X3 3.0D 2009 Should I, or should I not??

[Truvalu]

Hi Guys. (and Girls...)

Back in SA for leave of 1 month, after 4 months in Angola.
Looking for a car for my wife and came upon this while I was actually looking for a E60 diesel.
https://www.gumtree.co.za/a-cars-ba...-m-sport-steptronic/1001774398920910944261809

My son bought his cabriolet (330i) from them and they were nice enough to let me and the wife have the "baby 5" for Sunday.
What an amazing car!!
By far not all the bells and whistles you find in the E60, but I was pleasantly surprised.

Only 3 things that bugged me..
1. One headlight was totally set incorrectly (easy fix)
2. Fuel flap would not open when pressed on outside (easy fix)
3. "Surging"/ kind of shudder round about 4000rpm under accelerating only.
Happens in normal, Sport and manual mode.
Had the yellow transmission light come on at a pull away once.
It disappeared after switching the car of and on again.

I don't know what to think...
Would love this car for the wife, but don't want to have her in a broken down car while I am sitting in Angola.

The dealer promised they will have the car checked out and the fault repaired.
I will only be happy if they could tell what it was and what they fixed and then test drive it again.
Obviously I will only take it if fixed and with a proper warranty or something...

Your input will be sincerely appreciated.
Is the price reasonable?
What else should one be looking out for in these cars?

 

[NtandoN]

Get the service history, also get it checked on the eNatis for any accidents.
That transmission light means something, if I were you I would look for something else. You don't want to buy a lemon that your wife will have problems with. Did they let you know about these issues or did you find out yourself?

 

[Truvalu]

Update...

I was told this afternoon that the only problem with this is that the new tyres it has on are wrong tyres.
That is what is causing all of this...
Apparently it was tested and diagnostics done and they were told by BMW that the only problem is the incorrect tyres.
They say it must have narrows and wides.
This will cost R14,000 and they cannot cut that off the profit so I have a choice to take it and pay for the correct tyres, or leave it...

Eish!!
Who can help?

 

[GoCart]

Why not find a car that works properly?

How about this X5?

http://www.bmwfanatics.co.za/showthread.php?tid=75799

 

[Donovan2412]

Update...

I was told this afternoon that the only problem with this is that the new tyres it has on are wrong tyres.
That is what is causing all of this...
Apparently it was tested and diagnostics done and they were told by BMW that the only problem is the incorrect tyres.
They say it must have narrows and wides.
This will cost R14,000 and they cannot cut that off the profit so I have a choice to take it and pay for the correct tyres, or leave it...

Eish!!
Who can help?

I vote leave it.

 

[Iceman12596]

Update...

I was told this afternoon that the only problem with this is that the new tyres it has on are wrong tyres.
That is what is causing all of this...
Apparently it was tested and diagnostics done and they were told by BMW that the only problem is the incorrect tyres.
They say it must have narrows and wides.
This will cost R14,000 and they cannot cut that off the profit so I have a choice to take it and pay for the correct tyres, or leave it...

Eish!!
Who can help?

I vote leave it.

+1

 

[Gizmo]

Update...

I was told this afternoon that the only problem with this is that the new tyres it has on are wrong tyres.
That is what is causing all of this...
Apparently it was tested and diagnostics done and they were told by BMW that the only problem is the incorrect tyres.
They say it must have narrows and wides.
This will cost R14,000 and they cannot cut that off the profit so I have a choice to take it and pay for the correct tyres, or leave it...

Eish!!
Who can help?

It doesn't need narrows and wides, it just needs tyres of the same diameter. Its best to run a square setup as you can rotate your wheels and get the full life out of your tyres. If you run narrows and wides then you are forced to replace all 4 everytime the back tyres or front tyres need replacement.

Its possible that the transfer case has suffered damage due to the wrong size tyres being used. Rather leave it and find another X3.

 

[BuFFy_ZA]

Similar thing happened to mine. PO put cheap tyres on it had a clunk and surge. Square setup solved it.

