[torzeck]

Consumer Reports just came out with their annual Reliability Survey and they rated the 6 cylinder turbo poorly. Or at least they did not give it their "Recommended" stamp of approval.
I have one and I don't get it.The car has been great and trouble free. Ironically, it is also the highest rated Sporty SUV of the bunch. I agree with that.

Yeah, I know CR is sometimes a dubious reviewer of anything design or performance related but Im just thinking about resale value.

Attached is a chart that shows non specific major engine issues with this model yet I've been on this forum since the beginning, before the car even was released and I haven't read about any engine related issues from any owner.

I'm going to call them and see what's up.

Meanwhile, I'll ask:
Has anybody had engine issues with the 35i in the US?

[Midwest X6]

HPFP??

Originally Posted by torzeck

Consumer Reports just came out with their annual Reliability Survey and they rated the 6 cylinder turbo poorly. Or at least they did not give it their "Recommended" stamp of approval.
I have one and I don't get it.The car has been great and trouble free. Ironically, it is also the highest rated Sporty SUV of the bunch. I agree with that.

Yeah, I know CR is sometimes a dubious reviewer of anything design or performance related but Im just thinking about resale value.

Attached is a chart that shows non specific major engine issues with this model yet I've been on this forum since the beginning, before the car even was released and I haven't read about any engine related issues from any owner.

I'm going to call them and see what's up.

Meanwhile, I'll ask:
Has anybody had engine issues with the 35i in the US?

[Want the thrill]

I agree Torzeck, I have read nothing about anyone having engine problems on the 2011's. If you find anything more out, please let us know. Did they say what the issues were with the brakes and audio?

[torzeck]

Originally Posted by Want the thrill

I agree Torzeck, I have read nothing about anyone having engine problems on the 2011's. If you find anything more out, please let us know. Did they say what the issues were with the brakes and audio?

Admittedly I scanned the article , that said, I found no specifics.

They also have ownership costs wrong as well. While we're under warranty all we pay for is fuel and tires (in the US)0.

They're in Yonkers NY so were closed today. I will try them tomorrow.

[bogx3]

Thanks for posting this. It sounds like their survey responders might be placing the widely reported throttle lag issue under that category. Let us know what you find out!

[ReturnZero]

Originally Posted by Midwest X6

HPFP??

I thought that was only the N54

[torzeck]

Phone lines at CR headquarters are still down due to Sandy.

[torzeck]

Follow up on Consumer Reports:
Guy from CR called me back.Here's the less than satisfying result.

The "Engine Major" problems include:
Timing Belt
Pistons + Cylinders
{valves and control of}
Total Rebuild
Turbo Chargers
Super chargers

Engine control software is not included according to this representative.

Brakes problems include:
Rotors
Calipers
ABS system
Master cylinder

Cars get the black mark if 3% of respondents for a given make and model
report one of these problems.

I asked what the sample size was and CR would not reveal this. I badgered him and I know its more than 20 cars, but that's it. This is proprietary info to them.

Manufacturers can find out the specifics of the survey by requesting them in writing.

Again, I know we'd all love to know if any owners out there have experienced trouble in either of these areas.

[mcorliss]

CR is laughable publication that would ding a Ferrari for the size of its cup holders. Was there ever any question that they'd favor a Honda CRV over a BMW X3 in a head to head comparison test.

Ignore CRs comments.

[kozzi]

19k miles on 2011 35i and just had the front and rear brakes done. I drive mine hard and in sport, sport+ 99% of the time. I am at 13.9 mpg (all nyc use) just to give you an idea of how heavy I am on the brakes and throttle. CR has no idea wtf they are talking about. Ignore them and the reviews they offer.

[lbjgh]

I donno, it might be OK if BMW gets a few black marks... it'll keep 'em on their toes. Plus, who cares what CR says if our cars are trouble free.

[DonC]

Usually causes me to look for myself. CU in my opion is not a decision maker..

[rmeir]

3 percent gets a black mark? If you have ever done research you know the larger the sampling the truer the finding. If they tested 100 cars and 3 had problems it would get a bad mark? And what is the extent etc. I know lots of bimmer drivers, maybe not x3's who have over 200k on their cars and never had problems. Turbos always tend to have a bit more trouble than a normal aspirated engine but I am not believing they are dramatically prone to trouble. that technology has existed for a long time. And I think BMW makes pretty durable flawless engines. the 8 spd trans bothers me a bit as its new technology but if you look at another survey they did all the german cars rate low, bmw, mb and audi. the japanese cars ruled as far as durability. I find that amazingly hard to believe, having owned toyotas and hondas etc. and ya know every car needs some repair sometimes.

