[AudiA4]

Purchased in May - first 330i in Little Rock (TiAg, Sports Pkg, 6 Speed, etc.) - currently at 7,000 miles. Problems:

1 - A/C failed within first 2 weeks (repaired, took 5 days!)
2 - Bluetooth didn't work at delivery - took 3 trips to repair
3 - Nail in runflat, cost $450 (fortunately, I had wheel/tire insurance)
4 - I still observe huge swings in power delivery/consistency, which they can't seem to duplicate. This has been my biggest disappointment, and unless it can be isolated, I'll be driving something else!

Now I have an airbag warning light flashing!!!

I guess I expected this with a first year model. But again, number 4 above is the real disappointment.

[Xens]

Originally Posted by AudiA4

3 - Nail in runflat, cost $450 (fortunately, I had wheel/tire insurance)
.

Where is the wheel/tire insurance from? BMW or auto insurance company? TIA!

[cntlaw]

Originally Posted by AudiA4

Purchased in May - first 330i in Little Rock (TiAg, Sports Pkg, 6 Speed, etc.) - currently at 7,000 miles. Problems:

1 - A/C failed within first 2 weeks (repaired, took 5 days!)
2 - Bluetooth didn't work at delivery - took 3 trips to repair
3 - Nail in runflat, cost $450 (fortunately, I had wheel/tire insurance)
4 - I still observe huge swings in power delivery/consistency, which they can't seem to duplicate. This has been my biggest disappointment, and unless it can be isolated, I'll be driving something else!

Now I have an airbag warning light flashing!!!

I guess I expected this with a first year model. But again, number 4 above is the real disappointment.

Pretty bad, sorry to hear that. Can you elaborate more on your point 4.
tks

[David328M-Sport]

Originally Posted by AudiA4

Purchased in May - first 330i in Little Rock (TiAg, Sports Pkg, 6 Speed, etc.) - currently at 7,000 miles. Problems:

1 - A/C failed within first 2 weeks (repaired, took 5 days!)
2 - Bluetooth didn't work at delivery - took 3 trips to repair
3 - Nail in runflat, cost $450 (fortunately, I had wheel/tire insurance)
4 - I still observe huge swings in power delivery/consistency, which they can't seem to duplicate. This has been my biggest disappointment, and unless it can be isolated, I'll be driving something else!

Now I have an airbag warning light flashing!!!

I guess I expected this with a first year model. But again, number 4 above is the real disappointment.

I am so sorry to read about your ongoing issues you have with the car. Obviously point 3 is no fault of BMW or yourself - just pure bad luck. But the other issues are quite serious.

Glad to read that points 1 & 2 are fixed but what an inconvenience!

As for point 4, unless you have huge swings in teperature conditions where you live and drive the car, this may play a small part, but somehow I doubt that you have such temperature problems. Even still, the ECU would take care of power delivery requirements, so you really do seem to have an intermittent issue, which you are already very well aware of. No doubt like virtually all of us, I assume (always risky word) that you are using the best fuel you can on a consistent basis. Again, I doubt that one would feel such huge changes, even with a lower grade fuel, thanks to the ECU.

Maybe a week or two or three with your service guy may be the only way to help determine the problem. Let him drive it so that he can experience changes for himself, but this would have to be over the medium term. Give it to him and tell him not to return it until its fixed. I cannot see any other option open to you.

I had a first year e46 model and did not experience any early model issues. Similarly with my e90 now. I have no issues with it at all. With todays modern car building techniques, those 1st year model jitters are no longer a widespread issue. Unfortunately for your good self, it seems your car could have these problems at any stage of the model's life. Just really, really bad luck in the individual car's construction that could happen anytime.

As for airbag flashing light............

I hope you do get to the bottom of this problem with your car as we would hate to lose an e90 owner to another car.

All the best.

[lux.sh]

I feel ya. Since I put about 50 miles on my car, my BMW came up with 2 issues(airbag light, key fob). Obviously BMW and their 1st year vehicles aren't the most reliable vehicle on earth. I just hope it doesn't cause anymore trouble in the future.

[AudiA4]

Originally Posted by Xens

Where is the wheel/tire insurance from? BMW or auto insurance company? TIA!

