[PhillyBMW1]

Got a new 2024 2 weeks ago. Has about 600 miles (all miles from driving to Chicago to pickup and driving back to Indiana). Turn it on this morning and got “drivetrain malfunction”. Anyone else have this issue on a new car?

[dieter09]

saw someone on the x5 50e forum also

[Marty in NY]

Originally Posted by PhillyBMW1

Got a new 2024 2 weeks ago. Has about 600 miles (all miles from driving to Chicago to pickup and driving back to Indiana). Turn it on this morning and got “drivetrain malfunction”. Anyone else have this issue on a new car?

Ugh! Well, could be a number of things but you said you drove to Chicago to get it, right? I wonder if it sat on the lot without having a battery tender on it...so, if you have one, connect it up for a day, then start the car and see if the error msg goes away. Just a guess but if the battery is allowed to get low, like around 11-12v, you will get numerous and sometimes seemingly random messages that don't seem to add up. Here's hoping its nothing more than that.

[wifesbimmer]

BMW is well known for throwing random codes and malfunctioning features when the battery is low. Hopefully, charging it for a day will resolve the issue. Good luck.

[MystroX5]

Unfortunately, this has been a very common problem that can “brick” the vehicle for LCI models. It tends to be that new electric helper motor in the transmission. If anything isn’t 100% perfect between the ICE and electric motor in the transmission, you get the dreaded “drivetrain malfunction” error code and the vehicle usually has to be towed to the dealership. Check out the X7 forum.

https://g07.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1971419

[Jimmy V]

Just received our new x50e a week ago and for 550 miles it drove brilliantly. Last Friday morning when we tried to start the car I received the Drivetrain Malfunction error. The car would not budge! BMW roadside assistance drug it out of the garage and hauled it to the dealer - haven’t heard back from them yet. I see that we are not the only one that has experienced this problem. We are very disappointed to experience a failure like this that could have left us stranded on the road!

[jkramerXXX7]

I was warned when i picked my 50e up from dealership that this had occurred on 2 cars delivered the same time as mine. So far mine has been ok and has about 1200 miles on it. I guess it can happen at anytime.

[suprajjang]

Reading about this happening to multiple folks is slightly worrying. My LCI has already been in the dealership for 2 weeks (owned for 1 month now) as the transmission downshifts so harshly whenever coming to a stop.

Looking at the X7 thread it looks like varying issues: fuel pump, programming, new transmission. Please keep us posted on what they figure out with your car!

[Marty in NY]

Originally Posted by PhillyBMW1

Got a new 2024 2 weeks ago. Has about 600 miles (all miles from driving to Chicago to pickup and driving back to Indiana). Turn it on this morning and got “drivetrain malfunction”. Anyone else have this issue on a new car?

So, PhillyBMW1, what's the story, you have an update for those who posted?

[Jimmy V]

Originally Posted by Jimmy V

Just received our new x50e a week ago and for 550 miles it drove brilliantly. Last Friday morning when we tried to start the car I received the Drivetrain Malfunction error. The car would not budge! BMW roadside assistance drug it out of the garage and hauled it to the dealer - haven’t heard back from them yet. I see that we are not the only one that has experienced this problem. We are very disappointed to experience a failure like this that could have left us stranded on the road!

We heard back from BMW Service this morning. The problem is with t he failure of the A/C Shutoff Valve. The component has been ordered from Germany, no ETA. I assume the A/C is used to cool the Hybrid Batteries hence the total system shutdown…

[nikhilabburi]

Originally Posted by Jimmy V

We heard back from BMW Service this morning. The problem is with t he failure of the A/C Shutoff Valve. The component has been ordered from Germany, no ETA. I assume the A/C is used to cool the Hybrid Batteries hence the total system shutdown…

I had the same issue too. Bought 24 X5 50e, after 4 days (drove only 300miles that too in local) I got the check engine light on and went to dealer. They have checked and informed me to replace the A/C valve pipe (Not sure exactly but they told me vent line is not venting correctly). They have ordered part which is coming from Germany, Initially Dealer gave me the loaner car, since the part is coming from Germany they don’t have the estimation they took the loaner car back and arranged me the rental car from enterprise (23 X5 40i).

After 3 and half weeks the part came and they have replaced it and took the vehicle 2 days ago. So far good as of now.

[Jimmy V]

Originally Posted by nikhilabburi

I had the same issue too. Bought 24 X5 50e, after 4 days (drove only 300miles that too in local) I got the check engine light on and went to dealer. They have checked and informed me to replace the A/C valve pipe (Not sure exactly but they told me vent line is not venting correctly). They have ordered part which is coming from Germany, Initially Dealer gave me the loaner car, since the part is coming from Germany they don’t have the estimation they took the loaner car back and arranged me the rental car from enterprise (23 X5 40i).

