The Australian X5 Thread

[anzer]

Hi all - picked up my new 35d 3 weeks ago in Melbourne.

Alpine white (as we think white is the new black when it comes to SUV's

anyway - after 3 weeks and only 600km the park brake decided to stop working and display and warning message !!

Went back to dealership and basically bad news - they could clear the computer error etc BUT BMW mothership (Germany) has now specified a new fix required - basically a new cable craddle system that connects the cable to the brake unit (they have found that the cable can come loose and rub against panels - so this will be standard fit for anyone that gets this issue) ..worst part .. a 3 week wait for parts ... at least they gave me a loaner car (even though its a 5 series 520D, they could have given me a 530D and I would have felt in the same power stakes atleast)

Two other problems (glitches) experienced so far:

1. One day I stuck the car in Reverse and the rear cam display came up Green (WTF?)

2. One day (after our really hot day in Melbourne) the 'Accept' iDrive would not work at all - so no Nav/Radio or anything .. after driving for 10 min the BMW sign displayed on unit and it restarted itself ....

These glitches suck for a $120k vehicle - the only time my old Mazda 6 went to the shop was for regular service - that's right - 4 years of trouble free motoring - NOT HAPPY SO FAR BMW!!!

[jammit]

Can you tell me if you're happy with the dealer's handling of these issues. I've ordered with Melb dealer and am still to take delivery.
Do you mind me asking if your 35d came with the new innovation package?

[anzer]

Dealer has been fantastic with handling issue. They could have done a fudge job to get it back on road and out of their hair ..but instead they did the right thing to ensure compliance with latest recommended BMW fix from Germany. They will also update my iDrive software/firmware etc at the same time (my build date was Aug 09) ..this should help ensure that glitches are ironed out.

I have two small kids and we only have one car ..so they were great in terms of arranging a new BMW demonstrator to use at no cost whilst the problem is sorted ..they even swapped over car seats, ipod, and kids stuff from boot etc ..all very good.

I did not order the new innovation pack as my car was already on the ground in Sydney and had it transported down to Melb ... the innovation pack was available if I had of had a car made up ..from memory its really about HID, auto tailgate and audio upgrade? anyway .. I'm glad I didn't get it as HID would be waste of time for us (we don't do lots of night driving and only do about 8k per year travel), auto tailgate I reckon is a waste and in fact a nuisance at times (e.g. in low car parks where you want to control how it operates etc) ..also the standard manual boot is really easy to open and close even for my wife who is short(ish).

If you are going to spend money on extra's my personal opinion would be to get Comfort seats (I didnt get as once again my car was already made up).

The only extras on mine are:

1. Sunroof (no brainer and good for resale)
2. USB for Ipod integration (no more CD's forever when using 120G ipod)
3. Sports steering wheel (looks and feels much better than standard)
4. Window Tint (mine is alpine white so tint looks fantastic) - i actually bought the BMW protection package [paint, leather, tintt] as my car is outside most of the time)

There's lots if stuff you could add but price starts to get crazy ..and resale wont recover most things ... + I'll likely upgrade in 2-3 years when next model comes out which will likely have more toys / fruit as standard.

If I had the cash I'd get:

Adaptive drive with 20's wheels
Comfort access
Comfort seats
HID (mostly to keep an eye on my speed

By the way ..if you are this close to purchase I would wait until the updates model is available - e.g. X6 front, new idrive, etc - I think it would be about 4-6 months away for Aus ..depends how long you can wait ... i think the changes are just cosmetic so I didnt bother waiting ...

overall really happy with the 35d choice .. we miss it!

drove 3.0d and it was not too far behind as it had power updates last year also .. but there's something nice about the 35d as they are not as 'common' if that makes sense ..

so far diesel burn is high as I floor it alot ..and mostly city driving ..right now its reading 14 l per 100 - far from the 8.8 you read about ..but will depend on driving style and city/hwy use. mights also get better when run in ..either way I dont care as I didnt pay $110k to worry about fuel bills esp given we travel less than 10k per year

Another thing - ride can be harsh if you are coming from another brand esp if you drive a sedan like we did .. we stuck with standard 35d 18's to keep harshness down ..when we took one out with 20' wheels my wife just hated it (so did I) ... 19's might be good tradeoff but depends what you want. there's no doubt that the 20's look great ..but I don't think I could live with it day to day unless I had adaptive drive to provide better damping etc .. which costs about $7k!! also - 18's are no brainer for any form of offroad esp getting chains on for skiing ..in the US lots of X5 owners seem to keep some 18's or 19's around as a spare set for winter driving ...

anyway ..thought I'd share some thoughts ...

