Our first Bad experience with the E90

RachelS · 06-25-2005, 06:29 PM

Well

We went to Cleveland today to shop. One the way home, I had the NAV going and the radio. It was 96 today on the way home. While driving we lost complete audio, everthing and then the NAV screen went black...nothing.

After stoping at the gas station and restarting the car, it all came back....

ANOTHER BUG...OH and from our little sweaty bodies, the leatherette seat turned white....go figure...

My husband a bit discussed...

Anyone else....

Nathan · 06-25-2005, 06:39 PM

hey Rach, i noticed the same thing the other day, but it was after i started the car. I turned the car on, and the display went from BMW to blank for about a minute, until i turned the car off and on again. My previous NAV in my X5 did the same thing, i'm used to bugs like this, hey its Windows CE Telematics after all!

I also noticed once that the stereo kept playing even after i turned the car off and pulled out the keys. It went off after i locked the car. Wierd, but that only happened once.

My take on this - its a first year model, iDrive is still a bit buggy, but i'm fine with it because i like the toys.

My 2002 X5's Nav system went out about 5 times over 3.5 years, it was buggy as heck but served its purpose.

Nathan

e90fanatic · 06-25-2005, 07:08 PM

these are all just software related. Im sure that they'll probably come out with a patch or software update if we complain enough. As for the leatherette, complain and u may get new seat covers since it's a faulty material. Does the white spots wipe off? Perhaps it's just salty sweat? I dunno because I haven't gotten my car yet but hopefully everything can be fixed.

RachelS · 06-25-2005, 07:13 PM

white goes away when dry...but nasty looking during

Armen52 · 06-25-2005, 07:20 PM

Geez this leatherette turning white thing is a total turn-off for me. I am certainly glad I didn't get it.

bzzbenz · 06-25-2005, 07:29 PM

Damn.. that sux. Hope it gets better and not worse.

RedStripe · 06-25-2005, 10:52 PM

Do you have the beige or the black leatherette?

Quote:

Originally Posted by RachelS

white goes away when dry...but nasty looking during

KUweatherman · 06-26-2005, 12:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RachelS

Well

We went to Cleveland today to shop. One the way home, I had the NAV going and the radio. It was 96 today on the way home. While driving we lost complete audio, everthing and then the NAV screen went black...nothing.

After stoping at the gas station and restarting the car, it all came back....

ANOTHER BUG...OH and from our little sweaty bodies, the leatherette seat turned white....go figure...

My husband a bit discussed...

Anyone else....

I know this has been said before, but you sure complain about your car alot...

ward · 06-26-2005, 03:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KUweatherman

I know this has been said before, but you sure complain about your car alot...

that's the funniest post on the whole damn message board,

seems like rachel's got more problems with her 3 than....

well Ok, I can't think of anything witty right now, but man,

sounds like she's really unhappy with that car.

RachelS · 06-26-2005, 05:44 AM

My complaining will help all of you in the future. I understand that BMW monitors this forum well. If you don't squeek, you don't get greased.

As i said before...it's all not just how big a wheel you can put on your car.

I have also posted helpful suggestions too I have leaned...

Broken1 · 06-26-2005, 08:09 AM

This isn't a new problem.
It happens with ALL cars. In my e46, sometimes the radio would freeze. It would be on a certain channel, at a certain volume and it would just freeze up. A simple restart of the car would suffice. In my fathers mercedes benz, his radio also once blanked out, much like RachelS describes. He took it in to Merc, and they had to "restart" the system as turning the car on and off didn't do anything.

These problems only happen once or twice so it's nothing to seriously worry about. It's happened in alot of cars in my experience, Audi, Merc and bmw...

Ps. RachelS -> Are you happy with your car? I know you post your problems to help, and it's a good thing to know exactly what is going wrong with these cars not on a case by case basis...but on an everycase basis...but do you still love it? Or are all the "minor" problems making you regret your purchase?

johnfkitchen · 06-26-2005, 08:14 AM

Rachel, I think it is great to bring things up and maybe BMW will benefit from the information.

