I think I have a record?

[TempletonPeck]

Fastest 'drivetrain malfunction' light ever?

69 miles.

Yes, after a whopping 69 miles I got a drivetrain malfunction warning. I drove the car from the dealership to a hotel (got it at 23 miles, drove 46 miles to hotel), and the next morning was sitting in the car with my wife while the car was idling, we were playing with the nav/satellite radio/EQ settings/etc., and the car told me I should stop immediately as the drivetrain was malfunctioning. 3-4 seconds later, it shut itself off, and won't start again.

The car cranks when I hit the ignition, but never fires.

So, on a flatbed, and off to a dealership. Guess we'll see what we have tomorrow.

Ugh. Any guesses? Searched results make it sound like a grab-bag, with fuel pumps most likely culprits?

[M5Hambre]

Man, sorry to hear that. I think it is a record. And all I know is u deserve a new car!

[TrevorM3]

If this repair lasts more than 2 weeks, id definitely demand they reimburse first months payment or money down.. something. Incidents happen, but 69 miles is a little too new

[SFT33]

Did it give you any signs that something was not right? Clunky shifts, etc? If you are planning to keep it past the 4 year warranty I would demand they extend the warranty a year. I had a differential failure on our BENZ wagon after 5k and they did it without blinking an eye.

[TempletonPeck]

Originally Posted by SFT33

Did it give you any signs that something was not right? Clunky shifts, etc?

None. During the one drive I did, it behaved totally normally. Then, leading up to the warning light/shutoff, I was just sitting in it, it was idling normally, and then it threw the warning light and shut itself off shortly after.

If you are planning to keep it past the 4 year warranty I would demand they extend the warranty a year. I had a differential failure on our BENZ wagon after 5k and they did it without blinking an eye.

Car is leased. Inclines me to think I don't want it at lease end!

[Vitacura]

Wow, sorry to hear. Definitely keep us posted on what the dealer finds!

[TempletonPeck]

Originally Posted by Vitacura

Wow, sorry to hear. Definitely keep us posted on what the dealer finds!

Small update, at least. Apparently the tech has been on the phone with "BMW Technical" (not that I have any idea who that is ) because they believe the culprit is a short-circuit, but they cannot locate it.

I guess a short is a "good" result here as it isn't an indication of any larger issue? Fix the short and the car goes back to being good-as-new, right? Right?!

Ugh.

[TempletonPeck]

Originally Posted by TempletonPeck

they believe the culprit is a short-circuit, but they cannot locate it.
Ugh.

Update the Second: sounds like we think the short/problem is between the DME and the fuel injectors. They're expecting call-back from BMW Techincal tomorrow a.m. and will go from there. Fingers crossed.

[Jay-K]

Ask for a new car ! No question!!

[cassidysdad]

New car!!

[soooma]

New car
Shame on BMW if anything else offered !!

[TempletonPeck]

My feeling was that if this was something that was ~= replacing a fuse, I was pretty ok with keeping this car. Seems like the consensus is that would be overly generous of me?

A wrinkle, maybe, on the replacement car thing: I leased the car from dealer A, but then drove it 46 miles so the car is being serviced at dealer B. How do I go about making this happen? It so happens that dealer A has an *identical* car on the lot.

[SFT33]

They are not giving u a new car. Don't even bother with that unless the car is out of commission for a long period of time. Given that u are leasing it I would push for a couple of months of payments.

[Lerxst M4]

Originally Posted by SFT33

They are not giving u a new car. Don't even bother with that unless the car is out of commission for a long period of time. Given that u are leasing it I would push for a couple of months of payments.

Sounds like exactly what happened to me at 11K - LP fuel pump.

[TempletonPeck]

Today's update: BMW has decided I need a new DME. 3-4 days to get the part, and a day to install it.

[Phatcat]

Christ, my M5 will receive the plate this Friday so I can drive it off the lot, hopefully it lasts longer than 69 miles.

FYI, I had a drivetrain malfunction very early on with my X5M (engine shut off, but it did restart), took it to the dealer but the dealer said no problem found......Though it never happened again since then.

[Rearview]

the Ultimate Driving Machine can be the Ultimate Service nightmare. Good luck, OP. At 69 miles, i would not ask, i would demand a new vehicle. That bad boy was built at 5:01pm on a Friday with Jennifer Aniston waiting for the QC tech outside. (Meaning he was anxious to abandon his duties for her ... assuming he liked that kind of stuff ... which i dont b/c i am happily married ... just sayin' ... it could happen)

[TempletonPeck]

Glad to report that I picked up my car yesterday, and have put about 250 miles on it since then, with no issues.

DME replaced, I'm (once again!) a happy guy with a new M5

[gblansten]

Originally Posted by TempletonPeck

Glad to report that I picked up my car yesterday, and have put about 250 miles on it since then, with no issues.

DME replaced, I'm (once again!) a happy guy with a new M5

Congrats. Maybe you will catch a break from here on out.

[Vitacura]

Glad to hear, that's great news!

[carzaddict]

My F30 blew its transmission at 33 miles.....1 hour after i picked it up from the dealership.

it happened while i was on the highway, doing about 50. Told me to stop immediately...so i took the next exit and it wouldnt go into any gear, stuck in park. Wouldnt even go into neutral.

4 hours and 3 tow trucks later, they finally took it away, took about 2 weeks to fix, gave me a 7 series loaner, paid my first months lease and gave me $1k.