Thinking of buying 2011+ 50 but have concerns

[96ce]

Hi, thanks in advance for advice. I am thinking of a purchasing a 2011 or newer x5 50, but have two concerns and appreciate any insights you may have.

1) I put very little mileage on my cars as I travel quite frequently for work and it is likely that the X5 would sit unused for 2 weeks at a time. I've seen some E70 posts suggesting that the battery may go dead if the vehicle is not used on a regular basis several miles a day. I currently have a 2006 X5 4.8is with just 12K miles and I can leave it for a month at a time and it has never failed to start right up. I had a 2008 550i that I had to get rid of because the battery would discharge (and I would need to reset date / time on a regular basis) if I let the car sit for even a week. I actually replaced the 550 with a 2003 540 which has no problem sitting parked for a month at a time. So, should I be ok with an X5 50 if it sits parked for a couple of weeks at a time.

2) Hesitation: I see several post regarding a delay or lag when depressing the accelerator from a stop. This seems to be more of programmed tip in issue as opposed to any sort of turbo issue. For those with the 50, have you noticed this issue? Would it be improved with some Dinan software?

Thanks again, I really do like the look of the 50 with the 20 inch wheels, but just want to make sure I won't have concerns with the above issues.

Bruce

[Talonrob]

I have had the battery die on my E39 M5 when I don't use it for 2 or 3 weeks. I bought a battery tender and plug it in when I know I won't be using it for a while. If your parking spot has enough light you can use a small solar panel that plugs into the cig lighter.

Hope this helps.

Rob.

[dbox]

I have the Dinan software but even before that I thought this thing was a beast. No lag issues.

[JCL]

I don't think the X5 is any different than any other modern BMW vehicle.

If it functions as designed, there are no issues at all with leaving it for two weeks. I have had four BMW vehicles in recent history, all have been parked regularly for 2-3 weeks, never had an issue. The 5 series was left up to 4 weeks regularly.

If you have a small parasitic power drain, then the vehicle doesn't go to sleep as it is designed to, and you end up with a flat battery. It can be tough to diagnose. Some owners and/or dealers have given up on specific vehicles, and just gone to using a battery tender out of either necessity or an overabundance of caution.

So, you may have a problem. But if so, it isn't because it is an X5 50. And any other BMW could have the same problem.

I don't have a 50i. But I have owned and driven several different recent turbocharged BMW models. None exhibited turbo lag. All had some degree of tip-in delay, to various degrees, depending on the engine model. None of them had it enough to bother me at all.

[felixcat]

I have been driving a X5 5.0 for the last 3 months. There is a very very small lag in going forward. But it doesn't bother me much. Trust me, when the car takes off, it is going to blow your mind. But when I reverse into my garage, the lag is more noticeable. It may be my steep driveway and the car is equipped with anti-roll. That is what my dealer tells me.

Petrol consumption is a concern. But the LCI model has improved a bit. My consumption is around 16.5L/100Kms. I am yet taken the car for a long drive.

At the end of the day, the handling of the vehicle plus the gadgets it has "sheer the driving pleasure". Make sense ?

Do you think you can post your spec for the X5 5.0 you are looking for including exterior and interior color ? Mine is sparkling bronze with oyster interior. You have to wash and clean at least once a week to keep it in sparkling condition.

Good luck to your purchase, I don't think you are on the wrong track in looking at this particular model of car - X5 5.0

[alexmish]

i've left my 2011 diesel sit for 2 weeks, and started right up. On the other hand, my 2008 4.8 had many battery issues. I've noticed that with introduction of the new iDrive (hard drive-based), the battery issue-related complains went down.

[96ce]

Thanks to all for the great responses. I really appreciate it. This is great information and I feel much better about going through with the purchase. Now I just need to decide on the must have options.

Thanks again.

Bruce

[mavic1010]

I have an 08 with 40k miles. It sits on average for about 6 weeks at a time. I always lock it though and have had no problems. I heard that if you keep it unlocked it keeps some of the systems awake causing some drain on the battery.