X5 inspection/test drive

[titan silber]

Hello all, I’m going to look at a 65K mile 4.8is over the weekend. It’ll be my first BMW X but I have driven some 2500 miles in a 2006 X3 3.0i in the past year. Any advice on particular things to look for during the test drive? The car has a full BMW dealer service history with recent replacement of the front air springs and compressor and I have read up on the issues with the N62 engine. Any pointers appreciated.

[SlickGT1]

If you are capable of fixing your own minor things. Can and willing to set up a laptop with dedicated bmw software, which is cheap. Then you should really not have problems owning this bmw. This forum is a huge resource though.

Anyway. Idle it for 5-10 min. Then jab the gas. See if blue smoke comes out. If it does, valve stem seals are probably in your future. If no smoke comes out. Valve stem seals are still in your future, but in like 40k miles.

Common leaks are alternator housing gasket. Which should still be ok, but that’s in your future as well.

Otherwise it’s another bmw. If you had one, this feels like another in terms of maintenance. Just make sure you wrench yourself, or mechanics will charge you $300 for a $30 fix. Or a free fix, as there are a lot of simple repairs.

[titan silber]

Thanks for the reply. I'm quite comfortable and familiar spanning on BMWs; this will be the 8th I will have owned and so have amassed a collection of tools and SW (Bavarian Technic, an old XP laptop running INPA and Carly). So will do as much DIY as I can.


Are there any drivetrain issues to look for such as the transfer case or the like?

[Purplefade]

Originally Posted by titan silber

Are there any drivetrain issues to look for such as the transfer case or the like?

All in all the drivetrain is pretty solid, don’t know that you could tell a lot from a visual inspection but you could take a look at the center carrier bearing in the rear drive shaft and the guibos and exam the teeth on the front drive shaft, where they enter the transfer case, depending on where the car is from those can become an issue with excessive corrosion. That said, I’ve found the transfer case itself to be pretty solid.

With the mileage, though low, you may want to consider changing the fluids in the front and rear diff and t-case as well - just for maintenance purposes.



2005 X5 4.4i (04/05 build date)
Titanium Silver w/Black Interior

[titan silber]

Thanks; a fluid change in the diffs and transmission was on my potential to-do list; will add the transfer case as well.

[SlickGT1]

Nah. Wouldn’t worry about the drivetrain too much. I would say they are fairly solid, especially the 4.8is. They are facelift, and don’t have the spline issues of the earlier cars.

Transmission will always kick down a bit harder 2-1 than usual when slowing down. Absolutely every 4.8 I’ve been in does that.

Transfer case is also solid, and we don’t have chain stretch in the 4.8 as it’s x drive unit. The actuator fails. But it’s literally a free fix if you flip that little gear or $11 if you replace plastic gear.

Just make sure it’s taken care of. 4.8is is the only choice in my book. I’m a bit biased though.

[LVR]

Hi. I’d operate the air suspension up and down before driving it and check it comes back to level. It can be frustrating to work with.

Look for oil leaks around alternator, valve covers. Water pumps on these are common failings but you’ll hear it if it’s an issue.

If you’ve already got inpa I would be checking for any codes. Last 4.8is I looked at the owner said there were no codes, I checked and there were 13.

Good luck