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      02-08-2020, 03:55 PM   #1
Newman1
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Known issues to avoid?

Hi everyone,

I’m currently an 2014 F30 owner (N26) considering a 2016 X1. Needing something just a bit more roomy inside for the kiddo and wife but I don’t want or need a full blown SUV. We looked at a CPO X1 with M-Sport, premium, luxury and technology packages. It has 34k miles for a pretty good deal.

Just curious if there are any known issues with these cars that I should be aware of or otherwise avoid? The N26 motors had timing chain guide issues and were known to leak at the VCG, just wondering if there are similar things I should know about the X1 or if they’re otherwise pretty reliable (all things considered). Sounds like they too use a similar engine but not quite the same, with a different 8 speed transmission (not a ZF based on what I could research).

Thanks!
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      02-08-2020, 03:58 PM   #2
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I'd suggest picking up a copy of the latest consumer report.
A lot of 2016 and 2017 X1 seems to be suffering from suspension issues. I'd stay away from the adaptive suspensions and go for the harder, supposedly better made M suspension.
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      02-08-2020, 04:02 PM   #3
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Good to know, and will do. Spending today reading through forums and will grab a copy of CR. This one in particular doesn’t have adaptive suspension, which sounds like it’s a good thing.
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      02-08-2020, 04:11 PM   #4
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A year ago I bought a CPO 2016 M-sport X1 with 16,000 miles. It now has 31,000 on it and hasn't had a single issue FWIW.
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      02-08-2020, 05:00 PM   #5
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Common complaints I've seen on the forums or experienced so far include possibly premature brake pad wear (replaced my rear pads at only 25k miles and fronts at 31k, and no it's not driven with a heavy foot), smelly AC during summer (possibly from condensation build up that doesnt dry completely), shift knob defect causing a transmission error/CEL, B pillar trim recall, hard thunking when going over speed bumps due to possibe lower control arm or bushing problem, and excessive wind noise from rear door window or sun roof.

I dont personally have all these issues but just rattling off some of the recurring threads I've seen since joining.

Luckily my 2018 at 31k miles has been mostly trouble free so far minus intermittent smelly AC on start up and fast brake pad wear.
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      02-10-2020, 12:04 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Skyline2.0 View Post
Common complaints I've seen on the forums or experienced so far include possibly premature brake pad wear (replaced my rear pads at only 25k miles and fronts at 31k, and no it's not driven with a heavy foot), smelly AC during summer (possibly from condensation build up that doesnt dry completely), shift knob defect causing a transmission error/CEL, B pillar trim recall, hard thunking when going over speed bumps due to possibe lower control arm or bushing problem, and excessive wind noise from rear door window or sun roof.

I dont personally have all these issues but just rattling off some of the recurring threads I've seen since joining.

Luckily my 2018 at 31k miles has been mostly trouble free so far minus intermittent smelly AC on start up and fast brake pad wear.
I can confirm this as well. Replaced my rear pad and rotor at 20k miles. Replacing front at 25k miles. I suspect this is might be caused by the Xdrive using too much brakes to enhance handling and cornering. I now drive with DSC completely turn off (5 sec hold). When I drive, I typically let my car roll as much as I can, apply early light braking, and even use lower gears to help braking often. So this pretty surprising. Replacing them with better rotors and ceramic pads now, will report back when they wear out too.
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      02-10-2020, 11:11 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lonegun View Post
I can confirm this as well. Replaced my rear pad and rotor at 20k miles. Replacing front at 25k miles. I suspect this is might be caused by the Xdrive using too much brakes to enhance handling and cornering. I now drive with DSC completely turn off (5 sec hold). When I drive, I typically let my car roll as much as I can, apply early light braking, and even use lower gears to help braking often. So this pretty surprising. Replacing them with better rotors and ceramic pads now, will report back when they wear out too.
For me, turning DSC completely off, or even setting to limited DSC, to avoid excessive brake pad wear is not the best idea... The loss or limiting of traction control assistive functions are not worth the marginal benefit of longer pad life.

I do think BMW may have addressed the premature brake pad wear issue as they recently updated the part number for the rear (as of today, most recent part # is 34216859917, which supersedes old part # 34216860403).

For the front, I went with Akebono set (EUR1892) as they're cheaper, comes with a wear sensor, and others have reported less dusting/noise. If Akebonos were available for the rear when I had to do the brake job, I would've purchased those instead. So far, the Akebonos up front are quiet, perform similarly to BMW pads and do seem to create less dust. I haven't tested the limits of the Akebonos (e.g., emergency stopping or rapid on/off braking), so I can't fully comment on the performance at the extreme limits.
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      02-10-2020, 04:59 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Skyline2.0 View Post
For me, turning DSC completely off, or even setting to limited DSC, to avoid excessive brake pad wear is not the best idea... The loss or limiting of traction control assistive functions are not worth the marginal benefit of longer pad life.

