have had no noticeable wear issues. I do watch my *ahem* more rotund friends wear their seats out at an alarming faster rate than I do.