Well, I bought it at purchase - $5/month. It's already paid for itself. It is some third-party company but is sold and administered through my local BMW dealer. I'll go pull out the specifics if you'd like for me to.

For the record, the idea of "run flats" is good, but being on the cutting edge of something is costly. The only real benefit is being able to drive 50 miles (which is a safety thing as well), but I can GUARANTEE you that there are few places in the U.S. where there is a 255/35R18 run flat replacement within 50 miles.

Had this been a regular tire, it would have been a 15 minute, $5 fix at any decent service station. As it is, it was a day long, $450 process. Great idea those run-flats huh?

[E90Fleet]

Have you got the latest software ??

[E90Fleet]

You can drive much further than 50 miles

Had a friend in a Mini Cooper S that drove on a completely flat run-flat for over 150 miles to his house, and the tire looked like it could go quite a bit more. Aslong as you stay t the recommended speed or less the tire will hold for a long time.

Also would you trust your life at high speed to a $5 service station fix ??

[AudiA4]

Originally Posted by David325Australia

I am so sorry to read about your ongoing issues you have with the car. Obviously point 3 is no fault of BMW or yourself - just pure bad luck. But the other issues are quite serious.

Glad to read that points 1 & 2 are fixed but what an inconvenience!

As for point 4, unless you have huge swings in teperature conditions where you live and drive the car, this may play a small part, but somehow I doubt that you have such temperature problems. Even still, the ECU would take care of power delivery requirements, so you really do seem to have an intermittent issue, which you are already very well aware of. No doubt like virtually all of us, I assume (always risky word) that you are using the best fuel you can on a consistent basis. Again, I doubt that one would feel such huge changes, even with a lower grade fuel, thanks to the ECU.

Maybe a week or two or three with your service guy may be the only way to help determine the problem. Let him drive it so that he can experience changes for himself, but this would have to be over the medium term. Give it to him and tell him not to return it until its fixed. I cannot see any other option open to you.

I had a first year e46 model and did not experience any early model issues. Similarly with my e90 now. I have no issues with it at all. With todays modern car building techniques, those 1st year model jitters are no longer a widespread issue. Unfortunately for your good self, it seems your car could have these problems at any stage of the model's life. Just really, really bad luck in the individual car's construction that could happen anytime.

As for airbag flashing light............

I hope you do get to the bottom of this problem with your car as we would hate to lose an e90 owner to another car.

All the best.

David325Australia & cntlaw:

Thanks for a thorough and sincere response to my post. I should note, which is to be expected, that the problems have been somewhat mitigated by the cooler weather, but it is still there none-the-less. The problem is inconsistency. I expect some variation with environmental conditions, namely temparature. But my 330 is more finicky than the two prior turbocharged cars which I've owned, and that should not be the case with a normally aspirated in-line 6, especially one from the 3 series.

To oversimplify, when it is working well, I just barely tip into the throttle and feel the massive amount of torque at hand - just ready to pounce. When I get into it, it pulls very, very hard. Back off, try again, and it is flat. Where did the torque go? Get into it, and it is obviously being held back - in fact, you can almost feel it accelerate slightly as you BACK OFF of the throttle. With a powertrain this complicated, who knows what could be wrong? Electronic throttle, valvetronic, oxygen sensor, who knows!?!

Don't misunderstand, its not like it has 300 horsepower once, then 50 horsepower another, but it is noticable and unacceptable none-the-less.

To elaborate, I've pasted in some of my previous posts below:
_____

I posted a week or two ago on improved power delivery performance on my 330i (sport, 6-speed) - attributing it to break in. I take it back.

I'm still experiencing erratic power. When I mean erratic, I mean that I can get into the throttle one moment, and the torque and power are right there...right into the throttle and it pulls hard. Back off and do it again, and it feels totally flat, as if the spark advance is being retarted - in fact, you can almost detect a power increase as you back off the throttle slightly. More often than not, I don't get a great rush of power.

I can't figure out if this is a problem with the electronic throttle, valvetronic, vanos, or air temperature (heat - it seems to perform more consistently in the evening in cooler air).

