Usually and hopefully it is just that.

I've gone Pierburg and Bosch on MB's and other BMW's and they were always good.

For the E53 you can change just the pump or the pump/float assy, it just gets a bit fiddly replacing the pump. Sometimes the old plastic breaks, sometimes the wiring insulation is all gone and you risk shorts.

Also, one gotcha for me was centering the float on the divot at the fuel tank floor. Went through 3 broken left side floats before a tech with experience showed me the problem. Suggest doing that job with as close to empty a fuel tank as possible.

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04 X5 3.0i auto
03 X5 4.6is