realistic reliability of an x5 - coming from 325xi

[bcredliner]

While this is the perfect place to ask your question, I cringe when someone asks advice about buying an X. I expect they will be bombarded with a three pager of all the things that will go wrong. I can't tell if they are summarizing every problem anyone has ever had, an X owner that if they were logical would have cut they loses long before now or if they are just not happy people and want to share with others. So far you are getting good input.

As a rule of thumb, the suspension will be in the how long do you think it would last, bozo, somewhere North of 100,00mi. I must have my X handling the best it can so I replaced all wearing parts on both ends then. All the parts had many miles left on them but I could sure tell the difference. I Dinaned up the engine and aftermarketed my suspension when I purchased my X new. At around 95,000 miles, the fool that I am, added 150 shot of nitrous. The point of all that foreshadowing is not the problems I have had. I have the original trans, water pump, alternator, fuel pump, air bags, etc. etc. This is the first in a long line of vehicles that I have kept more than 3 years. I have never been left stranded and it has always been my daily driver. I have no blue smoke and it is only about a half quart low when I change the oil at 5000 miles.

All that gobbledeegook said:
There are some 3.0 forever folks out there but I agree with Term, go 4.4 for the torque and 6 speed for the towing, mileage is similar anyway. I would see if I could find one in the 60,000 mile range that there is since new history and , of course, do a PPI. That way you have insight as to how it was used, driven and the environment, which as you know, will influence when sh*t MIGHT happen.

[bcredliner]

now dat dar a goood keston. I ben a haulin mi bailr, gittn in dat ha, mus be bouts 10 yir wtin my truc. I sa, sun, you dues wat yous wnt. Jas lik a bull, lessn you bys a gud bull, you gonna be stickin yut arm up da hefers crap hol. y'll nedin sum ha, gots lots of dem ton an haf bals.

Billie bob 7

[srmmmm]

I have 236,000 miles on an '02 with the 3.0 and automatic transmission and average 2500 miles per year of towing a 1300 pound PWC and trailer in summer heat in Texas. I've never had a mechanical engine or transmission issue, and can usually average nineteen to twenty mpg while towing. I have had electrical problems caused by dirt that infiltrated the harness connectors because the factory never put any sealing grease in them.

My only "totally unexpected" repairs have been an alternator at 126,000 miles, and a front driveshaft and transfer case at 136,000 miles. The front driveshaft with its short spline condition is my only true reliability concern at this point. The engine has been bulletproof and seems to enjoy the Texas heat, delivering the best highway mileage on 100+ degree days!

My biggest source of frustration has been with the silly window regulators - come on BMW....and keys that transmit intermittently. I know the V-8 guys like their extra power, but it seems to bring extra problems with it, so my next one will still be a six, but probably with the turbo.

In the end, I still believe I'm driving the safest, best handling, and best value SUV available. (And my wife won't give up her 325i unless it's for a new 328 coupe!)

2002 X5 3.0 236,000 miles
2004 325i 105,000 miles

[tmv]

Bimmers are high-maintenance vehicles. If you can afford to keep up with the required maintenance, then you're good to go. We owned 3 X5(s) at one time, now down to 2.

[bcredliner]

Sea, had 3 got 2. y wood yall do dat iffen day such a bother. I had 3 pigs dat keep terrin stuf up. I hit em wit a board. I got lots a bacon and no pigs. Dat maks cents to me

Billie bob 7

[JCL]

Lots of good info above. Here are my opinions:

Go 04-06, to get the benefit of the LCI and x-drive. Also, they are newer and there is no reason to get the same year as your 325xi.

