Greydog

Morning Tom Difficult to answer as it could be either one, can you disconnect your Car play module ? Check all connections to make certain it's not something as simple as a loose connector. If disconnecting the Car play works you have the culprit if not you could try talking to someone like Cartronix they well known for fixing BMW systems Dave

Morning Tom Welcome to the Forum Very nice and in the fastest colour too 🤣 Dave

I think you may well have fixed your issue Sarah unplug it again and if your battery remains good thats it. The CD changers were used in several models that used I-bus so are not that expensive to buy second hand (cheaper than repair) between £30 and £50 Good luck Dave

Morning Seppo Welcome to the Forum BMW would change your oil at the service light schedule (around 30k) The service indicator also indicates Brake Service and Coolant. ZF who make the gearbox recommend around 80k However I change engine oil and filter yearly regardless of miles when miles covered were higher around every 10k Brake Fluid every 3 years coolant the same. Gearbox is serviced to ZF schedule Hope this helps Dave

Morning Sarah First is the Battery correct for the car (if you are unsure check www.realoem.com)? If your car is a 3.0d without Auxiliary heating Battery should be 90ah if you have Auxiliary heating I believe it should be 92ah. on your year it doesn't matter if it is AGM or not The fact that your car is OK when the battery is freshly charged I would start with the Battery/Charging system So checking the battery and charging system are in good condition, engine off battery voltage checked at the charging points under the bonnet should show 12.8v with engine running voltage should be 14.5/14.8v if not then you could have a Voltage regulator fault or alternator issue. Your X5 has many systems and when you start the car the drain on the battery as they all wake up plus the actual start draws massive current to replace the initial draw can take 15 to 20 minutes of driving to recharge, that is assuming the system is in tip top condition. So if journeys are short the battery never recovers fully. Get the starter motor current checked at start a failing starter will kill a battery (I have seen a starter drawing 600+ amps and the car still started but the battery kept dying) When your electrical system is in good condition if you turn the car off and leave it after around 15mins the light beside the gear lever will go out. The car is now "asleep" it will still draw a few milliamps to maintain the memory chips clock etc. I can leave my car a couple of weeks and it will start. If the light by the gearstick doesn't go out then a system or systems are still running and keeping the car awake (drawing power) In that event things to check are any non original accessories that have been fitted (Radio, Cameras DVD players) then work through the OEM on board systems.until the drain is isolated. Also check your journey cycle if they are short journeys then at least once a week it needs either charging or a good run I use a C-tec charger once a month to keep the battery at the top of the game. Dave

Are you certain that the pins in the connectors (check each end of the loom) haven't moved? If pin 1 has been pushed back or dislodged it will cause your fault There was if I recall a service bulletin that the loom under the passenger seat needed to be checked but my old brain can't remember why at the moment Dave

The specific programs will show 2 levels of Fault 1st Fault present/current and 2nd Fault not present which is Fault history/memory. With ISTA you will be able to clear all faults (Present and Memory) When a diagnostic is run it will show all faults remember some may be a a result of the fault others may be a symptom of the fault. I would run the Diagnostics note the faults, clear all faults shut down start the car and see what returns. The first fault will normally be the cause, check with engine off (battery fully charged) and engine running (live data) Good luck Dave

Hi Steve The best you can get is BMW ISTA diagnostic program which you can mount on your laptop. It will give you Dealer level diagnostic capability plus repair/test information. It will give a code but also explain the fault in English, as an example my PDC plays up the fault shows as PDC rear centre right sensor intermittent. Cost will be around £80 a diagnostic session at a Dealer will cost around £200 at todays labour costs There are others that are BMW capable but not specific like Foxwell and I-carsoft personally I prefer the dedicated diagnostics. My old laptop that I keep in the garage has several systems on it Volvo, Mercedes Star, BMW 1.4.0 BMW INPA/ISTA Toyota, VW VAS. My daughter tells people her dad is a car geek (but guess where she comes if there is a problem) Even if you end up talking to a garage you are talking from a position of knowledge/strength. Dave

