need advice

[ernaldamerican]

Bought a 2003 X5 3.0i a month ago from my son who had just purchased it off a lease program back in the summer. The car has 113k miles on it. I had to replace the oil separator valve last week, and it got me to thinking.

I don't know enough about the X5 and I have spent many an hour on this web site trying to get a handle on the quality of the vehicle.

I am looking to get 200k+ miles on this vehicle. Is that realistic? Some folks have stated if you want reliability you need to go to the Japanese’s manufacturers. Is it unrealistic to think you can get 200 to 250k on this vehicle with out having an engine or transmission replaced or some other major failure? Are these cars designed for the 0 -100k mile range?

Is there any BMW mechanics, or folks with 150k + on their first generation X5's out there that can advise?

Second what are the most common failures in this mile range (100k-200K)?

Thanks for any feedback

[dirtdevilnc]

There are several forum members with over 175k on their X5s.
I too recently purchased an 06 4.4 X5 and after reading all of the info on this site i am begining to second guess the quality of this vehicle. With 44k on the odometer has already spent some time in the shop. I had an 06 3.0 before this one and within the first week i had the airbag lights come on, a door that wouldnt open, cabin fan made a horrible sound and the steering wheel lights quite working.
Fortunately both of these vehicles were CPO vehicles.

[sprocket1200]

try searching, all the info is there. does the search function not work in NY? many NYrs seem to have the same comments...

[mrbmwx5]

Originally Posted by sprocket1200

does the search function not work in NY? many NYrs seem to have the same comments...

lol

[JCL]

It is a discussion board, we are here to discuss IMO.

While the vehicle is certainly capable of lasting for 200,000 miles, repairs are more expensive than some other vehicles. If the vehicle has not been well maintained, there can be a backlog of items that will require attention. Get a Bentley manual, learn about the regular maintenance items, and use this site to research some of the items that do tend to fail (window regulators, turn signal and tail light sockets corroded, seat heaters, rattles in the rear hatch, etc). I would characterize many of those failures as nuisance items, not as serious failures. Engines will run fine for the mileages you are proposing, they are well designed and built, as befits a motor company. Transmissions are more of a crap shoot at higher mileages. Suspensions can require bushings, etc, particularly in the front. You may want to look at replacing the water pump and all coolant hoses, as a failure there can lead to overheating, and BMW engines do not generally tolerate overheating very well.

Most posters here accept that the X5 has average reliability, because they value the driving experience. If it doesn't drive any differently to you than a Toyota, then a Toyota is likely to be a better investment. The basic engineering is there for the vehicle to run a long time, but these vehicles are moving well past the new vehicle warranty stage, and are being purchased by kids and others who have different expectations that those of us who bought them new and sold them when the warranty was up. My 2003 3.0 was perfect when I sold it after four years, but while I can generally repair any mechanical system in the X5 myself, I was not willing to deal with the occasional electrical glitches, etc. The only issues I had during four years were one headlight lens (condensation), one LF wheel bearing, wiper blades, and brake pads (apart from scheduled fluids and filters).

Good luck, and let us know if you have any specific questions on the above.

[ernaldamerican]

JCL Thanks thats for your time and the wite up. It is much appreciated

[sfcl]

May I add a comment about Japanese vehicles and BMW reliability? I owned many Jap cars and got problems with them as well, sometimes big problems... Two cylinder heads (cracked) on a Toyota Land cruiser at less than 80000 miles and another cracked head on a Nissan GR, a chronical tendency to overheat with this same Nissan GR, injection failure on a Nissan Patrol (Ebro 4 cylinders in fact), many suspension bushes to be replaced, etc... Don't ask me too to speak about rust... Speaking of the part's price, I certainly don't think that the Jap parts cost less than BMW ones!

I've owned many other brands too, mostly american and italian. American cars (just my opinion, no offense intended of course!) are great for their engines but really suck for their handling and level of finishing. My last Mustang I owned 2 years ago was a perfect example of that!
Italian cars (I'm a big fan of Alfa) have very good engines, powerful and reliable (never had a failure with them!), however, once again, level of finishing -especially inside- is still poor (although better than before)...

