Greydog

Good call Steve now you can lay down in a darkened room for a bit

I take it the fluid level is correct? Does it feel heavier when it is noisy?

When you say its still the same do you mean loosing charge and not starting? Or all OK but no remote central locking function from the key? If the battery was really dead, dead it may be that the key and the car no longer recognise each other, there is a procedure for "mating" a new key that you can go through that may restore the basic "lock unlock" operation. Google or You Tube may help. Or as I said earlier buy a copy of BMW 1.4.0 from ebay then you can program all the locking functions your self. With mine I have it set as 1 push unlocks just the drivers door, 2nd push unlocks all doors. Car locks (anti hijack) when speed is 12 mph you can program up to 4 keys but first they have to be registered to the car. 1.4.0 will also let you read and reset codes and do many other little diagnostic jobs without dealer costs. As an example a faulty FSR is known to cause all sorts of weird symptoms. Read and digest Steve's advice above he is spot on. If you mess with the BCM you may end up with Dealer costs to sort your issue and re-code it to the car.

You can fit E70 wheels but you will need spigot rings

Here's Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Peaceful New Year May 2015 be pain free for all you X5 owners

We have the same car same colour mine also had 74k on the clock when purchased just coming up to 80k now. I would buy a 1.4.0 scanner they seem to be selling for about £20 at the moment you will need a laptop to load it onto (I used an old one I had here) You will be able to check all functions on the car read faults and reset them. Plus you can program the Key functions example Car locks after driving off, Drivers door only on first push of unlock all doors on second. You can register up to 4 keys. Great cars but not unbreakable, so treat with respect. I am lucky enough to have a very experienced BMW/Porsche specialist near by who is great for advice one tip he gave was when starting let all the dash lights cycle out before starting apparently it lets all the control systems wake up before putting a heavy draw on the battery. My wife has a 3.0 ltr Outback Estate with a Perrin turbo conversion so we know our way around Scooby's to enjoy the X

As I said I have seen the cover for sale without the snap in holders so I guess yes. If you have the snap in part then you fold the cover into them snap them down and you should have a working cover

Correct, support bars with small gear wheel on each end also make sure you get the snap in housing at each end I have seen them for sale without.

Welcome good choice of car and in the fastest colour too. X5's are very sensitive to battery voltages if your car has a tired or old battery they are known to cause all sorts of strange and spurious warning lights and behavior from the electrics. The X5 will use very little power when asleep (all systems take up to 15 mins to shut down after locking) about 0.5 ma wake it up how ever and you will see up to 60 amps depending on spec so it won't take long to drain even a fit battery with ignition on and engine off. Get the battery checked (Age as well as output) it is buried under the suspension air compressor at the bottom of the boot if changing it make sure you use a good quality replacement (saves diving in there again) If the battery was really dead it may be the ECM is not recognizing the key there is a registering sequence you can DIY search Google it will help you or you could get a copy of BMW 1.4.0 software (Ebay or else where) and re-register the key functions through a laptop.

I would have them check all wiring on the coil packs, when working on the rocker covers they could have disturbed or broken an earth connection or power feed.

Get the battery output checked (if you don't have the equipment to DIY) also get your alternator output checked to ensure it is charging the battery adequately. When the car is asleep it will have a very small current draw (timers etc) put the key in and position 1 and don't start the engine and it can be up to 60 amps depending on spec. If you don't have one get a good battery charger/conditioner, Ctec is the one I have (same as BMW sell re-badged) even though my car gets used every day I still plug it in once a month. I would also check the connectors at at the LCM and the earths, left hand side of the passenger footwell on the E53 plus all fuses sometimes re-seating connectors or fuses can restore continuity.

Google Cartronix they can upgrade your BM54 Radio unit for you, they have a good reputation

I have been told that BMW now supply their own at about £10 a pop. I can't speak from experience as I don't run a diesel, the only comment I would make though is these things are supposed to keep the combustion cycle clean which they do by promoting a higher temperature burn clearing all the soot etc out. If there is an underlying problem, worn injectors, low compression, low fuel pressure they wont help overdosing with additives can also cause a whole set of other issues. One of my sons is a chemical engineer with BP he says as long as you don't overuse them you won't do any harm, he also says if your engine is in good order you may not see or feel any improvements either.

