Dead silence to me would mean there is no power making it to the starter or the starter solenoid is completely fried.

You said over the past few days it took 4 to 5 times to start it. In those instances what was the step-by-step reaction from the moment you turned the key? Was it dead silence the first 4 to 5 times and then on the 6th try it just started as normal? Or did it make a clicking sound the first 4 or 5 times?

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2000 X5 4.4i w/ 150K miles.