Greydog

Morning Patrick If your Warranty is a BMW AUC warranty I would talk to your service manager and explain the situation push and as they replaced alloys yet clearly didn't check anything else?? If your Warranty is by other's (warranty Direct or similar) I would ask your friendly garage to talk to them on your behalf, garages do better than us. I am attaching a page from the BMW parts catalogue that shows an exploded drawing of your rear suspension (one side) item 11 is the lower front arm of the rear suspension, if that makes sense to you, it could be slightly bent or the bush at damaged or worn prematurely due to being twisted slightly. That would give the out of alignment reading easily. I would think the arm is in the order of £30 to £50 plus fitting at your friendly garage. As a comparison a full rear suspension replacement kit for both sides of my X5 was £250 plus 4 hrs work for myself and one of my sons (younger and bendier) then £100 for alignment (rear tyres are £250 a side for mine so worth the effort) I am a bit OCD (well a lot) when it comes to the grubby bits underneath that make my car go where I point it and stop it when I need to so I would make it all as original settings. I hope this is a help Dave RealOEM.com - Online BMW Parts Catalog.pdf

Morning Patrick Thanks for posting the printout Looking at those readings you should be feeling a difference as well as having reduced tyre wear probably get some improvement in MPG as well. Following your comment that the car was hit on the rear and the fact they cant get full adjustment I would seriously consider a suspension rebuild as something is either badly worn or damaged. The job is not expensive and is a DIY task if you feel up to it the results will make your car drive like new again, Good that it is almost sorted Dave

I don't know if there are differences in the set up between the two models, in reality I wouldn't think there is much. I have alignment checked annually at service and the last time I noticed the print out said E70 mine is E53 but checking settings against the previous year there was 1/2 deg on camber at the rear difference. Annual service will be due again next month and I have no noticeably odd tyre wear in 11k so seems OK. Lets hope this fixes or at worst reduces your wear to a manageable level, thanks for the update it's useful information for others looking for ideas to cure similar issues

Welcome to the Forum Stephen Looks really good ENJOY Dave

Welcome to the Forum John Here's to many "smiles" of trouble free motoring Dave

5.2 ltrs is the BMW recommendation however they do say that the N47 engine oil level should be checked dynamically with the engine running through the on-board system and when static by the dip stick. This is from the Bently Manua lBMW F30 Oil.pdfBMW F30 Oil.pdf

Hi Patrick As you have the BMW Warranty I would start there. I would question there Service Manager to gain his opinion as to why your rear tyres should be wearing so far ahead of the fronts. I accept that the fronts don't do quite as much work but not 50% less, on a rear drive only yes but with X-drive it shouldn't happen. Also certainly your suspension bushes should be OK at 26k (though no guarantee on there not being a bad batch about?) even my 2+ton X5 makes them last 80k and I also tow a horse trailer. So back to either a different compound or alignment being out by possible pot hole damage. 4 wheel alignment machines are great these days either would do my BMW Independent has Hunter which is why I mentioned it. I use him for annual service to keep the book stamped and for jobs like the alignment that I don't have the tools to do myself. I have asked my neighbour if they have any tyre wear statistics and will report back if he can find anything (He is BMW UK) Regards Dave

Morning Patrick Unfortunately BMW Main Dealers (as do many other Marques Dealers) tend to vary massively when it comes to good old fashioned customer service, sadly most seem to think it means a comfy seat piped music and a free coffee!! The work shop tends to be totally reliant on diagnostics and actually never repair anything they just change parts at the customers cost. Service staff will look down their nose and tell you fitting a "non BMW" part will invalidate warranties and could cause damage to your car!! They probably don't realize that over 80% of the car is components from outside manufacturers freely available on the open market at a lot less money its just not in a BMW box. Someone has to pay for the coffee I would imagine the response will be along the lines of "it was the opinion of our skilled technicians sir, of course if sir wishes to take the risk" ? All our parts are specific to BMW after market parts won't be of the same standard!! Pagid and Brembo (both have been and are OEM suppliers) both cheaper from the after market and can be brought using a BMW part number from the likes of Euro Car Parts often with discount as can many other parts. With the tyres most odd, a possibility could be a change of compound by Goodyear? Clutching at straws a bit here are the tyres actually star marked?. My neighbour has an X-drive 440 coupe as a company car at the moment (they change his car every 30k) same size tyres as yours and he does drive it hard 18k and the wear front and rear is pretty much identical as it should be with X-drive. If it isn't suspension wear/setup compound is my only thought. Dave

Hi Patrick All the x drive cars are sensitive to tyre rolling circumference though I am led to believe by my neighbour (a senior BMW employee) that the latest generation are far more tolerant. Having said that from my own knowledge BMW are no worse than Mercedes and VW Audi with their need for matched tyres hence BMW recommending * marked tyres to avoid transmission wind up and possible damage. Firstly is your set up staggered (wider rear rims) or square (same size at each corner)? If it is staggered then using the correct sized and * marked tyres is more critical, as an example when I purchased my X5 it had Michelin Diamaris fitted, fronts were fine but rears were wearing on the inside edges the selling garage replaced them with Dunlops of the correct size. After having the car a week I noticed when reversing of the drive with some lock on there was a shuddering. I had read about wind up so put a chalk mark on the bottom of the front and rear tyres then rolled the car one revolution of the rear tyre the front chalk mark was about 20mm short of a full revolution scary as I had covered around 500 miles no wonder the transfer box was complaining.I had the rear suspension re-bushed and a 4 wheel alignment and had the selling garage replace the rears with Michelins and no further issues. I have since run non * marked tyres and providing they are within 5mm front to rear everything seems to have been OK (my car is X-drive but early !st gen with fixed 40/60 split). Cars running a square set up tend to have far fewer issues even with budget tyres as rolling circumferences will generally tend to be closer. Your car has full Xdrive variable split transfer box so even if you drive it like you have stolen it the transmission evens out torque across all tyres. With accelerated wear I would look closely at the rear bushes (bottom rose bush) and alignment, rear wear is normally toe in rather than camber though the two together will cause the inside edges to go fast. Find some one with a good 4 wheel alignment machine (hunter or similar) get the rear suspension bushes checked/changed (on the X5 they only last 60 to 80k) then a full alignment done if it is a square set up new rear tyres should cause little problem (though non runflats could) if your set up is like mine 20" 285 front 315 rear then stand the new tyre against the front and see what height difference there is Fingers crossed not more than 4 or 5mm. Sorry for the long winded post I hope it helps Dave