Reliability is the same as other E39 platforms of similar years, not the same as other BMW platforms of similar years. E46 is pretty bulletproof. E53 with the 3.0 is similar mechanically (AWD and more weight makes it a little more maintenance, even compared to the 325xi), but not similar electronically. There are just more electronics to go wrong. If BMW could find a more complicated way to do something they did. That is just their way. Makes for some great driving vehicles, and when they work it is all good, but fixing is more complicated and expensive that it would otherwise be, due to the tendency to overengineer during the design phase. You have been working on an inline 6. The 3.0 is very similar to work on. Reasonable access. The V8, not so much. Also, some of the more complex options cause some of the higher repair bills. I wouldn't have had Nav, air suspension, or a few other items, as they cause proportionally more problems as they age, compared to the base vehicle.

Towing 3000 lbs on flat roads doesn't require a V8. You had a 325. Did you wish every day that it was a 330? If so, you are a candidate for a 4.4. Our 325xi was great. Our 3.0 X5 was great, towing those sorts of weights, and we were not on flat ground. Sure, the V8 has more power. And more to fix. And fuel consumption is not the same as the 3.0. On the EPA dyno test, post 04, sure, they read the same. But the dyno uses the same acceleration fate between the two vehicles (very slow). In the real world, with a heavier vehicle that produces more hp, and since drivers tend to use that hp, the V8 is always thirstier. But the artificial EPA test lives on, promoting the urban myth that the V8 is as efficient as the 3.0.

There is no factory tow package. It doesn't exist. There is an official BMW Aftermarket hitch kit, which reinforces the unibody where the hitch structure bolts to it. It is by far the best way to go for a hitch. It also includes an electronic interface which tells the vehicle that there is a trailer back there, allowing the vehicle DSC to access a trailer stability mode. It also turns the rear PDC off so that you don't hear beeping every time you put it in reverse, due to the vehicle thinking the trailer is a building. The BMW Aftermarket hitch (which isn't built by BMW; mine was built by Westfalia and came in a BMW box) is available from the dealer, and can be installed by the dealer, any competent independent, or by you, given your mechanical aptitude. Took me several hours, following very detailed instructions. No special tools or welding required. This hitch may be hard to find at dealers as the supplier only builds them in batches it appears. The BMW hitch is very different in mounting structure from other aftermarket hitches, which don't include the reinforcements to the unibody. And it is more expensive. I have bought several of them for different vehicles, and would do so again. There are no vehicle modifications for towing beyond the BMW hitch. Except in Europe, where you can get a different maximum towing limit label as a no charge option. But not in North America. Hitch is rated at 6000 lbs; all E53 models are not. Automatics up to 2003 had a 5000 lb limit, even with the same 6000 lb hitch. And you need trailer brakes for anything over 1600 lbs.

Good luck

Jeff

[upallnight]

Google N62 rough idle.

SIB:

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...49478099,d.aWc

[bcredliner]

FYI--up all night is a 3.0 forever guy. Doesn't mean he is wrong. I have never had a 3.0 but you should know the bias.

[TerminatorX5]

Originally Posted by JCL

There is no factory tow package. It doesn't exist.

I agree with everything in that statement except for the "no factory tow package"... BMW, like many other manufacturers, does not make a lot of things, BOSCH, Siemens, Alpine, Nokia and whole bunch of other suppliers make things for BMW, including Westfalia, who makes the tow package.

the tow package is usually installed by a dealer as an aftersale accessory, like the footplate (S328A ALUMINIUM-TRITTBRETT Footplate, aluminium) however, it CAN be installed directly at the factory before the car is shipped to a dealer - in my research of the 4.8iS prior to my purchase last year, i saw only ONE car in several hundred built sheets that had the tow package installed directly by the spartanburg factory... It was truly so odd, that I even took a second look... yeap, it was a tow package... the 4.8is was built to US specs but had some "individual" things there, which makes me think, it was either a diplomatic or a military order by a US servicemember serving overseas.

this points out that there is a factory tow package... nevertheless, it is super rare to have it installed from the factory..

[upallnight]

Originally Posted by bcredliner

FYI--up all night is a 3.0 forever guy. Doesn't mean he is wrong. I have never had a 3.0 but you should know the bias.

Learn something new everyday.

Au Contraire, you must have missed this post when I tested a 540IT before buying the X.

http://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-foru...tml#post942793