Farewell F25

greg2step · 03-29-2018, 12:40 AM

A farewell and final review of my 2011 X3 35i. I traded it in on a 2018 X3 M40i this week. The G01 has big shoes to fill, but I'm sure it will do just that with grace.

My 2011 had 72000 miles on it. It was my 2nd BMW (first was 2008 328xi E91 Sportwagon). The E91 was cool, but I loved the F25 - without a doubt the best car I ever owned. It never left me stranded (came close with water pump issue). never needed a tow truck.

I ordered the 2011 with Sport activity package and Dynamic handling - combined with the 35i engine it was very fun to drive, and handled as good if not better than my 328.

Let's start with the issues I had:
Water Pump started to fail at ~57k. common on 35i. It would spin real fast making a wining noise and eventually a sensor would tell the computer it was overheating and put it in limp mode. I had to pull over a few times but after it settled down it restarted and i never was stranded. oddly enough the temperature gauge never went up. As i understand it the gauge measures oil temperature and the computer warning was coming from a sensor inside the failing water pump. I had it replaced before any damage. There are a a few long threads about this, i'm sure my comments are tucked in there

At the end of the 4yr/50k warranty i purchased extended coverage on powertrain - it covered the water pump. When it was fixed, I was told I also had an oil leak - oil filter cartridge housing gasket - also common on 35i. I never fixed it (there is a thread on that I started) went through a quart of oil about 8000 miles. It was likely leaking about a year before i had it fixed, sometimes I would smell oil, and about 6 months before the diagnosis I had to add a quart of oil - at the time I didn't know why. The extended warranty did not cover this repair, was never thrilled with that. early this year, I considered fixing it and keeping it another year, but then we discovered the valve cover gasket was starting to leak - early stages - signs of moisture but would likely get worse. I also needed another round of breaks. After much decision and looking at a few competitors I decided to replace the car with a G01.

One other issue I had at about 3 years I occasionally got a warning that a suspension sensor (forget the exact code) failed. It was replaced. I believe it was part of the DHP suspension so this problem wasn't so common.

I also had one rear LED module go out on the left tail light module -the one on the lift gate, not the one on the corner. I had a friend solder it a few times - it worked a few weeks but temperature changes and vibrations caused it to fail. Since this wasn't the main tail light, and some of the lesser equipped X3's didn't even have these LED lights, my fix was to unplug the module on the other side so they both were out and it wasn't obvious unless you knew it should be lit. oops i meant to plug it back in before I traded it in.

The next issue was actually caused by a minor accident - someone changed lanes into me, damaged front right fender, slight wheel damage and right headlight unit needed to be replaced. The other driver was at fault. The replacement headlight unit had a problem, the water seal cap wouldn't stay on. At one point it fell off and dropped to the bottom of the car (never fell to the ground). After the water pump repair and first oil leak diagnosis they steam cleaned the engine. water filled the light module and it failed. the body shop and insurance company who replaced it a few months earlier agreed this should never have happened and replaced the module whole module. The cap came off from time to time, the last 15 months or so I made a point to check it every few weeks. One time it came off, a little water splashed in on a wet day and the headlight failure warnings came on, but it didn't fill up like the steam clean - so when it dried out it was fine. after that I really checked it often, on atleast one other occasion I had to retrieve the cap from the bottom of the car. While this shouldn't be an issue at all, if you have adaptive headlights, and have ever had one of those units replaced due to damage, keep an eye on it. the module costs like $1800 for adaptive headlights.

Now for the good stuff. in 6.5 years the car always drove the same - some cars get loose over time. My X3 was as solid the day I traded it in vs. the day I picked it up.

It was a lot of fun to drive, the right amount of size and space for me and the technology in it was sufficient for the entire time of ownership. The feature I fell in love with more than anything was the birds eye view backup camera - i almost never used the standard backup camera in favor of the top down view. It was an absolute requirement on any replacement car. The new G01 has it and its even better. Maps, nav, bluetooth, sound system all worked great for me.

Anyway, I don't have the skills or tools to do my own repairs so fixing the oil leaks myself wasn't an option. Lets face it, if you don't put the engine back together properly the repair can get a lot bigger. I decided keeping the X3 past ~75k wasn't for me. I thought about it, but decided to trade it in.

