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Greydog

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Everything posted by Greydog

  1. Morning Bob looking at other sites many report around the high 30's to 40 mark so what about the usual mechanical suspects, wheel bearings on the way out or binding brakes any heat in the diffs or transfer box? Is the EGR valve thingy that diesels have OK ? Just thinking out loud here as you say even my computer is close to real life and that's on a 12 year old car, a pampered one but still 12 years old.
  2. There is a procedure for clearing the memory of the bluetooth unit if there are 4 previous phones still registered it wont pair. Sorry can't remember the sequence to clear it I use BMW 1.4.0 software for diagnostics and access it through there if your in Sussex happy to help if I can. My faithful old HTC pairs and works fine with the BMW unit however my wife's Samsung and sons Nokia will only partially work (no phone book and sometimes flaky connection) After a lot of research online and digging I discovered that the more modern android phones (last 4 to 5 years) the Bluetooth signal power is reduced to preserve power. Add that to the fact that the bluetooth antenna in the BMW is hidden in the left cubby in the boot so I experimented and placed the wife's phone in the boot still no phone book but a better reliable connection. My solution is I fitted a Nokia voice activated bluetooth unit which is completley hidden and tapped into the BMW mike now my wife can make and recieve calls if she is using the X5 me well my old HTC just soldiers on and still connects with no issues to the original in car system and if I ever upgrade there is the Nokia system in place
  3. Are you taking the MPG from the on board computer or calculated fill to fill? 20" wheels should make little difference as the rolling radius is the same for all BMW recommended sizes for the X5 unless the pressures are low? As an example my 4.6 averages 19.8 mpg according to the computer over the last 5k or so of mixed motoring and pulling 2 fat horses around. How ever if I zero the computer on the motorway at a steady speed it reads 27 mpg (makes me feel good but not real) The only way to be sure is take the mileage at fill up then again at the next and calculate fuel against miles. The danger is if you drive trying to get to the manufacturers claims (set in a lab on a dyno not in car on the road) you may not enjoy your car. Just my point of view after all we drive big fat heavy cars with the aerodynamics of a brick. You may also notice I always go for the "Full Fat" version of any car I have owned so not the best to talk about economy.
  4. With the E53 it is a simple job to take out the headlamp unit 4 screws un-clip the trim under the lamp unit job done. The nearside unit has to come out as the power steering pump and oil filter are blocking access to the unit. Who needs skin on their knuckles anyway !!! As I said BMW are not alone in daft design we have a 2005 Toyota Avensis estate as a dog wagon/runaround for friends and family to use. The nearside headlamp bulb needed changing, simple enough ??? To change the bulb you just take out the headlamp, to take out the headlamp you just need to drop the front bumper ?? What a clever piece of design that is. Fortunately I then discovered that it is such an embarrassment to Toyota that if you buy the bulb from them they change it free of charge it took them 45 mins in their workshop to change a bulb and I could see 2 techs at it, how mad is that. But at least I kept my skin that time.
  5. And this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JgeN4Qn3T8 Why do Car manufacturers (and its not just BMW) have to make something so simple into a Krypton Factor test needing the strength of a giant in a child's hand with double jointed 3 ft fingers?????
  6. Found this hope it helps
  7. Looking at realoem you should have Xenon Dipped beam lamps and H7 mains. Are you sure its not the lamp because you have swapped it to the good side? If the lamp is good (works on the other side) then that points towards the Ballast or a bad earth connection that is where I would look. Here are BMW's part numbers if it helps. The control unit is the ballast by the way. 01 CONTROL UNIT XENON LIGHT 2 03/2005 63126937223 02 Bulb Xenon light with ignition element D1S 2 03/2005 07/2008 63217162862 02 Bulb Xenon light with ignition element D1 12V 35W 2 03/2005 63217217509 03 Lamp holder for Xenon lamp 2 03/2005 63117162087
  8. How weird that realoem doesn't mention them, it's normally my "go too" place and hasn't missed before. I run a 4.6is E53 so the lighting is very different, I modified my headlamps so I have LED Halo's as DRL's and the parking/sidelight is just that. Have you tried a YouTube search? just in case someone has had similar issues and posted a vid?
  9. Have a look ay www.realoem.com if you enter the last 7 digits of your vin it will bring up your cars build . Then search the lighting section it should give you the information your looking for.
  10. Welcome As Trevor says if you can't DIY then garage ASAP, Brakes, Steering and Suspension are what keep us alive. My guess (always difficult to diagnose things remotely) would be Pads are way beyond their service life and from your description metal to metal on at least one hopefully the disc isn't damaged. Due to the wear on the pads the brake fluid is in the pistons not the reservoir leading to warning lights on the dash. Don't wait it wont get better but it will get very much more expensive to fix
  11. On the X5 all negative/Earth connections are Brown. I would run a single fused live to each running light and pick up a local earth connection to save running tow cables. When i did my angel eyes as running lights I used the headlamp earth wire to tap into. Hope that helps
  12. The E53 X5's suffered from condensation/damp in the switch/actuator mechanism that caused them to fail. The only real cure was/is to replace the lock actuator I have had to do both X5's I have owned.
