My e53 original radio has pixelated so I need to upgrade and put in a smart, touch unit. Can anyone advise me the best unit.

Hi Gary 

Welcome to the Forum

If your X5 has the Business radio set up then it is pretty much plug and play if you have the Navigation screen up front you will need a 5m extension lead to connect to the Quadlock radio connector.

My first X5 was a 4.4 and the screen failed twice along with a few other glitches I replaced it with a Dynavin unit today there are several Android units that are also available. I preferred the Dynavin as it had all the functions Nav,Radio,CD/DVD, Bluetooth etc etc and looked OEM I sold the BMW kit and recovered most of the cost of the Dynavin.

Dave

Be wary of buying a Chinese one....

I have one (it came with the car) and the bottom of the head unit isn’t curved to fit the e53.  It is listed as e53 and all 5 series compatible but I think the normal 5 series range use a different figment. 
 

The screen is facing too far upward so you can’t really see what’s going on, but it has all the sat nav, mp3, Bluetooth, aux, touch screen and looks fairly standard and would fit well in a standard 5 series, so it’s worth double checking if I’m not mistaken. 
I’ll try and get some pics when I get home from work.

i will change mine at some point, but it plays Music, the wife is happy and I have more pressing matters 😂

Hi Stu

I do remember reading that if the car was originally fitted with the business radio that part of the cage behind had to be cut away or head units wouldn't fit properly.

As my 4.4 already had the Nav screen up front all I had to do was route the 5m ISO extension from the rear to the front then the Dynavin unit fitted really well

Dave

Hi Dave, this unit definitely doesn’t fit as it’s square edged and not rounded like the oem one.

the screen is facing a little too angled so you can’t see the screen while driving. 
may some point I will buy one that is rounded so I can compare. It does go flush into the dash if I could trim the corners and the cage doesn’t seem to affect it. 
.... I’ll go buy a file tomorrow!