I have had an inquiry from a member regarding his July 2007 build 535xi. It seems that he has had AWD/DSC failure warning messages four times since he has owned the vehicle, accompanied at some point with battery failure. He states he has not put a lot of miles on the car, perhaps 10,000 miles at this point. He states that he bought just about every option BMW offered at the time, except for the IR system for road hazards. Has anyone reading this had similar issues, and if so, what was the resolution? thanks - John Gamel, BMWCCA Ombudsman
Lack of Rseponse to your Thread John, I have been following your request for other occurrances on the BMWCCA forum. I took the car into Sterling BMW and left it there for a week. I requested a parasitic electronic system test to see how much current was being drained and the Service manager cam back that the car was in spec. I noticed that the negative battery terminal could be spun when we first looked at the battery, when BMWNA refused to replace it under warranty. I think that was the problem, a loose battery terminal from the factory. In any case, the Service Manager replaced the battery that I bought with a new battery out of the 7 series, which he claims is a more sophisticated battery that can handle the larger battery drains of the 7 series. To handle the Engine Check light situation the fuel pump was replaced. The battery tender was removed and the car has so far run as it should have. Too bad it took 3 batteries and 7 or 8 trips to the BMW shop for service for the same issue in 22 months of ownership. I have never experienced so many problems with any car that I have owned (25) and this was the most expensive one. I told the service manager that if it breaks again for the same reason, I will just trade it for a Volvo. I don't see any reason to fight BMWNA on the Lemon Law as they could care less. It's too bad as I enjoy the BMW club, it's educational forums and the fun I have at their functions. If I trade it I will still have my 1973 2002tii to play with. It is simple with nothing electronic to drain the battery and I can still work on it. Plus it comes with no warranty. The service you pay for is what you get. Thanks for your help. Buck Cording