  13. You could try Quarry Motors they are specialist BMW breakers I have used them for trim parts for the X5
  14. I think there may be a clue at the bottom of your post, BMW's are sensitive to low voltages. It is common for them to throw spurious fault codes when the battery is on the way-out or alternator is not charging correctly just the cars way of testing the condition of your heart and wallet. If your car is not going into sleep mode then there is a parasitic drain over night or when its parked for a length of time causing a low voltage hissy fit. Once the engine has been running for a while and you reset the codes it runs without fault. Try disconnecting the battery and fully charging it overnight then in the morning re-connect and start the car if there are no issues it will be a strong indication of what the issue is. The difficult bit is finding the cause of the drain, pulling system fuses one at a time until it stops is one way? Is the car standard or have there been any accessories fitted? Always a good starting point. You can open the bonnet sorry hood lock the car and leave it for 15mins or so then measure any drain at the engine bay jump points then its isolate systems and repeat till you find it GOOD LUCK.
  15. BMW quote the boxes as sealed for life, however ZF (who make the box in my X5) say it should be serviced at 80k to 100k Km around 50 to 60k miles. Many owners will change engine oil and filters at short time/distance to lengthen engine life but the poor old gearbox (manual or auto) and diffs often never see a spanner unless there is an issue. I would find a good Auto Box specialist who can read the codes in the gearbox and give an accurate diagnosis, plus you may be pleasantly surprised at the cost of a service.
  16. By your description the issue could be caused by a number of faults, easy ones first. Old dirty fluids, Low transmission fluids (leak somewhere), failing Torque converter, Valve body issues. My guess is that as you have been having the issues for some time box has internal damage and will require a rebuild, sorry. You really need to find an Auto Transmission Specialist in your area (sorry I am in Sussex) who will be able to investigate the problem by reading the Transmission codes. I have seen rebuild costs as low as £1200 and as high as £2000+ (BMW will try a new trans at £4k+) My belief is the Transmissions are rarely serviced yet the manufacturers (Mine is ZF) advise Fluid changes at 80 to 100k KM about 60k miles, don't know how many miles yours has covered but probably more than that?
  17. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but the MK4 units are easily damaged they are known for not liking non original software. What colour screen do you have? If it is blue I fear your nav is not functioning at all and you are running on the video channel of the TV unit. Simple things first is the red power light on on the Nav unit in the boot? Check the fuses in the cubby on the other side? If you have power to the unit eject the map disc and if you have one put your software CD in to see if it will re-boot. There may be a member near you who has one you can borrow, I have one somewhere if you get stuck. If your Nav computer is bricked replacement/repair is silly money for such an old system you may find a Dynavin, Xtrons or Eonon unit worth considering as selling the BMW parts will cover most of the cost.
  18. Morning Niall Have you looked at www.realoem.com for part numbers, if you put in the last 7 digits of your VIN and your cars spec will come up. Then if you don't have one a good workshop manual download one. I changed the evaporator on a Volvo V70 then took it to Kwik Fit they had a deal on recharging at the time. They have an automatic machine that vacuum's out the system then holds it under vacuum to check for leaks then recharges the system with the correct charge and amount of lubrication.
  19. You have tempted fate now !!! Like you my wife and I have owned a large number cars over the years and it has surprised me how a "Premium" car maker like BMW can produce such a fragile car. I took it up with senior BMW manager who responded "well you have to expect wear and tear it is a 2 ton car" well so are many others that I have owned and none have needed the constant fettling X's seem to require. Still the performance in the 4.6 is addictive if expensive luckily I can do a great deal myself (or by remote controlled son's)
  20. Rear rose/ball joints creak you may see increased camber and tyre wear on the inside edges. Changing them is a DIY job, did mine last year I brought a kit of Ebay and refurbed the whole back end the difference is massive. You need a tool to remove the Rose/Ball joint I made my own with a couple of bits of tube and some threaded studding. There is a how to on youtube 5 series but the same set up.
  21. If you look on www.realoem.com enter the site put in the last 7 numbers of your Vin and then select "rear axel" then "self leveling suspension" you will see it has 2 level sensors under the car make sure they are free and the plug is connected a bit of contact cleaner wouldn't go amiss. Also in the boot is the suspension control unit again check and make sure its clean dry and connector seated correctly. You can remove the fuses then release the air manually then tighten the connectors and replace the fuses to see if that cklears the problem. Jet washes and modern car electrics don't mix very well so take care when cleaning particularly in the boot where the X5 has a lot of unprotected electrics.
  22. Don't panic the message is one of BMW & your X5's ways of testing your heart rate. While you were working on your rear lights with the ignition on the battery voltage has dropped and triggered the warning, once the battery is fully charged the warning will clear. Check how old your battery is and its condition if its 5 or older you could have a failing battery. Changed mine last year it was the original 11 years old !! but died quickly when it started to go.
  23. Several on Ebay at the moment
  24. I had a replacement key last year due to the main key I use everyday being just plain worn out and knackered. Ordered from BMW (all they need is your Vin or your key they can read it} £120 including VAT and they coded it to the car as well, it took 2 days to arrive. I know there are lots of adds for keys but beware I think the engine ECU/immobilizer needs to read a chip and the alarm central locking are coded to the Fob. I don't know what BM you have I would talk to the Dealers
  25. Wow sounds like a brown trouser event, not nice at all. Did you get anywhere with BMW? When researching to buy my X5 it was the sun roof issue's (failure to operate) that steered me away from sunroof equipped cars. My E53 4.6 has no sun roof neither did the previous X5.
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