[magna6882]

My guess is its the clutches are locking up due to the lubrication. Without a fluid change, which i suspect contains clutch matter, one could expect bearing and seal failure .The clutches are there to allow full time 4 wheel drive. The best solution would be to at least change the fluid to get the contaminated product out of the box. If one could prolong bearing life then clutch failure would just limit the front wheel drive but the rear wheel drive should work fine. My dealer covered 80 percent of the cost on a 2019 that was clearly out of warranty.

[rohitsja]

My car is currently at the dealer too. When I first reported the issue a few weeks back (the car was under CPO warranty) I was still asked to pay ~$600 for fluid replacement. If that didn’t solve the issue, BMW would cover transfer case replacement costs. The car went in yesterday again for the same issue and I got the call that the part is on national backorder and they don’t expect to have it until Mid-Sep timeframe (and come pick up your car and we’ll call you back).

[christwinzbmw]

I went for the same issue and the dealer indicated I needed a new xfer case after changing the fluid. But before they were going to put in the new xfer case, the foreman said because I had wheel spacers, that caused the shudder. They removed the spacers and the shudder was gone. But I felt the shudder before I had spacers installed.. Are spacers really an issue? Anybody else had this argument with bmw?

Though the tech said come back again without spacers if the shudder is still there, and we will proceed with changing out the xfer case if the shudder is present again.

[motex]

Originally Posted by dgreg777

Does anyone know would happen if someone decided to live with the issue? Would it eventually fail?

I believe it will; if it has already begun, it is likely to worsen.

[starlights]

Curious about the comment above - do the wheel spacers contribute towards early TC failure?

[Cyberdemon]

Bumping this also - would folks who had the driveline issues say there is a noise accompanied with it?

I've noticed the low speed shudder/wheel slip feeling at low turning speeds on our 40i. However the tires are getting lower on tread I can't tell if tires would fix this or I should just drive it to the dealer before it becomes a headache.

I am out of warranty and spending $1500 on tires and another $7k on a transfer case on a car worth $25k is a bit worrying, we're closing in on 70k miles.

[MobiusRising]

Hi All,

Same thing happened to me. X5 is at the dealer and the tech confirmed the issue.

I’m out of CPO warranty but still with the ultimate care warranty through 2027. They said I had to pay the fluid change (~650) as that’s not covered but the transfer case would be covered if the symptoms came back.

Is that normal? I figure the fluid change would also be covered under the warranty.

[MADBMWX5MC]

I would think fluids are not covered under warranty unless is needed as part of a part replacement (e.g., transfer case). Changing the TC fluid would be, I would think, in the same category and changing out other fuilds....part of a maintenance program. I am about to replace the transmission and TC fluid on my 2021 Jeep SRT as recommended service interval. Price is around $600 too.

[MobiusRising]

Originally Posted by MADBMWX5MC

I would think fluids are not covered under warranty unless is needed as part of a part replacement (e.g., transfer case). Changing the TC fluid would be, I would think, in the same category and changing out other fuilds....part of a maintenance program. I am about to replace the transmission and TC fluid on my 2021 Jeep SRT as recommended service interval. Price is around $600 too.

Totally agree. Given it was part of an SIB I thought it might be covered. Seems like a reasonable investment to see if the TC eventually goes, that being covered by warranty.