Every car I've owned prior has been a turbo 4 cylinder ('92 Eagle Talon Tsi, '98 Audi A4 1.8T). Turbo's are notorious for being affected by air temperature for obvious reasons - as such, each of these car's power varied relatively significantly due to the outdoor temperature. I don't really believe that air temperature is the culprit here, but I had certainly expected power delivery of a normally aspirated in-line 6 to be more consistent.

I'm not satisfied. When it does pull, it pulls hard - addictively hard. If the engine performed consistently in this manner it would be awesome. As is, more often than not, it's flat. That bites. I'm going to talk to the dealer about this when I take it back in for the bluetooth module on backorder (its not working either).

I welcome your thoughts and feedback - particularly if any of you are experiencing similar problems.
_____

I'm still having problems with power delivery, and in fact just noticed it terribly coming back from lunch. I reported this at my last service, and they said they could not "replicate" the problem. You'd have to be a total moron to drive it for 30 minutes and NOT notice the hesitation. It stumbles terribly at times, as if it is retarding the spark (or whatever is the whiz-bang 2005 technical equivalent). I rarely ever get full power/torque right off of the line. The temperature affects performance more than it seems it should for a normally aspirated car. My power is never consistent, and I have to stab the throttle numerous times to "lodge" it loose so to speak. I wish I could trade someone for a week to see if this is in fact an anomoly with my car.

I'm not very satisfied at all. If it were consistently as powerful as it is at times, it would be one phenomenal car. But usually, my car feels heavy and not so quick on its feet. At this point, I'm not happy.
_____

It always pulls hard at speed. I just have such inconsistent power delivery in gears 1-3. Like I said, if it consistently pulled hard all of the time (or at least most of the time?) like it does periodically, it would be one awesome car. As it is, I don't feel like I got my money's worth to be completely honest.

[Ioman]

Originally Posted by lux.sh

I feel ya. Since I put about 50 miles on my car, my BMW came up with 2 issues(airbag light, key fob). Obviously BMW and their 1st year vehicles aren't the most reliable vehicle on earth. I just hope it doesn't cause anymore trouble in the future.

Just about every 1st gen car from all manufacturers will have problems. My RX8 has several in the first year.

This is pretty normal, and you are likely to see more issues are cars that have a lot of technological parts and features.

[lux.sh]

^ I understand. Like I said, being a first-time bmw owner, I was just
mis-informed about BMW a little. Its not a "flawlessly reliable" machine.
Its a "ultimate driving" machine.

[Oz]

I haven't had problems with my car and mine is first generation. I got lucky i guess...

[stressdoc]

As per E90Fleet's Q: have you gotten the latest software update? This is not acceptable and your dealer needs to get help if they cannot fix it. Drive up to Columbia sometime and let Steve Day sort it out.

[AudiA4]

Originally Posted by E90Fleet

You can drive much further than 50 miles

Had a friend in a Mini Cooper S that drove on a completely flat run-flat for over 150 miles to his house, and the tire looked like it could go quite a bit more. Aslong as you stay t the recommended speed or less the tire will hold for a long time.

Also would you trust your life at high speed to a $5 service station fix ??

I'm sure there are cases/conditions where you could drive further than 50 miles, but the point is that ANY damage requires a new tire, which is ridiculous. I average a nail in a tire at least once a year. And at $300/tire minimum, that is unacceptable.

And no, I have never heard of or personally experienced any problems with a $5 nail hole fix. It is standard fare.

[AudiA4]

Originally Posted by stressdoc

As per E90Fleet's Q: have you gotten the latest software update? This is not acceptable and your dealer needs to get help if they cannot fix it. Drive up to Columbia sometime and let Steve Day sort it out.

I received the "first" software update that was suppose to fix errors such as the "seek" function, etc. And they did do some sort of "update" upon my first engine power problem visit, but they admitted that it wouldn't likely address any engine performance issues.

I have not yet had the "September" update or whatever its official code number is.

Oh, and I should add that I have yet to really push this with the dealer (I've only had it looked at the one prior time), but when I take it in for the airbag issue, I'll make it a priority. In other words, they haven't dismissed me per se.

[Jay_328]

Originally Posted by lux.sh

^ I understand. Like I said, being a first-time bmw owner, I was just
mis-informed about BMW a little. Its not a "flawlessly reliable" machine.
Its a "ultimate driving" machine.

1) who "mis-informed" you about BMW?

