Thump and Vibration at sub 7mph

[kryptik.m5]

Hello everyone,

I have a 2016 X5 50i with m-sport that I've owned since April 2016. I'm hoping others with the same x5 50i with m-sport can help chime in with some feedback. I will pre-apologize for the length as well as the rant.

With about 2 months of driving, I started to notice a loud thumb with vibration felt in the rear when I decelerate and I hit roughly 3-7MPH consistently all the time regardless of whether it's warmed up or not. Sometimes I could hear it on acceleration but it's a bit more difficult to hear given the engine and exhaust volume. My car spent an exact 1 month at BMW service department after the foreman confirmed with a drive along that the vibration and thump was more pronounced when he sat in the rear and in fact he stated he felt the vibration when he placed his hand in the trunk.

They attempted to fix the vehicle by replacing the brakes thinking it was a brake issue. When that didn't resolve it they replaced the drive shaft which also didn't resolve the issue. Next they replaced some dampers which didn't resolve the issue. They wanted to replace the rear diff but that part was backordered for an undetermined amount of time so they cannibalized a showroom x5 with m-sport for some parts to test on my vehicle. When they tested my car with the transplanted transfer case, the noise and vibration seemingly went away. So, they ordered a new transfer case and gave the vehicle back to me stating it's all fixed.

1 week after I drove the vehicle, the thump came back. The main difference this time is it's thumping 2+ times each time again in the same fashion around the same speed. I'm able to replicate it consistently and so I took it back to the dealership and the foreman once again replicated the issue and at the time claimed it is an issue and he's unsure what's causing it. I asked if it may be the transmission, he suggested he thought so too but BMW NA was insistent it wasn't the transmission and therefore refused to authorize a replacement of the transmission. So, next step was a BMW NA rep was sent over to check out the vehicle. The foreman took him around and the rep stated that the consistently replicated thump and vibration is "normal" and is not an issue at all. He stated that since a resolution was made and the prior notation from the previous fix attempt stated the issue is fully resolved that he does not agree the thump and vibration is anything but normal.

Now I'm pissed off. The vehicle as spec'd out option wise is $99k since I ordered it with basically everything I can. Having said that, I strongly disagree the thump and vibration that occurs every time around the same speed is "normal" for our vehicles. I've owned roughly 15 BMWs over the course of 10 yrs and none of them have thumped and vibrated while slowing down. Given the vehicle's been in the shop for about 1/3 of the time I've owned the vehicle and I've been in constant contact with BMW NA Customer relations, when they reached out to the regional manager, the response was not good. All I was asking was that they buy back the car so that I may purchase another new BMW to replace it. The Regional manager's response is that they will compensate me 2 months worth of payment given they believe the vehicle is fixed and no longer has any issues. It thumps significantly more now than before the fix. How's that considered a resolved issue? If anything the fix made it worse.

For all those with the x5 msport reading this, please listen to your vehicles and let me know if you too hear at least 1 thump and if there is a thump if you can help with a passenger in the rear with their hands on top of the mat in the trunk to see if they also feel it vibrate, I'd truly appreciate it. I'm thinking of taking it to another dealer's service department given the foreman at my usual place is no allowed to attempt any further repairs on my vehicle for this same report issue, but my concern is that if it's noted in their central system that the issue is deemed a non-issue by their BMW rep and also by corporate that they too will simply tell me there's nothing wrong even though there clearly is. My wife refuses to drive the vehicle and I refuse to drive my sub 1yr old infant in it, but I don't want to take a massive loss by terminating the lease early and I don't want to swap a lease it only to pass a potentially dangerous issue to another person.

Thank you for your time and attention. If my battle with BMW ends with me taking a huge loss, this vehicle for sure will be my absolute final BMW which is sad because I was going to place my order for Alpina B7 next month...

[fastlambo99]

is the thump coming from the right, left or center rear?

I could be wrong, but depending on where it's coming from, it could be an issue with the drive train, Drive shaft, bearings, trans axle, alignment.

[kryptik.m5]

Thank you fastlambo99 for reading and responding.

When sitting in the driver's seat it sounds slightly to the right center of the vehicle. When seated in the rear it sounds like it's center center to the center rear.

They replaces the drive shaft and bearings brand new. They didn't suggest it could be an alignment and they never got to replacing the rear diff like the foreman wanted due to part being backordered with no clear timeframe when one would've been available. Since the BMW Rep said the thump/vibration is "normal" that they are no longer approving any additional fixes to my vehicle for this issue at that service center...