Great advice from boris also test all gearbox functions (hot and cold) and test all accessories fitted are working. These are complicated cars so test and make certain everything works don't accept any excuses like "you can get one on ebay for a few £" or "it just needs re-gassing" if that is the case then why hasn't it been done by the seller. We have had 2 X5's and have been very happy with both but we did see a lot of Highly polished well presented cars that had many seemingly small faults being sold both privately and at showrooms. One example when tested the Nav didnt work "just needs a disk" said the Salesman you can get them on ebay for £20. We checked out the internet and found a replacement Nav disc was possibly not the answer and replacement unit is around £400 and could be much more, we walked away a found the car we have now. That car is still for sale ?? makes you wonder/

Morning and welcome. An indication is, if your car is pre-facelift it will probably be 286 BHP Facelift 320 BHP, do your headlamps have orange indicator trim and no angel eyes (pre-facelift) 2003 is just on the engine change. I believe facelift cars also have the 6 speed auto. That is the simple check you can also look at www.Realoem.com put the last 7 digits of your din number in and search it will bring up your cars spec and parts list you may find answers there. Or ask your BMW parts man he will need at least your chassis number if he is feeling helpful Enjoy

I believe realoem is a US website but it gives all BMW models, US and European specifications and parts along with drawings plus assembly drawings and part numbers. Just Google realoem the site will come up where it says Vin put in the last 7 digits of yours and it will bring up your vehicle spec. Or you can search by model or search by part number, if you are searching a European part or model it will be there, I and others have found it very useful. I am in the UK too, just about Sunny Sussex.

That's not very helpful and kind of blows their reputation a bit !! I don't have rear entertainment (the baby is 35 this year) so don't know the system? Is it stand alone ? or controlled through the front screen? Just a thought a lad I shoot with changed the DVD player for a PS2 in his X5. I think he could do it as it was stand alone? It lets his kids play games and DVD's I can ask when I see him if it's any use

Certainly looks like a Diff part have you tried looking on www.realoem.com you can enter your Vin (last 7 digits) and search your vehicle or search by part number. If all else fails you could call your BMW parts man and see if he is feeling helpful.

Seems BMW DVD readers are fussy things (Nav and Entertainment) have you tried running a head cleaner to see if it helps? You could try Cartronix they seem to be able to upgrade/fix most BMW bits (Dash, Nav, BM radio, etc) If your really brave with steady hands you could try changing the DVD reader head yourself. Any way as an old bloke children should be bored in the car it was part of the journey when I was a kid, "are we there yet"

Can you Jump/charge the battery using the under bonnet charging point enough to allow the locks to operate?

Ouch!! I have to say I am on my second V8 X5 and not wanting to tempt fate both have been OK the first died when a tree got blown down in Jan and squashed it. The current is a 4.6 and so far apart from suspension bushes oils and filters is going well. I hope your new engine brings the smile back, big plus for the V8 your neighbours wont think you came home in a taxi

Doesn't sound good, whats gone wrong ? Timing chain guides and tensioner are a common source of noises but can be replaced as can the cam chain tensioner's without removing the engine from the car. Neither is cheap but still cheaper than an engine. If the engine is the only way then there is an Alpina B10 engine on Ebay being sold as a bare unit no ancillaries. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-Alpina-B10-V8-4-6-BMW-X5-4-6is-V8-4-6-ENGINE-/281249883795?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item417bcca693

Found this on realoem this is the box in the engine bay relay 3 is for the cigarette lighter (Australian Market) cant think it would be different for any where else could be worth a look

From what I understand yes Cig lighters and power outlets are all linked. You need a wiring diagram to be able to check, I would guess that there has to be a relay in the mix somewhere. Have you checked the fuse/relay box in the engine bay? Passenger side up by the windscreen. I haven't looked at realoem to see if there is any help there (its helped me a couple of times) or search for wiring diagrams on the net. One thought my Nav stopped working (no power) I checked and cleaned all the normal things connections and fuses no joy I thought of replacement then as last try I changed the fuse all back to normal?? The fuse I removed tested OK weird.

Have you checked fuse 54 20 amp it is hidden behind the fuse box in the glove box and from what I been told a real mission to reach. You can check www.realoem.com put the last 7 digits of your chassis number in, Good Luck