Cool "Hidden" features of the E53 X5

[AceEngineer]

Originally Posted by racebmwm3

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Hey racebmwm3,

I know it has been a while since your post, but I just read this entire thread for the first time. I was blown away when I came to your post. My car has a hidden switch too and I cannot figure out its function. It is a round switch just like the one in your center council except the switch in my car is mounted in the horizontal trim just above the drivers left foot. I cannot reach it when in the seat, I have to reach in and up after exiting the car. I have left the switch in both positions for days at a time and I cannot discern what it is intended to do. In your last post to this thread you promised to report back the function of your mystery switch, but you never did.
Did you ever discover the function of the switch? Inquiring BMW owners want to know. At least I do.
There is one possibility that I have not checked out yet as it occurred to me just recently while shopping for some camping gear. My E53 came with the factory trailer hitch which I have yet to use (I've got a pickup for towing). The factory hitch has the big circular 7 pin trailer connector which I have come to learn conforms to a standard that has B+ available* for trailered gear. Anyhow, my thought is that the mystery switch in my E53 might kill something in the trailer connector, but I haven't tested this theory yet. Does your X5 have a trailer hitch? Did you figure out what your switch does?

AceEngineer

*As an aside some owners have discovered that you can recharge the vehicle battery thru this connection if you have locked the keys in the car and have only a remote and the battery goes dead.