However, your complaining often has an angry negative tone, and/or you are willing to assert that there is a problem that BMW must fix when there is no problem.

Consider these complaints:
Your car had no alarm and yet you expected the car to provide an audible on locking.
The pathway lighting complaint.
The multiple complaints about the "tranny hesitation" that turned out to be that you were driving the car sedately and the transmission learned your driving style. (Remember how you wanted us all to contact BMW to "get it fixed"?)
The "noisy" trans shifting.
The unsubstantiated claims that BMW was suffering an excessive Steptronic failure rate.
The "cheesy" navigation, and "Navigation - Was it worth it?" post

What happened to your story "IDrive Radio NO Autostore No WB No RDS" which finished up with "We are meeting the BMW field rep soon"?

I'd feel more positive about your posts if they were framed in a constructive manner and presented data in a less confusing and ambiguous way.

I'd imagine that anyone from BMW reading your complaints might just say "There goes RachelS again", and just ignore you.

PS and isn't it kind of odd that you called this thread "Our first Bad experience with the E90"

RachelS · 06-26-2005, 08:17 AM

Broken1
I still love the car...I think they will work on software upgrade fast for this car. the dealer told me it took the 7 series when first out about 3 major software updates to get the nasty bugs out.

Hey..did you know that consumer complaints mark about 92% of what auto makers base fixes on.

My radio still does not have RDS. and bmw says it should...

yes, all the above is true...

why I said first bad exp...cause this one scared me while driving from Cleveland...it left me feeling like the car was going to die on me in no-mans-land.

voltron1011 · 06-26-2005, 08:44 AM

Everyone has to remember that computer operating systems are not perfect. How many times do you have to reboot your PC at home/work? Most of us have accepted the fact that rebooting is a way of life. There is always going to be some minute bug that wasn't thought about during programing. Did you know that it took over 7 years for Microsoft to write Windows 2000? That's 7 years of over 1000 programers writing millions of lines of code. There is bound to be a glitch somewhere. We all want all of these luxury items in our cars but we really don't think too much about what it takes to make everything work together. That's just the facts of living in a highly technological world.

RachelS · 06-26-2005, 08:48 AM

Well said.......voltron1011...

YYdoodle · 06-26-2005, 09:16 AM

I appreciate Rachel's posts even though she doen't always fully answer questions clearly. Even tho she has posted lots of complaints about her car they seem to be legitimate and I've found her posts to be helpful for the most part. Besides, she has said that she really likes her car .. she's just voicing her issues. No biggie. Thanks Rachel.

CC 330i · 06-26-2005, 10:29 AM

Funny thing about my car:

Fog lights didn't work when I checked them about a week after delivery. Scheduled a service appt. Then I installed my factory alarm, and the foglights started working. My dealer said he couldn't program my alarm to be active yet (even though RachelS and at least one other person have had their alarms activated!) so I cancelled my service appt. The next day, I noticed my clown nose was blinkng (like it would if the alarm were activated) but the alarm was still not active. No biggie, happy to have the clown nose at least. The following day, noticed that my foglights weren't working again... Very very weird! I am thinking that disconnecting the battery and reconnecting my have "activated" my foglights, but I have no idea why they would have quit again...

RachelS · 06-26-2005, 10:35 AM

CC 330i
there was a guy at the dealer with the same problem I think.
What they did was reflash ALL!! the computers from scratch. They told him there were going to replace one of the on board computers with a new one. They said faulty memory.

Also if they accidently flashed the alarm software with no alarm it might be causing some of you problems.. ask them that. my alarm work great.

CC 330i · 06-26-2005, 10:47 AM

Thank you! I will talk to them about that ASAP. I appreciate the tip!

Steply · 06-26-2005, 11:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RachelS

My complaining will help all of you in the future. I understand that BMW monitors this forum well. If you don't squeek, you don't get greased.

