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Drivetrain Malfunction

7784 Views 14 Replies 8 Participants Last post by  SexieWASD
Has the issue with the everlasting problem of “DriveTrain Malfunction” ever been resolved? I have a 2011 X3, 35i, with only 25,000 miles. The day before my warranty expired that message popped up. Took to the dealer and picked up the next day saying “Bye Guys I hope this doesn’t happen again after the warranty ran out. During the years, five loaner cars, many many hours at dealerships, NO BMW SERVICE CENTER HAS FIGURED OUT THE PROBLEM. I have dealt with Corporate and the decision was NOT to fix it or even offer me an extended warranty. That was QUITELY whispered to me. I wish I knew about this site before the purchase as I am thoroughly disappointed with my “dream car” I saved for a loooong time!! I’m petrified to drive long distances as it appears to pop up RANDOMLY!! I wish I had reported this car as a lemon. On top of that the glove compartment fell apart, the moonroof material split in half, and the wonderful drive train malfunction. This happened under warranty. What have others done with their X3 having this issue? I’ve read about all of the problems on this site since 2013. I would tell individuals NOT to ever buy any X3. It’s a shame because I love the car, but it’s no point, as of today, to have a car sitting with only 25,000/2011, with a drivetrain malfunction popping up intermittenly. WHAT HAVE OTHERS DONE (SOLD, TRASHED, REACHED A RESOLUTION)? I’m very very interested in your responses.
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I bought a '13 x28 x3 with 84k miles for 17,500 from my local authorized BMW dealer(+3k for warranty) and within the first 13 miles received the dreaded drive train error, they said it was just 'recalibrating' after the timing chain was replaced but it kept doing it every 20 miles or so. After 4 months of driving loaners and them trying to fix it they told me they would give me a 'good deal' buying it back with trade in.. couldn't believe it, they were gonna do me a favor and give me 12k for the x3 they sold me for 17,5K. Totally ridiculous , after weeks of going back and forth I ended up buying a CPO 2017 with an 'ok' package but 4+ years with an unlimited mileage warranty on the last year(CPO), all for $35k which I feel pretty good about in the end, although they started way higher than that, I didn't back down. Anyway bottom line is I know these drive train errors are likely on a small scale compared to X3's without the issue but I'm done with buying any BMW without a substantial factory warranty. I've never owned a pretty much new car with factory warranty before and I've never felt this content with a car.. really loving it. I guess what I'm getting at is if you really like the X3 .. go trade yours in for a CPO 2016+ , years of worry free driving.
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