Those who own an X3, what are your likes and dislikes of the vehicle. What paint and interior colors do you have? Thanks

Those who own an X3, what are your likes and dislikes of the vehicle. What paint and interior colors do you have? Thanks


Bluewater on tan.

Likes: panoramic moon roof, handling, interior room:exterior size efficiency.

Dislikes: creaking door seals that require ongoing maintenance.

I have a black 2004 2.5 X3 with the black non-leather interior. (forgot what it's called so I'll call it pleather! hehe!)

The "pleather" is easy to clean up with a damp rag. I have a 4yo and she spills all kinds of stuff on it. The panoramic roof is what sold my wife on this vehicle. It is useful and I like the detachable tie downs in the back/trunk area to keep things in place. And it seems to actually have more room in the back than the x5. Might be an allusion but it looks like it. It's a good family utility car for trips and shopping and stuff. And it handles very nicely. The springs are stiffer than other SUV's I have driven like the Pilot and MDX. So I feel more confident around turns.

Dislikes: Not enough useful cubby holes for stuff. I like to keep my cell accessible but if I have a drink in the cup holder there's no place to put the cell without possibly not being able to hear it like in the center console or console on top of the dash. Also the Free Maintenance was a big selling point.

Also, I am short, 5'6", so the long door sills sometimes make it a pain to get out when I'm in a tight spot. And of course, being that's it's a BMW, EVERYTHING is an option! As you have probably guessed I have a pretty basic model. 2.5 liter engine, no hid's, no leather, etc... It's a nice family vehicle but if I could have afforded the 3liter X3 I would have gotten the X5 instead.

Overall, I am very happy with the car. People still give it the "Oooh, a BMW!" look and it's easier to move my 4yo around in rather than my modded and stiff suspended Acura Integra! hehe! The utility is also nice since you have a lot of room when you fold down the rear seats.

Good luck on your decision!

Bluewater on tan.

Likes: panoramic moon roof, handling, interior room:exterior size efficiency.

Dislikes: creaking door seals that require ongoing maintenance.
What is with the creaking door seals? Is it all doors? I didn't notice this on the test drive, is this something that will happen over time?

What is with the creaking door seals? Is it all doors? I didn't notice this on the test drive, is this something that will happen over time?

The creaking door seals are caused by catch and release motion between the door deals and the door frame. If you have the windows rolled up to maximize door stiffness and slowly turn onto an uneven surface, say a driveway, you MAY hear the seals creak. I had the seals treated last year (around August) and I have just started to notice that the creaking is beginning to return.

The X3 is not the first BMW to have this issue. If you do a search on Gummiphledge (sp?) you will see that other models have relied on the reapplication of door seal lubication to control the sound.

There's talk that current owners who complain about the sound are now getting new door seals. If true, I don't know if the new seals are a different material and, if they are different material, whether the new seals will creak or not. Time will tell.

The noise isn't that loud, to be honest. It just leaves you with a cheapened opinion of the product. However, I understand the challenge faced by BMW where they are trying to maximize frame rigidity, minimize wind noise and get all the pieces to work together in silent harmony.

Im new here and I saw this thread and it made me finally register. My X3 is by far the best vehicle I have ever owned! It's my first BMW and im sold! It's not the glorious 3.0i w/all the bells and whistles, but I needed to keep the cost down and needed something safe for my wife and my new 4mo. old (airbags all around). So here is a small list of my likes and dont likes since taking delivery in April of 05.

Love the:
Sunroof..........it's friggin huge :)
Hate the:
Sunroof wind noise above 45mph :rolleyes

Love the:
Steptronic shifter
Hate the:
Steptronic shifter, it's backwards.

Love the:
non-painted bumpers, good for hiding rock chips etc.
Hate the:
non-painted bumpers, they SCRATCH like crazy. My wife has already torn up/gouged the rear cover putting all her crap in there.

Love the brakes, they will pull this thing down in a hurry. But whats up with all the brake dust!!!! This is the worst brake-dusting vehicle Ive had ever had. I have to wash the wheels about once a week.

Thats about it. Minor quibbles aside, I LOVE this "truck". Im actually now looking into leasing a new 3 Series to "tool" around in.

lets just say i wished i never bought this damn car!!!!!! my driver window creeks also!, has problem with the sunroof making noises (dealer replaced the whole thing, was in the shop for a whole month!!) and i just hate the car. should have bought the X5 to begin with. only 11,000 miles on the car, and the tires are wearing unevenly!! b/c of the staggered wheels. besides that i like the way it looks. :eyecrazy

i have a 3.0 premium,sport, staggard 18's, xenon, Jet BLack on BLack.

oh and also my damn keys never want to work!! locking and unlocking. and when i take it in for them to check it out, the damn thing works!!!!

lets just say i wished i never bought this damn car!!!!!! my driver window creeks also!, has problem with the sunroof making noises (dealer replaced the whole thing, was in the shop for a whole month!!) and i just hate the car. should have bought the X5 to begin with. only 11,000 miles on the car, and the tires are wearing unevenly!! b/c of the staggered wheels. besides that i like the way it looks. :eyecrazy

i have a 3.0 premium,sport, staggard 18's, xenon, Jet BLack on BLack.

oh and also my damn keys never want to work!! locking and unlocking. and when i take it in for them to check it out, the damn thing works!!!!

