[Can Pharaoh]

I noticed a whining noise recently, went to BMW, their diagnostic came as rear differential meeds to be changed as it's failing, as I hear from them and as I read online as well, the main cause for that would be having different tire sizes or worn tire on side and good one on the other side, which is totally not the case, I have had the car for about 18 months and I'm keeping the original tires, they are all the same size, the same level of usage, I don't know what caused that !!!

The car has 76000 km on it.

Now my biggest issue is that BMW is asking for more than 5000$ for the replacement, which is a big chunk of money, should I do the replacement with them or look for a replacement or a repair somewhere else? Any experience with that?

[BIG_KID]

I would get a second opinion to make sure it's not a wheel bearing.
Maybe take an oil sample of the diff fluid, you will need some way to suck it up out through the fill hole seing there is no drain plug.

[Riick]

Probably just a wheel bearing.

[DonC]

I just replace mine on my 13 X3 3.5 with 130K miles.

[Can Pharaoh]

Originally Posted by DonC

I just replace mine on my 13 X3 3.5 with 130K miles.

DonC, how much was the cost of the part?

[x3sm]

How can a diff go bad? Even if the tires are different, wouldn't it kill the transfer cafe before the diff goes bad?

[Riick]

The only way I could imagine a rear diff failing would be due to water intrusion through the vent hole due to either the car being a flood car or towing a boat and not knowing how to launch.

[pault949]

Can you define the noise a little better? I have been hearing a 'whining' noise as well in my 2014 X3 xDrive28i for a while now and cannot remember if it's been there all along or not (I have had it for three years). Also, when I take it in for service (oil, brakes, etc.), the service adviser doesn't say a word about it; I would think the tech test driving it would hear it.

Are the wheel bearing a known issue on this model?

[Riick]

Wheel bearings will go bye-bye if you run wheel spacers, but that holds true for any car ever made.

[pault949]

I decided to make an appointment at the dealer since Helga is still under the CPO warrantee; I plan on keeping you all posted as to what the issue is.

[Can Pharaoh]

Originally Posted by pault949

Can you define the noise a little better? I have been hearing a 'whining' noise as well in my 2014 X3 xDrive28i for a while now and cannot remember if it's been there all along or not (I have had it for three years). Also, when I take it in for service (oil, brakes, etc.), the service adviser doesn't say a word about it; I would think the tech test driving it would hear it.

Are the wheel bearing a known issue on this model?

The noise is like a whining ( kind of rrrrrr) that increases with speeding.

Update, I took the advice and went for a second opinion at a specialized BMW shop, the guy diagnosed it as bearing only, so I'll go with rear bearings replacement and see if the noise goes away ...

It looks like BMW dealers just want to sell parts no matter if needed or not ...

I will update you guys as soon as the replacement is done.

[Riick]

Dealerships don't sell parts that are not needed. It's their job to fix problems not install bandaids.

[pault949]

Originally Posted by Can Pharaoh

The noise is like a whining ( kind of rrrrrr) that increases with speeding.

Update, I took the advice and went for a second opinion at a specialized BMW shop, the guy diagnosed it as bearing only, so I'll go with rear bearings replacement and see if the noise goes away ...

It looks like BMW dealers just want to sell parts no matter if needed or not ...

I will update you guys as soon as the replacement is done.

Thanks for the clarification. That sounds almost exactly like what I am hearing as well. I have an appointment at the dealer and I am hoping we can get to the bottom of the issue.

[Can Pharaoh]

Originally Posted by Riick

Dealerships don't sell parts that are not needed. It's their job to fix problems not install bandaids.

Yes, the car has never been flooded, no modification for the tires or the wheels, only serviced before by BMW, yet they came up with that diagnostic, even when I asked the guy at the dealership what could have been the cause for that, he was like, « I don't know! Your wheels are all good...  » so they don't even have grounds for their diagnostic, they didn't dig to that, just came up with « you need a new differential » I will see how it goes after bearing replacement and update

[Can Pharaoh]

Originally Posted by pault949

Thanks for the clarification. That sounds almost exactly like what I am hearing as well. I have an appointment at the dealer and I am hoping we can get to the bottom of the issue.

Would you please update me with what comes out of it

[pault949]

Originally Posted by Can Pharaoh

Would you please update me with what comes out of it

Will do.

Riick mentioned that aftermarket rims with spacers could cause issues with the bearings and I am starting to think that might be my case. I bought the car CPO and I am not sure what the previous owner/lessee may have done to it.

[pault949]

Originally Posted by Can Pharaoh

Would you please update me with what comes out of it

Update: Took it into the dealer this morning and took a ride with the shop foreman. He immediately heard the noise and said that he was 90% sure that it was a wheel bearing. Then he decided to drive it and brought it up to about 40 mph and started to aggressively slalom. The tone would change on one turn of the slalom, but not on the other. At that point, he said he was 99% sure that it's a wheel bearing and that he would be 100% sure once it was on the lift.

Fortunately, it's still under CPO warranty and is covered. It's just going to cost me the $50 deductible.

[pault949]

Got the car back from the dealer and it's now super quiet. So grateful.

[malicem3]

Originally Posted by pault949

Got the car back from the dealer and it's now super quiet. So grateful.

Glad to hear it wasn't the differential!