New Member

[thunderX]

Welcome. I have the same year, Sport Package, etc... LOVE your color combo and wood selection, congrats on such a good find! IMO, that year w/ Sport had one of the nicest looking wheels.

The people on this forum are a class act.

Your knowledge will undoubtedly be very valuable.

[dfwerdoc]

sweet truck. let me pick your brain .... im thinking of getting an e53 and picked one out, a sweet estriol blue one that i can't get out of my mind. anyway after reading these threads about reliability im starting to second guess myself. what im getting from the threads is that "lots can go wrong and lots will but i love my truck and nothing drives like it". ok here are my questions:

1. would you have bought an out of warranty e53 if you didn't know how to work on them?
2. what are top 3 trouble spots in the design and workmanship of the e53?

thanks.

[mrbmwx5]

Welcome aboard ...Let the mod's begin...

[Roadkill]

great example of a well taken care of enthusiast X5. enjoy and drive it until the wheels fall off.

[weekend camper]

Originally Posted by dfwerdoc

2. what are top 3 trouble spots in the design and workmanship of the e53?

Not an exact answer, but this thread is a good start.

http://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-foru...-question.html

[bigbabyE53]

I've always loved the e53, especially with quad exhaust and staggered wheels . But if I wasnt a bmw tech, i probably wouldve went with the Inline -6 instead of the v8.

[bigbabyE53]

the biggest problem with these cars (hell, all bimmers) are with the cooling system.

[dfwerdoc]

Are the inline 6 more reliable in your experience or just less expensive to fix when things go wrong? Elaborate about the cooling system if you don't mind. Thanks

[bigbabyE53]

The V8s are just more complex, especially in the facelifted X5s. The newer N62 V8s have valvetronic and double vanos and we have been seeing oil burning issues with those. and you have two of everything on v8s but both are very very good and strong (m54 and m62).

[thunderX]

Originally Posted by dfwerdoc

sweet truck. let me pick your brain .... im thinking of getting an e53 and picked one out, a sweet estriol blue one that i can't get out of my mind. anyway after reading these threads about reliability im starting to second guess myself. what im getting from the threads is that "lots can go wrong and lots will but i love my truck and nothing drives like it". ok here are my questions:

1. would you have bought an out of warranty e53 if you didn't know how to work on them?

>>>Yes; just know you should have $6K / yr. for repairs.

2. what are top 3 trouble spots in the design and workmanship of the e53?

>>>1. Suspension: designs that cause odd tire wear and rust-prone bolts
>>>2. Coolant line around reservoir tank made of thin plastic?!?!?
>>>3. Oil separator: use of hoses that get too soft...metal is better.

thanks.

(IMO)