[Fraser]

Originally Posted by anzer

so far diesel burn is high as I floor it alot ..and mostly city driving ..right now its reading 14 l per 100 -

I'd hate to see what you get from a 48i if that's what you are getting from a 35d!

[anzer]

I suspect once run in and I start driving like an adult again it will get down to 12 I hope. My Mazda 6 use to avg around 12 so that's ok, anybody out there with ideas on what to expect for 35 d

[aus x5]

2. One day (after our really hot day in Melbourne) the 'Accept' iDrive would not work at all - so no Nav/Radio or anything .. after driving for 10 min the BMW sign displayed on unit and it restarted itself ....

Are you sure there was a really hot day in Melbourne?jk
keep us updated on your x

[Fraser]

Originally Posted by anzer

I suspect once run in and I start driving like an adult again it will get down to 12 I hope. My Mazda 6 use to avg around 12 so that's ok, anybody out there with ideas on what to expect for 35 d

For urban driving a fully run-in 35d should get down to 11s if you go relatively easy on the go-pedal. On the highway something in the 8 to 9L/100km range is possible. Of course there is always a big variation between different drivers and different driving environments.

[jamesboags]

Originally Posted by anzer

Hi all - picked up my new 35d 3 weeks ago in Melbourne.

Alpine white (as we think white is the new black when it comes to SUV's

anyway - after 3 weeks and only 600km the park brake decided to stop working and display and warning message !!

Went back to dealership and basically bad news - they could clear the computer error etc BUT BMW mothership (Germany) has now specified a new fix required - basically a new cable craddle system that connects the cable to the brake unit (they have found that the cable can come loose and rub against panels - so this will be standard fit for anyone that gets this issue) ..worst part .. a 3 week wait for parts ... at least they gave me a loaner car (even though its a 5 series 520D, they could have given me a 530D and I would have felt in the same power stakes atleast)

Two other problems (glitches) experienced so far:

1. One day I stuck the car in Reverse and the rear cam display came up Green (WTF?)

2. One day (after our really hot day in Melbourne) the 'Accept' iDrive would not work at all - so no Nav/Radio or anything .. after driving for 10 min the BMW sign displayed on unit and it restarted itself ....

These glitches suck for a $120k vehicle - the only time my old Mazda 6 went to the shop was for regular service - that's right - 4 years of trouble free motoring - NOT HAPPY SO FAR BMW!!!

I have a May 2007 3.0d and it is now totally bug free after 2 years of various minor things .. despite what they say about 2007 being more likely to have issues then later years I've had minor issues.... But I've done a lot of mods as well... Never (touch wood) had a park brake issue .. but the idrive has played up a bit but has been stable after last release some months back... Hope it all works out for you...

[anzer]

After splashing out over $110k its nice to know that there's a community out there that think its worth the $$ for these X5's.

[jamesboags]

Originally Posted by anzer

After splashing out over $110k its nice to know that there's a community out there that think its worth the $$ for these X5's.

My full circle lease is coming to an end in July and I'll be paying out the lease and keeping the car .. I will upgrade at the next major upgrade in a couple of years time.. I've spent a lot on my car modding it as follows..

• 20" 227M wheels with Conti non run flats (car came with 19" Style 212 which were replaced with Style 213 now the 227ms !!)
• 25mm H&R spacers at rear
• Wheel arch flares
• LED Turn , reverse and tail lights on rear
• LED interior lights
• 6000k HID Xenon Headlight bulbs
• Black Kidney Grilles (had titanium)
• Oval OEM Exhaust tips
• M Style Sports Steering Wheel
• Invision DVD System (2 for rear)
• Blacked out front lower vents (car is Black Sapphire)
• Aluminium pedals
• Sunshades for rear passenger and cargo areas (along with the tint this looks very nice !)
• Hoen H8 and H11 Angels and Fogs (still toying with HIDs for fogs but yet to install them , this will be after warranty runs out !)