Adding coolant/anti-freeze (brand)

[bcredliner]

Originally Posted by TiAgX5

Nobody said you need to salute a flag or go to a dealer for repairs/parts.

I buy Genuine BMW parts on line and DIY.

There are many owners on here who don't see NEARLY the # of failures you see.

As I stated prior, climate plays a major role in failure rate. It seem the E53 operated in hot climates hold up much better.

I've had 1 regulator fail in over 12 years, BCRedliner has yet to see a failure in over 13 years (TX vehicle).

Correct, I have never had a window regulator fail. Surprise, I have never had an expansion tank fail either.

I don't use my experience as testimony of the quality of the expansion tank or window regulators. But, when a declaration of BMW quality is made, one way or another, and I have not had the same experience, I think it extremely important I respond accordingly. Otherwise, a claim of great or poor quality can be taken as gospel. It is not an attack. I think it is a necessity if the forum is going to be beneficial.

IMO, I don't think preventative maintenance for an expansion tank is necessary. If mine goes I think I will probably notice the steam rolling out from under the hood and pull over and shut down the engine or respond accordingly to the other warnings such temp gauge, engine lights etc. Common sense to me.

If I broke one window because of a window regulator failure I would be doing preventative maintenance. Common sense to me.

Comparing experiences of what breaks on an E53 to what breaks on any other brand vehicle is not an apples to apples comparison. Common sense to me.

I agree with TIAgX5, there are so many variables from one E53 to another an overall conclusion of the quality of an particular X5 part is illogical. Common sense to me.

We are an extremely small sampling of the E53 universe. For that reason I think it important to use what is posted here as as only part of how I draw a conclusion. That includes who says what and more important how they say it. I consider that common sense that applies to all communication.

[TiAgX5]

It's almost as if the E53 owners with constant issues think all failures are BMW design driven, and ALL E53 owners MUST have these same issues.

The forums are the ideal place for pissed off people to vent, those without issues give possible solutions to prolong part life, and are attacked and labeled (cool-aid drinkers/fanboys).

My TOTAL maint & DIY repair costs over the last 5 yrs/+100k miles has been around $4k (this is on an E53 with over 200k miles). That includes premium summer tire and brake upgrades. Well worth it IMHO.

[bcredliner]

Originally Posted by TiAgX5

It's almost as if the E53 owners with constant issues think all failures are BMW design driven, an ALL E53 owners MUST have these same issues.

The forums are the ideal place for pissed off people to vent, those without issues give possible solutions to prolong part life, and are attacked and labeled (cool-aid drinkers/fanboys).

My TOTAL maint & DIY repair costs over the last 5 yrs/+100k miles has been around $4k (this is on an E53 with over 200k miles). That includes premium summer tire and brake upgrades. Well worth it IMHO.

And I have no idea why those angry people still own their X5. Doesn't make common sense.

[TiAgX5]

So true.

If I thought ANY owned vehicle was more headache then function/pleasure, it would be up for sale.

[Joshdub]

Originally Posted by bcredliner

And I have no idea why those angry people still own their X5. Doesn't make common sense.

Because they are probably so upside down from rolling multiple car loans together that they are now completely stuck. That's the only reason I can fathom

[crystalworks]

Originally Posted by bcredliner

I don't use my experience as testimony of the quality of the expansion tank or window regulators. But, when a declaration of BMW quality is made, one way or another, and I have not had the same experience, I think it extremely important I respond accordingly. Otherwise, a claim of great or poor quality can be taken as gospel. It is not an attack. I think it is a necessity if the forum is going to be beneficial.

100% agree.

Originally Posted by bcredliner

IMO, I don't think preventative maintenance for an expansion tank is necessary. If mine goes I think I will probably notice the steam rolling out from under the hood and pull over and shut down the engine or respond accordingly to the other warnings such temp gauge, engine lights etc. Common sense to me.

Partially agree. I use my vehicles to go out of town fairly frequently and it would be very inconvenient to have a failure in the middle of Texas nowhere. As you said above, everyone's use case scenarios are different so your strategy works great in your use case. If everyone paid attention to their gauges as much as their cell phones... there'd be far fewer BMW's in the junkyard with popped head gaskets.

