I have a 2004 545 with active steering. I have had the car 6 months and it has been back to the dealer 3 times for losing the active steering initializing (whatever that is). I also had to do without the car for 3 weeks with a recall issue and most recently my radio/navigation locked up and they keep the car 10 days to figure it out. I am getting frustrated and seeking advice. This is my third BMW and the first with any issues. Anyone else dealing with this?
Anyone Else Having This Problem?
- Thread starter advancejcw
- Start date
Thanks for the support. The real issue is that I live over an hour away from the dealership and have to take a half day off every time this happens. I told the dealership yesterday that I would like to review my options for getting out of the car and they said I would need to bring the car in for a BMW specialist to check it out before they would even talk to me about it. So I will be taking off on the 4th of January to take the car to Atlanta. (That is when the BMW specialist will be in town). I wish I had my 2002 525 back!
I’m with BMW of North America, LLC. I’m sorry to read about these problems with your 545i. We are here to work with you and your BMW center, and we'd like to help. If you would like our assistance, please phone us at (800) 831-1117. and mention Reference #200500400091 so that we can discuss your concerns.
I feel ya man..........I would love to list the problems I have had with my 530i, but I don't have enough time and Tom doesn't have enough bandwidth to support such a list. I am trying to sell mine. Good luck
BTW I have had mine since March of 2004 and it has been in the shop 13 times, for various issues...tomorrow will be 14 times...new problem. And I am NOT picky. Here is a picture of what ALL 4 of my tires look like after 22k miles.....notice the extreme wear on the inside track.... The alignment is so jacked and I am SOOOOOO pissed that I can't see straight. I can handle minor computer faults, but this could have ended very tragically. F**K BMW I will never own another.
BTW I have had mine since March of 2004 and it has been in the shop 13 times, for various issues...tomorrow will be 14 times...new problem. And I am NOT picky. Here is a picture of what ALL 4 of my tires look like after 22k miles.....notice the extreme wear on the inside track.... The alignment is so jacked and I am SOOOOOO pissed that I can't see straight. I can handle minor computer faults, but this could have ended very tragically. F**K BMW I will never own another.
![[screwy]](/images/smilies/icon_smile_screwy.gif "Screwy [screwy]"){kind=icon}
They couldn't just fix it?First let me say I've had my 2004 545 for almost a year now and have no problems other than a rattle in the passenger seat that was promtly fixed. I love the car, drives like a dream. The problem with the new E60 is that BMW, rather than focusing on their area of expertise, driving mechanics, has tried too quickly to jump into the same "luxury" market that is dominated by mostly the Japanese with all their high-tech electronics stuff. The Germans have never been very good at that stuff and they should stick with what they know. I am intentionally ignoring the exterior design issue because we have all seen the threads and everyone has their own opinion. I have mine and put my money where my mouth is.
Most of the problems on the E60 have been cars with the electronic bells and whistles like Voice Command, Navigation, Active Steering and Blue Tooth telephones. The key is does car have the Nav system, which uses a different computer than non-Nav cars. Most of the lemons/problem cars have this CCC computer vs. the MAS-K computer used in non-Nav cars. My 545 does not have NAV or Active Steering or any of that other crap and I've totally enjoyed mt first experience as a BMW owner.
IMO, you want all the toys, buy the Acura/Infinti/Lexus. You want a car that drives like nothing else, get the BMW. But BMW's have always had a reputation for being a bit finicky in terms of maintenance. The electronics problems have greatly magnified this for BMW, and of course the technicians at the local dealer are not being trained very well either. Where BMW blew it was trying to catch up to the Japanese tto fast.
Most of the problems on the E60 have been cars with the electronic bells and whistles like Voice Command, Navigation, Active Steering and Blue Tooth telephones. The key is does car have the Nav system, which uses a different computer than non-Nav cars. Most of the lemons/problem cars have this CCC computer vs. the MAS-K computer used in non-Nav cars. My 545 does not have NAV or Active Steering or any of that other crap and I've totally enjoyed mt first experience as a BMW owner.
IMO, you want all the toys, buy the Acura/Infinti/Lexus. You want a car that drives like nothing else, get the BMW. But BMW's have always had a reputation for being a bit finicky in terms of maintenance. The electronics problems have greatly magnified this for BMW, and of course the technicians at the local dealer are not being trained very well either. Where BMW blew it was trying to catch up to the Japanese tto fast.
They tried to fix it four times. Before they bought the car back last week, it had been in the shop three weeks and they still did not have the parts from Germany. That was the last straw for me. I did not pay 65k for a car to sit in the shop 2 out of the first 6 months I owned it. For the record it did have Nav.
I traded a 540i 6-speed back to the dealer (Hilton Head BMW 843-815-1500) this past fall, and it's still on their lot. 36,000+/- miles, great shape, now offered CPO. I'd bargain hard, since they've had it for several months...Great car (downsized to an M 3; love the engine, miss the quiet V8). Ask for Gordon...