ok here we go again.

ive had my 2005 3.0d sport for about 8 months now, the previous and original owner did nothing to the car but routine servicing,

ive had to replace the drivers and passengers front seat base foam ( but i consider this just me being picky)

ive had the steering rack replaced under warranty and thats about it, i have done 26000 km in the time ive had it and now it has a total of 90,000 km and i consider it to be an awesome vehicle.

the faults describer by the OP are worrying BUT isnt that what the warranty is for

im of the opinion however that it is the extreme cold that upsets these cars, because to my knowledge, and i could be wrong, we don't seem to have the same level of problems here is Australia.

i do agree however that the x5 does seem to require a high level of service than a typical Japanese car, but as has been said before thats the price you pay for this quality of ride

just my thoughts