Hi Steve Welcome to the Forum It could be the throttle body?Control Flap its self or just the Throttle position sensor. Take a look at www.realoem.com it's a BMW online parts list put the last 7 digits of your Vin in the search box it will bring up your model, then search for what you need. The small exploded drawings will help with location . I would first check the associated loom and wiring for any sign of wear/chaffing also check Google for test methods for the throttle position sensor. If you need a replacement you have the correct part number again Google for best supply price Neither are big jobs just need a bit of patience as other stuff is in the way Dave

When the alternator is checked remember and alternator will be around £200 a Regulator should be about £30 Good luck Dave P.S.After the work is done lLeave the battery disconnected for 1/2hr minimum and your codes should be reset

Was the actuator New (in the box) or New to you (a used one) Have you checked realoem that all new/replaced parts are correct for your car? Keep digging you will get there Dave

Hi Dominic Welcome to the Forum Whoop Whoop Enjoy Dave

Morning Heather Welcome to the Forum First thing to check/get checked is the battery, the X5 is a very power hungry car drawing huge amperages at start when the car is waking up (systems loading) and the starter turning. So first charge the battery a fully charged battery should show 12.8 volts at the charge points under the bonnet. With the engine running the voltage should be 14.8 volts checked at the same place. A competent garage or auto electrician will be able to do that if you can't yourself. So if your battery has been on charge overnight and is reading less than 12.8v I would suspect the battery is dying. If the engine is running but you are seeing below 14.5 14.8v suspect the alternator. Again not necessarily the alternator it could be a failed/failing voltage regulator on the alternator and Auto Electrician should be able to check/change the alternator. Take a look at www.realoem.com put the last 7 digits of your Vin number into the search box or search manually look at the alternator (Engine Electrical System) and you should see part numbers If you Google BMW Specialists you should find one near you who can help if you don't have a trusted local garage. Good Luck Dave

Morning Henry Welcome to the Forum A few questions (1) how old are the tyres and are they a matched set (same front and rear side to side) (2) You say you checked the wheel bearings ? How did you do that? Normally a wheel bearing will make groaning noises at all speeds louder under load My guess would be Propshaft Your Propshaft has Rubber couplings either end and a propshaft centre bearing. There should be no movement in the centre bearing bothe rubber couplings should be free of any cracks/splits and all nuts and bolts present and tight. The Diff check for excessive movement (backlash) also check its mountings. Driveshafts check couplings at either end for movement there should be none Suspension is reliant on rubber bushes they will all need checking they don't last for ever (80 to 100k) include the rear subframe bushes. Hope this helps Dave

Morning Wayne Welcome to the Forum How are things in the land of the long white cloud (North or South ?) Dave

Make sure you have the correct part check www.realoem.com put the last 7 digits of your Vin in the search box it will bring up your car/model then check the section you need. When you have the part number double click it and you should get a list of any alternatives available. Also check the loom is in good order in case you have a damaged cable shorting against the chassis. Good luck Dave

Morning Stephen Aren't Salesmen great "Life of the car" normally means the end of their warranty responsibility 🤣 In reality this is one of the worlds great engines and with good maintenance and regular oil changes they are capable of Star Ship mileages. I have some experience of the N52N version of this engine which one of our sons friends has in a competition/(Drift Car) when he brought the car it had covered 140K we took the engine out and we stripped it and rebuilt it the only new parts were gaskets lower chain and oil pump we changed the lower chain and oil pump as a precaution due to the thrashing he would be giving it. 2018/19 and over the last 2 years he has hammered the life out of the engine just about every weekend he changes oil regularly is his contribution to it's long life. Lord knows how many miles it has covered now but the last few years have all been at maximum attack So if the history is good the car runs sweetly and absolutely everything works as it should I would have no qualms I would howver sqeeze the Salesman for an extended Warranty as part of the deal or money off to get your own then you are covered. Dave

Morning Rik Welcome to the Forum Certainly I would go back and check all connections and supply voltages also check all earth connections With the fuse replaced what happened? A scan with some thing like BMW 1.4.0 or INPA/ISTA would give a more accurate picture as they communicate with individual modules. One of our sons has a Toyota pickup he had a failed fuse on the lighting replaced it 2 days blew again replaced it a few days later pop. As I was going to the local motor factors I asked for some fuses, we replaced the fuse again 2 years later no issues ??? Dave