As i said before...it's all not just how big a wheel you can put on your car.

I have also posted helpful suggestions too I have leaned...

I agree -- and Thank you RachelS for posting these bugs... Even small bugs can be fixed if enough people chime in to point them out... keep it up!

Athos · 06-26-2005, 11:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by voltron1011

Everyone has to remember that computer operating systems are not perfect. How many times do you have to reboot your PC at home/work? Most of us have accepted the fact that rebooting is a way of life. There is always going to be some minute bug that wasn't thought about during programing. Did you know that it took over 7 years for Microsoft to write Windows 2000? That's 7 years of over 1000 programers writing millions of lines of code. There is bound to be a glitch somewhere. We all want all of these luxury items in our cars but we really don't think too much about what it takes to make everything work together. That's just the facts of living in a highly technological world.

I disagree with this analogy. PC reliability is a joke (especially Windows!) We shouldn't accept the PC OS as a benchmark for other applications--especially those where safety is a key issue. Yes, a sw problem will happen under even the most careful design and quality assurance program. But what's acceptable in a PC is not acceptable in an automotive application. You don't beta-test sw at 60mph (a 'fatal crash' isn't a figurative term with cars!) For that matter, PC like reliability is even less acceptable in aviation or medical applications. The car manufacturers all know this quite well and as a result they insist on much higher quality and greater reliability from their suppliers. The last thing customers should do is acquiesce in PC-like quality in their cars.

LEDZEP · 04-24-2007, 01:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ward

that's the funniest post on the whole damn message board,

seems like rachel's got more problems with her 3 than....

well Ok, I can't think of anything witty right now, but man,

sounds like she's really unhappy with that car.

Jeez, where is the wisdom of RachelS when we need it most!! Just imagine how she would be with a E92 and a bad fuel pump!

How many here remember her?

