2 Yrs/ 28,000 kms update
The car completed 2 years this new year week. Its been smooth sailing so far with nothing much to report. The car's running came down a bit this year. About 11K kms compared to 17K in the first year. The reason being a few highway drives undertaken by the Polo twins (GTI + GT TSI). Also I've been quite busy this past year and wasn't really able to undertake too many trips with family.
The car has been a delight to own. Its been almost 100% reliable barring the one headlamp washer failure. Everything else is working like clockwork. It is a joy to drive on highways and the decision to pick the lusty six cylinder has proved to be one of the best decisions I've taken. Highway drives are extremely stress free and enjoyable at the same time. Family also enjoys being driven in the X3. The space and overall luxury gives them a lot of joy.
The switch to tubeless tyres has been a slightly controversial decision if you read the last few posts. I had suffered a tyre failure in one of the tubeless tyres which caused a scary moment on the highway. I decided to stick with tubeless tyres and got a single tyre replacement of the same make/ model. I strongly feel that the valve had developed a leak and I also suspect the TPMS system had remained deactivated at the time. That's one thing about BMW's TPMS system. At times it shows that it's not been activated. I can't fathom why that should happen? I assume once I have reset the system and activated it, it should remain activated unless manually deactivated. Several times I find it is deactivated and I have to manually activate it again. I wonder if it s designed that way or there is a software bug. Anyway, I opted to get an after market active TPMS to give me constant alerts. I've put up a detailed review
here
Its been about 5 months since the switch to tubeless and the effects are positive. The ride quality is simply outstanding now. Small cuts and bumps are hardly felt in the cabin. That harsh thud is also gone. The luxury quotient as a result has gone up a notch. Grip too is also a lot better since these tyres have a sporty orientation. In cars like these you need to have good tyres to exploit the engine's power. The moment the tyres start losing traction, the traction control system starts cutting engine power to prevent wheel spin.
Initially I was maintianing the same pressure as those recommended for the RFTs. But I felt that the car had lost a degree or two of sharpness in steering feel and body roll was slightly pronounced. This is a natural trade off that comes with cushiony tyres. At slow speeds it did not matter much, but at somewhat higher speeds it starts getting bothersome when the car starts acting unBMW like. I played with different pressure settings and hit the sweet spot at 36 psi allround. The ride and handling balance is perfect now.
The car has visited the service centre four times so far.
Service Costs
1st Service = Rs. 26K (Oil + filters)
2nd Service = Rs. 25K (Oil + lesser filters + wash/ wax)
3rd Service = Rs. 21k (rear brake pads)(Front pads going strong as of now)
4th service = Rs. 35k (Oil + filters + WA + WB + wash/ wax)
Renewed second year insurance with HDFC ergo for about Rs. 87k (zero dep). This time I opted for engine and gear box protector as well. Last year I had to drive through some water logged areas in the monsoon and I became very nervous about damaging the engine. BMWs don't take kindly to water. Also Bangalore is becoming notorious for water logging even in the lightest of rains.
Other costs :
1 set of tyres costing 25K apiece
Full exterior detailing at 3M.
BMW's conditional service system can be a pain at times. Different areas need attention at different times and the iDrive will pop the message to visit the service centre. For example you may get a message that brake pads are due for replacement, but engine oil change isn't due for another couple of months. So you will need to visit the service centre twice in like 2 months.
Overall service experience has been satisfactory. I guess as long the car is fine these guys are good with their routine service. I did not find them trying to upsell unnecessary jobs like what I find in Hyundai service centres for example.
One other thing I'd like to mention is that I find the built in navigation system pretty useless. The map is outdated and you don't get live traffic information. In the past 2 years, I haven't used navigation even once! Google maps ki jai ho!
DIY Android Auto A few recent pictures for your viewing pleasure.