Rough few weeks for my 2014 640 GC xDrive

[Bigthistle]

So I purchased the 640 as a CPO in October 2016 to replace my 136k mile 2012 535.

BMW Factory car with 7,700 miles that was used in Vegas and had sat somewhere for a year or so and was full of desert dust. Apart from the hard seats in comparison to the excellent comfort seats in the 535 (had same seats in my previous 750), but I love the 6er.

Now done 31k.

So the only issues I’d had previously was a replacement windshield and then factory software update caused Sirius to stop displaying channel graphics, and after couple of attempts and new head unit, I gave up. Still not displaying. Not a big deal.

As was CPO it still had free maintenance so I never wait that long and get another oil change at my Indy in between dealer service, without resetting the service indicator.

On the ramp at my Indy he notices coolant leak. Takes off undershield and sure enough there’s more signs, looks like head gasket. I mention that I’d been topping up low coolant every couple of months since I had the car. Says not normal, pops the coolant cap open and finds oil. STOP - get car to dealer ASAP. Never heard of this on the N55 engine.

I comply, head over the five miles to dealer after sounding the alarm.

Oil filter housing, coolant pipes and turbo replaced as well as obvious coolant flush. While at Dealer the front axle boot gets damaged so is replaced and front right driveaxle removed, replaced.

This is a ten day period.

Get car back and it’s kind of kangarooing between 2k and 3k revs. Feels a lot like hitting the rev limiter. Odd. Not fuel and I thought it was turbo. Noticeable at normal operating temperature. Dealer has a week before an experienced foreman can replicate and diagnoses the transfer case, which is duly replaced after another week.

So, $14,000 in repairs later the car is back. Take it out in Atlanta’s recent snow and ice and am very impressed with the xDrive, especially enjoying kicking out the tail right before xdrive takes over (can’t do that in a quattro). Put a few hundred miles on it and all is well again mechanically.

Can’t find the connection between the turbo and transfer case both going bad, but god bless warranty.

And finally got to wash the car today only to find it’s covered in some sort of fine paint overspray so I don’t know where it was parked at the dealership, probably under a body shop paint booth extraction vent................so not the happiest right now.

Happy Days!

[pepsih]

omg that's NOT the kind of post that I want to read right before buying a 640gc without warranty lol

[Flying Ace]

sorry about your luck, but this is a classic story of the value of a warranty for a BMW. I'm glad it got all sorted out. I am lucky with my old M3, I was running bare between 2012-2018. I had zero issues with that car. My X5d on the other hand, I wouldn't dare going bare with this car.

Anyways, I concur with the xdrive system. What tires are you using? I've only had 1 opportunity to drive the X5 in the snow last year, on all-season tires, the truck was amazing. The xdrive unit indeed is tuned to be rear-bias. It's not a sophisticated system, I believe the center diff is just a mechanical LSD unit.