The creaking issues have been addressed in the thread. It's the way it's made to handle. There is another thread that addresses the sunroof noise, I think Sfhonda posted about it.

Be careful with the X5, it has many problems.

The tires on my husbands M3 were wearing uneven, but it's not a horrible car.

Your key issue may be a frequency disturbance. I had this happen to me when I would go through a certain gate on our military post. Once you return the key to the ignition and drive for 30 seconds (IIRC) it resets it. It's in the manual.

My X3 looks exactly like the one in the BMW book, Mystic blue with gray leather interior. I have yet to find anything I'm disappointed with in the car and I've had it since April 04.

The creaking door seals are caused by catch and release motion between the door deals and the door frame. If you have the windows rolled up to maximize door stiffness and slowly turn onto an uneven surface, say a driveway, you MAY hear the seals creak. I had the seals treated last year (around August) and I have just started to notice that the creaking is beginning to return.

The X3 is not the first BMW to have this issue. If you do a search on Gummiphledge (sp?) you will see that other models have relied on the reapplication of door seal lubication to control the sound.

There's talk that current owners who complain about the sound are now getting new door seals. If true, I don't know if the new seals are a different material and, if they are different material, whether the new seals will creak or not. Time will tell.

The noise isn't that loud, to be honest. It just leaves you with a cheapened opinion of the product. However, I understand the challenge faced by BMW where they are trying to maximize frame rigidity, minimize wind noise and get all the pieces to work together in silent harmony.
Is it simply an issue of annoying noise or is this something that needs to be rectified to prevent any kind of disintigration of the seals? TIA. :)

BMW has a solution to fix the Creaking noise on the doors.

The Window Guild Seals need to be replaced.

Is it simply an issue of annoying noise or is this something that needs to be rectified to prevent any kind of disintigration of the seals? TIA. :)

It's more an annoying noise than anything else.

Just got back from vacation and see, in the other forums, that there is reference to simoncpw's statement that there is a new bulletin covering replacement of the window guides - not the door seals. Time will tell whether this solves the problem.

'05 light blue, tan leather, 3.0i.

The only negative is the dusty brakes. But our '98 M3 is the same. Must be the grippy OEM pads.

This is a great, comfortable, fun to drive little SUV.

Just got a 2005 3.0i in Blue/tan (leather-ette), auto, navi system, cold package

likes:

- Navi system is VERY cool - I'm a gadget freak, so I'm not impressed easily, but this thing is terrific

- Handling - My last vehicle was a Ford Explorer Sport; as would be expected, it handled like a truck, though not bad. But this vehicle clearly handles like a car -- so much so that its tempting to drive too hard, which I wouldn't recommend (its still a little top-heavy compared to a car). And quite good, even for a car.

- Steptronic: its a great feature -- makes me feel less guilty about not gettting the manual transmission; and actually quite necessary at times, b/c even w/the 3.0, you need to downshift a lot if you want power while you're at speed

- Acceleration - accelarates from 0-whatever very quickly - offset by rather disappointing acceleration from 50 and up.

Dislikes

- Gas mileage - Averaging 19-20 MPG. My Explorer Sport had a 4.0L engine (33% more displacement) and got only 2mpg less -- and didn't require me to pay for premium fuel..something just doesn't add up here. I'd sacrifice the mileage if I was getting 250+hp, but...

- Acceleration/power - not very good from 50mph up; requires some serious down-shifting; something that my Explorer handled better. I imagine this is not as much of a problem with the manual trans; seems like you need to keep at the high revs to get max. power.

- Space for 'stuff'- there's simply no place to put anything when you're sitting in the driver's seat. I'm talking about nooks and crannies for your cell phone, misc. receipts, other items. One single cup holder and a VERY small center storage console, and that's about it. I couldn't even get the owners manuals to fit in the tiny glove compartment! What a shame for a vehicle with so much 'cargo space'.

Overall, I'm very pleased with the x3. I think it was the right choice for me. But for over $40K, I would have expected a little more.

- Space for 'stuff'- there's simply no place to put anything when you're sitting in the driver's seat. I'm talking about nooks and crannies for your cell phone, misc. receipts, other items. One single cup holder and a VERY small center storage console, and that's about it. I couldn't even get the owners manuals to fit in the tiny glove compartment! What a shame for a vehicle with so much 'cargo space'.



Are your sure that you haven't accessed the larger center storage console? There are two release buttons. One button opens the small storage area and the second button opens the large storage area. I can store my streetpilot 2610 in the larger storage area.

I don't own one, but drive them quite often at work. I love that it handles almost as well as a car, but still has ground clearance of a truck. The seating is ok on the sport models, but it still pretty stiff even for a BMW. My main gripe are the unpainted bumpers, which will be painted next year and the lack of places to put things i.e. cellphone while driving the car.