BMW X3 2.0 TRANSFER BOX REPLACEMENT IN 5 YEAR OLD CAR????

[trebor29865]

X3 2.0 D Issue with 4x4 warning light.
4x4 warning light came on 3 months ago - BMW replaced control unit and transmission oil which seemed to solve problem for very short time only. 4x4 warning light has now come on again. BMW replaced control box and reprogrammed but no luck - 4x4 warning light still on. BMW now say they need to change transfer box at £2020 incl labor and we also have to pay £500 for control box exchange. Could it be that they have missed something somewhere as car is only 5 years old but has 135000 miles on clock. Very unhappy about such a big repair bill as car has full BMW service history.
Does anybody know if we should have any other checks done on the car before we give go ahead to change transfer box?
Why would fault diagnostics not point towards transfer box straight away if it was faulty.

[GedG]

I've recently bought a 2.0dSE X3, in January. On the test drive I picked up a very slight noise at certain speeds and throttle openings, the dealer eventually diagnosed this as being the transfer box and changed it. This was a 55 reg with 47000 miles.
The turbo also blew a week after I got it, but's that another story!

[trebor29865]

Whats the story with the turbo ? how much were you charged for the transfer case or did the dealer pay for it? Is the car going ok now?

[GedG]

Transfer box was changed before I accepted the car, they did mention it had cost them £2000+, but I didn't know if this included labour.
The first week I had it I picked up a couple of fairly minor faults, so it went back. It was delivered back to me a couple of days later, about two miles after getting it back it just lost almost all power. No engine lights came on so limped a few miles home. The dealer had the car collected and quickly diagnosed the turbo. At this point I told them I didn't want the car back, but after a long chat with the workshop manager he convinced me all would be OK. The fault was caused by a sludge build up in the oil feed hose to the turbo. They replaced the turbo, oil hoses and cleaned out all the oilways, re-built the cylinder head with new oil seals and relapped the valves and I insisted they drop the sump and ensure the oil pick up pipe was clean, a surprisingly big job on this car. In the end I accepted the car back after they agreed to give me a second years full BMW warranty.
The car is now running fine (touchwood) though there is a bit of clutch judder the first couple of times I pull away first thing on a morning.
Just glad I wasn't picking up the bill!!

[thechopper79]

Hi. gedg, sorry for hijacking your thread trebor, I had the clutch judder and that turned out to be 2 glow plugs and a faulty Maf sensor, had both changed under warranty and runs loads sweeter and mpg up from 32 average to 42!