New member here. Hello All and thank you.

[MrFixIt]

Have a 2003 X5 4.4 with about 93K miles now. I'm its original owner, and this X5 had a lot of growing pain, fortunately all the minor fixes was under warranty. It has been very reliable and a joy to drive.

My X5 exhibited all the same problems found on most X5: torn front outer CV boots; OS and hoses; dead pixels on instrument cluster and MID; door handle carrier; waterpump; leaky power steering hose; expansion tank/hose, etc.

Thanks to this site and all the valuable information from its members, I was able to do most of the work on the X myself and saving thousands of dollars.

So far my DIY included: (still learning)
The cooling system--replaced water pump (at 92K miles), thermostat, hoses, expansion tank, etc.
Replaced all belts during WP replacement.
Replaced driver's door handle carrier (broke last week)
Replaced a leaking power steering hose.
Oil service.
Replaced MID unit because of dead pixels.

BMW goodfaith replaced the instrument panel (total cost was $185 and this was at 89K miles)

My next projects are: replace O2 sensors, f/r differential oil change, flex disc, fuel filter, and spark plugs.

Thanks again!

[paulymano]

Welcome to the board MrFixIt. Looks like you have done quite a bit of work to get her running smooth for another 100K. Since you live in Florida, I guess you don't have to worry about the crankcase ventilation freezing up on you. This happened to mine and it caused lots of havoc with over 3K of repair bills. I would recommend checking for the valve cover gasket for leakage. If it's leaking, maybe you can add that to your list of projects. Again, welcome aboard and good luck with your projects.

[realchef]

Welcome!

[wallyx5]

Welcome to the board. Be sure to get the oxygen sensor tool for changing the O2 sensors. It makes it so easy.

[rayxi]

Welcome MrFixIt. I see you're already a premier member. Nice to see you walk the talk when you say thanks.