2003 7 series BMW problems..

"Dan J.S." <
BMW has always had new-model teething problems. I'm sure that, with
a complex new car like the 7, that it's no different from normal.
Another reason that they are scoring low is that, although it has gotten
praise for it's innovative features, I-Drive has gotten pretty much very
low ratings.

Floyd

I had a 2000 323Ci before getting these two 2003s - THAT was a fairly
reliable car. As for new cars, one of them, the 325it, had a dead power seat
control module UPON DELIVERY (could not adjust the seat to drive it home).
That took 6 hours to fix. Later that week, the radio started going into
high-hiss interference every time my wife pressed the brake pedal in any AM
station. Took it to the dealer, had the antenna amplifier replaced, that
did not fix it. They kept the car for three days troubleshooting, only to
tell me the car needed the third brake light replaced (it is LED-based and
allegedly was producing interference. Since teh light was not in stock, I
would have to wait another three days. I took the car back, took it to
anotehr dealer. They 'fixed' it by adjusting a ground cable taht was loose.
A week later I was back at the dealer with teh problem again. This time
they did fix it (adjusted the ground again) and it has not come back. The
car only has 2000 miles on the clock.

My other car, a 330i performance package, is brand new, and at only 273
miles (8th day of ownership) it has developed a power steering fluid leak
(not a small one - a large one on my garage floor). It is now at the dealer
waiting for a new rack and pinion part. That was three days ago. I am
driving a loaner Grand Marquis (that car, by teh way, grows on you after a
while - you feel a bit like a cop).

Those are my facts - I am not exagerating them in any way. To me this is
not a good sign for BMW, unless I ran into the only two lemons in the batch!

...

My 2003 745il has now done 40,000 miles and while it is a very nice car to drive, it certainly isn't as reliable as my Toyota Corolla! Not only is the transmission leaking oil and shifting very hard (which could just be a leaky gasket problem), the computer will occasionally throw errors which simply go away with a restart of the car (similar to Windows blue screen). As someone else alluded to here, you wouldn't give up the car for these problems - because it is simply a beautiful machine to drive. Just make sure you get after-market mechanical insurance/warranty.

I had a 2000 323Ci before getting these two 2003s - THAT was a fairly
reliable car. As for new cars, one of them, the 325it, had a dead power seat
control module UPON DELIVERY (could not adjust the seat to drive it home).
That took 6 hours to fix. Later that week, the radio started going into
high-hiss interference every time my wife pressed the brake pedal in any AM
station. Took it to the dealer, had the antenna amplifier replaced, that
did not fix it. They kept the car for three days troubleshooting, only to
tell me the car needed the third brake light replaced (it is LED-based and
allegedly was producing interference. Since teh light was not in stock, I
would have to wait another three days. I took the car back, took it to
anotehr dealer. They 'fixed' it by adjusting a ground cable taht was loose.
A week later I was back at the dealer with teh problem again. This time
they did fix it (adjusted the ground again) and it has not come back. The
car only has 2000 miles on the clock.

My other car, a 330i performance package, is brand new, and at only 273
miles (8th day of ownership) it has developed a power steering fluid leak
(not a small one - a large one on my garage floor). It is now at the dealer
waiting for a new rack and pinion part. That was three days ago. I am
driving a loaner Grand Marquis (that car, by teh way, grows on you after a
while - you feel a bit like a cop).

Those are my facts - I am not exagerating them in any way. To me this is
not a good sign for BMW, unless I ran into the only two lemons in the batch!

...

...

batch!

Why do you continue you deal with this "dealer" who is obviously inept?
Bring your car somewhere else.

I did not provice complete details - the 325it went to two different
dealers, the first one was even more inept. Taking it to the dealer I
bought teh cars from gets me the advnatage of a free loaner car, so that is
where I go. I don't mind that pain so much - I see it as owning an Alfa
Romeo, but better.

In all seriousness, it seems they have a problem with reliabily, and if you
combine that with the number of ugly cars coming out of the
Bangle-design-disaster, things do not bode well for BMW.

That's cars for you.

My experience so far with two 2003 3 series (mine and my wife's; one a
wagon, the otehr a 330i) has been pretty bad - averaging one visit to the
dealer per month for unscheduled service. The reliability issues with teh 3
series are very real to me. On the other hand - they drive so good that I
can live with it. I make lemonade with these lemons.

...

What kind of problems??? I can't speak from personal experience about the
7, but I'm on my second 3 coupe (330Ci) & I seldom had to take either one in
for service - no more or less than any other car I've owned - & I've been
driving for 36 years...

Just curious what all these problems & reliability issues are all about - my
experience has been quite the opposite...

Barry

...

What kind of problem's are you having? Because I just bought one and little
concern. I heard these cars are pretty reliable. Or the kind of problems
you are having are very minor (ex. windshield wiper doesn't move fast
enough).
...