Bmw X3 disillusioned

Discussion in 'X3' started by jim761, Jan 4, 2021.

  1. jim761
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    jim761

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    Hi took delivery of X3 2.0d and have been a BMW owner for the last 25 years but now have become disillusioned with the make and now seriously thinking about moving to Land Rover Evoque, my beef is this paid extra for head-up display biggest con out there all I get is speed only 30-50-60, etc my second car in the household cost 25 thousand less and I get more information on it. So on checking BMW UK site before I complain to the dealer if I want more information on head-up display you have to pay more again Techinacly I should have checked before taken out of the showroom but alas the rest of the cars faults aren't any better (electric seat memory supposed to work with Key rev-counter dies when coasting downhill or coming to a stop auto box normally great in the X3 hunts below 20mh and jerks the auto switch for wipers no longer on the end of the indicator stock miss that one finger touch autostop has a mind of its engine stays on or cuts out for no reason supposed to come with LED headlights Xenon instead so I have twin headlights but only the outside ones function as a dip and full beam and it was supposed to come with dimming mirrors drivers side only last x3 had it on passengers side as well so you still get blinded by car lights? ) if this is the standard that BMW is now going to go down I am afraid that I will think very hard about ever buying another BMW would be interested in hearing your viewpoints on this sad X3 owner.
     
  2. edthefed
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    edthefed

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    Now a days 99.99% of dealers will charge a "diagnostic" when investigating faults.
    If the fault is covered by the 3 year warranty ie it is "manfacturing defect" nor user error, accidental damage etc the diagnostic fee will be waived.

    Good luck with an Evoque, a friend has one, it is much smaller than an X3, the quality of the interior is woeful, the plastic looks and feels very cheap. It has been back to the dealers numerous times with assorted faults. There is no way i would have one
     
  3. GunRunner
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    GunRunner WARLORD

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    Hello and welcome to the forum.
    If you are in a position to do so, I would write down (list) your complaints and then go back to the dealer and go through them one by one. It could be that some things that you are seeing are new to you and normal for the latest X3 whilst others might well be genuine faults. Going through them in the order you have listed them might be tedious, and dare I say it reading the manual might be all that is needed with some of the described faults/observations/quirks.

    Is this a brand new car or new to you? How many miles has it covered? Surely it is under warranty? Which dealership did you get it from?
     
  4. Ed1
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    Ed1

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    I've had 3 of these cars and I'm yet to have any faults with them. Is it the G01 shape?
    My head up display showed speed, radio/media stations and navigation instructions. Both mirrors had the auto dip function on mine, it sounds like you've got a faulty mirror.
     
  5. slim_boy_fat
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    slim_boy_fat WARLORD Site Supporter

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    Welcome to the forum, Jim :wavey:.

    Are you sure some of the features to expected aren't 'settings specific'? Do you have a copy of the vehicle factory spec, assuming the X3 wasn't a new build to your exact order? Perhaps a visit back to the Dealer and a chat with someone there to run through things with you might yield answers? some things like the rev counter 'dying' could just be Stop/Start cutting in?

    Car's are becoming SO complicated now that an hour reading the Owner's Manual often makes thing clear?
     
  6. Singvogel
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    Singvogel Staff Member Moderator WARLORD Site Supporter

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    Welcome to the forum @jim761 :)

    That's a mighty long list of faults/queries you have there.

    When you say a couple of times 'it was supposed to come with' - are you meaning items that you specced on the order and the car has turned up without them?

    Get a print out of the exact factory build with all options listed.

    My rev-counter 'dies' (as it should) when coasting in ECO-PRO mode.

    You say the auto box 'hunts and jerks' below 20mph - is that in full auto mode or in sport or other 'semi-manual' mode where the driver selects the gear, thereby over-riding what the box would do if left to it's own devices.

    In my 8 speeder if I make a selection which the car doesn't like (according to who wrote the computer programme) the box will almost immediately change gear to what it feels is more appropriate - especially if it decides I have selected too high a gear for the road speed.

    Auto Stop/Start will indeed appear to have a mind of it's own as that feature is dependant on a whole raft of parameters such as outside temperature, using heated seats/steering wheel and rear screen de-mister - as well as the more obvious state of battery charge.

    As others have said, I would suggest a visit to the dealership and before launching into a tirade of faults and complaints (although understandable - it rarely gets the required results) I would seek out the BMW 'Genius' - every dealership has at least one - and ask for an explanation of why things are not behaving as you anticipated.

    Is this Harry Fairbairns? I can't remember the genius chaps name, but he was pretty well informed on setting up multiple e-mail connections and a couple of other setting options for us after I gave up.

    Playing the 'daft laddie' as we say in Scotland frequently obtains surprisingly good results.

    But then if they don't want to play-ball, is the time to go in with all guns blazing.

    There has always been a BMW on my drive since 1982 and I must agree that the marque is perhaps not what it once was - in respect to the dealerships especially.

    Finally - as regards LandRovers - I've had a few of them too along the way in addition to my BMWs - before purchasing any current LR products I would suggest having a good look at the posts on a decent owners forum such as LandyZone:

    https://www.landyzone.co.uk/forum/

    That's AFAIK the biggest on the internet - others are available as they say.

    Good luck.
     