One thing I discovered with trading it in - i really wanted to save some from money and go to a 30i, but stepping down from an F25 35i to a G01 30i was a bit of a let down, where as the M40i is a worthy replacement.

I loved the colors on my 2011: Deep Sea Blue, Mojave leather, alum brush trim. So much so that the new one is a close match in color - Pythonic blue, Mocha interior, and Aluminum brush trim again.

Both my F25 and G01 had base tires/wheels. All season run flats. The 2011 allowed Sport package with 18" wheels which I had, for 2012 they bundled the 19" with SAP. Not being a wheel guy myself, made a point to order mine as a 2011 - it was built in the last 2 weeks of the model year as they flipped to 2012 a few weeks later (September 2011 build). I could have easily delayed into a 2012, but wanted the 18". I decided to put the wheel money upgrade into DHP instead. No regrets with that. I ordered the 2018 with the spare tire option. Although it comes with run flats, having a spare makes switching to non RFT's at a later date an option. Note for potential G01 buyers, if you add the spare it raises the floor in the back by about 3" and you loose the rails and hooks. IMHO worth it.

This link is a pict of the old and new next to each other at trade in

http://x3.xbimmers.com/forums/showpo...4&postcount=35

and the next post on the same thread is more pics of the new one

http://x3.xbimmers.com/forums/showpo...8&postcount=36

and for old time sake, here is my post from 2011 on delivery day of my F25. pics of my old E91 next to it.

http://x3.xbimmers.com/forums/showpo...7&postcount=26

In a nutshell, I loved my 2011. I almost tried to keep it. Despite the few issues above and the fact that i felt replacement brakes had shorter life than the original - i have no regrets, and loved driving it every day. It was finally time to move on. The fact the replacement G01 would be the most direct upgrade to a newer model path that is possible, even same basic color scheme should serve as a tribute to how much I enjoyed the 2011. It is the longest I have ever kept a car by 18 months.

I hope some of you do the same over the next few years and jump to the G01, no matter which engine package you go with you will find its a great replacement for the F25.

As someone who drove an F25 for 6.5 years, I will still pop over to this forum from time to time. Feel free to message me if you ever have a question on either X3.

Greg

Barbera335 · 03-29-2018, 08:38 AM

Congratulations, you will love the G01. I had one as a loaner for 3 days and it was fantastic. So much quieter inside than my F25 at freeway speeds and the seats are more comfortable. That being said, I have decided to keep my 2011 F25 until the G01 replacement comes out, around the 2023-24 timeframe.

E90705 · 03-29-2018, 08:49 AM

Congrats on your new G01

doru · 03-29-2018, 01:53 PM

Congrats on the new ride.
Could you please post a review of differences between the F25 & G01? From driving dynamics to interior/exterior and whatever you have in between?

Thanks!

Peter_R · 03-30-2018, 06:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by doru

Congrats on the new ride.
Could you please post a review of differences between the F25 & G01? From driving dynamics to interior/exterior and whatever you have in between?

Thanks!

Looks like we will have to pull up an armchair and get a beer.

chknlytle · 03-31-2018, 02:15 AM

looks awesome! makes me thinking I should do the same!

RaffMotor · 04-02-2018, 11:58 AM

I concur with everyone and also add that I'm so jealous. I hope one day to go from my 35d to the m40i, what a lovely way to travel.

atarivers · 04-02-2018, 03:14 PM

Two observations:

1. The car is beautiful inside and out. The interior is identical in color and style to my 2014 M-Sport Nevada.

2. You love blue but I think it's highly likely you will see many Alpine White in the wild.

03-29-2018, 12:40 AM	#1
greg2step X3 Owner/Driver 212 Rep 785 Posts Drives: 2018 X3 M40i Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Baltimore, Maryland, USA iTrader: (0) Garage List 2018 BMW X3 M40i (G01) [0.00]	Farewell F25 - traded for G01 this week A farewell and final review of my 2011 X3 35i. I traded it in on a 2018 X3 M40i this week. The G01 has big shoes to fill, but I'm sure it will do just that with grace. My 2011 had 72000 miles on it. It was my 2nd BMW (first was 2008 328xi E91 Sportwagon). The E91 was cool, but I loved the F25 - without a doubt the best car I ever owned. It never left me stranded (came close with water pump issue). never needed a tow truck. I ordered the 2011 with Sport activity package and Dynamic handling - combined with the 35i engine it was very fun to drive, and handled as good if not better than my 328. Let's start with the issues I had: Water Pump started to fail at ~57k. common on 35i. It would spin real fast making a wining noise and eventually a sensor would tell the computer it was overheating and put it in limp mode. I had to pull over a few times but after it settled down it restarted and i never was stranded. oddly enough the temperature gauge never went up. As i understand it the gauge measures oil temperature and the computer warning was coming from a sensor inside the failing water pump. I had it replaced before any damage. There are a a few long threads about this, i'm sure my comments are tucked in there At the end of the 4yr/50k warranty i purchased extended coverage on powertrain - it covered the water pump. When it was fixed, I was told I also had an oil leak - oil filter cartridge housing gasket - also common on 35i. I never fixed it (there is a thread on that I started) went through a quart of oil about 8000 miles. It was likely leaking about a year before i had it fixed, sometimes I would smell oil, and about 6 months before the diagnosis I had to add a quart of oil - at the time I didn't know why. The extended warranty did not cover this repair, was never thrilled with that. early this year, I considered fixing it and keeping it another year, but then we discovered the valve cover gasket was starting to leak - early stages - signs of moisture but would likely get worse. I also needed another round of breaks. After much decision and looking at a few competitors I decided to replace the car with a G01. One other issue I had at about 3 years I occasionally got a warning that a suspension sensor (forget the exact code) failed. It was replaced. I believe it was part of the DHP suspension so this problem wasn't so common. I also had one rear LED module go out on the left tail light module -the one on the lift gate, not the one on the corner. I had a friend solder it a few times - it worked a few weeks but temperature changes and vibrations caused it to fail. Since this wasn't the main tail light, and some of the lesser equipped X3's didn't even have these LED lights, my fix was to unplug the module on the other side so they both were out and it wasn't obvious unless you knew it should be lit. oops i meant to plug it back in before I traded it in. The next issue was actually caused by a minor accident - someone changed lanes into me, damaged front right fender, slight wheel damage and right headlight unit needed to be replaced. The other driver was at fault. The replacement headlight unit had a problem, the water seal cap wouldn't stay on. At one point it fell off and dropped to the bottom of the car (never fell to the ground). After the water pump repair and first oil leak diagnosis they steam cleaned the engine. water filled the light module and it failed. the body shop and insurance company who replaced it a few months earlier agreed this should never have happened and replaced the module whole module. The cap came off from time to time, the last 15 months or so I made a point to check it every few weeks. One time it came off, a little water splashed in on a wet day and the headlight failure warnings came on, but it didn't fill up like the steam clean - so when it dried out it was fine. after that I really checked it often, on atleast one other occasion I had to retrieve the cap from the bottom of the car. While this shouldn't be an issue at all, if you have adaptive headlights, and have ever had one of those units replaced due to damage, keep an eye on it. the module costs like $1800 for adaptive headlights. Now for the good stuff. in 6.5 years the car always drove the same - some cars get loose over time. My X3 was as solid the day I traded it in vs. the day I picked it up. It was a lot of fun to drive, the right amount of size and space for me and the technology in it was sufficient for the entire time of ownership. The feature I fell in love with more than anything was the birds eye view backup camera - i almost never used the standard backup camera in favor of the top down view. It was an absolute requirement on any replacement car. The new G01 has it and its even better. Maps, nav, bluetooth, sound system all worked great for me. Anyway, I