[pmacd55]

I agree it keeps em on there toes. I exhastively researched this car befor pulling the buy trigger and have no regrets at all.

[Beyu]

Originally Posted by torzeck

Follow up on Consumer Reports:
Guy from CR called me back.Here's the less than satisfying result.

The "Engine Major" problems include:
Timing Belt
Pistons + Cylinders
{valves and control of}
Total Rebuild
Turbo Chargers
Super chargers

Not sure what the CR rep is talking about considering the X3 doesn't even have a supercharger or any BMW in the lineup for that matter.

[Want the thrill]

Originally Posted by torzeck

Follow up on Consumer Reports:
Guy from CR called me back.Here's the less than satisfying result.

The "Engine Major" problems include:
Timing Belt
Pistons + Cylinders
{valves and control of}
Total Rebuild
Turbo Chargers
Super chargers

Engine control software is not included according to this representative.

Brakes problems include:
Rotors
Calipers
ABS system
Master cylinder

Cars get the black mark if 3% of respondents for a given make and model
report one of these problems.

I asked what the sample size was and CR would not reveal this. I badgered him and I know its more than 20 cars, but that's it. This is proprietary info to them.

Manufacturers can find out the specifics of the survey by requesting them in writing.

Again, I know we'd all love to know if any owners out there have experienced trouble in either of these areas.

Thanks for the follow up! I can honestly say I have yet to read a post on the boards on any of the above mentioned engine issues they have listed. The only complaint on the brakes that I have read is that they need changed with fairly low miles on them. What a bunch of BS.

[torzeck]

Originally Posted by Beyu

Not sure what the CR rep is talking about considering the X3 doesn't even have a supercharger or any BMW in the lineup for that matter.

These are just areas that fall under "Engine Major" according to CR 's category.The category is not specific to the manufacturer.

[torzeck]

Originally Posted by Want the thrill

Thanks for the follow up! I can honestly say I have yet to read a post on the boards on any of the above mentioned engine issues they have listed. The only complaint on the brakes that I have read is that they need changed with fairly low miles on them. What a bunch of BS.

Totally agree. These NA cars have only been on the market for 22 or so months so how many miles have they seen? On average, not very many.

I also agree that because we have no idea what the sample size is, we have no way of knowing whether their survey has any merit.

My bet is it's a very small sample given there are maybe only 50k-60k F25 x3s on the world's roads(if even that many). CR is only good for NA so the that number is limited and then further reduced as the survey only went out to to CR subscribers.
I think most BMW owners think little of CR's ratings. Again, begging the question of how big was the sample size?

The survey also potentially stinks since it may be trolling for the negative.

CR needs to publish their methodology.

My only concern is I don't like the x3 getting a black eye that potentially hurts resale value. Especially if it's not warranted.

[sfax]

3% is a black mark? On a sample size of "more than 20"? If they said "more than 20" I'm guessing the sample isn't much more than 20. It would be a stupid thing to say with a sample size of 100 or 1000. So 0/20 is 0% and 1/20 is 5% so 1 problem creates a black mark.

Here's a better statistic: CR = Zero credibility with a 99% confidence interval

[Teemo Panda]

Consumer Reports = Bunch of Noobs, especially that gay nerd with glasses. End of Story.

[car_fan]

i personally have never used CR as the definitive resource to help me make a decision on the purchase of a vehicle. I do however, on occasion out of curiosity, pick up the mag to gauge their written consensus on a given make

[mtbmaniac]

I recently purchased a 2012 X3 xdrive35 and have had a major issue with the motor. The first morning I started it cold, I noticed a loud ticking sound coming from the motor that eventually went away as the motor warmed up after 3-5 minutes. This ticking sound continued every time the engine was started when cold, but not when it was warm. I called my dealer after a couple of days and scheduled an appointment to have it looked at. I dropped the X3 off on the 12th day of ownership and it has now been in the shop for two and a half weeks. After eight days of trying to diagnose the problem they decided to replace the entire head or "upper part" of the motor as they described to me. The parts arrived at the dealership yesterday and they anticipate the repair to be completed next week. BMW NA has been worthless during this entire process.

My local dealer, COs BMW in Colorado, has been very understanding and cooperative during the process. I finally spoke to the owner of the dealership this week and she agreed to replace the X3 with a new vehicle. I ordered the new one yesterday and hope to see it by the end of November. The dealer said that BMW is going to take back the original X3 because they want to investigate the cause of the problem. Maybe they are having some issues regarding the N55 motor and are trying to get them solved.