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  7. The_Master
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    The_Master

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    Sorry to hear you are disillusioned,

    In terms of HUD these links might be useful

    https://www.bmwux.com/bmw-performance-technology/bmw-technology/bmw-head-up-display-explained/



    The rev-counter display in Eco-pro is replaced by a 'swingometer' between charge and power see the link below



    Wiper controls are explained here (Auto does seem to be on the end of the stalk still???)



    Not sure what equipment should be fitted as I don't know your exact model but this might help

    https://www.halliwelljonessouthportbmw.co.uk/media/303654/no31227-bmw-x3-g01-pt-spreads.pdf

    In Manual mode the gearbox will override manual selections if the revs are too low or high....

    I too would think long and hard before switching to any JLR product as they have an awful reputation for reliability and the drive might not be what you expect.

    Hope this helps
     
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  8. bmwzoom
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    bmwzoom WARLORD

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    All this help & no response? Not even a thank you :cautious:
     
  9. slim_boy_fat
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    slim_boy_fat WARLORD Site Supporter

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    OP was logged in yesterday morning at 11:15....
     
  10. jim761
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    jim761

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    Hi thanks for your reply was wary of the make being unreliable but still would like one living with it well as you say?
     
  11. jim761
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    jim761

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    Hi thanks for getting in touch and the supply of links to look at The Headup display I have ticked all the boxes that I want with a red tick but all I get is sat nav and it shows the speed but nothing else as on my other car it shows more even what speed the road that I am on which I thought was a good reminder saved you getting a speed ticket maybe I was expecting too much from my head-up display but if I had known beforehand I would not have paid extra for crap.BMW no longer give passenger dimming mirror but still advertise on their site Dimming mirrors, not a mirror? Another beef I have is that BMW in their wisdom have changed the bonnet release for the worse cause as you pull the release the bonnet bops open then sits back down on the catch and you have to go back and pull the lever again maybe two or three times so you can get it open and check screen was, etc My previse X3 2.0d was an auto box and could not fault it they are great 8-speed autos in my mind the best on the market so I believe this to be a fault in the software maybe update will sort will take X3 back to dealer to try and get things for myself sorted.
     
  12. jim761
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    jim761

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    Hi thanks for sending the links and on reading the info on the link looks like I just get basic HUD not the extra info will look into this could be just not actived? thanks anyway I do appreciate everyone who has taken the time to give a reply.
     
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  13. edthefed
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    edthefed

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    The bonnet release is in two stages...pull and it releases onto the latch, keep pulling and you will feel and hear it open free of the latch...ssme on our X1 and G30.There is a bit of a knack to it, pull, bonnet pops up, release the pull very slightly and pull again and it pops up free of the latch.

    As suggested above, make an appointment with the "Genius" at your local dealership, their role is to explain all the technology and demonstrate it to you.
    My wife used the genius to fully explain the operation of her retro fit BMW dash cam, he spent a good half hour going through everything with her
    The Genius service is FREE.
    On the other hand if you book it into the service department they will charge a diagnostic fee if its not a manufacturing defect covered under the warranty.
    If the Genius confirms the head up display is not working as it should do (rather than operator error / unfamiliarity) then more than likely it is fsulty and therefore a manufacturing defect
     
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  14. The_Master
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  15. jim761
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    jim761

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    Hi thanks for the tip had the same problem on wives X1 did say when in dealers and at the time they just shrugged their shoulders don't have this on myX3 3.0d great SUV
     
  16. Peter
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    Peter WARLORD

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    It is a job keeping up with BMW product changes and standard features/options these days.

    You mention HUD and the limited function, lack of the speed limit info... I'm not at all sure how it is packaged in the current X3 range, do you even have the option? Was a stand alone option on many models, over the years.

    Peter
     
  17. jim761
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    jim761

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    Hi X3 is a new build the stop /start works great on my X3 3.0d as you have the button with the light on the start engine button on my X3 2.0d I thinks its a software problem as I did go through the menu and ticked the boxes but it just has a mind of its own the rev counter does cut out when coasting but engine still running rechecked new spec sheet when ordered car and it does say Technology Pack with HUD so will have to find out why it's not working looks like a software issue this is not the first time the dealer has not done their delivery checks My X3 3.0d came with no sat nav and entertainment system on picking the car up from showroom had to wait nearly a fortnight for them to fix you do wonder why they pay their staff when they can make mistakes like that, OH I know let us just tick the little boxes the customer is to dim to notice the same thing happens at my work the lazy ones tick the box on compliance sheets and won't get off their a---to check thats life.
     
  18. jim761
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    jim761

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    It came with the Technology Pack so it should do what it says HUD and work we should not have to go back to the dealer and complain only for them to say but that info is extra .
     
  19. Peter
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    Peter WARLORD

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    Do you have the speed limit option in the display? Or not in either display cluster, or HUD?

    As to hardware... do you have the front facing KAFAS camera at the top of the front screen? May not be part of the Technology package, on some models it is part of the Driving Assistance packages.

    Peter
     
  20. Mieke
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    Mieke WARLORD Site Supporter

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    When it comes down to it, all you really need is an engine that runs, a gearbox and throttle, plus of course a brake pedal to stop.
    The rest is superfluous bells and whistles that is non essential.

    When driving on long night journeys, I invariably turn off the iDrive display because it is a distraction.
     

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