Morning Mark Welcome to the Forum It will depend on registration. If it is on a 55 plate it will be £330 ish if it's on an 06 plate it will be at the £600 end of the scale Hope this helps Dave

Morning Becky An aftermarket air filter alone wont achieve much of an increase in power it will give more induction noise so it might sound faster 🤣 If your engine is in good condition it should be producing around 170/180bhp, so if I were spending my money it would first be on an ECU remap. Depending on who does it you should see a 20% to 30% increase in power and more important Torque (that's what gets you down the road) If you added a KN type filter in the standard air filter box it would be closer to the top end increase. My next spend would be on the chassis ie, better brakes and suspension. Hope this helps Dave

Morning Sarah Unfortunately there are a lot of folks who once an issue is fixed forget to let us know what the actual fix was. My own knowledge base has been built over 60 years of playing with all makes of cars and motorbikes as a hobby and the last 18 years of BMW ownership (my own X5's and family members and friends and neighbours cars) The X5 is a tough car but there are a few common issues that I have seen (1) Suspension bushes, once they start to show signs of age/wear bite the bullet and change them all it will improve the ride/handling and save a fortune in fuel/tyre wear. The first signs will be odd tyre wear (2) Electrical issues, First place to check is Battery age and condition. BMW's are power hungry beasts so short journeys often start to drain the battery it can take a good 15 to 20 min run to replace the start drain so over a period the battery gets a hard life. I have a C-tec intelligent charger that I plug in once a month to boost and recondition the battery (Note always use the under bonnet charge points) The BMW designers use a Common earth point system around the car when I had some strange behaviour I traced it to two of these earth points that had high resistance. Took them off cleaned the mounting and smeared it with electrical contact paste all fixed. I have also found this on 1 series and 5 series cars. I have also seen FCM/LCM (Footwell Control Module or Light Control Module) failures on 3 X5's and 2 5series. Symptoms were radio having a mind of its own (wont turn on or off) no indicator warning click, car not going to sleep causing battery drain. A BMW dealer will want a body part as a deposit and try to convince you that only pre-programmed parts from the factory fitted by them will fix the issue. When my X5 suffered LCM failure BMW quoted £3k + with lots of teeth sucking they also warned that if it wasn't done properly (by themselves) it could write off the car !! As always total rubbish I purchased a second hand unit from a newer model and reprogramed it myself. It actually took longer to swap the units than reprogram the replacement. Engines are strong with good maintenance and frequent oil changes capable of huge mileages. Gearboxes often abused as BMW in their wisdom declared them sealed for life, like the engines they need fluid and filter changes ZF say every 80k. Drive train front and rear diffs tend to be robust unless mismatched tyres are fitted causing transmission wind up. A rear diff from BMW will be around £1k part only and the 3.9's are like the proverbial Rocking Horse stuff to find. Transfer boxes there are now many kits to rebuild them but not cheap. Thee Moral is fit decent tyres as a set in the correct sizes are much cheaper than replacing diffs etc. Bit war and peace but I hope it helps the bottom line is they are great cars they don't need more fettling/fixing than any other make. So whether you are a DIY fan (like me) or whether you use a trusted Garage/Mechanic with good maintenance they last. My X5 4.6is is now beyond 160k and running well Dave

Morning Alan Welcome to the Forum Dave

Morning Eddie Welcome to the Forum Great Car but to low for my old bones been a passenger in one and getting out was worth a you tube video as I rolled onto hands and knees !! 😂 Good heads up for other owners Thanks Dave

Morning Sarah Welcome to the Forum A diagnostic scan would help as a starting point a good independent garage with BMW capable equipment or a BMW specialist (Best Option) Or someone with a multi-meter checking the battery and charging system. Dave

Morning Evgeni Welcome to the Forum Simple things first as rear windows generally get less use try a silicone spray in the runners in case they are sticking Then try checking www.realoem.com to see if the small exploded drawings help or maybe www.pelicanparts.com look in the articles section they have some brilliant "How Too's" with pictures Dave