Ok. New X5 40d ordered for November delivery. Will be parked off the street behind a locked gate. Good deal. Will replace in a couple of years when the new model arrives.

We will have had a free X5 40d M Sport from BMW for four and a half months by the time the new one arrives. They have treated us well. I think they've also learned a lesson.

Just received this from my insurer.


[i]Dear Reardy Mister,


You may have seen in the news recently that some BMW car models are unfortunately affected by a security flaw. As a customer and owner of a BMW we wanted to make you aware of this so you can take the necessary precautions and help prevent thefts of BMWs.

BMW has advised that the security breach only affects models which were built from 2006 to September 2011.

The security flaw lies with the electronic key. A device now exists which enables its user to access a car's on-board computer and program a blank key. In the wrong hands, a thief can steal a BMW in just a few minutes using the device.

How you can reduce the threat of car theft:

BMW has announced that they will offer a free upgrade of security features for cars affected. Therefore we would recommend that you contact your BMW service department or your nearest BMW dealer who will be able to advise you further.

Visit the BMW website to find out more.

Yours sincerely
swiftcover.com[/i]

The fuss we made as a motoring community has no doubt helped, we should be pleased about that. It does make me wonder what my insurers actual position is on it now. If I don't take it because my local stealer intends to charge a fortune, will they consider that I didn't take enough steps to protect my car?

I asked my dealer about my 2011 Z4. Same situation. I took it to mean something will become available at a later date - month or 2 was how I read it.

Disklok is a minor inconvenience but a great visual FRO! to potential scrotes. Downside is that it may mark the leather wheel. All said, I'd rather have a marked wheel and my car than broken window and or worse.

Mate of mine has an X5 that was updated earlier this week. I was interested to hear that the dealer had to remove a speaker he has installed in the passenger footwell to access a socket on that side (was what they told him). Clearly there is more to this "update" than just plugging into the OBD for a few hours - anyone shed any light on that?

(Cheeky fkers tried to charge him £90 labour to remove 4 screws and lift the speaker out - he told them where to shove that!)

It is my first time posting to this board. I thought I might share my story: on Tuesday morning my wife called to ask me where I had parked our Oct. 2010 (60 plate) 320d M sport, sure enough it had been lifted. We have both of our keys and we suspect the key has been cloned via the obd. I live in Kensington and Chelsea and have heard from a friend of at least one other BMW being stolen (an M5) in our area using this method. I only became aware of this security flaw after my vehicle was stolen. When I called BMW UK to notify them of the theft I mentioned that the security issues will have an impact on whether or not I buy another BMW (what was Einstein's definition of stupidity again?). The chap on the phone acknowledged this and assured me that models manufactured after September 2011 are not affected because they have the "enhanced" security package. I asked him what he meant by this, he responded by saying that whilst he cannot go into too much detail the "enhanced" security does not change the manner in which keys can be cloned through the obd but rather is focussed on increasing the security preventing access to the vehicle in the first place. In otherwords, the alarm/immobilser seems to be the only thing that is being improved. Onthis basis, unfortunately, I don't think I'll be buying another BMW (new or otherwise).