[Winn]

I've got a 2015 X5 50i with M-Sport, adaptive suspension and DHP...I've never heard a thump when decelerating, nor any vibrations. Are you in comfort mode when doing so? In Sport + you barely need to use the brakes to slow down, curious if it only occurs when the transmission is slowing you down?

[kryptik.m5]

Hi Winn, Thank you for listening to your car closely.

The thump occurs in any driving modes from ECO to Sport +. I stuck my phone in the truck to see if I could record the thump and the thump is quite audible. I'm going to pick up a couple go pros to see if I can capture some evidence in a way that doesn't show I'm tampering with anything before I begin to drive. I'm seriously hoping BMW NA takes me and this issue seriously because after this many fix attempts and being unable to resolve it only to then tell me it's "normal" because they can't figure it out is highly unacceptable.

Also, it occurs regardless of whether it's engine braking or foot braking.

[Doanster]

Their insistence that this is normal and/or fixed makes no sense. The shop foreman repeatedly stated he can reproduce the issue and agrees it's a problem. Otherwise they wouldn't have tried all the previous part replacements. If the thumps are not only still there, but are now worse, stick to your guns for a buy-back.
Have the regional rep come out for a test drive with you and the foreman and see if he'd put up with it in his daily driver.

Does the car feel any different when the thumps occur (vibration, etc.)? Have they ever looked at it replaced the wheel bearings?

[kryptik.m5]

Hi Doanster,

Thank you for your response as well. I've scheduled to visit another BMW shop to see what that foreman says. Assuming the foreman at another shop states it isn't normal, I will contact the BMW NA rep I've been working with to let them know it's more than 1 foreman that believes this is an issue that requires fixing and suggest the the regional rep be sent over again but instead of discussing it hush hush internally that he deal with me directly. Last week when the rep was here, I was in NY for business which wasn't ideal timing. Once I replicate it to the regional rep as you suggest, I will offer them another chance to do the right thing and buy it back or I will simply hire a lemon law attorney to battle this for me as I've already wasted enough of my time and effort on fighting them myself. I feel with me alone they believe they can pick on me all they want. With an attorney I feel they'll take me a little more seriously. If it's a drivetrain issue that fails while I'm driving on the highway, I can envision only bad things happening.

As for the feel of the car, there isn't a difference in feel as I drive it. You can only kind of feel it while sitting in the back seat with a hand on the trunk floor. So, it doesn't necessarily affect driving, but that doesn't mean something isn't going to break at some point either which is what makes me nervous.

Thank you all for your support and insight. There's a lot of great takeaways and I will keep the threat posted with my progress in this fight just in case anyone else experiences the same thump/vibration as well as the same BS treatment that BMW is providing. Lastly, I have an idea how to document the thumping noise via video recording of a sound and vibration detector as I drive. I recorded my drive yesterday with my phone recording in the trunk and you can hear the thump in the recording. That's with massive static and exhaust noise in the background as well. I think posting a video with a monitor that shows a spike with the thump will additionally support my claim and help me maintain evidence before I take it in Tues. If they didn't take me seriously before, the should really reconsider that position.

[Gilly1964]

Have you asked the BMW rep to take you out in other vehicles with the same thump to show you just how 'normal' it is?

[kryptik.m5]

Hi Gilly 1964,

Thanks for the response. Unfortunately I was out of town last week when the rep checked the vehicle. I will be asking them to send out a rep again to speak to me directly so that I can handle the individual myself to ask all the right questions. I will also do as you suggest and have him take me around other x5s to prove the thump is normal.

I really wish I was in town last week to deal with the guy myself. I was a little too trusting that they would do the right thing.

[kryptik.m5]

Here are the links to 2 audio files.

This is the thump I hear while decelerating then it thumps again when i accelerate shortly after.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/l8apmib77u...accel.mp3?dl=0


Here's one with the thump then a new loud clank.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/c0hio2fvce...clank.mp3?dl=0

I just spent a lot of $ on audio recorders, microphones, and a gopro to document as much of this as best possible just in case. I tested the audio recorder on my drive home from BestBuy and it's very clear what I hear exists.

[kanvas]

For the first link, I am hearing the thumps right when it turns 0:08 and 0:10. Am I hearing those correctly?

[kryptik.m5]

Hi Kanvas,

Thank you for the response and for listening to the audio. Yes you are correct. The thump at 0:08 is the thump that occurs when I hit roughly 6mph during deceleration and the thump at o:10 occured when I hit around 6mph on acceleration. This thump varies in volume. Sometimes it's really loud and other times it's subtle but still audible as I drive. Sometimes when there's 2 thumps on deceleration the first audible thump occurs at around 6mph and the second at roughly 1mph. I've heard as many as 4 thumps in a single deceleration effort which ranged between 1-8mph. Sometimes as high as 10mph.

