Greydog

Morning Dereck Have you checked www.realoem.com it's a BMW parts list put the last 7 digits of your vin in the search box and it will bring up your model then search away. It will list the parts BMW supply so if the bits you want are available they will show. However BMW in their wisdom supply certain components as assemblies and don't list parts.As an example the rea suspension swing arms on the X5 are sold as an assembly, so if the £20 bushes start to wear or fail BMW want to supply a complete swing arm at £300+ Also look at www.newtis.info this is a technical site same information used by BMW Dealers lots of information and "how too's" you may find help there Another possibility is www.Pelicanparts.com it is an American site but technically very good. Particularly their how too's which have step by step pictures just that the cars they work on have the steering on the wrong side. Good luck with the search I hope you find a fix that isnt a wallet buster Dave

Morning Oneel First port of call, you need the gearbox codes read to know if it is actually a gearbox issue or something else. A ZF agent or good Independent with Autologic software a BMW Dealer or Specialist with dedicated software.will be able to read all Gearbox functions, at 40k a gearbox service is almost due so consider that also. It could be as simple as a sensor not reading intermittently or a software upgrade without the codes it is a guess which could end up with £££ and parts being thrown at the problem. Dave

Hi Peter I may be wrong but I thought the car needs to have the adaptive suspension package for you to be able to change settings. I believe you can still see the selection but nothing will change unless the full adaptive package is fitted. As to changing on the move my next door neighbour works for BMW UK his car can but then it is an auto 440 with all the bells and whistles. Dave

Morning Chris When selling set your price with a little wriggle room as with all the car shows on TV everyone will want to knock the price down Good Luck with the sale Dave

Morning Harry Have a look at www.gov.uk/check mot if you haven't already, you may be able to find the MOT station. Or at least see what sort of life its had/having. Good Luck with the search Dave

👍

Commiserations water in places it shouldn't be is a real pain and if it gets into looms and electrics !!! The only way I know is the hard way get a set of trim removal tools look on www.realoem.com for part numbers and get the trims then www.newtis.info for how too's Lets hope you get some dry weather to allow replacement Dave

Welcome Richard Very nice and a serious pocket rocket 😈 Enjoy Dave

Hi Dale If you have ABS and Traction lights on then almost certainly that's the culprit.Did mine a few years ago from memory OEM was about £30 for the sensor, check the reluctor ring is clean and not clogged with muck and rust. Dave

Afternoon Dale I believe that the X3 is the same as the X5 check the passenger side ABS sensor at the rear as the speed is taken from there. Dave

Morning Dave That's a new one I don't think I have heard or read of this before. As you have taken it to a BMW Dealer I take it the car has a full BMW History. My simplistic view is "it was working fine when it came to you, something you have done has caused the issue. As the car was in your care it is your responsibility to fix it fast" What you don't want or need is for you to be car less while the Dealer and BMW argue over who's Insurer should pay. I am sure they have given you a loan car (well I hope they have) but that is not the point I would up the anti write/email them saying you want a resolution and a date for completion, at least then you have a record..Itemize the list of failures promises to call etc, and the time frame to date. Escalate your complaint by addressing the Service Manager but copying the Dealer Manager, MD or Directors and BMW Customer Services on all emails. If push comes to shove then ultimately there is the small claims court I am sure neither the Dealer or BMW want a court action for damages. I went through a painful process with a Mercedes Dealer with an AMG that had super charger issues, the Dealers attitude was you have a loan car what's your problem! as they had had my £80k car longer than I had? I ran out of patience and issued a small claims action the response was electric Dealer MD called me to ask why I was doing this? He too thought the fact that they had given me a loan car made it OK he didn't get "I brought an AMG not a C class diesel", Short story they settled out of court fixed my car in a week and paid compensation. The best bit was taking the car back for service you could see the Service Manager cringe when I walked through the door, service was instant though. Push hard Good Luck Dave

