Further more, I used to own a 2001 4.4i E53 x5, and I encountered a problem that the transmission stayed at S mode, finally I figured out that it was the control module went bad and I bought a used one from eBay at around USD150 and install it and had it encoded, problem solved. I guess that you maybe encount the similar problem, alghough the sympton is different and I did not have warning in cluster.

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--2004 E53 X5 4.8is - ECE version; right hand drive; Located in Hong Kong; ext. black sapphire metallic; int. leather black; adaptive dynamic bi-xenon headlights; 16:9 onboard monitor w/o navigation; 20" genuine BMW Y-spoke 214 wheels with Bridgestone Dueler H/P Sport tires; Int. rear view mirror w/ compass.