06-25-2005, 06:29 PM	#1
RachelS Private First Class 46 Rep 191 Posts Drives: 2006 325i Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Toledo, Ohio iTrader: (0)	Our first Bad experience with the E90 Well We went to Cleveland today to shop. One the way home, I had the NAV going and the radio. It was 96 today on the way home. While driving we lost complete audio, everthing and then the NAV screen went black...nothing. After stoping at the gas station and restarting the car, it all came back.... ANOTHER BUG...OH and from our little sweaty bodies, the leatherette seat turned white....go figure... My husband a bit discussed... Anyone else....
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06-25-2005, 06:39 PM	#2
Nathan First Lieutenant 101 Rep 374 Posts Drives: 2010 X5 3.0 Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: The Windy City iTrader: (0)	hey Rach, i noticed the same thing the other day, but it was after i started the car. I turned the car on, and the display went from BMW to blank for about a minute, until i turned the car off and on again. My previous NAV in my X5 did the same thing, i'm used to bugs like this, hey its Windows CE Telematics after all! I also noticed once that the stereo kept playing even after i turned the car off and pulled out the keys. It went off after i locked the car. Wierd, but that only happened once. My take on this - its a first year model, iDrive is still a bit buggy, but i'm fine with it because i like the toys. My 2002 X5's Nav system went out about 5 times over 3.5 years, it was buggy as heck but served its purpose. Nathan __________________ [ US 2010 X5 3.0 \| Space Gray \| Black Nevada Leather \| Dark Bamboo Wood Trim \| Premium Package \| Sport Activity Package \| Premium Sound Package \| Technology Package \| Heated Front Seats \| Multi-Contour Seats \| Smartphone Integration \| Space Saver \| iPhone 3GS ]
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06-25-2005, 07:08 PM	#3
e90fanatic Absolute0 168 Rep 5,078 Posts Drives: Has a Roundel Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: TO/HK/NJ iTrader: (6)	these are all just software related. Im sure that they'll probably come out with a patch or software update if we complain enough. As for the leatherette, complain and u may get new seat covers since it's a faulty material. Does the white spots wipe off? Perhaps it's just salty sweat? I dunno because I haven't gotten my car yet but hopefully everything can be fixed. __________________ To procede or not to procede......
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06-25-2005, 07:13 PM	#4
RachelS Private First Class 46 Rep 191 Posts Drives: 2006 325i Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Toledo, Ohio iTrader: (0)	white goes away when dry...but nasty looking during
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06-25-2005, 07:20 PM	#5
Armen52 Captain 33 Rep 663 Posts Drives: 2006 330i Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Los Angeles, CA iTrader: (0) Garage List 2006 330i [0.00]	Geez this leatherette turning white thing is a total turn-off for me. I am certainly glad I didn't get it. __________________ E90 330i delivered 6/29/2005, ZSP/ZPP/ZCW/Step, Arctic/Gray/Walnut
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06-25-2005, 07:29 PM	#6
bzzbenz First Lieutenant 19 Rep 368 Posts Drives: 2011 E93 Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Orange County iTrader: (0)	Damn.. that sux. Hope it gets better and not worse. __________________ \| 2006 325i \| Jet Black \| Black ette \| 6spd manual\| Nav \| Xenon \| Burl \| Chrome Tips \| 545 sport wheels \| Blacklines\| \|DOB 6/2/05\|Delivered 7/14/05 \|
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06-26-2005, 05:44 AM	#10
RachelS Private First Class 46 Rep 191 Posts Drives: 2006 325i Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Toledo, Ohio iTrader: (0)	My complaining will help all of you in the future. I understand that BMW monitors this forum well. If you don't squeek, you don't get greased. As i said before...it's all not just how big a wheel you can put on your car. I have also posted helpful suggestions too I have leaned...
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06-26-2005, 08:09 AM	#11
Broken1 Addict 203 Rep 2,074 Posts Drives: 2024 X5 40i M-Sport Join Date: May 2005 Location: Ontario iTrader: (0)	This isn't a new problem. It happens with ALL cars. In my e46, sometimes the radio would freeze. It would be on a certain channel, at a certain volume and it would just freeze up. A simple restart of the car would suffice. In my fathers mercedes benz, his radio also once blanked out, much like RachelS describes. He took it in to Merc, and they had to "restart" the system as turning the car on and off didn't do anything. These problems only happen once or twice so it's nothing to seriously worry about. It's happened in alot of cars in my experience, Audi, Merc and bmw... Ps. RachelS -> Are you happy with your car? I know you post your problems to help, and it's a good thing to know exactly what is going wrong with these cars not on a case by case basis...but on an everycase basis...but do you still love it? Or are all the "minor" problems making you regret your purchase?
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06-26-2005, 08:14 AM	#12