Hi Jim I went through similar with E class AMG Mercedes, super charger failures then on the CLS AMG gearbox issues I got the X5 when we sold the horse lorry and I would be towing a trailer, I didn't like the ML and everyone had a RR so after driving an X5 that's what I brought. I had done my research so knew that the suspension bushes are made of Lurpac and would need upgrading, my experience with the CLS had taught me enough about the Autobox to make sure it was serviced as soon as I got it. I was expecting a BMW V8 to last longer than 75k though, still now it is at 140+ and going strong. I change the oils and filters every 6 months regardless with the best BMW compliant synthetic.My view is if I brought something else would it be better? or just a different set of issues to learn about and iron out? So I stick with the devil I know I am sure now you have the latest version installed and are aware of the need for regular oil changes will see your Msport giving you great service for years to come Dave

Morning Mike Normally the light goes out with the sensor being replaced I would check the sensors again are they connected correctly wires not pinched or crimped? It may even be a faulty sensor even if it is new. Dave

Morning Jim Sadly your research is spot on, BMW and many other leading Marques give bean counter led advice not engineer led advice. All the major manufacturers over the last 20 years have incidents of catastrophic failures. I believe it began with dropping duplex timing chains and moving to simplex alongside moving to plastics for internal chain guides added to the insistence that long life oils were fool proof. Add that to the genius who thought it was a good idea to put timing chains at the back of engines or in the middle making them completely inaccessible without removing and completely striping the engine! main dealer labour costs meaning the unit is often scrapped. BMW Mercedes Audi VW Jaguar Toyota Nissan Citroen all guilty The "Life" of the vehicle became the end of the Manufacturer Warranty so in most cases 3 years or 60k after that they could effectively wash their hands of any problems as most cars were now outside their dealer network for service and maintenance so they could look down their nose and blame poor service or materials.. My own X5 fully serviced by BMW and a local BMW Specialist suffered chain guide failure bits of which clogged the oil pump you know the result!! but due to my X5's age and mileage BMW were not interested fortunately I had a 3rd party Warranty. The plastic chain guides have a life of 80 to 100k ? due to heat cycle hardening and accelerated wear due to oil degradation. My X5 comes with a ZF Auto box sealed for life say BMW service every 80 to 100k kilometers say ZF. BMW are not alone look at VW Audi tales of woe or Mercedes or Toyota or Nissan the list goes on. After a complete engine rebuild on my X5 and having the opportunity to examine the internal parts I realized that the main chain tensioner is a cheap spring assisted hydraulic device, the spring over time becomes annealed with the heat cycles that the engine goes through, the same heat cycles that are hardening the plastic guides. At engine start as the spring is soft and not applying tension there is a small moment between oil pressure building where chain slap can happen. Result is chain guide accelerated wear leading to failure being simplex chains they also stretch. At reassembly I have fitted a pre-oiler to give full oil pressure at ignition on to help avoid many of the issues I combine this with 6 monthly oil changes, my gearbox is serviced by a ZF agent according to ZF requirements and all suspension bushes (including the swing arm bushes which BMW advise cant be changed) have been replaced and where possible switched to Poly Bushes. My "improved" X5 is a great car 16 years old pulls the horse trailer like it isn't there copes with mild off road use and is used properly every day. There will always be jobs to do but for now I am comfortable with the X. Could BMW have avoided many of the issues, in my opinion yes. A few extra £ spent at manufacture a few extra service intervals small costs to the manufacturer would re-enforce the myth of great engineering. When we buy a car we are a bit like the Tom Hanks character in the film Apollo 13. just before launch he says something like "here we are sat on top of billions of dollars worth of components all supplied by the lowest bidder" THE BEAN COUNTERS STRIKE. If we understand the short comings under neath there are some really good cars we just have to dig a little, hopefully not in our wallets. Dave

Morning Danny How is tyre wear at the rear? is it even across the tread? are the rear tyres the same each side? Do you have air suspension at the rear? The reason for asking is the rose joints on the X5 (5 series on steroids) are a known failure causing all sorts of odd wear and alignment issues. To actually see the wear the air suspension has to be deflated. When I did mine (I have done them twice now due to pulling a horse trailer) I buy a kit and change all the links and bushes. Kind of clutching at straws now Dave