Tyre sizes look correct for the 19" staggered set up (wider rear) but are the tyres all the same make? Different makes may well have different rolling radius's BMW specified ^ (star marked tyres) mainly Michelin when your car was new. However as our cars get older cheaper tyres tend to get fitted. X drive cars don't handle different rolling radius front to rear so suffer transmission wind up which sadly if not addressed equals transfer case damage. Try making a small chalk mark on the front and rear tyres at the bottom roll the car forward until the rear chalk mark is at the bottom (1 revolution) the front should also be at the bottom. If the tyres are mismatched the chalk mark on the front wont be, each revolution the gap will increase to a point where the transfer case gives up trying to compensate and breaks (transmission windup). Just googled your fault code and from what I read it points to a stripped gear in the servo motor on the transfer case or servo motor failure a simple fix if your handy with spanners . I have attached a page from the BMW parts catalogue that may help item 12 is the servo motor. It took us about 4 hrs to remove repair and replace on the X3 so similar on the X5 I would guess, and we did it without a lift just ramps and a set of axle stands. My advice is don't drive it unless you have pulled the fuse or unplugged the motor as you are risking further damage may be even to differential front or rear. Dave RealOEM.com - Online BMW Parts Catalog.pdf

Morning Allan and Welcome to the Forum A bit more information on which model X5 would help, 4x4 lights on can be a number of causes simplest being low battery voltage to steering angle sensor calibration, wheel speed sensors/ABS or transfer box issues. Check the fuse box fuse 46 from memory controls the transfer box pull it and you will have rear drive only but no risk of damage to the transfer case. Check your tyres xdrive cars are sensitive to having the correct size tyres all round, they don't like mismatched or budget tyres which are known causes of issues with transfer boxes. As your car is 2005 it should be 6 speed gearbox and an early Xdrive transfer case model, listen carefully when you stop and turn off if you here clicking wiring sound for a few seconds my guess would be the servo motor on the transfer case. The servo motor has a nylon gear and they wear and chatter against the worm drive not a huge job to change there are several how too's on you tube. Take a look at www.realoem.com put the last 7 digits of your vin into the search box it will bring up your model then search transfer box to ensure your looking at the correct part if buying from a parts supplier. One of our sons friends has an X3 and had this issue we took off the servo motor separated the case and discovered a gear which was stripped over about 20% of its teeth. He was due to go away on a family holiday next day so as a temporary fix we rotated the gear 180 deg it fixed the problem and got him on his way. He found a reconditioned servo motor when he got back. Hope this helps Dave

Our pleasure Maggie, the object of the Forum is always to have pool of knowledge for us all to fish for answers in Dave

Yay Good news Maggie Hope it wasn't to painful on the wallet, here's to you enjoying many miles trouble free Dave

Morning Lee and Welcome to the Forum You don't say if its E53 or E70 (2006 was change over year) it will have M57N (e53) or M57N2 (e70) engine and a 6 speed ZF box. Aside from the obvious visual checks and making sure of the service history check the MOT history online before you go it will also be a good indicator of the care it's received. Before starting the car open the bonnet and check the oil and fluids the engine should be cold, start up listen for any noises on starting it should fire up straight away and idle smoothly with no smoke. While it;s ticking over check everything works (and I mean everything) push every button test every switch these are complicated beasts and there are few cheap fixes. Then test drive, the engine should feel smooth and have plenty of power gear changes also should be smooth under all conditions ( ask if there is any evidence of gearbox service) on slowing to a stop there should be no clunks or lurches. Test all the switches and gadgets again while on the drive, when back leave it running and walk around check for any drips or leaks, the X5 has a transfer box that doesn't like mismatched tyres (BMW say approved * rated tyres only) this particularly important with a staggered set up (wider rears) tyres should at least be from the same manufacturer. There have been cases of transfer box damage caused by mismatched tyres, they should at least be from a recognized manufacture budget tyres are a no no. BMW say gearboxes are sealed for life (BMW life is 3 years 60k warranty) ZF say service every 100 km. A gearbox service by a ZF agent will cost about the same as an engine service. Engines are as mostly as tough as old boots with few problems (a friend has 180k + and still going strong) Suspension bushes live a hard life on any big fat 4x4 so will generally need attention at 80 to a 100k If your handy with spanners most jobs are a DIY proposition and there is plenty of help/advice available here and online Good Luck with the purchase Dave

Hi Maggie Try, engine off pump the brake 5/6 times, then keep pressure on the brake and start the engine, the pedal should feel softer. If it doesn't then I still suspect the servo its pipe work or the check valves or possibly the vacuum pump. Due to the vacuum created the pipe work may look good from outside but it can collapse internally restricting operation. Particularly if the brakes operate normally at higher engine revs, when your mechanic checked for codes did they use BMW diagnostic software? Dave