johnfkitchen First Lieutenant 30 Rep 327 Posts Drives: 323is & 330i Join Date: May 2005 Location: Eastern Massachusetts iTrader: (0)	Rachel, I think it is great to bring things up and maybe BMW will benefit from the information. However, your complaining often has an angry negative tone, and/or you are willing to assert that there is a problem that BMW must fix when there is no problem. Consider these complaints: Your car had no alarm and yet you expected the car to provide an audible on locking. The pathway lighting complaint. The multiple complaints about the "tranny hesitation" that turned out to be that you were driving the car sedately and the transmission learned your driving style. (Remember how you wanted us all to contact BMW to "get it fixed"?) The "noisy" trans shifting. The unsubstantiated claims that BMW was suffering an excessive Steptronic failure rate. The "cheesy" navigation, and "Navigation - Was it worth it?" post What happened to your story "IDrive Radio NO Autostore No WB No RDS" which finished up with "We are meeting the BMW field rep soon"? I'd feel more positive about your posts if they were framed in a constructive manner and presented data in a less confusing and ambiguous way. I'd imagine that anyone from BMW reading your complaints might just say "There goes RachelS again", and just ignore you. PS and isn't it kind of odd that you called this thread "Our first Bad experience with the E90" __________________ 1998 323is SP manual with all the goodies in ArktisSilber + 330i auto SP PP CW iDrive/Nav SatRadio Active Steering Arktis/Beige/Poplar
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06-26-2005, 08:17 AM	#13
RachelS Private First Class 46 Rep 191 Posts Drives: 2006 325i Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Toledo, Ohio iTrader: (0)	Broken1 I still love the car...I think they will work on software upgrade fast for this car. the dealer told me it took the 7 series when first out about 3 major software updates to get the nasty bugs out. Hey..did you know that consumer complaints mark about 92% of what auto makers base fixes on. My radio still does not have RDS. and bmw says it should... yes, all the above is true... why I said first bad exp...cause this one scared me while driving from Cleveland...it left me feeling like the car was going to die on me in no-mans-land. Last edited by RachelS; 06-26-2005 at 08:22 AM..
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06-26-2005, 08:44 AM	#14
voltron1011 Colonel 119 Rep 2,909 Posts Drives: 2011 135i, FJR-1300 Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Wiesbaden iTrader: (2)	Everyone has to remember that computer operating systems are not perfect. How many times do you have to reboot your PC at home/work? Most of us have accepted the fact that rebooting is a way of life. There is always going to be some minute bug that wasn't thought about during programing. Did you know that it took over 7 years for Microsoft to write Windows 2000? That's 7 years of over 1000 programers writing millions of lines of code. There is bound to be a glitch somewhere. We all want all of these luxury items in our cars but we really don't think too much about what it takes to make everything work together. That's just the facts of living in a highly technological world.
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06-26-2005, 08:48 AM	#15
RachelS Private First Class 46 Rep 191 Posts Drives: 2006 325i Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Toledo, Ohio iTrader: (0)	Well said.......voltron1011...
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06-26-2005, 09:16 AM	#16
YYdoodle Captain 115 Rep 666 Posts Drives: E92 M3 fanatic Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: MD iTrader: (0)	I appreciate Rachel's posts even though she doen't always fully answer questions clearly. Even tho she has posted lots of complaints about her car they seem to be legitimate and I've found her posts to be helpful for the most part. Besides, she has said that she really likes her car .. she's just voicing her issues. No biggie. Thanks Rachel.
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06-26-2005, 10:29 AM	#17
CC 330i Captain 44 Rep 722 Posts Drives: 330i SG/Blk/Alum Join Date: May 2005 Location: Orange County, CA iTrader: (0)	Funny thing about my car: Fog lights didn't work when I checked them about a week after delivery. Scheduled a service appt. Then I installed my factory alarm, and the foglights started working. My dealer said he couldn't program my alarm to be active yet (even though RachelS and at least one other person have had their alarms activated!) so I cancelled my service appt. The next day, I noticed my clown nose was blinkng (like it would if the alarm were activated) but the alarm was still not active. No biggie, happy to have the clown nose at least. The following day, noticed that my foglights weren't working again... Very very weird! I am thinking that disconnecting the battery and reconnecting my have "activated" my foglights, but I have no idea why they would have quit again...
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06-26-2005, 10:35 AM	#18
RachelS Private First Class 46 Rep 191 Posts Drives: 2006 325i Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Toledo, Ohio iTrader: (0)	CC 330i there was a guy at the dealer with the same problem I think. What they did was reflash ALL!! the computers from scratch. They told him there were going to replace one of the on board computers with a new one. They said faulty memory. Also if they accidently flashed the alarm software with no alarm it might be causing some of you problems.. ask them that. my alarm work great.
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06-26-2005, 10:47 AM	#19
CC 330i Captain 44 Rep 722 Posts Drives: 330i SG/Blk/Alum Join Date: May 2005 Location: Orange County, CA iTrader: (0)	Thank you! I will talk to them about that ASAP. I appreciate the tip! Last edited by CC 330i; 06-26-2005 at 11:24 AM..
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