Well, glad i finally found this thread. 188k and have missfire issues. Is there one wire to the maf a person could hook up a switch to for the first min of cold starts. Or am i gonna have to let this thing sit all winter? Got down to 23F here this morn. It gets much colder in mid winter. What a piss poor design......any other work arounds for this? what are the people with 300k 400k miles on them doing? how can a person go from such a great car like the E39/e38 to an obortion of an engine like the N62. My S62 with a straight alph N tune runs great. i did unplug 2 wires in the MAF and 1 wire on the other side MAF. the drivers side MAF is a straight temprature sensor. No emissions testing up in the frozen tundra. We are lucky to have thing even start in mid winter up here. 3 years ago, or so, we had 62 days never got above 0F.

They dump their BM Trouble U to guys like you.

There was a recall in Australia for this very problem.

AustralianCar.Reviews: #1 for Reviews and Used Car Valuations

What is your takeaway from this thread that you are glad about?

There is only 1 MAF and is a critical component of determining proper air/fuel mixture.

at least i know it is not repairable and will always come back. glad i only paid $150 for the x5. have driven 1400 miles so far. i have $1900 in it right now.

So, bottom line, replace heads with"New" OEM BMW heads & new Valvetronics(im guessin $10k on a car that is worth $3500). run in winter with Valavetronics unplugged.

try to find a SW fix to run without valvetronics or MAF untill warm(Alpha N or limp mode)

or LS swap it. which probably is more work than you would get enjoyment out of it.
the early e39's had all analog guages. i have heard these were not bad to LS swap. too bad. nice looking SUV, or SAv or whatever the hell they call this POS. either way OEM fix only temp from what i am reading. unfortunate.

I talked a friend of mine into getting a 2000 528 5sp is merciless on that car as a work car. 120k a year.live 1:15 hr from work and CN Railroad. he now has 584,xxx miles on itrunning strong. almost trouble free. it is a little rough, but hammers down the road no matter the weather. he even picked up a second 2000 528 5sp for 1,100 with a bad fuel return line. 2nd car has 121,xxx. he has enough to last till he retires. . so much for German engineering.

anything else i should be reading before i part this sucker out?

German Engineering is only as good as the workers that builds the cars. Considering that the majority of the X5 especially the E53 series were built in Greer, South Carolina at the Spartanburg BMW plant that would tell you a lot about the car. I'm sure you friends 2000 528 was built in the fatherland.

i have an 850i , 2 M5s, i have owned 3 other 540's, and i maintain moms 540it. not much compares to this x5.�� I love the german cars. i have worked on MB and Porsche and junk with a prancing horse on it. IDK. just really dissappointed. anything else i can look into? a friemd dowm the road that worked on them in FL said to unhook Batt and touch +-together to get rid of charge in capacitors. any help would be greatly appreciated. i dont wanna give up on it. but Damn. what pile. and i have done heads on a M70.

Most of the 'workers' in the Spartanburg plant are state of the art robotics with a near zero error tolerance.

I suggest doing some troubleshooting before deciding your problem has anything to do with the valve train. There is a long list of other potential causes with a higher % of likelihood.

My guess is that if the vehicle was worth $3,500 that would have been the price. I'm surprised the engine even ran for $150. I'd say your cost of ownership for 1,400 miles is very low and you can sell some parts and then scrap it for a tidy profit to buy a 528.

OK, enlighten me, i have run injector cleaner thru it 3-4 times. i soaked injectors in seafoam when i was doing water crossover. did smoke test. new plugs, coils, cleaned MAF. new ccv. two new ccv hoses. did a hard reset, batt disconnect for a day.

it didnt run for a $150. as i was pulling in the driveway, it popped the upper Rad hose cuz ac compreasor had no charge. then, wouldnt start. i had to clear values, then it would run.

so far: sunroof ectomy,also dump bleach at the roof drains, they clear after a day or two& second treatment, upper hose, AcCompressor and recharge, coolant crossover, new plugs, new coils, new water pump, new thermostat, new cv boots yet to be done. poliShed headlights, drivers door handle inner mechanism replace, windshield washer pump and grommets, folding mirrors need new barrels, pins are broke, new trim at top of windshiled. hood latch cables broke, i have new just arrived yeasterday. new belt on ac compressor, put a etrailer reciever hitch on it. it need trans flush and 2-1 downshift solenoid. about 1 in 15 she hits HARD!. i have to wire flat four trailerconnector. i have the oem bmw module and a etrailer kit .,

also, this x5 has lots of new parts, new airbags, new suspension pieces. valvecover gaskets done. i ammassuming SW reflash, with 187k on it and manufacture date of 07/05. how couuld it not.

Is it missing all the time or just when cold started? Any codes? What troubleshooting have you done?