Edit:
Had to do the tcase actuator at a later stage

 

[momo1]

wait are you sure Transmission light and not Traction light?
it is normal for the traction light to flick for a few split seconds when goin over an uneven road surface. the yellow triangle light??

 

[Truvalu]

UPDATE!!

Convinced myself that this would be cheaper to up-keep than the X5...
Personally I would go for the X5, but my wife will be the one that is driving this and she has absolutely zero interest in the specs differences as per X5.

Got the 3.0D Xdrive 2009 with now 114000km on the clock.
I had to fit the new tyres as it MUST run on the specific Dunlops and it MUST be Narrows and Wides. I checked the realoem site and contacted several BMW dealerships

Drove it the whole weekend and I am pleasantly surprised.
The transmission light did light up in yellow on Sunday and after switching of, removing key and starting again, it disappeared

Took it back on Monday and they reset the memory/modules/etc.
Will take a test road-trip very soon.
The wavering on gear change when you accelerate is now probably 99.98% gone.

This is a beast!
This car is very much underrated.
I will keep you guys updated

I need to find the PK number for the bluetooth connection between radio and phone.
Anyone with any advice?

 

[JohnLod]

UPDATE!!

Convinced myself that this would be cheaper to up-keep than the X5...
Personally I would go for the X5, but my wife will be the one that is driving this and she has absolutely zero interest in the specs differences as per X5.

Got the 3.0D Xdrive 2009 with now 114000km on the clock.
I had to fit the new tyres as it MUST run on the specific Dunlops and it MUST be Narrows and Wides. I checked the realoem site and contacted several BMW dealerships

Drove it the whole weekend and I am pleasantly surprised.
The transmission light did light up in yellow on Sunday and after switching of, removing key and starting again, it disappeared

Took it back on Monday and they reset the memory/modules/etc.
Will take a test road-trip very soon.
The wavering on gear change when you accelerate is now probably 99.98% gone.

This is a beast!
This car is very much underrated.
I will keep you guys updated

I need to find the PK number for the bluetooth connection between radio and phone.
Anyone with any advice?

Hi, not sure if you mailed me earlier. The blue tooth on the older vehicles was on a single page in the owners hand book, 4 digits. The newer vehicles you make up your own code and then just use the same code on the vehicle and the phone. If it is still the older ones which came with a factory code you would need to take it to a dealer and they need to connect it to the diagnostics and get the code from the telematics control unit.

As for the yellow light, is it the 4x4 light, if yes transfer case, if the tyres al the correct size and depth then you would probably need a actuator for the transfer case or recon.

If it is the gear looking type warning then you need to look into it much more urgently. On this model usually the transfer case

Cheers

 

[Truvalu]

UPDATE!!

Convinced myself that this would be cheaper to up-keep than the X5...
Personally I would go for the X5, but my wife will be the one that is driving this and she has absolutely zero interest in the specs differences as per X5.

Got the 3.0D Xdrive 2009 with now 114000km on the clock.
I had to fit the new tyres as it MUST run on the specific Dunlops and it MUST be Narrows and Wides. I checked the realoem site and contacted several BMW dealerships

Drove it the whole weekend and I am pleasantly surprised.
The transmission light did light up in yellow on Sunday and after switching of, removing key and starting again, it disappeared

Took it back on Monday and they reset the memory/modules/etc.
Will take a test road-trip very soon.
The wavering on gear change when you accelerate is now probably 99.98% gone.

This is a beast!
This car is very much underrated.
I will keep you guys updated

I need to find the PK number for the bluetooth connection between radio and phone.
Anyone with any advice?

Hi, not sure if you mailed me earlier. The blue tooth on the older vehicles was on a single page in the owners hand book, 4 digits. The newer vehicles you make up your own code and then just use the same code on the vehicle and the phone. If it is still the older ones which came with a factory code you would need to take it to a dealer and they need to connect it to the diagnostics and get the code from the telematics control unit.