Originally Posted by bcredliner

Comparing experiences of what breaks on an E53 to what breaks on any other brand vehicle is not an apples to apples comparison. Common sense to me.

I agree with TIAgX5, there are so many variables from one E53 to another an overall conclusion of the quality of an particular X5 part is illogical. Common sense to me.

We are an extremely small sampling of the E53 universe. For that reason I think it important to use what is posted here as as only part of how I draw a conclusion. That includes who says what and more important how they say it. I consider that common sense that applies to all communication.

Again, 100% agree. I am constantly surprised by how many E53's I see running around on the roads. See a few almost every time I go out for any length of time... and seeing as how the youngest one is now 9 years old, they can't be as unreliable as a few make them out to be.

As far as being a BMW "fan boy," well I prefer a certain driving experience over what any other marque delivers (to me personally) and am willing to do the maintenance/repairs required to maintain a vehicle that delivers that driving experience. I've driven almost every other marque since I worked at a shop and have not found anything that gives me the joy of driving a BMW.

Heck Trader... they must have done something right if you are still driving an E53 despite the poor craftsmanship you say the manufacturer put into the vehicle. Just an observation.

[bcredliner]

There are two ways I address a possible breakdown. I always have AAA regardless of the miles on a vehicle or we rent a vehicle or drive my wife's car instead of driving any 13 year old vehicle that inherently has a greater risk of something breaking that will screw up my trip and put me at the mercy of a repair shop cost when I could fix it myself if I wasn't stranded.

[TiAgX5]

Originally Posted by trader4

Well just because you want to accept high failure rate crap like those
window regulators doesn't mean that I have to find it acceptable.
Take crap, put up with crap and go salute the dealer flag and
ask for another, if you like. If more people went down there and told
the dealer it was unacceptable, maybe, just maybe, they'd fix it.
But why should they, when guys like you will keep buying it and making
excuses? It's just that you're so in love with the vehicle, you act
like it's your girlfriend, not another product. And for the record,
someone asked what the deal was with people talking
about changing replacing the expansion tank as normal maintenance.
I guess he's one of those negative bashers that found that unusual too.
All I did was tell him that they have an unusually high failure rate.
At which point Crystalworks related his shop experience. Amazing
how you can't stand anything on your precious BMW being crap.
No, it's all just a perfect German wonder machine.

Thanks for clearing it all up for us.

[Helihover]

Originally Posted by trader4

Well just because you want to accept high failure rate crap like those
window regulators doesn't mean that I have to find it acceptable.
Take crap, put up with crap and go salute the dealer flag and
ask for another, if you like. If more people went down there and told
the dealer it was unacceptable, maybe, just maybe, they'd fix it.
But why should they, when guys like you will keep buying it and making
excuses? It's just that you're so in love with the vehicle, you act
like it's your girlfriend, not another product. And for the record,
someone asked what the deal was with people talking
about changing replacing the expansion tank as normal maintenance.
I guess he's one of those negative bashers that found that unusual too.
All I did was tell him that they have an unusually high failure rate.
At which point Crystalworks related his shop experience. Amazing
how you can't stand anything on your precious BMW being crap.
No, it's all just a perfect German wonder machine.

At which conclusion do you determine expansion tanks having, "unusually high failure rates"?

And do you really have 40 years of driving experience? That would have to put you over 50 years old, yet I remember when you first joined, and were claiming that amsoil would fix broken trannys. You got into a pissing match with someone over owing them 40 bucks or something. The guy ended up posting a picture of you. You looked barely over 30, but who knows nowadays with lipo sucktion and all. Anyway was that you? Do you really have 40 years of driving under the belt?

[TiAgX5]

Originally Posted by bcredliner

There are two ways I address a possible breakdown. I always have AAA regardless of the miles on a vehicle or we rent a vehicle or drive my wife's car instead of driving any 13 year old vehicle that inherently has a greater risk of something breaking that will screw up my trip and put me at the mercy of a repair shop cost when I could fix it myself if I wasn't stranded.

Same here.

I have the extended mile AAA tow coverage.