X5 on the lift

[kingloose]

Hi

this came to me as a surprise not sure if anyone here have came across anything like this. I have Michelin Tires on the X5 and have a warranty issue that Michelin needs to replace the tires. After finding a Michelin Dealer for the sake of anonymity lets call the place a big chain tire shop. After discussing the issue with a Manager at the front desk he motioned to someone to put the car up on a lift to take a look. I was watching outside the person struggling so i decided to move up closer and see what the issue is. The so called mechanic couldn't figure out how to position the lift under mounting points and when he finally did he almost damaged undercarriage of the car. (good thing i have stopped him in time). My car didn't have Jack support platforms installed and i had NO idea if they are required. Does anyone know if this so called piece of plastic that clips into jack points is required to be installed? (jack support platform). How do other shops / Dealers are able to lift the car without it ? is it the shop that is not capable to service a BMW or limited knowledge of the manager / Mechanic?

[soldmystang]

i have a lift in my warehouse. the X5 is a bit of a challenge to get up in the air but not impossible. not sure what a Jack Support Platform is. there are rubber pucks under the truck and these are the lift points.

[Xtony]

The jack supports he mentions are two under each side sill. They are not necessary when putting on a lift, but they will need to put something where the supports would usually go to avoid damaging the sill. Most shops have a spacer they can use for that.

[kingloose]

Originally Posted by Xtony

The jack supports he mentions are two under each side sill. They are not necessary when putting on a lift, but they will need to put something where the supports would usually go to avoid damaging the sill. Most shops have a spacer they can use for that.

Xtony

thank your response. It looks like the dealer didnot install them in my case they just threw it in with the car. I was wondering what these things were. I guess what i was asking is if these jack pads / supports should of been installed by the dealer delivering the vehicle. ..

[JCL]

The vehicle has plastic jacking points designed into it, there is nothing to install to be able to lift it. That assumes that nobody has removed the pads that came on the vehicle. They can be knocked off.

You are able to buy spacers/adaptors/supports or whatever you would like to call them, that fit snugly into the jacking points and which the hoist can engage. Typically German over-engineering. I have never used them when lifting my BMW vehicles and wouldn't worry about it. However, if without them there is insufficient clearance between the vehicle and the hoist structure then I would use a spacer on the hoist lift pad. It doesn't have to be specific to the BMW model, it is just there to increase clearance.

The photo shows typical BMW jack points (not specific to the X5) and the adaptor that ECS sells for those that want one.

[Xtony]

Originally Posted by kingloose

Xtony

thank your response. It looks like the dealer didnot install them in my case they just threw it in with the car. I was wondering what these things were. I guess what i was asking is if these jack pads / supports should of been installed by the dealer delivering the vehicle. ..

They should have been on your vehicle. Did you look under the side sill to see if they are there? They can fall off, and if your car has ever been towed, they may have removed them to insert T-hooks into the holes under the square pads.

[kingloose]

Originally Posted by Xtony

They should have been on your vehicle. Did you look under the side sill to see if they are there? They can fall off, and if your car has ever been towed, they may have removed them to insert T-hooks into the holes under the square pads.

Xtony

They were never installed by the dealer. The car has 3500 miles its 2011. I didnot know they should of been installed. I found out when i took the car to a shop and they told me they cannot lift the car safely without them. I never new a car would require a special pieces of plastic to be put on a lift. My assumption now that all bmw's come with these parts installed. This is my 3rd x5 and i had no idea that it required jack pad. I never came across this issue with others x5 assuming they had them installed.

[motordavid]

Must be an E70 thing; our E53 has been lifted many times without the tech using the jack pad points...