Greydog

I had an issue when I first had the X5 (2004) the lacquer seemed to craze, minute cracks that made the surface feel slightly rough, the drivers and rear door were affected the worst in certain lights it changed the colour of the panels. I have to say BMW just fixed it under warranty quickly and efficiently and without quibble, keep the pressure on sounds as though your dealer is the type who try to avoid everything

Morning Richard Welcome to the Forum, congratulations on your purchase. Service history as always is paramount same with any car, also check with BMW for any recalls/updates that have been due and were they carried out. If your X3 has a staggered wheel set up (wider rear tyres) take care when replacing tyres make sure all 4 are from a good manufacturer differences in rolling circumference can cause transmission wind up and damage to the transfer box. This applies to all X drive cars and BMW recommend * rated tyres. If the wheels are same size on each corner it is more forgiving but you should still check that all tyres are from a recognized manufacturer and the correct size at least then you have a chance the rolling radius is within tolerance. Apart from that they are good cars ENJOY If the worst happens there is loads of support here Dave

Morning Chris Wow that doesn't inspire confidence in that Dealer what has their service manager had to say? I would write to him email or post so that should there be an issue later you have some evidence. When you say the air duct was left off was it on the left of the engine ? The main filter is at the back of the engine bay with a feed to the intake on the right (passenger side). Anything left off on that side and I would have thought increased engine/intake noise would be obvious. After 500 odd miles I wouldn't think any serious damage has been done as our environment generally is pretty clean so the opportunity for your engine to swallow anything harmful will have been quite small. Fingers crossed Dave

You are not a pain Martin the only way we learn is by asking or observing. Like many manufacturers BMW have taken advantage of long life oils to extend service periods, personally I still change oil and filter annually. I also change gearbox oil every 30k with diffs and transfer box (BMW say sealed for life ?? ZF who make the box say 60000 kilometers) So for me every 12 months minimum. It would make sense that the main loom has all the connectors in place particularly if you have power memory seats the wiring in the door should be there. Have a look at www.newtis.info it's a BMW service data base that Dealers use for service info it should tell you what you need Back seats I have no answer to other that using the information sites. The advantage of the X5 is my clubs and trolley fit in the boot along with my two sons stuff. Hope this helps

Hi John Welcome to the Forum Looking your header you say the car is an e90 2001 I didn't think e90 started until 2004? or is it a different car? If the car is e46 2001 or e90 2004 vintage then there were no android head units then so I would think you have an after market head unit' If the car has the original BMW Professional set up with Nav and CD in the boot early cars tended to have a motorola phone built in which required its own sim. Cars around 2002 started getting bluetooth but it wasn't great tech. It may be better to start a new thread or ask Trevor to move this one, some pictures would help identify what you have Dave

Running the cable from the rear is a surprisingly simple job just a case of taking it easy so you don't damage any trim, it is then plug and play. There is a route already for the loom along the sill beneath the doors then under the passenger seat at the carpet join under the centre console and up to the back of the headunit. It took me a morning with plenty of tea and biscuit breaks all hidden and looks like OEM. I used a wireless camera powered by a single wire from the reverse light this was the fiddliest bit to feed through then a wireless receiver attached to the headunit all worked really well. The new Dynavin units are android so you will get all you want and you should get a good chunk back selling the old stuff the space you gain in the cubby is quite surprising

Yay well done Adam glad you got so much done as it was rubbish weekend weather wise here. If you have the OEM Navigation setup screen up front nav CD etc in the rear side cubby BM54 under the floor then changing over will need a 5m extension lead to run from the boot to the front. I did this on my 4.4 I brought a Dynavin headunit and extension lead (then about £500) fitting was straight forward if a bit fiddly. Before running the extension lead I added a radio aerial extension and a GPS antenna extension then fed it through the passenger side at floor level, not difficult just take your time. Remove the head unit (how too's on the net) and fitted the dynavin designed to look OEM. Connect the Quadlock in the boot and the two antenna leads and switch on great unit and I recovered the cost by selling my headunit Nav, CD and blue tooth units on the well known auction site. Dave

