[ohnono]

Hey guys,

I just picked up a brand new 24' X5 40i xdrive last month in the Bay Area and drove it back home to Seattle. It has about 1300 miles now. I did not pay close attention to this when I picked up the car, but I noticed last week that I had to turn the steering wheel very slightly to the left in order for the car to go straight on the road. I am not sure if my front toe is off for some reasons, but I never went for offroading or anything crazy.

Do you guys know if I will be able to bring my car to a BMW dealer to request for a free alignment at this point (cover by warranty)?

If not, I am thinking about bringing the car to a local shop for alignment (cheaper than BMW dealership), but do you know (or have you had experience) if local alignment shops will be able to reset/adjust the applicable sensors/electronics (or are they even required)? I am asking this because, a few years back, a Firestone shop refused to do an alignment for my previous Lexus which had backup camera with predicted steering/vehicle lines and claimed that I had to bring it to Lexus dealership. With the 360 degree camera on the X5, I am not sure if it is still going to be the case?

Thanks for your help!

[X6ix GTA]

Originally Posted by ohnono

Hey guys,

I just picked up a brand new 24' X5 40i xdrive last month in the Bay Area and drove it back home to Seattle. It has about 1300 miles now. I did not pay close attention to this when I picked up the car, but I noticed last week that I had to turn the steering wheel very slightly to the left in order for the car to go straight on the road. I am not sure if my front toe is off for some reasons, but I never went for offroading or anything crazy.

Do you guys know if I will be able to bring my car to a BMW dealer to request for a free alignment at this point (cover by warranty)?

If not, I am thinking about bringing the car to a local shop for alignment (cheaper than BMW dealership), but do you know (or have you had experience) if local alignment shops will be able to reset/adjust the applicable sensors/electronics (or are they even required)? I am asking this because, a few years back, a Firestone shop refused to do an alignment for my previous Lexus which had backup camera with predicted steering/vehicle lines and claimed that I had to bring it to Lexus dealership. With the 360 degree camera on the X5, I am not sure if it is still going to be the case?

Thanks for your help!

Congrats on your new car.

Since it's a brand new car, the dealership should cover the alignment. Though reading some posts I got the impression dealership alignment configs aren't the best and it's better to go to Indy shops.

Don't think any sensors need to be reset post alignment.

[MADBMWX5MC]

Recommend you give it a shot and try your local BMW dealer, after all, I assume the dealer will be your go-to place for warranty work. Let them take a look and begin to establish the relationship with the service advisors -- assuming you havent. Congrats and welcome.

[bono]

Factory alignment is under 2,000 warranty if I am not mistaken. If there is any issue with steering, bring it in to dealership, have this on paper for future reference.

[ohnono]

Thank you guys for your responses. I will try to contact my local BMW dealerships first thing next week. Merry Christmas!

[MADBMWX5MC]

OP, any luck with this one, just curious.