New '04 X-5 3.0i, throttle problem? - Page 2

Grumpy1 · 02-14-2004, 03:29 AM

OK, I took it to the dealer and told them about the throttle problem. A mechanic test drove and - surprise - said there was nothing wrong with it. He didn't come right out and say it, but pretty much insinuated that I don't know what I'm doing or talking about. Never mind the fact that I fly $20 million jets for a living, that I am a certified aircraft mechanic, and that I have taken masters courses about and written papers on the ergonomics of man-machine interfaces.
We also had them look at the rear side impact airbags which were SUPPOSED to come deactivated because of our two small children and which they assured us they were when it arrived. But,, we insisted that they check, and guess what - they were activated. Now we have to go back and have them de-activated. The problems never end.....

scoobyfung · 02-14-2004, 05:09 AM

Hi Jason,

I actually emailed to a few more places. I want to make sure they get the message.

5. BMW Customer Service
6. BMW USA tech center
7. BMW USA somewhere else...

Some have email addresses, and some you can only write email on their web site. Here are 2 that have emails:

a. Investor Relations: ir@bmwgroup.com
b. Customer Service: bmwgroup.customerservice@bmwgroup.com

here are the problems i reported:

1. during temp of 50F in rainy condition, my headlight casing fogged up from the inside. i have seen this problem on my mercedes before and admitted to the problem. it's a defect for sure...but the bmw dealer says it normal?? come on... (see attached pictures)

2. delayed acceleration/throttle response. bmws i have driven before are ultra responsive. you touch the gas pedal and off it goes. for the 2004 x5 3.0, i press on the gas pedal and nothing happens for the first few inches, and then BOOM and the power comes with a surge which pushes my head to the head rest everytime.

3. rear parking distance control does not shut off even after i change gear back to Park!!!! i have never seen a worse design flaw than this. even after market sensors i have installed in my other car works better. scenario: i back up, i stop, i change to Park, i stay in the car for another minute to gather my belongings, and the damn thing is still beeping. i have had to manually shut the pdc off "everytime" i park, and that's very annoying. also, sometimes i manually turn it on when i approach a wall or something in the front of the car. when i stop the car, the beeping goes off....but then like you said, it comes back for no reason again! and then the beeping goes off...and comes back again!!!??? for mercedes, if you car is travelling forward and you press the breaks, the front sensor activates until it senses something close then it beeps. when the brake is off, the sensor goes off. and when you back up, like any other PDC, it shuts off when you are not in reverse anymore!

4. i like to sit very high up and adjust my seat to a high position, but i cannot adjust the steering wheel high enough to see the dashboard. (i am 5'9" tall) the top of the steering wheel is in the way. i always sit up high on every car i drive including rental cars and friends' cars. audi/mercedes/other bmw's do not have this problem. i am starting to think that the person who designed the 2004 X5 overlooked many little details...

5. the rear central passenger air conditioner is Very loud.

hope this is useful.

cheers,

scooby

scoobyfung · 02-14-2004, 05:15 AM

hi Grumpy1,

i actually have not really spend too much time telling me dealer my problems because i know what the response will be and that there is really not much they can do about it. i was thinking the other day, there must be several thousand dealers all over the world and it will just take too long to go through them. therefore, i am assuming that my dealer will not be able to help me in the short term. i am going to focus on contacting bmw directly and then ask my dealer to help me make sure that if bmw admits to any of the problem, i get them fixed quickly and at no charge. anyways, i have a feeling that this might be a long process so we might have to wait and see for a while...

btw, you have a pretty cool job!!!

cheers,

scooby

scoobyfung · 02-16-2004, 09:11 AM

as expected, bmw germany forwarded my email to my hk dealer, and they asked me to show them the problems next week...

to be continued...

iwpb2001 · 02-17-2004, 02:49 AM

Might have found a temp solution...but I havent tried it yet. Look at these discussions to learn about it, Evidently, the X5 comes with an Electronic Controled Throttle. So, unlike the brake pedel, which is mechanical, it varies by how you drive. The computer recognizes how you drive and adapts the throttle reposnse to it. So, if you drive slow, it will recognize that and try to save you gas by not giving the RPM's right away. From what I read...there are two ways to "reset" your throttle response.

1 Get a Dinan software patch for your computer and it should be fized.

2. Use your key and click it in the "2" position for 10 seconds and then back to the "off" position for 10 seconds and then start the car. It should be reset, thus, if you floor it a cople of times, it will recogzie that you are a faster driver and gives you more RPM's to work with.

I have no idea if this works as its almost 4:00 AM and I am not going to try it right now. Let me know if this works......cross-fingers..

Here are the discussion:

http://bimmer.roadfly.org/bmw/forums/e53/4559493-8.html

and theres another link in that discussion for more about it all.

Good luck guys and I'll report tomorrow what I find out!!!!

scoobyfung · 02-17-2004, 06:41 PM

wow, this is very interesting... will try it tomorrow. i know that bmw test every car off the production line. can the delayed throttle response be caused by the driving style/procedure of the post production testing? i think they put on at least 10/20km of testing if not more.

BMW_4.4i · 02-20-2004, 09:11 PM

Yes, this could have played a factor, especially if the testers drove the car hard. BMW's I-drive system quickly and constantly adapts to the way the driver is driving the car. How many miles/kilometers do you have on it now? By 500km at the longest, the I-Drive should have adapted to your particular driving style. Are you a fairly affressive/aggressive driver? It seems likely to me that the testers most likely would drive it harder when they take it off the production line, to prevent problems when the new owner drives it hard.

scoobyfung · 02-25-2004, 11:26 AM

i have about 750km and have not been very aggressive yet since i am cautious during the break-in period. have not heard back from any bmw offices except for my local one...which is what i had expected. still have not gone into dealer yet since i've been busy. will update more after i talk to them.

manitou2k · 03-04-2004, 10:32 PM

I too have experienced the throttle response problem. I have also experience a strange "pause" when shifting into drive form park after the car has been sitting overnight. After reading these messages, I wonder if they could be related issues?