2) there is NO "flawlessly reliable" ever produced.

3) not a flame, just curious....

[RichReg]

Originally Posted by AudiA4

I'm sure there are cases/conditions where you could drive further than 50 miles, but the point is that ANY damage requires a new tire, which is ridiculous. I average a nail in a tire at least once a year. And at $300/tire minimum, that is unacceptable.

This is not true.....a misnomer about run-flats.
If the nail is in the tread & not too close to the sidewall then the run-flat is just like any other tire.
It can be patched.

[AudiA4]

Originally Posted by RichReg

This is not true.....a misnomer about run-flats.
If the nail is in the tread & not too close to the sidewall then the run-flat is just like any other tire.
It can be patched.

Hmmm...this is NOT what I was told by an independent tire sales center and the BMW dealer! If you are correct, then I am disapointed that the dealer would be misleading to make a buck off of the insurance group. Actually, the nail was fairly close to the sidewall, so that could have played into the situation.

[Nikki]

I got the tire insurance as well, it seemed like a good deal for $300 considering one tire costs that much to replace.

[AudiA4]

Originally Posted by Nikki

I got the tire insurance as well, it seemed like a good deal for $300 considering one tire costs that much to replace.

No doubt, not to mention a damaged wheel!! (I have wheel/tire insurance, not just tire).

[lux.sh]

Originally Posted by Jay_325Ci

1) who "mis-informed" you about BMW?

2) there is NO "flawlessly reliable" ever produced.

3) not a flame, just curious....

Seemed like you are a bit offended or something.

I never said this forum mis-informed me, nor any of the BMW owners did. I just loved BMW since I was a kid, and... You know. its one of those "role model" type of thing, like superman. They can do everything. thats what I thought about BMW. So much hype out there about bmw, how its the best of the best. I thought that meant "best of everything" which isn't true. Its the best driving machine out there. Reliability didn't count. so i mis-informed myself somehow.

I hope that clears up the confusion. sorry if I made a bold statement, it was some sort of joke.

[JonnyCrash]

Originally Posted by AudiA4

Purchased in May - first 330i in Little Rock (TiAg, Sports Pkg, 6 Speed, etc.) - currently at 7,000 miles. Problems:

1 - A/C failed within first 2 weeks (repaired, took 5 days!)
2 - Bluetooth didn't work at delivery - took 3 trips to repair
3 - Nail in runflat, cost $450 (fortunately, I had wheel/tire insurance)
4 - I still observe huge swings in power delivery/consistency, which they can't seem to duplicate. This has been my biggest disappointment, and unless it can be isolated, I'll be driving something else!

Now I have an airbag warning light flashing!!!

I guess I expected this with a first year model. But again, number 4 above is the real disappointment.

Hey Audi guy...

Sorry to hear about your problems. Some of them seem to be any car problems, others seem to be specific to your bimmer...
1. Unfortunate, but likely not restricted to BMW: I would also be really unhappy with the time to repair, though. Seems a little long. If they were waiting for a part, it should have been expidited.
2. Sounds from a later post like they finally diagnosed it as a module. This is a new technology, and the techs aren't used to it. They're mechanics, not computer scientists... still, they're trying to make it right. I'd call this one a wash, because again it could happen with any car.
3. The insurance was fortunate... again, can't blame BMW for this.
4. THIS is the one that worries me. Now, the good news is that there aren't many other owners that have had this problem, which means that it is likely something specific to your car. I would try a couple of approaches with this:
a) Talk to the service manager and the GM. Call a meeting and explain that you are dissatisfied with the way the car drives, and that even though they could not replicate it on a 10-minute test drive, that it is very much there. Explain that you would like the problem looked at thoroughly, and fixed, or that you would like to switch to a new car. (It is possible that you will have to work with them on this; if you have a lot of mileage on the car, they may not want to take it back on a straight trade.)
b) If they are unwilling to take the diagnosis to the next level, find another dealership. Send a letter to BMW NA explaining the problem, and singling out your dealership for their lack of co-operation.
c) If you still don't get satisfaction, sell the car privately ASAP. You will take a hit and be left with a bad feeling for sure, but it is better to get out of something you're not happy with sooner rather than later.

I'm sorry to hear about your bad luck... I hope it improves soon.