I do think BMW may have addressed the premature brake pad wear issue as they recently updated the part number for the rear (as of today, most recent part # is 34216859917, which supersedes old part # 34216860403).

For the front, I went with Akebono set (EUR1892) as they're cheaper, comes with a wear sensor, and others have reported less dusting/noise. If Akebonos were available for the rear when I had to do the brake job, I would've purchased those instead. So far, the Akebonos up front are quiet, perform similarly to BMW pads and do seem to create less dust. I haven't tested the limits of the Akebonos (e.g., emergency stopping or rapid on/off braking), so I can't fully comment on the performance at the extreme limits.
Nice, you can't go wrong with Akebonos. I've driven in ice and snow with DSC completely off quite a few times now and feel pretty confident with it off. Very controllable drift in snow and ice thanks to its FF centric setup. Even in wet and slightly loose surface, the car grips so hard and doesn't quite have enough overpowering torque that I haven't managed to get it slipping. I am a pretty experienced driver, so I wouldn't recommend turning it off for all the drivers. But it's really not as bad as you might think compared to other RF setup cars in BMW's lineup.
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      02-11-2020, 06:43 AM   #9
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I really find it weird to see you call changing the break pads at 30k miles to be an "issue". Break pads are consumables, and to be honest, I've never gone past 25k miles, on any car I've driven so far, without changing them I guess it's the difference in driving conditions, in Europe there's much more stop-and-go traffic then the US/Canada.
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      02-11-2020, 07:03 AM   #10
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Only problem I’ve had is premature brake wear, but BMW fixed it for free under warranty. However, as someone with a 15mo old, I’m already looking for a bigger car for a little more space. The X1 is “alright” on space, but two things get annoying:

1. Cramped front passenger space with rear facing car seats. Short people don’t mind, but having to slide the seat forward combined with the aggressively protruding shape of the dashboard makes knee room uncomfortable for anyone of average height or taller. It’s a problem for a lot of crossovers and the X1 is unfortunately one of them.

2. Cargo space isn’t big enough for a stroller and groceries. I have to get creative about jamming the bags around/under the stroller. And it’s not like we have one of those ridiculous massive strollers - ours is average size.
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      02-11-2020, 10:51 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jmhumr View Post
Only problem I’ve had is premature brake wear, but BMW fixed it for free under warranty. However, as someone with a 15mo old, I’m already looking for a bigger car for a little more space. The X1 is “alright” on space, but two things get annoying:

1. Cramped front passenger space with rear facing car seats. Short people don’t mind, but having to slide the seat forward combined with the aggressively protruding shape of the dashboard makes knee room uncomfortable for anyone of average height or taller. It’s a problem for a lot of crossovers and the X1 is unfortunately one of them.

2. Cargo space isn’t big enough for a stroller and groceries. I have to get creative about jamming the bags around/under the stroller. And it’s not like we have one of those ridiculous massive strollers - ours is average size.
This is great feedback, as pretty much the only reason I'm looking to get out of my 3-series is for these two reasons (primarily). Our son is in a rear-facing child seat as well, so we might look at something a bit larger. Thanks for sharing this.
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      02-11-2020, 01:46 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jmhumr View Post
Only problem I’ve had is premature brake wear, but BMW fixed it for free under warranty. However, as someone with a 15mo old, I’m already looking for a bigger car for a little more space. The X1 is “alright” on space, but two things get annoying:

1. Cramped front passenger space with rear facing car seats. Short people don’t mind, but having to slide the seat forward combined with the aggressively protruding shape of the dashboard makes knee room uncomfortable for anyone of average height or taller. It’s a problem for a lot of crossovers and the X1 is unfortunately one of them.

2. Cargo space isn’t big enough for a stroller and groceries. I have to get creative about jamming the bags around/under the stroller. And it’s not like we have one of those ridiculous massive strollers - ours is average size.
The X1's interior dimension is actually fairly generous comparing to vehicles in the same class. It is comparable to many that are one class larger. Make sure you don't buy an X3 thinking it is roomier. I recall the X3 has only slightly more shoulder room. You probably need at least an X5.

