Problems with new 5-series? Unwanted acceleration.

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vdmeulen

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First of all, I am a very loyal BMW owner with two in the garage (545i and X5) and two BMW motorcycles. For those who are not familiar with BMW bikes, they are great!

I have owned my 545i since March and it is in the shop about twice a month for at least 3 days at a time. Problems are with the i-drive, mainly entertainment system that freezes up and other issues. But the biggest problem is with throttle control. Yes, this car actually suffers from "unwanted acceleration". When you slow down at a stop it wants to shift up, which gives it an extra "push". I have almost hit a few people already. The other problem is that sometimes in slow traffic when hitting the accelerator, there is a delayed response and the car will just launch forward.

The technicians at BMW are "understanding" but claim that they get the software updates from BMW and nobody at BMW knows what to do. Yesterday they told me they would keep it longer to "re-train" the adaptive transmission module, because BMW had actually advised them to physically take the car to a test area where they would have to repeat for 9 times accelerating from 0 to 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 miles to train the car? Everybody is pulling their hairs out!

And by the way, this comes after dealing for months with door squeaks, which they finally found a compound for. Also tires have already been replaced on this car.

I have never had any problems with the 4 other BMW's that we owned.

Does anybody have any suggestions on how to deal with this? I am close to getting a lawyer involved, but would rather solve it amicably.

Thomas
 
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kscarrol

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vdmeulen, which transmission do you have, the Steptronic or the SMG? I've had my 545 since Feb (have Steptronic) and have never experienced what you describe. That's terrible, I can't believe they haven't been able to resolve it. As for the entertainment issue, check this link about a grounding problem that has been causing stereos to mysteriously come on all by themselves. Maybe your issues are related. This fix is for car w/ Navigation as it uses the CCC computer vs. the MAS-K compoter for cars w/out Navigation.

http://forums.e60.net/index.php?showtopic=4392
 
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Doc

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vdmeulen,
Not a good situation. Have you tried calling BMW customer relations? They've helped me in the past when the dealer couldn't. # is 800-831-1117
Good Luck.
 
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iDriveguy

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Cheers!

As usual, I know nothing and have no answers. However I do know this....

Check your local "lemon laws" (they vary by state). To get an attorney involved in new car product failure litigation, the laws are typically VERY specific. i.e. you need to have the same reoccurring problem in a predetermined amount of time. So taking a new car back 8 times for the same problem is "better" than taking it back 8 times for 8 different problems.

And "safety" related (reoccurring of course) problems are what matters verse "annoyances" - i.e. A/C problems, squeaks, leaks, stereo/entertainment, etc.

P.S. don't threaten to talk to an attorney either - it will guarentee you nothing but future problems with the service center. [;)]
 
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epj3

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iDriveguy said:
Cheers!

As usual, I know nothing and have no answers. However I do know this....

Check your local "lemon laws" (they vary by state). To get an attorney involved in new car product failure litigation, the laws are typically VERY specific. i.e. you need to have the same reoccurring problem in a predetermined amount of time. So taking a new car back 8 times for the same problem is "better" than taking it back 8 times for 8 different problems.

And "safety" related (reoccurring of course) problems are what matters verse "annoyances" - i.e. A/C problems, squeaks, leaks, stereo/entertainment, etc.

P.S. don't threaten to talk to an attorney either - it will guarentee you nothing but future problems with the service center. [;)]
Click to expand...
I don't believe he'll have a case for lemon laws. I understand it's definitely a saftey issue, but that's not saying they won't fix it. He has to contact bmwNA as you would have to do with any other premium brand. It's not like GM where there are MANY more people to 'troubleshoot.'

Instead of going into it as "i DEMAND this car not have problems" is wrong - it's going to have problems, and that's the EXACT reason they give you a warranty. I imagine it's simply a bad drive-by-wire sender (the sensor under the gas pedal), but I don't know much about newer cars... I enjoy my cars that have an actual physical cable between the pedal and throttle [:)]
 
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deutsch100

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I think you might have a good case for lemon law. A "lemon" does not have to be just safety related issues...it can be any issue that has had numerous repeated repair attempts, or a large number or different problems, with tallied days in Service.

I suggest you talk with the Service Manager, and Owner/manager of your dealer, and request a Buyback, or as BMW calls it a Collateral Buyback. This is how I got out of my 2004 330cic, and got a new 2004 330cic. BMW and the dealer were excellent...took almost 1.5 months to get it settled, but in the end I drove away in a new 330cic due to so many problems and attempted repairs.

I would not keep your 5er...you have def. been too patient with that car and the dealer. Take action, and get it bought back, or sold.

My 2 cents....spoken from recent experience!!

Good Luck!!!
 
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vdmeulen

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Great feedback from all of you. I picked it up the car today, finally after a whole week, and service manager said he could not fix it any further. They were not sure that they fixed transmission problem. Claims that i-drive will continue acting up until they get the next software update. Also, I contacted dealer and started discussions about a buy-back. Did any of you guys read the Tuesday Wall Street Journal, where the new 5 was specifically called out as a "poor reliability" car, given all electronics problems? Not very good PR for a top brand.

Do any of you know if the late model 7-series are any better?
 
Chesty Bonds

Chesty Bonds

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The unwanted acceleration that you described is almost certainly an outcome of the stupid drive-by-wire system. My mum's E46 325i had a similar problem. You could push the accelerator and... nothing. Then, all of a sudden, it would unleash a torrent of power which completely ruined any semblance of smoothness and, in all honesty, scared the living shit out of whoever was driving.

We had some new software put into the car to fix this and it has improved the car a lot. perhaps your dealership could do the same for you??? Perhaps because its a brand new E60 they may not have the relevant replacements yet.

This sort of thing is becoming far too common with the new BMWs and I can't possibly understand how BMW didn't see what was coming when they released the new 7. If i didn't love BMW so much i would find the current situation rather comical because the number of problems that the new cars have accross the board is totally ridiculous. I don't understand why the German carmakers have to load their cars to the hilt with all this technology shit. All it does is f*** up the car and detract from the driving experience. I honestly believe that, after these "Bangle-era" models, there will be a serious decline in new BMW sales because lots of people will not buy a BMW again. It's a real shame.
 
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