My first week in my Z4....

C

Chris Z4

Member
 Oxfordshire
Hi All, just thought I would share this with you and hopefully get some feedback off some fellow members to see if they have had the same issues.

I picked my Z4 up a week ago today. It's a 23i Auto in Space grey with red leather and all the toys I wanted. It only has 2735 miles from new and had one previous owner (BMW). Love the looks and drive and I was concerned about it maybe not having enough power as some mention but I can honstly say I feel it has more than enough for what we want it for. I had to get the 2.5 as my wife only passed her test in July and a 3.0 was £2334 a year to insure! but I'm really happy with the way it drives. It seems flat below 3000 rpm but get over that and then over 5000 rpm and it really moves.

On collecting it I had the roof down all the way home from Leigh on Sea to Oxford and it was so nice to be back in a drop top. I purchased it from Fairfield BMW in Leigh on Sea.

The first thing I noticed on the way home was a clunk when I braked to a stop or pulled away from traffic lights or a junction. At first I put it down to the car had been stood around for a few weeks and just needed driving to free up the brakes etc but over the week it has got worse to the point its now a bang on fast pull aways and a click, click, click sound from the car was I take my foot off the brake to crawl along in traffic. (Its an auto)

I also noticed the day after after driving it with the roof up that it has a really load rattle right above the driving seat in the roof area. It drives me made! It sounds like an empty lunch box rattling around an open space.

My brother came to look at it tonight as he hasn't seen it yet. On looking arounfd the car he noticed the O/S headlight has a larger space between it and the bumper to the N/S. So much so that you can fit your finger ends in the O/S gap but the N/S you cannot. I can find no signs of damage or over spray but the gaps are a worry....I also had to clip the rear N/S bumper corner back in as it was sticking out. Its better but not 100%. Its had the bumper vent "recall" done so maybe it just needs a little fine tuning?

Have any other members had the clunk / bang issue or roof rattle? And waht are you gaps like?
 
Sorry to say but my car has been pretty faultless apart from my shite cracked 296 alloys, which I had to pay for, otherwise, perfect....
 
Hi my car is a 3.0 auto, same colour combo as yours. Good choice. I haven't had any issues, but I did have a 3 series auto with similar symptoms.

Test it by driving and then coming to a sudden stop then immediately pull away quickly. If there is a clunk or thud (as though you 'catch the gearbox out') take it to BMW . They could be a gearbox issue. Worth checking out. Its always possible that some idiot has shifted to drive when reversing the car.

Doesn't sound right to me. It should be silky smooth .

Let us know how you get on.
 
We picked up our year old Z4 10 days ago.

Same engine + auto (and body colour).

No clunk. No roof rattle.

I'd say the panel gaps are not exactly discrete but they are even and consistent.

I think you need to talk to your dealer about that 'clunk'.
 
Zed Five said:
Hi my car is a 3.0 auto, same colour combo as yours. Good choice. I haven't had any issues, but I did have a 3 series auto with similar symptoms.

Test it by driving and then coming to a sudden stop then immediately pull away quickly. If there is a clunk or thud (as though you 'catch the gearbox out') take it to BMW . They could be a gearbox issue. Worth checking out. Its always possible that some idiot has shifted to drive when reversing the car.

Doesn't sound right to me. It should be silky smooth .

Let us know how you get on.
Click to expand...

That's exactly what mine does but I also get the click click noise when crawling along in traffic as well. It's booked in to my local dealer Monday so I will let you know how I get on.

Thanks to those who have replied :thumbsup:
 
My e46 made the clunk/bang noise on stopping and moving off-turned out to be bad brake pads moving in the caliper,just a thought.
 
Quick update......I've been waiting at North Oxford BMW now for 3 hours and my car is still in the workshop. Went out with the technician who heard the bang / clunk and took it away to investigate. 3 hours and 4 minutes later it still being looked at so watch this space.....
 
Ok, nearly 3 hours 40 minutes later I got the car back. They ran out of time so the roof hasn't been fixed. In fact, they found another rattle on the N/S of the roof and I need to book it back in to be looked a properly.

Now the bang / clunk. I'm told this is/was the rear pads and they had been adjusted and lubricated. Great I thought, problem solved......until I drove home and the noise is still there. Now, I'm no technician but don't you have to remove the rear wheels to adjust and lubricate the brake pads? The pads have clearly not been removed and the wheels haven't been off the car either and the lubrication as been put on the pads by the technicians finger tip??

It was taken for a test drive by the technician :driving: ....quarter of a tank full of fuel's worth......

What do you think?
 
Try another dealer? Or do yo feel the supplying one should sort it?
 
Fairfield are being really good about it. They offered to pick the car up and get it all done but I opted to use North Oxford as I have used them for over 10 years as I always believed they were second to none but today I feel really let down. Fairfield were fine about this and agreed to pick up any cost involved to put the car right. I'm going back tomorrow to ask what went wrong today. Over 3 hours I was there and for what....? Copper grease put on my pads by a finger tip. :thumbsdown:
 
Even thou I have got new wheels coming, I am going to dealer tomorrow when I get back to London to test my wheels out.....I am still so angry that this kinda thing happens, even when the service manager said, well I don't know how you drive do I? Fecker......it's a Z4 not a bloody stunt car!!

Good luck Chris let me know what they say tomorrow
 
Well, to cut a long story short my Z4 still has a number of issues.......North Oxford have looked at it and managed to fix the brake rattle but I ended up with a brake squeal. I had it booked in for last Monday with them again but I got so feed up with feeling like Fairfield had passed the buck and really didn't care about the problems I have now arranged to return the car to them to be fixed. It goes in tomorrow for a misaligned front bumper, two roof rattles, a number of trim rattles and the dancing window issue.

I'm not sure how you feel, but I feel Fairfield should of took the lead on booking it in to North Oxford. The problem North Oxford had was if they started work on the car and a problem was not covered by the warranty who would pay? They would have to keep phoning Fairfield to ask permission to do this, do that etc etc They also wanted £24.99 a day for a loan car as I didn't purchase my car from them.

If I had been Fairfield I would of called North Oxford, explained the situation and booked the car in with them asking them to send the hire car invoice and any other out of waranty expences to them and made the whole thing as hassel free as possible for the client. So far I have had to do all the arranging, take half a day off work to sit and wait whilst they looked at it. Take another morning off to return it as the brakes smelt and got hot and have Fairfield called to ask how the car is? NO. I think thats really poor service but that's just me.....
 
Ahh rattles.

Ok it should not matter who you purchased the car from it is under bmw wrty. rattles can be classed as not covered but I have had no issues with getting any rattles sorted even in the 2nd year.

Now I purchase my cars not local to me in Derby as the zds are hard to find, landudno, manchester, telford, nottingham, (past 4 I have purchased) I always have mine in to chesterfeild as this is local to my works (derby as an alternative but messed up on a hire car last time). They pick the car up and drop it back off and if needed a night or 2 week stay (last time long sroty on another thread) they drop off a car and its free. dont forget the cost goes onto bmw uk. any wty work goes to bmw uk so all dealers should be more than eager to sort out faults.

So let them pick it up say from your work to look at it and arrange for another time to fix if they can not do it in the day before you leave work which includes a free car if they need your car over night when its ok with them to do it, as its not emergency but needs to be done.

I may be lucky but chesterfeild know me now and get other from me like servicing which again they pick the car up serice it and drop it back clean. PERFECT service
 
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