As for the yellow light, is it the 4x4 light, if yes transfer case, if the tyres al the correct size and depth then you would probably need a actuator for the transfer case or recon.

If it is the gear looking type warning then you need to look into it much more urgently. On this model usually the transfer case

Cheers

Thank you for the reply.

Yes, this is 2009 model and it needs the PK but I have no literature or booklet with that number in the car.
The dealers want me to book the car for at least 1-2 hours at their labour rate which is higher as what my doctor charges...
I will try and find someone who has the correct "tools"

Regarding the warning light... it is the gear yellow light that goes on and the car goes into limp mode.
After switching it off, removing the key, then restarting it, you drive as if it has never happened.
I have been told that this warning did not register and is not found when diagnostics is done.
As said, they did clear all memory and so far it seems much better.
Now it is hardly possible to feel the very, very light "shudder" under harsh acceleration, just before it changes gear.
It is as if there are a few minds trying to decide if they should change or not and then they do...

Should I seriously be worried? I have been thinking of just going to the place that sold me the car and just cancel the deal (I still can?) and then I really enjoy the car and they promised that they will replace the transfer box if it should be that.

Thanks for the input

 

[tman]

UPDATE!!

Convinced myself that this would be cheaper to up-keep than the X5...
Personally I would go for the X5, but my wife will be the one that is driving this and she has absolutely zero interest in the specs differences as per X5.

Got the 3.0D Xdrive 2009 with now 114000km on the clock.
I had to fit the new tyres as it MUST run on the specific Dunlops and it MUST be Narrows and Wides. I checked the realoem site and contacted several BMW dealerships

Drove it the whole weekend and I am pleasantly surprised.
The transmission light did light up in yellow on Sunday and after switching of, removing key and starting again, it disappeared

Took it back on Monday and they reset the memory/modules/etc.
Will take a test road-trip very soon.
The wavering on gear change when you accelerate is now probably 99.98% gone.

This is a beast!
This car is very much underrated.
I will keep you guys updated

I need to find the PK number for the bluetooth connection between radio and phone.
Anyone with any advice?

Congratulations on the purchase.

Get that transmission light checked out sooner than later, switching the car on and off isn't fixing the problem, although the light might disappear ...

Sent from my MI 5 using Tapatalk

 

[m0lt3n]

Subscribed.
Seems like you should drive it in limp mode to a dealer and get the story sorted conclusively

---

Oh. The specs given on the gumtree link is wrong. I think it is for a new x3 3.0d but then I still doubt the 0 to 100 time

---

 

[sjen778]

Happy motoring with the X3.

I have an 08 X3 2.0 and had the transmission light flash when driving it home from the dealer (2014) on a sharp bend. 140 k kms.
Swopped the worn front tyres with the better rear tyres and never saw the light again. Have since replaced all 4 tyres.

12 months later going up the N1 past Waterkloof school the transmission light came on and I was stuck in a gear, 4th I think as it was rush hour traffic at 80 km/h.

I stopped along the R 21, with the transmission light on, switched the car off. Turned it on and hey problem is gone. These are actually warning signs of something coming!

Later in the month on the way to Cape Town just outside Laingsburg, 6th dropped to 5th then to neutral. I had to stop, switch off and then on and hey, all sorted. Took her to SMG for diagnostics, nothing on the pc they tell me but get the gearbox oil changed at my local dealer when back in Jhb. I thought an odd recommendation since they had the car for the whole day.
I had this annoying problem occur several times on the way back home. Drive or Sport mode but only after it got into 6th gear.

It cost me a gearbox overhaul and the reason given as dirty oil. She was on 202 k kms then so please don't believe this BS about life time oil. I had RDG overhaul as I had a warranty on the X3 but total cost was R 32 k and I had to fork out R 14 k. Got the T case oil changed as well.

ZF can also do the Gearbox oil service for the 6 speed around R 5 k but please don't leave it. I am now on 270 k kms and will do the coil change on 300 k kms. Beautiful cars to drive.