ANOTHER breakdown - I'm getting sick of this

[dwasifar]

Today I was driving the car, everything seemed normal, then suddenly as I was starting to move away from an intersection I heard a metallic THUNK from underneath the car. Since that moment I have a pronounced vibration from the engine that seems to peak at about 3200 RPM. It was too late to get it to the dealer, so I'll have to take it in the morning.

I'm getting sick of this. This car spends more time in the shop than on the road. I'm seriously considering trading it for a Vette or an NSX.

[Ahmed]

i feel for ya bro. i hope it works out for ya!

[Digi]

Sorry to hear you're having problems. I had a problem-plagued X5 (my first BMW), and almost left BMW for other brands. Sometimes you just need to take the loss and move on. My dealer helped me by getting me an M5 at a discount that was about 2 weeks from being built. I still lost a bunch of money, but I have never been happier with my M5 thus far with 14K miles an 1.5 years.

See if BMWNA and/or your dealer can help you get the problems fixed on your present car, or take another course of action to keep you as a customer. They should be willing to work with you...one way or another. Every car manufacturer has bad examples. It is important for the manufacturer to step up to the plate and bear some of your loss to try to keep you as a future customer. This, so far, has worked for me.

[DiscoFish]

Silly...just get a 911 Turbo and everything will be better.

[Hamann7]

Even 911 Turbos have their fair share of quirky problems too... like Mass Air Flow sensors going bad or vacuum leaks, shifter linkage breaking, etc.

Besides, the 996 Turbo is not exactly a substitute for an M5. I have both (actually a highly modified 996TT) and they serve different purposes.

My M5 has been ok thus far, but it still has those electrical gremlins.

If you are having some major problems that just won't stop, you should try to lemon law the car.

[DiscoFish]

Yeah, I know they serve different purposes. All I'm saying is...34,000 miles on mine, and no problems. It seems a lot of M5 owners are ditching their M5's for other cars. Why is that?

[bstnsportsfan]

dwasifar- Sorry to hear about the car problems. Like Digi mentioned talked to your dealer or BMWNA, they should be more than happy to help you out. Just be glad its not costing you anything, my car just set me back $430

[dwasifar]

Here's the story.

This morning I was a little nervous about driving it the 30-odd miles to the dealer when I didn't know quite what the problem was. I was afraid the car was going to strand me. So I started calling other dealers and describing the problem in hope that one would recognize it. Two dealers said it didn't match anything in their experience. The third suggested I check the engine fan for a missing blade. I was skeptical, but I went and looked, and sure enough, a blade was missing.

Good news, right? Not exactly.

You'll recall I said that just when the problem started, I had heard a metallic THUNK. At the time it seemed like it had come from underneath the car, so that's where I had concentrated my attention - but that's not where it came from. The noise came from the flying blade hitting the inside of the hood. How do I know this? BECAUSE I HAVE A BLADE-SIZED, BLADE-SHAPED DENT IN THE HOOD, that's how. #&^%$*@&$!!!!!!!!!!

I also have a large rip in the insulation blanket caused by the flying fragment.

So. The dealer has the car. They've ordered a new fan clutch and insulation blanket. They have an onsite dent-wizard guy who is actually pretty good (I've seen his work); we'll see what he does with the dent. If he can't fix it, BMW has to buy me a new hood.

In the meantime, I have a loaner car. It spent a while parked at a Chevy dealership today while I test-drove a very nice yellow 2002 Z06 Corvette with only 3800 miles.

I'm serious. I am sick of spending my time at the dealer instead of on the road. It's all under warranty, and the dealer people are super-helpful, but that's not the POINT, dammit. I don't want it fixed free; I want it to NOT BREAK. Why is it that, in 90,000 miles, I have never had to replace a rear main seal, or a prematurely failed clutch, or bad wheels, or a bad valve timing system, or a defective battery, or a defective mirror, or a demon-possessed HVAC system, or a disintegrating engine fan on my plain-jane '99 Accord, but in only 30K miles all these things have happened on the M5? Can't BMW build a car for $70K that's even 1/3 as reliable as a $17K Honda?

Well?

Sheesh.

[chunpng]

Dwasifar,

I feel your pain. I did not realize your car had so many problems. It's probably the luck of the draw though. My 00 is 41k+ miles now and generally problem- free.

Now my 92 Lexus SC300 is 115k+ miles, still with original clutch and brakes, and running like a charm. NEVER fixed anything in that car. Japanese quality is impressive.

CP

[Digi]

This is not entirely an unusual problem. In fact this exact problem happened on earlier M5s. BMW replaced the fan clutch with a non-aluminum one becasue ther aluminum failed on several, as I recall. I'll see if I can look it up.

[Digi]

This is not entirely an unusual problem. In fact this exact problem happened on earlier M5s. BMW replaced the fan clutch with a non-aluminum one because ther aluminum failed on several. Here is one story:
Who's M5 developed this problem ?

[dwasifar]

Originally posted by Digi
This is not entirely an unusual problem. In fact this exact problem happened on earlier M5s. BMW replaced the fan clutch with a non-aluminum one becasue ther aluminum failed on several, as I recall. I'll see if I can look it up.

It was the fan blade itself (a plastic part) that failed and caused the damage. I think they are now also replacing the fan clutch because the out-of-balance fan damaged it. But the clutch was not the cause of the flying underhood debris.