First X5. Had a few questions... :)

[Joesdiner]

Ok I did search extensively about these things (got slightly distracted by the "cool things" thread as well as the "know your options" thread)

2001 X5 4.4i with 60k and bought from dealer one owner.

Check engine light was on and dealer said it was a speed sensor. I was wondering if this has anything to do with the transmission because the only thing I notice wrong with the car is that it doesn't seem to know when to shift. It shifts smooth but say I floor the car to pass, the engine revs up and the car doesnt go anywhere. Sometimes in sport mode it seems like it shifts better but most of the time it feels like I am getting high revs from the engine and not moving. Like if I pressed the gas pedal 1/4 of the way down or completely down I would accelerate faster with the 1/4 way down. I tried it in manual mode and it does the same thing where sometimes it feels like sharp hard shifts and other times like I am not accelerating at all but the engine is reving high. What I am trying to say is it feels like there is no point in me ever giving the pedal any more than 1/4 throttle to go faster. It feels like it gets confused. Normal driving is fine but when I get aggressive I feel like im getting jipped.

Second is that I feel like my rain sensing wipers are retarded. Like they know about half the time of the speed to go or if the rain stopped.

Third, I think the dealer swapped out the original radio because I have OBC in the dash but my radio doesn't have the OBC button, just the clock face. I should be able to just swap a new unit in right? Or does the part number have to be the same?

Lastly is twice now the vent direction doesn't do anything. Like barely anything comes out of any vents even with the poor fan blowing on full speed. It will whistle like its blowing hard enough to get a little air past the flaps or whatever. Like if I press defrost, Air to feet, face, or windshield, nothing happens. The light lights up on the button but no change in air direction happens.

So any ideas? Thank you in advance!

[xnsf]

:xoutpost:

1. there's a transmission software update awaiting for you at the dealership

2. make sure the stalk is on position one, and you can use the toggle switch on the stalk to control sensitivity

3. the part numbers will not be the same. you can tell if you have OBC if you have text on your gauge cluster. if you do, you can change to the OBC radio. but first, make sure the clock button only has one button; if you can press left and right with the MID changing info, the button is just incorrectly labeled, and nothing more than a new button can't fix

4. make sure your vents are on the I position. and also in the center of the vents, you can adjust the temperature of air. if this still persists, search 'final stage resistor' this may be the problem (me thinks...)

[george1202]

Originally Posted by xnsf

:xoutpost:

1. there's a transmission software update awaiting for you at the dealership

2. make sure the stalk is on position one, and you can use the toggle switch on the stalk to control sensitivity

3. the part numbers will not be the same. you can tell if you have OBC if you have text on your gauge cluster. if you do, you can change to the OBC radio. but first, make sure the clock button only has one button; if you can press left and right with the MID changing info, the button is just incorrectly labeled, and nothing more than a new button can't fix

4. make sure your vents are on the I position. and also in the center of the vents, you can adjust the temperature of air. if this still persists, search 'final stage resistor' this may be the problem (me thinks...)

I agree. In addition if the speed sensor is faulty then your DSC/ABS light will light up and not the check engine light at least from my experience. Have the dealer or someone with the OBD II scanner check your fault codes to determine the problem.

[03X530]

Originally Posted by xnsf

:xoutpost:

1. there's a transmission software update awaiting for you at the dealership

This transmission software update... is it free or do the dealers charge for it? Thx

[xnsf]

Originally Posted by 03X530

This transmission software update... is it free or do the dealers charge for it? Thx

if you're under any of bmws warranties, you are covered for free

[Joesdiner]

Wow thank you for such a fast reply, I really appriciate the help. As soon as I get a day off here I will go and get some of this taken care of.

I do have the text on the gauge cluster with Avg MPG, Avg speed, Distance to empty etc. The Clock button on the radio does goes left and right but both just select the clock options such as timer, 24hr, memo, time set or whatever. So I imagine I will have to get one with the BC button function. I was about to buy one on ebay which looked right from a 2001 540 but the part number was different then my parts sheet I have. So I didn't.

All of the vents are on the I position. Most of the time when I drive the vehicle it has no problem selecting the air direction and it works fine. But on 2 occasions the fan would blow at all speeds but hardly anything was coming out of the vents. I did look up the final stage selector threads and it sound like that has to do with fan speed and i think my fan has no problem blowing at any speed (i think). Sorry I didn't explain that very well in my first post. I am trying to decide if maybe it is the actuator that shuts on/off different directions or if its the climate control unit itself.

I am excited to get the trans software update! I am glad to know it is something that easy!

Thanks again for the help!

[Joesdiner]

OK Slight update. I had the codes checked again and they are p0171 and p0174, front and rear bank lean. So first suspect the MAF and I unplug it while the engine is running and it almost dies. So would that mean that it could still be the MAF? I am trying to do things in order of cheapest to most expensive obviously. I researched and people mentioned a seperator? But I couldn't seem to find a thread that told me what it was or where I was suppose to find it. Then fuel pressure, sounds like the filter is real hard to access, then try pump. Anything more likely than others? I will try and clean the MAF tonite.

Still hadn't had a chance to get the trans update.

The dang vent direction thing still happens and I wish I knew what I needed to replace. Like pressing any of the directional buttons won't do anything then after the car is turned off and on a few times it will finally open the "main" flap or whatever and let air blow. The fan works this whole time and tons of cold air will come out the rear vents. Like i can hear the fan blow and it sound like its blowing against a wall.

[Joesdiner]

No opinions?

[Joesdiner]

With the p0171 and p0174 codes (banks lean) is there anything more likely than others? They are the only codes I get and I suspect it is also why the engine is weak at high rpms. My dealership wasn't too helpful just saying i should replace about everything one at a time until its fixed.

[Tomaz]

My advice to you if you do not trust your dealer is to seek out a X5 enthusiast and have him observe and drive your car. The X5's are complex machines and though the offered advice is useful, your concerns could be more clearly identified by someone who could benchmark the problems against a known good vehicle. And it's free too! Welcome and good luck.