Whats the lowdown on X5's?

[Andre3000 55]

My old man is looking at getting an X5 as he wants a comfortable daily with the ability to tow.

Can someone enlighten me as to what to look for/avoid?

Atm its looking to be either a 3.0L diesel (96kms) or the v8 (86kms) both NZ new sportpac 2004's.

I remember a thread by "The Deisel Guy" on his X5 but I cant seem to find it.

Any help would be much appreciated. Cheers!

[e30-redline 0]

my parents tow a 2.2 tonne 23 ft boat with the auto v8 no problem. infact they overtake people down auckland motorway. tows it peice of piss

[BMWTouring 20]

E53's are a bit crap these days, get an E70 if you can, the E53 auto gearboxes all crap out evenutally if towing and they dont tow anywhere near as nice as an E70 which weights a bit more and rides better.

Sportpack rides a bit hard on NZ roads, but depends on your preference of comfort vs handling.

V8 or diesel will tow fine, despite what '3 pedals' says 2.2 tons on the back is fine and within legal limits, diesel will be cheaper to run no doubt but more expensive to buy, and good luck finding a manual they arent that great to drive either.

[isis 16]

had the e53 in sport pack guise and i think it rode quite harsh. ride is much better in the e70.

[M5V8 337]

each to their own.

My 60+ year old parents have owned two of these. (4.4 & 4.8) Both from new. Both optioned with the sportpac suspension.

Second car they added the sports seats too as they said comfort ones in the first car they deemed too 'squishy'.

Although they do put full lambs wool covers on the seats.

go figure.

[hybrid 1040]

The x5 comes with the ZF 5HP24 transmission. Like all good (x)5 and 7 series cars the cooling system is a pain point on these vehicles. It needs to be kept in tip top shape.

This is the same for the transmission.

Two main failures happen. Piston valve guide wear which will cause thumping between gears and tranmission over heat caused by various short-comings in the auto trans cooling system. EG Lines clog, Heat Exchanger clogs, Heat Exchanger thermo-stat clogs or the valve floats in the transmission clog.

Any of these will cause the gearbox fluid not to cycle properly through the transmission and therefor cool.

If you keep this all in check, theyre fine.

Or get a manual, which is near on impossible in this country. + its a retarded thing to have for rush hour if you live in the city.

Other fall downs are water cooling system. When things start to go, just replace everything. All pipes, water pumps, thermostats, pipes front and rear and expansion tanks and radiator caps.

Otherwise apart from brakes and bushes and thrush arm bushes. Theyre a pretty good car.

The v8 timing chain guides suffer in high K motors. They just wear out and need replacing.

There you go, some fact about them

[allan 295]

From reading this is sounds like the customer is a Guinea pig and bm sorts out the problems with each new model that showed from the previous one (hopefully). Why do they not do something about the weak cooling systems and transmissions they have not only in this model but just about every model I've come across??.

Edited March 7, 2013 by allan

[E30-323ti 66]

We looked at buying one about a yr ago, NZ New 4.4 X5, had higher KM's (190's I think).

Had a no expense spared full service history (was a bit mind boggling with the $$ added up).

Thing that stood out / detered us was the frequency that it needed Brakes (discs/pads) and Suspension (Arms & Bushes) replaced.

The front bushes/arms had been done 5 times (both sides) and the rears 3, brakes all round 4 times.

That's without all the other stuff, trans services, PCV replacements, Valve cover gaskets, 2 radiators.

And from trawling the intaweb at the time, seemed to be quite 'typical'

I know you can't compare, but I will, the wifes Altezza, in the last 7yrs/60,000km we've owned it (120k all up) it's had:

Front lower balljoints

1 coil

Set of spark plugs

and preventative maintenance (water pump / cam belt / regular oil changes)

[hybrid 1040]

The ZF 5HP24 transmission serves a purpose however its all based on the Ks done on it.

BMW, Jag and Range Rover all use this trans and if your talk to the ZF agents in NZ. They say it doesnt matter what country they come from, if theyve had long hours in crawler traffic then they get a hammering.

Its not exactly a weak point and a lot of moan on the interwebs is because of people who have had trouble trying to find out whats going on. Where people who dont have trouble dont have an issue so dont moan about them.

Im on my second one, My first one was ok from a shifting point of view however it would overheat. It was easier and cheaper after replacing everything else just to put a new low K trans in.

Anyways, Towing you will be fine. If you notice its starting to hold gears all the way to 4000 RPM then the trans is over heating.

Alot of people who do heavy towing on auto use after market transmission coolers. Which makes a lot of sense.

[Dogballs 102]

remember guys RTF question.

Hes looking at 2004 models, which makes them a facelift model and they have the 6 speed trans "GA6HP26Z"

if you are looking at E53's, definitely get the facelift version. lots of improvements on the weaknesses of the earlier ones.