[JM71]

Definitely not normal. I do not know what California's lemon law is but it certainly sounds like you have a possible claim.

[kryptik.m5]

Hi JM71,

Thank you too for your response and thank you for your input. It pisses me off when car manufacturers use their deep pockets and power to try and convince people issues aren't issues at all. It's almost as if they feel it's cheaper to just convince people it's not an issue, then pay individuals off when it does become an issue rather than acknowledging that there is an issue thereby having to investigate beyond one vehicle for a possible widespread issue that may be plaguing more vehicles than mine with the difference being I have sensitive hearing and I'm a car junkie. Plus, with as many BMWs I've owned for the past decade plus, I know my BMWs aren't supposed to thump and clunk in normal driving circumstances.

Thanks again everyone for your continued response and insights. The more support I get, the better I feel my claim is. I'll be researching lemon law attorneys tomorrow to get some consultation at some point over the next week or so. I would still like to gather more responses if at all possible on other owners who don't have the same experience with their vehicles as I am. I'll be test driving some x5s at the dealer to see what I hear as well.

[kanvas]

Originally Posted by kryptik.m5

Hi Kanvas,

Thank you for the response and for listening to the audio. Yes you are correct. The thump at 0:08 is the thump that occurs when I hit roughly 6mph during deceleration and the thump at o:10 occured when I hit around 6mph on acceleration. This thump varies in volume. Sometimes it's really loud and other times it's subtle but still audible as I drive. Sometimes when there's 2 thumps on deceleration the first audible thump occurs at around 6mph and the second at roughly 1mph. I've heard as many as 4 thumps in a single deceleration effort which ranged between 1-8mph. Sometimes as high as 10mph.

I did a basic Google search; take a look at the results yourself.

https://www.google.com/webhp?sourcei...0thump%20sound

Looks like it has been a common occurrence across various BMW models. I've just quickly skimmed over some of the result pages but I believe they all discuss similar problem to yours. Before you start consulting attorneys and making your way up to BMW HQ, I recommend you go over these search results and become more knowledgeable about the source of the problem. More knowledge = more power!


FYI, this E63/4 6 Series forum discusses that the issue was in the driveshaft center bearing.

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=634449

[kryptik.m5]

Hi Kanvas,

Thank you for taking the extra time to help do some searches. I've been gathering the same information as well to build my case. I should've attached this image with my original post too. It shows everything done to the vehicle.

https://www.dropbox.com/home/X5%20th...w=IMG_4061.jpg

I will continue to gather all the great information you've helped pull together to see if I've missed anything from my search.

Thank you!

[kryptik.m5]

I have a follow-up call with BMW NA tomorrow regarding the unsatisfactory answer of "normal". I've taken a few video evidence in which you can clearing see the vehicle slowing down and slowly accelerating with the audible thumps and also another in which the camera's pointed in the trunk to prove I have nothing moving around making the thump. I've recorded it for when I'm braking to slow down and when I'm allowing the vehicle to engine brake, both of which produces the thump. Also, since it's harder to tell there's a thump on acceleration given the engine and exhaust, I had the car on a decline, let go of the brake from 0 and let it accelerate without the accelerator and a thump can be heard that way once i reach roughly 5-8mph. If they really really want to compare x5s, I will call up my friend at the dealership and have him let me go through the same process with an off lot x5 to prove there's no thump in comparison, but I'd rather not waste his time with that even though he's more than happy to do so. I'll keep you posted and once again, thank you for all your support and insight in the matter.

[TallTrees]

Man gremlins are tough. I feel for you and sure hope they do the right thing here.

[kryptik.m5]

Well, the great news is with all the evidence I gathered, your insights, and the search results of the issue they're doing the right thing. So, all in all I'm happy I am now able to acquire another vehicle that I can drive my family around safely in.

Thanks everyone!

[kanvas]

Originally Posted by kryptik.m5

Well, the great news is with all the evidence I gathered, your insights, and the search results of the issue they're doing the right thing. So, all in all I'm happy I am now able to acquire another vehicle that I can drive my family around safely in.

Thanks everyone!

Good to hear that! So they're determined to fix the issue? You're in a loaner right now then?

[kryptik.m5]

Hi Kanvas!

They are repurchasing the vehicle from me. Since after multiple attempts the first round that left the issue worse, I didn't feel like giving it another fix attempt and continuing the long drawn out process. Hopefully, they deep dive into the vehicle to figure out what exactly was the underlying issue rather than just treat it like any lease vehicle return and simply just auction it off.