Anyway, I came across a service bulliten on http://bmwtechinfo.com

Bulliten number SI B 24 07 03 - Automatic Transmissions

"GM5 Delayed P to D Engagement on Cold Start"

Effects E46 and E53 w/GM5 transmission (x5 3.0iA, manufactured from 09/02 - 12/03)

The remedy is to replace the transmission - but "ON A CUSTOMER COMPLAINT BASIS ONLY"

So if you don't know this may be a problem, then I guess you are out of luck. I will be having mine replaced next week.

scoobyfung · 03-31-2004, 10:15 AM

hi guys,

did anyone get any news about this problem? i have been traveling and have not had time to stop in the dealer. my problems still there. also, i just tried using the net and it's so user unfriendly? unlike the audi allroad, where all you have to do is pull the net up and lock it to the roof, the X5 net requires so much set up and effort! and it keeps falling out of the roof retainer...

sigh...

scoobyfung · 04-10-2004, 01:03 PM

scoobyfung · 04-10-2004, 01:09 PM

btw, the delayed throttle problem is not as evident when in manual shifting mode...so i suspect it is a software problem for the auto transmission.

CalvinX5 · 05-14-2004, 07:56 AM

Hi Everyone,
Im new and this is a awesome forum. Here is my story.
Went to BMW dealer on Wednesday, saw/liked X5 3.0 for my wife, Signed papers, picked it up on Friday. Wife followed me back in her new X5 while I drove other car. On Saturday as we were getting ready to head to Mohegan Sun in Conneticut from NJ. Wife did not want to drive her new X5 3.0. I didnt know why till she told me that it drove weird. SO I decided to drive it. OMG, what the heck was this? Major Throttle problem. It did not respond for the first inch or so and then a surge of power kicked in. Wife explained it almost caused 2 accidents while she drove back on Friday. It was at 4 way intersections with stop signs.
The car hesitated to move upon gassing so other cars went and all of the sudden the x5 zoomed ahead. Man, twice this happened while she was bringing the x5 back from the dealer. Anyway, I ended up driving back from mohegan sun in CT. Bought X5 to BMW dealer on Monday, they found that it needed a software upgrade right away as well as explained that there is no need to replace tranny cuz I have the new batch of x5 3.0 with the panoramic moonroof. I was still upset cuz when I got home from Mohegan sun, I did a searc on the search engines and found alot of info on this x5 throttle problem. Anyway, to make a long story short, they DID offer to give me FULL credit towards a X5 4.4.
In fact, they will take off $1,000 off the x5 4.4. They had originally taken $1,500 off the first x5 3.0 we bought which we had put 450 miles on.

Anyway, please help. SHould I take back the x5 3.0 or just upgrade to x5 4.4? It will basically cost me 10g more for the 4.4.

The x5 3.0 after the software fix actually drove like it was suppose to. There wasnt much delay response anymore. Ofcourse the 4.4 had more response cuz it was a bigger engine.

I must decide by tomorrow which is when I will be going back to BMW.
btw, Im STILL driving their 325i loaner car. Its been 5 days (C=
This is the best BMW dealer. I delt with the Vice President of this bmw dealer about the situation. HE was real cool and understanding.

PLEASE, post your thoughts and opinion about the switch to 4.4. SHould I or shouldnt I and why.

My main concern is what if the tranny does go bad and I lose the chance to upgrade to 4.4 which doesnt have this problem.
I just cannot justify spending another 10g for the same x5 with a more powerful engine and nothing else. My wife doesnt need the powerful engine. Its her car, not mines. She will be the one to drive it to and from work. I got my eyes on the new M5 (C= If the x5 was mines, I would probably go for the 4.8, but its not so I just want to make sure my wife is driving in a safe car/sav.

Thanks again,
Calvin

josejb70 · 06-17-2004, 10:27 PM

Hi everyone,

It looks like the last post on here was in February. Today is June 17th.

I picked up my new 3.0i X5 on Monday this week and OH SURPRISE I am experiencing the exact problem "y'all" are having.

If I may offer some hope. I read in a posting somewhere (I've read so much about this) that the throttle problem is caused by the xDrive system "learning" your driving habits during the first 500 miles.

I have (at least temporarily) solved the problem by driving my truck in S mode. Simply shift from D to S (move the stick to the left). DON'T do manual shifts. Just drive the care in S (I guess Sport?) mode. I think this mode has quicker response and the throttle seems to respond well when the pedal is first pressed.

Good luck to everyone!

Jose

CalvinX5 · 06-20-2004, 12:50 AM

Hi All,
Well, My problem has been resolved.
I brought 2004 X5 3.0 back to dealer after 400 miles and they told me right away it was a software problem. The had it fixed in a fewe days and we had a 3 series loaner for a few days. I was still worried the problem might come back and asked to be allowed to upgrade to 4.4. Luckly my loan app wasnt sent to bank yet so they were able to give me full credit for a new 4.4 even though we had put 400+ miles on it.

Anyway, I test drove the x5 3.0 after the software fix and it seemed better. Not as powerful as the 4.4, but it was still better then before the software fix. To make a long story short, we decided to just stick with the 3.0 (C= My wife doesnt need all that power.

Anyway, the BMW dealer we went to in NJ was the best. A++
Its at King BMW. Jim was his name. Awesome guy man.

I suggest you bring it in for service. Explain the problem. They have the fix.

Calvin

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