don't have the skills or tools to do my own repairs so fixing the oil leaks myself wasn't an option. Lets face it, if you don't put the engine back together properly the repair can get a lot bigger. I decided keeping the X3 past ~75k wasn't for me. I thought about it, but decided to trade it in. One thing I discovered with trading it in - i really wanted to save some from money and go to a 30i, but stepping down from an F25 35i to a G01 30i was a bit of a let down, where as the M40i is a worthy replacement. I loved the colors on my 2011: Deep Sea Blue, Mojave leather, alum brush trim. So much so that the new one is a close match in color - Pythonic blue, Mocha interior, and Aluminum brush trim again. Both my F25 and G01 had base tires/wheels. All season run flats. The 2011 allowed Sport package with 18" wheels which I had, for 2012 they bundled the 19" with SAP. Not being a wheel guy myself, made a point to order mine as a 2011 - it was built in the last 2 weeks of the model year as they flipped to 2012 a few weeks later (September 2011 build). I could have easily delayed into a 2012, but wanted the 18". I decided to put the wheel money upgrade into DHP instead. No regrets with that. I ordered the 2018 with the spare tire option. Although it comes with run flats, having a spare makes switching to non RFT's at a later date an option. Note for potential G01 buyers, if you add the spare it raises the floor in the back by about 3" and you loose the rails and hooks. IMHO worth it. This link is a pict of the old and new next to each other at trade in http://x3.xbimmers.com/forums/showpo...4&postcount=35 and the next post on the same thread is more pics of the new one http://x3.xbimmers.com/forums/showpo...8&postcount=36 and for old time sake, here is my post from 2011 on delivery day of my F25. pics of my old E91 next to it. http://x3.xbimmers.com/forums/showpo...7&postcount=26 In a nutshell, I loved my 2011. I almost tried to keep it. Despite the few issues above and the fact that i felt replacement brakes had shorter life than the original - i have no regrets, and loved driving it every day. It was finally time to move on. The fact the replacement G01 would be the most direct upgrade to a newer model path that is possible, even same basic color scheme should serve as a tribute to how much I enjoyed the 2011. It is the longest I have ever kept a car by 18 months. I hope some of you do the same over the next few years and jump to the G01, no matter which engine package you go with you will find its a great replacement for the F25. As someone who drove an F25 for 6.5 years, I will still pop over to this forum from time to time. Feel free to message me if you ever have a question on either X3. Greg __________________ 2018 X3 M40i G01 \| Phytonic Blue \| Mocha \| Premium+Exec \| Driver Assist \| Adaptive M Suspension 2011 X3 XDrive35i F25 l Deep Sea Blue l Mojave Leather l Sport, DHP, Premium, Nav/Technology, Cold Weather, Convenience [traded in] 2008 328XI E91 Sportwagon l Sparkling Graphite [traded in]
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03-29-2018, 08:38 AM	#2
Barbera335 Captain 169 Rep 660 Posts Drives: F25 Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: socal iTrader: (0)	Congratulations, you will love the G01. I had one as a loaner for 3 days and it was fantastic. So much quieter inside than my F25 at freeway speeds and the seats are more comfortable. That being said, I have decided to keep my 2011 F25 until the G01 replacement comes out, around the 2023-24 timeframe.
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03-29-2018, 08:49 AM	#3
E90705 First Lieutenant 127 Rep 383 Posts Drives: E90/F25 M-sport Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: Central iTrader: (0)	Congrats on your new G01
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03-29-2018, 01:53 PM	#4
doru Lieutenant 126 Rep 482 Posts Drives: e92, f25, e46, e83 Join Date: May 2015 Location: Calgary iTrader: (0)	Congrats on the new ride. Could you please post a review of differences between the F25 & G01? From driving dynamics to interior/exterior and whatever you have in between? Thanks! __________________ Stable: e92is f25 N52 e83 N52 e46ci M54B25 (e53 N62 - sold, R.I.P. e39 M54B30)
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03-31-2018, 02:15 AM	#6
chknlytle Private 17 Rep 64 Posts Drives: X3 35i M Sport Join Date: Dec 2017 Location: Oahu iTrader: (0)	looks awesome! makes me thinking I should do the same!
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04-02-2018, 11:58 AM	#7
RaffMotor Registered 0 Rep 3 Posts Drives: BMW X3 F25 Join Date: Mar 2018 Location: Scotland iTrader: (0)	I concur with everyone and also add that I'm so jealous. I hope one day to go from my 35d to the m40i, what a lovely way to travel.
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04-02-2018, 03:14 PM	#8
atarivers Private First Class 3 Rep 102 Posts Drives: 2014 X3 xDrive35i M Sport Join Date: Oct 2017 Location: USA iTrader: (0)	Two observations: 1. The car is beautiful inside and out. The interior is identical in color and style to my 2014 M-Sport Nevada. 2. You love blue but I think it's highly likely you will see many Alpine White in the wild.
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