Morning Martin I have a friend who has a Mercedes with runflats who had just that issue M18 on a Sunday night apparently the only indication was the tyre pressure warning lamp and increased road noise. He had no clue how far he had traveled on it and it was too hot to touch he ended up calling recovery. Since then he has put tyre goo in all tyres and carries a small pump that plugs into the cigarette lighter, my X5 has staggered tyres so while it does have a spare (a bicycle wheel) I to have tyre goo and a pump ( BMW supply them as a Kit at a stupid price). One of the tricks with your BMW is to carry out a reset of all control units by disconnecting the Battery for half an hour (bit like the hard reset on a computer) so no radio codes needed. Have a look at www.realoem.com put the last 7 digits of your Vin into the search box it will bring up a parts list for your model look in the Trim section (I think) and you should see if your model has powered mirrors. Often they are there but need enabling in the software. There are many DIY Diagnostic packages available (I use BMW 1.4.0) many now are using Carly for BMW google BMW Diagnostic Programs and read up.you could save quite a bit rather than being in the hands of Dealers who will often charge a minimum of 1 hours labour (often more) for a diagnostic check. Dave

Welcome Martin Who said you would be able to rest?? 😂 Dave

Morning Martin Welcome to the Forum, here is to many miles of enjoyable motoring. Your questions, 1. Where runflats are fitted as standard the theory is there's no need to carry a spare or any of the tools. BMW are not alone here, with tyre manufacturers telling us that a runflat will give up to 50 miles driving when deflated, they see no reason to supply the spare or jack also they assume that we all will be within that distance of somewhere that stocks that tyre?? 2. The manufacturers introduced key codes to try and reduce/prevent theft BMW took the approach of component installation with elements scattered around the car making a thief's job difficult. The unit will also be coded to the chassis (on certain cars/models) which further complicates the thief's job. You can retrofit items and have them coded or with the right diagnostic software and a lap top or even mobile phone code it yourself. Enjoy the car Dave

Assuming (dangerous I know) that your headunit is OEM then it is just the headunit you need or if you can source one just the screen they can be changed and there are how too's on You tube etc. Aircon is another issue BMW have made the system in my opinion is horribly over complicated, simple thing first try getting it vac down and tested for leaks then re-gassed. If it is gassed and not running it could be one of the sensors or the pusher fan on the front of the rad or the control panel in the dash. If it is the whole aircon/heating system not working look at the FSR (final stage resistor) Hope this helps Dave

Morning Adam Welcome to the Forum, congratulations on your new (to you) X5. Mechanically most jobs can be carried out by a reasonably competent home mechanic, get yourself some diagnostic kit if you don't have it already. Something BMW specific as it will help greatly, I use BMW 1.4.0 cheap to buy and works well but you will need a laptop to run it. There is also INPA, Carly (which will run on a mobile phone) Is yours a Petrol or Diesel model? I also use www.realoem.com a BMW specif parts list it will give simple exploded drawings and OEM part numbers useful when buying bits from other sources. The X5 is a power hungry beast and battery's suffer if they have been parked up or used for short journey's. I would check the age of the battery (there is a label on the battery) a bit of a faff as it is buried in the boot under the spare and suspension compressor. A lot of electrical gremlins are as a result of a low charge or dying battery. I use a Ctek battery charger a few times a year on the regen setting to keep the battery in good health. Good Luck and Enjoy the X5 Dave

Morning Andy The mirror functions are I believe controlled by the Drivers door master window switch my first move would be get some contact cleaner pop the switch out and clean all the contacts on the plugs. My auto up function on the drivers window throws a hissy fit every now and then, a clean sorts it out for a few months then a bit of bad weather (rain) and it will act up same with the centre rear PDC there must be damp/condensation getting in but where?? I have checked and checked but as a clean and spray sort the issue for me I have learned to live with it. Hope it sorts your mirror Dave

Well done Andy now may she will let you enjoy driving for awhile. Very power sensitive are the X5's doesn't take them long to kill a battery if the engine isn't running then you get all sorts of weird lights and warnings popping up. I use a Ctek battery charger every couple of months just to make sure it's in tip top order dark nights and short journeys can wreak havoc. Dave

Hi Andy Not sure but I believe your fuses are up front for full air suspension. When changing the strut I would disconnect the battery that will solve the fuse issue and perform a reset at the same time. Dave

Hi Andy Deepest Darkest Sussex in the UK Dave

X5's are good at beep's Beep, lights on Beep, seat belt Beep, door open Beep cold out side (I noticed that when I scraped the ice off) but not heard 3 could be something in the LPG control unit when was it serviced last? Or it could be a safety check on your heart rate or a wallet test !!

