Need advice on keeping/selling 2010 X5d

[spacepanda]

Hi All,

I bought my 2010 X5d with Premium, Technology and Cold Weather package as a CPO with 35k miles on it back in Jan 2013 for a very reasonable $36k. I now have 72k miles on the odometer. This is my first BMW after only ever having owned Japanese/Korean cars. I've had the car for 3 years now. Love it to death. Makes me smile like a Cheshire Cat every single time I get behind the wheel. Love the diesel growl and the gobs of torque and the BMW handling. I love the car so much that I want to keep it till the wheels fall off. I understand that the X5 will require regular maintenance and expenses, more so than a Japanese car. But I'm worried for two reasons.

1. BMW doesn't have a posted maintenance schedule that I can follow outside of the Condition Based Service based on the computer if I choose to keep my car beyond 100k miles. I've tried to change oil every 6k miles instead of waiting for the computer. But am lost when it comes to the recommended intervals for Transmission Fluid changes and other preventive maintenance. Is there a source for this? I've scoured google and only found something related to the 3 series car and most of information in this document does not apply to a diesel X5.

2. Many people seem to post here only when they have major issues with their X5. So it is tough to get an idea of whether my X5 a good car with minimum issues or one which one could be troublesome in the long run. So I'm listing the stuff that has required warranty work (through original warranty and subsequently CPO) in the hopes of getting some insight from the other members on whether this is par for the course. Because the other option I have is to sell/trade this in and get another 2013 X5 for $34-39k.

1. 22000 miles (Adaptive Headlight Modules replaced by previous owner under warranty)
2. 27000 miles (External Temperature Sensor replaced by previous owner under warranty)
3. 36000 miles (Rear hatch adjusted after I complained about rattle and trim pieces replaced rear driver side in the C-pillar under warranty. Also had trim pieces near the iDrive controller and Steering wheel and driver door replaced due to excessive wear/rubberized smooth touch coating peeling all under warranty)
4. 39000 miles (EGR Valve replaced due to diesel smell in cabin by dealer under original warranty. First repair after I purchased the car)
5. 47000 miles (Power Steering Pump replaced due to noise made by steering during turns when on a roadtrip. Replaced under warranty by dealer)
6. 66000 miles (Parking brake malfunction. EMF module replaced under CPO warranty. Paid $50 out of pocket. Was told original cost was around $1800 at dealer and around $1200 at Indy if I didn't have warranty)
7. 68000 miles Started noticing a Whistling Noise coming from engine when accelerating. Usually between 1500-2000 RPM. Sounded like it was coming from the Turbo or one of the hoses. Also noticed lurching on the transmission when in low gears in bumper to bumper traffic. Took it to Dealer and Indy and they couldn't diagnose/reproduce.
8. 71000 miles Started noticing that the car would give intermittent Excessive Battery Drain messages in the morning when I left for work. Checked battery and it seemed fine. Also started getting weird electronic gremlins like Alarm going off when I open the rear hatch and Door open message coming on when driving on the freeway. I also noticed that car would not go to sleep when parked in garage and the iDrive controller would keep lighting up and going back to sleep. Took it to Dealer who could not reproduce.
9. 71500 miles (Left the car at the Independent Mechanic I use for 3 days so he could keep the car overnight and troubleshoot. He finally identified that it could be a problem with the DME Controller Module/ECU that is causing timing issue with the turbo hence causing the whistle. This he felt could be related/connected to the transmission lurching problem. He also thought that the Footwell module could be faulty causing the electrical gremlins. Took it back to the Dealer and spoke to the Shop Foreman and asked if this could be the issue. They said they would diagnose it themselves and thankfully ended up replacing the DME and the Footwell FRM module along with the necessary coding and software updates covered under CPO. I only had to pay $50 out of pocket. Although I was told that this would have been about $4000 out of pocket if I didn't have the CPO)

Now, I've had the car back from the dealership only for 2 days. The whistling issue is gone and cannot reproduce the electrical issues or the transmission lurching. But now with our first baby on the way I'm wondering if this is par for the course and if I should keep the car with some money set aside for future repairs or if would it be better to sell/trade in the car and get a 2013 X5d with lower miles?

The X5 is my daily driver since last year and I put about 20k miles on it in the last year alone. I have 31 months of payments left on the car (In the middle of the 60 month loan) and would probably be around 130k by the time the car is paid off. I usually keep my cars till the wheels fall off but all my other cars have been Japanese/Korean cars.

Based on reading the forum, I see the major issues are with the temperature sensor in the SCR tank and the Diesel Particulate Filter which costs almost $5k. Is there anything else I need to be aware of?

Thoughts/Suggestions from members that have been there and done that would be much appreciated.