First Bimmer X5

[Helihover]

Hi guys. New to the forum here and have quite a few questions

I bought my first BMW about 2 weeks ago and absolutely love it. It's a 2001 x5 4.4.

I have a few minor items to address and a lot of mods to complete!

Sunday after doing some interior detailing I decided I would check the oil and what not. Pulled my lever and snap! I read so much yesterday about this notorious problem with no answer to my question. My cable snapped at the lever (you can see it). So I was hoping I could just pull the kick panel off and access. I feel like a complete moron because I can not remove that cover. I'm pretty good around cars, but this is my first BMW and don't want to break anything. Is this something someone can explain to do or do I need a Bently manual?

Thanks guys. I'm sure there will be more questions soon, but one thing at a time.

[Gregory891]

Go to realoem.com to see the parts diagram, that may help you understand what to remove to access the remains of the cable end.

[Helihover]

Thanks! Awesome site. Found the diagram. Looks like I had it disassembled correctly. Maybe I didn't pull hard enough on the panel. Think I will give it another go around tomorrow evening.

[J.Belknap]

Welcome to the forum.

[DTMdan]

Welcome. It's spelled bimmer btw

[Helihover]

^^ oops. Edited.

[tmv]

[Whitecat]

Welcome !

[X5Flyboy]

As a new owner, you are probably going through what I did when I bought my 2001 back in June of 2005. Hope you have access to past service. Looking on this forum back then, I noticed water pump seems to go between 60-80k (yeah, some last longer, and a few don't). But given the possibility a failed pump can destroy the engine (plastic vanes), I change mine every 55-60k. Last year I found out it has a water-cooled alternator (1st time I ever heard of such a thing & I've been driving since '65). The new Bosch has a lifetime guarantee (at ~$900, I should live so long). Window regulators..., this is the cable assy that rolls your windows up & down. They most often break due to LACK of use, 7 yrs of opening all my windows every nice day has limited me to just one replacement in 115k miles. A broken regulator sounds like grinding broken glass, but the window is not broke.

Okay, got the scary stuff out of the way. I love my 2001 X5 4.4 Sport. I've been trying to convince myself to look into a new car, but I just plain love this vehicle. Granted I've put a lot (okay, a real lot) of money into it. But now, it is really close to perfection. (new angel eye headlamps; it needs work to remove rock chips & a new clear bra; I'd like to get bigger brakes up front, but that would require replacing my 17" snow setup with 18" wheels & tires) It's like a house, never done. Well, maybe with a Powerball win it could be... Nah! I'd just probably think of something else to do to it after I had thought I had done it all. And no, a new one would not be an option. Today's cars just one step away from the computer doing the driving rather than you. No thank you.

Best of luck with yours!

[Helihover]

^^ Good post!

I finally figured it out. On the panel where you would rest your foot, there is a little slot at the bottom. I was able to stick a flat head screw driver in that slot and pop that cover off. Under the cover is two 10 mil bolts attaching it to the floor. Once those bolts are removed, the panel comes out and access to the cable can be achieved.