Xdrive, non-xdrive vs. transfer case oil

StartX5 · #1 11-10-2010, 10:47 AM

Reading thru forum by searching 'xdrive' keyword, i have learned that most people here say that all facelift (produced later in 2003 and from 2004-2006) have xdrive. And it's not true.
My 3.0i produced on August/2004. And it does not have xdrive (i have been told by dealer after providing them my X5 last 5 digits of VIN#). How do you define that your truck is xdrive or non-xdrive?

Thanks.

P.S. i just changed the transfer case fluid at 74.5K miles and i could say this: 'life time' oil must be a joke. I drained the old TC oil and it's very very dark and it's only about less than.5 liter comparing to the new Dex III ATF oil that i bought from dealer last night. They recommended me to refill ~1.0 liter (1 quart)

JCL · #2 11-10-2010, 12:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by StartX5

Reading thru forum by searching 'xdrive' keyword, i have learned that most people here say that all facelift (produced later in 2003 and from 2004-2006) have xdrive. And it's not true.
My 3.0i produced on August/2004. And it does not have xdrive (i have been told by dealer after providing them my X5 last 5 digits of VIN#). How do you define that your truck is xdrive or non-xdrive?

Thanks.

P.S. i just changed the transfer case fluid at 74.5K miles and i could say this: 'life time' oil must be a joke. I drained the old TC oil and it's very very dark and it's only about less than.5 liter comparing to the new Dex III ATF oil that i bought from dealer last night. They recommended me to refill ~1.0 liter (1 quart)

Something doesn't sound right. Are you sure your dates are correct? From September 2003 onwards (give or take a few weeks) the X5 was the LCI version (mid-life refresh). That is when the new transfer case started in production. They didn't run the two systems in parallel, they switched over the manufacturing line.

I can't believe that they were still using up old stock a year later.

I would check your vehicle with another dealer, sounds like they made a mistake when they checked the VIN. Also, that suggests that you do in fact have x-drive, and should not use ATF for the fluid change.

StartX5 · #3 11-10-2010, 12:51 PM

JCL: I just called another dealer (3 different dlrs) and after giving them my VIN#, they said yours doesn't have xdrive and they said the Dex III ATF oil is good for my X's TC. Also, if we look at the expensive TC oil bottle for xdrive, we can see that they stated "also use for E83 and E53MU produced AFTER February 2005"(my X5 produced on 08/2004).

StartX5 · #4 11-10-2010, 12:59 PM

Found another thread that mentioned E53MU TC oil @ post #17
http://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-foru...tenance-2.html

JCL · #5 11-10-2010, 08:47 PM

Responded to your PM.

After you check your transfer case with the drawings in the link I sent, you will know which transfer case you have.

A second question is what oil is used in that transfer case.

With the early E83 (X3) transfer cases, there were a series of fluid changes in the early production period. They went from ATF to a special fluid. I believe that they ended up with the same fluid that is now used in all of the other X-drive transfer cases, but they didn't necessarily start with it. We have generally referred here to all x-drive transfer cases as using the new fluid, but there may be a different fluid used in the very early ones, I don't know. I would be asking the service department, who can look up an technical bulletins (SIBs) myself. This is all a slightly different question than whether or not you have an x-drive transfer case, though.

chas3 · #6 11-11-2010, 10:32 AM

Same situation here, 07/2004 E53 3.0d. Got the "oil abrasion" error with INPA, went to dealership, gave the VIN number and they provided the 83220397244 oil, same bottle and E53MU spec, just like in the photo above. They clearly mentioned that my X has no xdrive, while the 83220397244 seems to be intended for xdrive transfer cases. I guess the guy at the desk only counted xdrive vehicles starting with the new xdrive badges.

However, weird thing is that I was unable to reset the "oil abrasion" error even after I replaced the transfer case oil.

StartX5 · #7 11-11-2010, 09:10 PM

Jeff: you area obsolutely right! My X5 has xdrive! Since i already refilled the Dex III ATF as dealer services suggested, i was double about my xdrive system in my X5. Like you said, i looked under my truck and it's xdrive transfer box. I took the picture and bring it to dealer where i got advisory from them. After they saw my transfer case photo, they said they made a big mistake and i told them that the Dex III ATF quart that suggested i already refilled for my TC box. And I also told them that because i double about it that's why i don't drive my X5 here instead of taking photo.
Finally they gave me free expensive ATC 500 transfer case oil! yay.
They said that the catalog problem and it shows my X5 is not xdrive.

Jeff, again, thanks so much for your help. I have learned a big thing from you.

JCL · #8 11-11-2010, 10:04 PM

Glad it worked out.

1stE53 · #9 09-28-2011, 04:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JCL

Glad it worked out.

JCL - I want to be clear about this topic, sorry to bring it up again. I have a 2003 X5 3.0i built in December of 2002. Do I use standard Dex III ATF fluid or something different? Thank you.

JCL · #10 09-28-2011, 07:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1stE53

JCL - I want to be clear about this topic, sorry to bring it up again. I have a 2003 X5 3.0i built in December of 2002. Do I use standard Dex III ATF fluid or something different? Thank you.

I had a 2003 as well. Those models of X5 did not have X-drive. There is a BMW fluid for them (not the very expensive x-drive fluid). There have been many recommendations to use Dex III in those transfer cases. If you are concerned, you could buy the OE fluid, but I believe that it is simply Dexron III. That is what I would have used in my vehicle if I had kept it long enough to need a fluid change in the transfer case.