Hi Andy Airbags are quite a well known issue not a difficult job to change be careful of the ride height sensor. The airbags are plentiful and not to expensive, BMW are known to change a single airbag as they do perish and crack if it were me I would change both to be sure. I brush mine with soapy water couple of times a year and look for bubbles (mine is rear only) Not sure about the seat options with the 4.8 but with mine there are a series of check boxes which I checked and could set the key memory plus speed that anti hi jack locks the doors whether all doors or just the drivers door opens on the first press of the fob second press all doors beep or flash on unlock. are just some of the things from memory but I dont recall a seat setting to move the seat back sorry, though yours is the more modern version, who knows. Good Luck Dave

Morning Andy Oh well worth a try just in case it had been enabled and not used. I would check out that well known auction site for a BMW DIS lead probably about £20. All the manufacturers are the same !! charge an hour minimum + for something that is essentially a tick box operation to enable/disable a function. It's worse when you consider they often have the car plugged in for service anyway. If you get stuck I have an INPA lead somewhere in the garage Regards Dave

Afternoon Andy You could try setting up everything for you on one key saving it in the seat memory 1 then lock the car, unlock with the other key and repeat on memory 2 for SWIMBO see if that works. I have Inpa and BMW 1.4.0 loaded on an old laptop I tend to use 1.4.0 as I find it is much more user friendly and fine up to around 2006 2008 MY all models. You won't need the round adapter as it is straight OBD beneath the steering wheel above the accelerator you will see the little cover/door. I use www.realoem.com for parts information and basic drawings then www.newtis.com it is the same information dealers use for maintenance information and how too's BMW have tried hard but not defeated me yet !! Enjoy Dave

I know what you mean Andrew It was a few years back when I used the Dunlop boys they were very knowledgeable and sorted a wayward AMG I was running out there first they took readings of the set up and you could see where it was out (way out) they made all the adjustments to bring it back to spec supported by a print of both readouts, the cost was around the same as I would pay here in the UK £100 or so about $450 AED. Runflats are notorious for getting noisier as they wear plus if pressures are down wearing oddly (shoulders etc) hope you get it sorted they are awesome cars when all four wheels point the same way!! Good Luck Dave

Morning Andy Welcome to the forum, you will need to open the ZKE (Central Body Electronics) folder and check first that the key is activated in the program then with the key in the ignition set the key up using the the seat memory buttons. DLR's are I think in the LCM folder all tick box programming. Good Luck let us know how you get on Dave

Morning Paul Welcome to the Forum very nice looking car (cars) The Ring can become addictive but its a scary place due to all the other traffic and mixed levels of ability, cars and drivers. With regard to the Decat I believe the current regulations state if there was a Cat fitted OEM it should be there if not automatic fail, same for Diesel DPF delete where I believe they even look for evidence of tampering. I would do a search on MOT regs that should give you some interesting reading (????) or ask an MOT tester I suppose if you fit a Decat pipe you could refit a Cat just for the MOT, but that seems a bit of a FAF you could fit a performance Cat as fitted to competition cars. The performance exhaust boys must be clued up as selling a product that potentially takes their customers car off the road isn't to good for business so thats another information base to dig into.. Though I am sure some will have a small rider somewhere saying something like "off road use only" or "competition use only" Good luck with the upgrades keep us updated Dave

Morning Andrew I take it your X5 is running 20" staggered set up (fatter rear tyres) ? First a common complaint across the BMW range is road noise and ride. Run flat tyres combined with the bigger the wheel the aspect ratio decreases making the ride harder and noise louder. These cars are sensitive to tyre pressure and alignment as well as the need to run BMW * marked tyres to protect the X drive system from wind up (especially if you have the staggered set up) I did read that 20" staggered set up should be 36psi Front 41 psi Rear also run flats get noisier as they wear particularly if the alignment is suspect. A good independent garage with 4 wheel alignment equipment plus new tyres should sort it. You can go to non run flats just make sure they are * marked and correct pressures. Talk to the The Dunlop Pro Shop at the Ibn Battuta petrol station ask them about 4 wheel alignment plus tyres I used them some years back on an AMG Good Luck Dave

Morning Geoff That is a vibration damper the bolt is an M8 Star socket screw the nut M14 and no it shouldn't be loose. One of my son's friends had this I used a Torx socket to remove the bolt the rubber mount seemed in good condition so we put some thread lock on and replaced it tightened it and two years on no issues (well he hasn't complained or mentioned it since). Have a look at www.realoem.com it should show you what you are looking at Good Luck Dave