On my 2004, nothing was needed (other than basic maintenance) for the first 8 years. I decided to overhaul the cooling system on year #8 (waterpump, T-stat, hoses, belts, expansion tank, fan clutch, etc.) - still nothing broke...just doing it as precaution. Then minor stuffs (valve cover gasket along with Vanos overhaul, oil filter housing gasket, crankcase vent, alternator, window regulator, etc.) about every other year after that. The Vanos overhaul wasn't really necessary - it was one of those "while you're in there" sort of thing during the valve cover gasket job.

The only time that the car almost left me stranded was with the dying alternator. But it got me home on that outing.

I too, almost didn't buy the X5 13 years ago due to all the negative reliability reviews on it. I'm glad I had ignored all those nay-sayers because I would have never get to enjoy this beast otherwise.

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2004 X5 3.0i
Born 02/04
Delivered 03/04