Speaking now of BMWs, I've had some failures and problems of course, however the sole very big problem I got on a BMW was a long time ago, on a 635 CSI, the manual gearbox literrally exploded due to a broken bearing... Pieces of aluminium and oil everywhere, very impressive!
I've seen many comments about BMW reliability and I'm myself not the last to criticize the bad quality of some plastics used by BMW or some stupid design (both of these critics can be applied to the well known oil separator as an example!), however in my experience I don't know much vehicles able to be quite reliable (mechanically and electrically) above 120000 miles like many of us are experiencing with our Xs, assuming that the maintenance is done correctly and in due time, still able to give the best of their handling capacities throughout the years, etc...
Tell me what vehicle in the common price range able to do so whatever their age? Not many I guess... So maybe we can give a break to our old Xs (we always hear about failures in forums, never of all the vehicles still running without any problems!) and just notice that for a 2 tons vehicle, mostly used as a commuter, they are quire reliable all in all...

Last word to rend an homage to my old Peugeot 306 16 valves sport sedan, bought for a couple of Euros 8 years ago only for the holidays when I come to France once a year. 160000 miles and NEVER a single failure! Reliability sometimes is not where we expect to be...

[youry]

Originally Posted by dirtdevilnc

I too recently purchased an 06 4.4 X5 and after reading all of the info on this site i am begining to second guess the quality of this vehicle.

people meet on these kind of forums only if they encounter problems. I bet there are as many forums as makes and models are out there. I'd be surprised to find one forum where people talk only about air fresheners and changing fuses. All cars have problems, more or less. It all depends how lucky you are.

[N S]

I think the real question you're interested in knowing is how much will it cost you to make it to 250k + miles.

Generally speaking Japanese vehicles are known for their reliability, Lexus leading the way. Domestics and European vehicles have made much headway in recent years regarding their own quality improvements (see JD Power's latest dependability studies) so the gap is closing. With that said, if you were to ask me to bet which luxury SUV would hit 250k+ miles at the lowest owner cost, I'd probably put my money on the Lexus RX. It does nothing spectacular, but everything well.

This doesn't mean the BMW can't make it to 250k + miles (I see many many old BMWs on the road today), it just means you will have to keep up on the maintenance. I would recommend finding a trustworthy local BMW mechanic (as the dealer will be too costly) and get a good maintenance manual. Keep up on all services.

[ernaldamerican]

I appreciate everyone's input. I have considerable mechanical experience on American cars and am new to BMW. The purpose of this is not to beat the crap out of BMW’s, it is to inform myself and other new members on what to expect. Once you’re aware it’s not a big deal. It’s just knowing what are the larger ticket items that have gone bad. I have always thought the Germans made a well design car and still do. The point I think folks who are new to BMW's (like me) and read this is they can be (just like Audi and Mercedes) be very expensive to fix, and not as reliable as the Japanese. It's a trade off from what the more experience folks on this forum are saying and it makes sense. That's a decision us new folks need to make.

To quote JCL and others:

Major items:

1) Transmissions are more of a crapshoot at higher mileages. That’s a known issue. May fail, may not but it’s worth noting.
2) Oil separator valve in cold climate will probably fail and likely more than once unless you change your driving habits.
3) Suspensions can require bushings, etc, particularly in the front.
4) Worth considering replacing the water pump and all coolant hoses, thermostat, as a failure there can lead to overheating, and BMW engines do not generally tolerate overheating very well. Cast iron block an aluminum head, block will always win. Nice thing about the 3.0 (only engine I am slightly familiar with) is it doesn’t have a timing belt, it’s a chain. In my opinion that’s a big plus. It’s usually (depending on the car a $1500 dealer item) and not easy to do on a V6, which most Japanese cars are in this class of vehicle.

Nuisance issues
1.) Window regulators
2.) Turn signal and taillight sockets corroded
3.) Seat heaters
4.) Rattles in the rear hatch
5.) Front door pillar water leakage
6.) Rear water leakage issues.

If you have anything else to add please do so, as my only intention was to make a list to educate us new folks.