Based on my experience with the 4.4, It seems to me that the 3.0 equipped x5's do have less problems because they arent as fully equipped. Part of the failing may be due to the abusive driving habits of owners who dont plan on keeping their vehicles longer than 2-3 years (Typically leased) while part blame falls upon BMW who have not cured these problems in the components. Add on the fact of having incompetent service staff which include so-called master tech's who are either over paid and lazy or just plain proud and ignorant and you have a great formula for lackluster customer satisfaction.

the ultimate driving machine has time and time again proven to be the repeated reasone for dealer visits... I never have any of these problems on my Acura TL and to be honest, i drive that car harder than i do my x5 with half the miles on the odometer. This is my 3rd german car over $30k and im sorry to say the japanese are slowly creeping up in performance and bang for buck over bmw.

The more i talk to bmw owners at the bmw service area, the more i see folks who like the name and looks and know nothing about driving and are the furthest thing from resembling an enthusiast, both young and old.

Had my bmw's been more reliable, the tone of my post would be far lighter. I must admit my 06 Mini Cooper S was a joy to drive but it requried several dealer visits under 1000 miles NEW.

My sister's had better luck with her 08 Merc and the service has been impeccable.