Newbie - E70 X5d

[thekriebs]

Hi all - just wanted to say thank you for the forum, and apologize if I am to do my introduction elsewhere (I looked, but didn't find an introduction section).

It has been years since I have been on a forum, but I just purchased a 2012 X5d to replace my wife's Hyundai (big upgrade), and the X5d will eventually become mine when my DD craps out (hopefully later, or never lol).

My background is mostly hobby automotive, fabrication, engine calibration, you name it, I have done it. I look forward to designing and fabricating some of my own parts for my X5, but mainly I wanted the X5 to haul my son and wife safely, and to tow my LS2 swapped Pontiac Solstice to autocross when it is finished.

Anyway, I found this forum because the X5 I purchased was an auction car, with a few engine fault codes. I believe I figured out they are related to the DEF tank/warmer/sensor, which appears to be a costly repair. No biggie as I intend to tune and delete the SCR/DEF/EGR with a Malone Stage 2 tune, down the road.

Plans for the X5:
1) Wash/Wax/Detail: you can see from the pictures it is rather dirty, no way to treat a BMW!
2) Assess the DTCs, hoping it is the DEF tank/warmer/sensor, and I can simply ignore the code until I am ready for the tune. If not, well, guess we cross that bridge (any good threads on DIY restoration of the SCR components?).
3) Install a hitch.
4) Fabricate (or buy) a DPF delete downpipe, install intake swirl flap deletes, EGR delete.
5) Assess efficiency of the intake - possibly make a cold air intake box with panel filter. I have learned not to mess with most intake tubes, as this will cause issues with airflow metering, is it the same way on the X5d?
6) Malone stage 2 Tune.
7) Android Auto Retrofit - probably after the wife is done with the vehicle, since she is a dreaded Apple person lol.
8) Do some coding - I am a nerd, coding seems fun and right up my alley, so naturally I will have to mess with it.
9) Enjoy the heck out of it. I am very excited to own my first BMW, and the fact I got such a deal on it, with a diesel, excites me even more!

Is there anything I need to look for with the X5d?
Anything that I need to do to maintain reliability? Special oils, filters, cleaning, etc?

[AlphaBetaX5]

Looks great! Congrats and welcome!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[95blkmax]

Congratulations on the purchase! I'm hoping to do the same after thanksgiving!

I'm sure there's better qualified folks here to detail their X5d tips to you, but on my end working at BMW I can tell you that the majority of times that the X5d (and 335d) come into the shop is for issues related to the emissions crap. If you are looking to get rid of that stuff anyway, then you are going down a smooth road .

The one thing that I do see here from time to time that does not relate to the emissions equipment is the Glow Plug Module. It's not common but I'd say that it would be the next most popular item after the emissions stuff.

One thing I would recommend you do when you have a chance, call or stop by your nearest BMW dealership and have your VIN number and mileage ready. Ask them to see if there are any open recalls on your car that you could qualify for. Do this before you start working on it. There are some that have extended warranties on the NOx sensors, also on SRC tanks, the EGR cooler, etc... So it's possible that if your car qualifies, you can have these issues taken care of for free.

Good luck and keep us updated on the progress with it!

[AlpineD]

Good color combo you got. First thing to do is get a new thermostat and swap it out immediately to prevent any issues of it running too cold down the road. Next dont bother with any intake components, diesels arent as air hungry as gas engines. Swirl flaps alot have opted out of this as updated versions are plastic and arent as likley to break. And lastly enjoy the hell out of it

[AlpineX]

General consensus is don't start modding until you are running correctly.

Buying a 35d with unknown issues can be risky, hopefully doesnt bite.

Mileage?

Nice Seats.

[sgrice]

Off the top of my head:

1) Check the engine compartment dividers to see if they are cracked. If/when cracked they can leak water and cause injector failure, particularly number 5. Many people also remove the foam around the injectors to prevent water soaking/rusting around the injectors.

2) As has already been stated, check the operating temperature either with an OBD device such as Carly or via unlocking the instrument panel (Google search will tell you how to do this - involves adding up some of your vin numbers and having a button pushing frenzy while the engine is running). If in 70's or barely reaching 80 (degrees Celsius) change the thermostat.

3) Depending on what the fault is with the SCR system, be aware that people have figured out that you may not need to replace the entire active tank. There is a heater unit that I believe also incorporates the temperature sensors that is available for VW (I think VW, might have been Audi?) cars, but turns out works perfectly for our cars. Also, the active tank and NOX sensors have had the warranties extended to 120K.

4) Main suspension component to consider changing are the front thrust arms (at least that is one common term for them - also called upper/lower control arms).

Good luck, enjoy!