Good thread

X5 has been the least reliable car I have ever owned. After X5 I decided not to recommend any X5 and for that matter any BMW to anyone.

I have one of those 2004.5 X5s 4.4i (facelifted)
During the warranty period the following have been done
Transmission clunking when coming to a stop and at the first initial move. Reporgrammed, worked for a year, same issue came back.
Passanger window regulator gave up and was changed
Issue with the speakers (subs) fixed
Heater had some issues, they did change some parts (forgot exact issue)
Stereo had an issue with the CD player, was fixed
Steering wheel tilt/telescope had issues, was fixed
Steering wheel making funky noises when turning right, was lubed and stuff fixed
The stereo display gone funky, and was not displaying all characters, broken digits etc, was fixed
(As far as I remember these were the main issues within first 4 years of ownership)

After warranty expired;
Steering hoses gave up, leaking etc, were changed
The front strust etc (as usual) have been changed
Battery was changed (maintenance issue only, but awesome battery lasted 5 years)
The rear brake assembly was changed due to multiple corrosions
Transmission had a major issue, mecathronics module had to be changed (covered under BMW goodwill, if not cost was close to $4000)
Check Engine Light came on, DTM pump failed, was changed
Stereo decided to have issues, but not in the mood to get it fixed
Seat memory module gave up working, not in the mood to spend money to fix it
Sunroof started acting funky, was fixed with the reset (thanks to a post on the forum)
Steering wheel tilt up down etc is working one dimensionally (this issue was fixed under warranty but now the car is out of warranty the problem decided to come back)
There are a few issues that exist, but forgot as I don't care much, do not want to keep pouring money to this car to keep it running as it was intended to at only 70K miles.