"Despite being the smaller of the two, the X1 has more leg room and headroom than the X1 at 37 and 39.4 inches, respectively – the X3 only offers 36.4 and 39.1 inches, respectively."
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      02-11-2020, 03:59 PM   #13
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My understanding (and I could be wrong) was that some X1s have rear seats that can slide backwards? The one we looked at did not have that feature, and it did seem cramped in the back seat. I'm 6'1" and my wife is 5'5", and while the headroom was certainly accommodating, it "felt" like the back seat did not have very much room to spare unless the front seats were forward.

I have not looked at an X3 or X5 yet, but if that is the direction I head to in terms of size, which I'm not completely opposed to, BMW wouldn't be at the top of my list.
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      02-11-2020, 05:33 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 00max00 View Post
The X1's interior dimension is actually fairly generous comparing to vehicles in the same class. It is comparable to many that are one class larger. Make sure you don't buy an X3 thinking it is roomier. I recall the X3 has only slightly more shoulder room. You probably need at least an X5.

"Despite being the smaller of the two, the X1 has more leg room and headroom than the X1 at 37 and 39.4 inches, respectively – the X3 only offers 36.4 and 39.1 inches, respectively."
Agreed. I found that out when they gave me an X3 loaner.
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      02-12-2020, 02:05 AM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Newman1 View Post
My understanding (and I could be wrong) was that some X1s have rear seats that can slide backwards? The one we looked at did not have that feature, and it did seem cramped in the back seat.
The X1 is actually a very spacious car in the back seat. Only the boot space is suffering from the smaller size of the car. If you find the rear seats tight, than you should look at something like X5/Q7.
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      02-12-2020, 11:59 AM   #16
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I've had no issues with mine, a 2016 X1 Msport. I regularly sleep in the back of it at trailheads. I did this once with a newer X3 loaner and didnt feel like it had any more room
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      02-12-2020, 12:03 PM   #17
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I have both a 2018 f30 340 and a 2016 X1. I like both cars and recommend both. As discussed above, my X1 like others have said needed new front pads at 29k. My 340 is fine at 32k. Since we bought the X1 as a CPO, as an extra car and now used by my teen driver, I can't say how it was driven prior to our purchase. Nevertheless, we already replaced the front brake pads. For me, it was covered under our maintenance package. I like the X1 and it is a good car. I'm not turning in my 340 as that is my daily driver, but the X1 has really been a pleasant surprise for the 6 months that we have owned it. It would definitely have more room and have easier access than a 3 series to get kids in and out. I have 3 kids and had an e46 and now an f30, so I have been fine with those cars while the kids were younger. But for long trips it is nice to have more room and we do have a van for that. Good luck, I think you would like an X1, but definitely look up consumer reports to see if there are issues that might affect you. We found nothing that we were concerned about when we purchase our used X1 and have been very happy to date.
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      02-13-2020, 08:28 PM   #18
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FWIW I noticed the 2017 X1 did great on the JDP reliability survey that was just released.
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      11-09-2021, 02:36 AM   #19
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Bought a 2017 xdrive25d 22,000 miles a month ago. So far:
1. Rear seat won't electrically fold down.
2. Failed drivers side front strut brace.
3. Passenger side restraint system fault.
4. Creeking dashboard.

Having had BMWs over 10 years ago, build quality and design has definitely fallen off, whilst prices have significantly increased. Won't be buying another BMW after this one. Had a Skoda Yeti for 8 years without a single issue in 75,000 miles.
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      05-18-2022, 10:36 AM   #20
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I'm at 48k miles with my 2017 and I have noticed a dinging/clunking noise whenever driving through a bumpy road (mini potholes to be exact, very common in DC.)

Thinking its the control arm or sway bar, not so sure. Any ideas?
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      05-18-2022, 12:44 PM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Reefy View Post
I'm at 48k miles with my 2017 and I have noticed a dinging/clunking noise whenever driving through a bumpy road (mini potholes to be exact, very common in DC.)

Thinking its the control arm or sway bar, not so sure. Any ideas?
Hi Reefy,

Most likely. There're some other threads describing the feeling. Take a look at them just to ensure it's similar to yours, but it's a common issue on the F48. I changed both control arms while I had only 25,000 kms!!!
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      05-18-2022, 01:35 PM   #22
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jrveron View Post
Hi Reefy,

Most likely. There're some other threads describing the feeling. Take a look at them just to ensure it's similar to yours, but it's a common issue on the F48. I changed both control arms while I had only 25,000 kms!!!
Jrveron!!

Ill take a look next time I am doing a regular oil change.
WOW only 25k kms, that's insane lmao.

Is this because of faulty party parts or something? I never ran into this issue on my 94k mile 2012 128i LOL.
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