E70's yeah great, but you will spend twice as much. (I'm sure if he was in that budget range, he'd be asking about e70's)

the diesel engines are amazing. More Tq than the V8. obviously cheaper on fuel. Our X5d (auto) average is 8.3l/100km. - we live rural, so expect a bit more around town.

great you are looking at lower mileage, if you get one service the transmission. Even BMW will say to do it. it isnt cheap, but a lot cheaper than a new transmission. (any car with "lifetime oil" for that matter)

like any car, its maintenance cost will reflect on how its been treated.

inspect and look for signs of abuse/neglect etc.. service history etc etc

check disc wear, if they are worn and need replacing - make them adjust the price accordingly..etc etc

you cant expect a 10y/o car to be perfect with no forth coming maintenance.

be resourceful when getting parts. buy them from over seas and you'll pay 1/3 the price that BMW NZ will try and rip you off. (ie genuine front brake pads $340 from NZ vrs 43euro)

I've had a pre facelift sportpac v8 - great fun wagon that goes like hell for a 2ton truck. but fuel consumption reflected that! - the facelift N62 engine is better, but the diesel facelift is the way to go. its the right engine for a car like the X5.

google the hell out the two versions, it will become obvious on which one to go for...

good luck, they are a cool car!

[Michael. 2312]

Reading some of the above makes it sound like one would be best to go for a Landcruiser or top spec Hilux instead. At least you could trust it & spend you hard earned money on other things rather than replacing premature failed parts.

I personally can't see the point of a 4x4 BMW when there are clearly plenty of other better vehicles out there to buy for towing purposes.

[huff3r 347]

Reading some of the above makes it sound like one would be best to go for a Landcruiser or top spec Hilux instead. At least you could trust it & spend you hard earned money on other things rather than replacing premature failed parts.

I personally can't see the point of a 4x4 BMW when there are clearly plenty of other better vehicles out there to buy for towing purposes.

Rubbish. Landcruisers and Hilux's are stupidly over-priced, and realistically not likely to be more reliable than any other car. All the cheaper ones on Trademe are always stuffed, which tends to suggest they are not really reliable, it's just everyone thinks they will be and pays stupid money for them, even when they are already stuffed.

The 4x4 BMWs are just as good, and certainly have some much better features than the old landcrabs anyway. I'd imagine they feel a bit less truck-like for a start!

[Andre3000 55]

Thanks for all the info guys, seems we may be going with the facelift v8 which has a full service history with TM.

Have noted the comments about overheating the transmission, can anyone provide any more info on an aftermarket cooler. It will only be used to tow short distances about 10-15 times a year but will be good to have some peace of mind.

[Allanw 1053]

Reading some of the above makes it sound like one would be best to go for a Landcruiser or top spec Hilux instead. At least you could trust it & spend you hard earned money on other things rather than replacing premature failed parts.

Ha! After continually replacing injectors and a few clutches... or cracked heads if they are pre D4D (I think the D4D's don't crack heads like the previous ones all do). If you're going down that track, you'd actually be better off with a Nissan, or even Mitsi, scarily enough!

The X5 was never touted as a serious offroad machine - it is really just a jacked up 4x4 5 series underneath it all.

[hybrid 1040]

Thanks for all the info guys, seems we may be going with the facelift v8 which has a full service history with TM.

Have noted the comments about overheating the transmission, can anyone provide any more info on an aftermarket cooler. It will only be used to tow short distances about 10-15 times a year but will be good to have some peace of mind.

Short distances are fine. You only need to go after market if your doing some summertime long distance towing.

Any good auto transmission specialist can do this.

[e38king 1]

Alot of people who do heavy towing on auto use after market transmission coolers. Which makes a lot of sense.

This is the best bit of advice on here. All factory trans coolers, no matter what vehicle you have are poo as they are made to a cost, not a quality standard, and it is somewhere a manufacturer can save money. It doesn't matter if it is heavy towing or not. If you do a lot of towing seriously look at investing in an aftermarket one.

[deeveus 81]

Thought I'd chime in about now...

After spending more than 120,000kms in 4x X5's that I've owned and reading what your parents are going to be doing you cannot go past the diesel.

Yeah the gearboxes are weak but it's down to a maintenance thing and there are tell tale signs sometimes on that box that it's on it's way out, but then again, anyone with a brain would get a perspective purchase an inspection prior!

Sorry 3 pedals but forget the manual, the 6 speed auto is the way to go, you are probably one of the only people in the country to have a E53 manual so finding one is going to be near on impossible. Don't get a 5 speed pre facelift version, they're rubbish, don't get a petrol because they might not be toooo bad but as soon as you hook something up to it the extra 60nm accessed much lower in the rev range does become handy, that and they're thirsty full stop, my 4.6is must have thought I had shares in BP.

I agree on the E70, if you can afford it, but the thread is about an E53?

If you want more punch and ultimately be quicker than the V8 entirely, get it remapped, I've done it two my two diesels and the performance increase was brilliant, and the consumption went down by about 1.5 per 100kms.