After 3 and half weeks the part came and they have replaced it and took the vehicle 2 days ago. So far good as of now.

Happy you had a successful repair! We are hoping for the same. We stopped by the dealer yesterday to check on the status - and, a delivery date for the part is not available. So based on your experience perhaps we have a couple of weeks to go before we get the repair completed. They didn’t ask to have our loaner returned, so that’s positive.

[traron]

Originally Posted by suprajjang

Reading about this happening to multiple folks is slightly worrying. My LCI has already been in the dealership for 2 weeks (owned for 1 month now) as the transmission downshifts so harshly whenever coming to a stop.

Looking at the X7 thread it looks like varying issues: fuel pump, programming, new transmission. Please keep us posted on what they figure out with your car!

Interesting that you mention the hard downshifts, our LCI had the same thing going on only in comfort mode. We noticed hard downshifts when approaching a stop. I was very concerned after reading your post and decided to wait on briniging it to the dealer and have them do their thing with no problem found result. Today the harsh down shifts are gone and we crossed over the 600mi mark on the odometer. I wonder if this is some built-in protection for the brakes under break-in... But ours its gone today.

[mlurker]

So, LCI owners not only paid 10-20% more vs pre-LCI, miss hardware buttons, but also suffer from these issues. Nice move, BMW.

[MotoWPK]

Originally Posted by mlurker

So, LCI owners not only paid 10-20% more vs pre-LCI, miss hardware buttons, but also suffer from these issues. Nice move, BMW.

And one can't build what I built before; a 40i with air suspension, Integral active steering and a few other features.

[suprajjang]

Originally Posted by traron

Interesting that you mention the hard downshifts, our LCI had the same thing going on only in comfort mode. We noticed hard downshifts when approaching a stop. I was very concerned after reading your post and decided to wait on briniging it to the dealer and have them do their thing with no problem found result. Today the harsh down shifts are gone and we crossed over the 600mi mark on the odometer. I wonder if this is some built-in protection for the brakes under break-in... But ours its gone today.

I got my car back and now it seems to really only do it when the engine is cold which is significant improvement to before. Dealer told me it was the 3 to 2 downshift I was feeling at 13mph and it had to do with the clutch engagement being too aggressive. They also found my transmission was low on oil about 1.5 quarts. They had to reset "clutch A" so that it would not engage so aggressively is how it was explained to me.

[mlurker]

Originally Posted by MotoWPK

And one can't build what I built before; a 40i with air suspension, Integral active steering and a few other features.

Integral active steering - do you find it useful in Colorado? I read a lot of reviews that it's very helpful on a narrow roads, what is not common in US, much more in Europe.

[Heavyd]

Originally Posted by mlurker

Integral active steering - do you find it useful in Colorado? I read a lot of reviews that it's very helpful on a narrow roads, what is not common in US, much more in Europe.

On the old continent it's useful for parking spaces and narrow roads. Everything is much smaller here. So it's a bummer I couldn't order IAS on my 50e. They should make an exception for European orders My X5 is already too big. Sometimes I see a Dodge Ram. That's just hilarious. When they park at the side of the road half of the car still stands on the road

[Heavyd]

Also big cars are being considered asocial. They are getting vandalised, even the government is targeting bigger cars. Everything gets smaller, roads, parking spaces, ... Only the taxes are getting bigger.
All in name of climate and green rage.

[MotoWPK]

Originally Posted by mlurker

Integral active steering - do you find it useful in Colorado? I read a lot of reviews that it's very helpful on a narrow roads, what is not common in US, much more in Europe.

I find it useful everywhere I go. Regardless of how wide or narrow the roads are, one encounters parking lots and other narrow spaces where I do find IAS useful.

In my 10 years of BMW ownership experience, one of the things I appreciated was the ability to configure your vehicle with (almost) any option BMW offered for that model. Recently, they've followed the other manufacturers where certain options/features are only available on higher 'trims'. To me, one of the benefits you received paying the premium for a BMW was this ability to configure your vehicle with whatever available features you wanted.

[hufington]

BMW is very happy lately to promote and sell all these new EVs and hybrids for much higher sticker prices than before the Pandemic w/o proper quality control. It leaves a sour taste in one's mouth!

[shapleigh]

10 days post delivery, 660 miles and the car came up with multiple warnings. Drove from the factory to the house, approximately 600 miles and two short trips around town. Went into limp mode and only electric drive available. Furious would be an understatement!

Dropped off at the dealership and they have escalated it to BMW Technical as they don't have a clear answer.

Extremely frustrating as I have a 2011 x5d that I have spent over $20k on maintenance in recent years. Only went with the new BMW because of their improved reliability rankings. I can't deal with having the longterm reliability issues with this one.