So it looks like my car is getting a new starter.

I went in complaining about occasional loud squealing noises upon cold startup and an odd rattling sound at idle coming from the front of the engine. I was thinking that the tensioner pulleys were going, maybe in conjunction with a slipping belt.

They replaced the pulleys (which were indeed bad and making noise). Then they let the car sit in the cold for a few hours and went to test things by starting it up, and they heard the loud squeal/shriek again. They pulled some things apart, and it turns out the starter is on the way out. Given that it is only a matter of time (and they would have been covering it under the CPO at some point) they decided to go ahead and replace. I don't know what that would be @retail, but imagine it would be quite a bit, glad to have it behind me.

Got to keep the '10 528xi for one more day so I can play with (and get jealous of) the new iDrive - for those who've got it, WOW - a big improvement.

Still looking forward to getting my car back - new iDrive isn't THAT good.....

 

Glad CPO covered it

Hope you get your car back soon I remember after I first saw the new iDrive, my iDrive felt more like an etch-a-sketch rather than a complex computation device

 

I could hear my starter grind, for lack of a better description, occasionally. When I had my car in the last time for another issue I mentioned it and I was surprised to hear that they replaced it under warranty. This was at about 47k miles.

 

I'm right at 47k myself...

 

What do you mean by new iDrive isn't THAT good? Can you give more details? The graphics seems to be amazing especially when you have the full map in birdview and the names of streets are showing on the map.....

 

Haha - I was actually referring to how much I liked my 545 6-speed over the 528xi auto I had as a loaner. No offense meant to those who own a 6-cylinder or an automatic! - just that I love my car.

The new i-drive is actually spectacular compared to the earlier generation in my car. Graphics are amazing - very detailed, plus the full-screen view is fantastic. The new interface is very intuitive. It took me a few minutes to figure out how to, for example, change to split-screen mode (I like keeping the map on the right and entertainment options in full view), and I had to get used to the new 'all-stations' mode under entertainment, but it is completely superior in almost every way.

The lack of haptic feedback is a huge improvement, and things are generally much snappier. In my car, the haptic feedback can be somewhat erratic, and can prevent you from scrolling as fast as you might be able to otherwise. The shortcut buttons are perfectly chosen, and mimic the way that a standard computer interface would operate. I didn't explore all the menus available, but from what I did explore along with what I've read here, you indeed get a much deeper customizable feature set in the new interface.

The resolution on the map is a grand leap forward. You can now see local street names at higher altitude zoom levels than before - something I find annoying on the current interface, particularly around NY where the roads can be so dense.

So don't get me wrong - it's an absolute 10! (It just doesn't make up for an extra 130 ft-lbs of torque!)