New owner with problems
 

Hello all. I am new to the X5, but not new to BMW. I've owned several E46's and a couple E90's. I love BMW's even though I know they have their issues. I do most repair work myself, and enjoy doing it, but sometimes these cars worry me to death. I just bought a 2005 BMW X5 3.0L. It's got 105k on it and pretty clean. I inherited a couple of issue with it I will highlight below:

1- Hood struts are worn out (no big deal, I can fix that easily)
2- Hood release doesn't really work well. If you pull the lever inside the car it will release the hood, but the lever at the grill will not stay out for me to access. I have to wedge something between the hood release inside the car and the plastic so that it will not retreat back into it's original position. Is this a bad release cable?
3- Needs new brake pads, easy enough. Do I have to replace the pad wear sensors, or replace only if I break them.
4- Battery won't stay charged. New battery as of a couple of months ago according to the seller. I jumped it off the other day and drove it for a good 30 minutes. Parked it and it would not start 24 hours later. I'll have to do some more work on this to try and track down the issue.

Any help or insight would be appreciated. I have searched and come up with some ideas, but would like some "live" feedback. I really like the car and hope I can get it up to par so I can really enjoy it.

3) Depending on age *sensor wires do break*, cost is cheap on the sensor, either or on that
4) Alt is not design to charge a discharged battery. Best to charge it via a charger/maintainer. What's the running volt. when fired it. Sounds most likely that alt on the #4

:xoutpost:

DIY how to test a BMW E39 battery & alternator (discussion) - Bimmerfest - BMW Forums

Brake sensors should be replaced with pads even if they have not set off warning light. Too easy to damage and are inexpensive.

First step on battery issue is to open the cluster and check alternator output. Should be around 14.1. If that checks out, have the battery LOAD tested. Most auto parts store with do that at no charge. New battery may be bad.

Will an auto parts store test this with the alternator still in the car?

They try. Could never get an accurate reading though with my 4.4i. Kept coming back as bad even though all was good.

Some will some won't but as long as the battery is fully charged the battery doesn't have to be removed from the car. Have you checked the battery date of install? It is usually on top of the battery and if the specs of the battery meet or exceed what is recommended?

It has been terribly cold here, so I haven't had the opportunity to do much with the car yet. It is supposed to warm up a bit this weekend and I'll pull it into the garage and start trying to figure this stuff out. Thanks for the help early on though!

Until you replace the hood struts google how to fix with PVC pipe. You can fix for $3.

Sounds like broken spring on the hood latch situation. Rather than replace the part that has an axial spring internal you could fix with an external spring you can buy for $2 if that's the case but also work some good non sticky lubricant into the cable and all latch mechanisms. I found some incredible "gate hinge" lubricant at Home Depot HDX brand it is water thin but stays on outdoors in the rain so should be perfect for hood latches in fact I will use on mine next time I open

Track down the parasitic drain. You can use a cool tool that plugs into a fuse spot and shows the drain. Test each fuse it will take a couple hours including the fuses in back and front. Also: measure the voltage before you attempt a start. If the voltage is near 12v and won't start likely you have a bad connection at the battery terminal. I've see 5v drop on a terminal. Enough to generate enough heat to melt the cable insulation but also 7v ain't going to start a car!


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The hood should have a spring on the two pins -- one or both of the pins -- that the latches hold onto to keep the hood shut. When you operate the hood release, the springs should raise the hood so that the release catch sticks out through the grille vents. I also have an '05 that I bought a year ago, I had to get hood struts for it. I think I got mine from eBay.

Brake pads are just like the other BMWs you have had, you do not need to replace the brake wear sensor unless the indicator light is on, or if you damage the sensor swapping it from the old pads to the new ones.

I'm going with the dead battery as the problem. Take what the PO says with a grain of salt. It's easy enough to test the battery, but you are describing one that has reached end life. I was jumping my car, my E36, for several months because I seldom drive it. Finally I drove it from Los Angeles to San Diego and the car would not start immediately after turning it off.

So the red "BRAKE" light is on and the message on the display indicates to "check brake linings". I imagine that the "brake linings" in question are the pads, but are you saying that since the "BRAKE" light is on that I will have to replace the sensors?

Correct: IF the brake light is being activated by a pad wear sensor it needs to be replaced as it creates a short in the circuit and turns on the light. NOTE: there are other sensors that can trigger a "Brake Light" warning. No fluid for example at master cyl. Brake Lining warning is only the pads getting to 3/32 depth left of wear materials.

So I could potentially have 2 brake problems is what you are saying?

He's saying that you can't reuse the old wear sensor. Once the wear sensor is activated by the brake pad, it needs to be replaced.

So PO says the battery was purchased at PepBoy, but via a quick glance at it last night it was auto craft brand. I know advanced auto sells that brand, but I don't think PepBoy does. Anybody know?

Just look at the date code on the battery.....

Yes, it's a AA battery.
The date code should just tell you whether you are in warranty or not

Still cold up here, so I didn't take off the bracket covering the battery. I tried to sneak a peak at the battery date, but couldn't see it.

It's just 3nbolts to remove get to the battery....

Remove Spare if you have it
Then the 3 bolts on the compressor frame
Should take no more than a couple of minutes..

10-4. I'll check it out tonight. I'm ready to start driving this thing. It looks nice in the driveway ;) Thanks for the help.

Does it have an aftermarket radio or other accessories? They often seem to be the source of overnight battery drains.

Definitely worth taking the battery back to whatever shop it came from for a free trst. Always good to investigate the easiest problem to solve first.

Brake Light and the Wear Sensor
 

Below is the Wear Sensor that turns on the light "Brake Linings". Your 2005 3.0 X5 has two sensors one left front and one Right rear. They are a "One Time Use" sensor that trip the light when the min thickness of the pad is reached at the caliper in which they reside. They operate just like the noise sensors that most manufacturers use on bake pads installed in US cars. When min thickness is reached, they do something. In the case of the noise sensors, they scratch on the rotor face and create a hi pitched noise. The BMW wear sensors are nothing more than a low voltage wire circuit that when broken (cut by the rotor when min level of the pad is reached) turns on an idiot light on your dash.

When you replace the pads, you replace the sensor, turn on the key (don't start the car) for 30 secs and the light is reset. All shops replace these sensors each and every time brake system is serviced. DIY efforts allow you to reuse the sensor IF it has not been activated, i.e cut by the rotor. Note:70/80% of brake wear is on the front pads. So you get the chance to do the fronts twice to every rear pad replacement.

Recommendations: Replace the pads all the way around on your first brake job of ownership, that way you will know what brand is used, everything is in working order, and if you choose, you can purchase pads that will give you either OE braking dust or something a whole lot less dust.
Calipers - My personal recommendation is to replace all the little parts on the calipers like mounting pins, the rubber boots in the calipers, and flush the brake fluid as this will give you a great base point and peace of mind when you pound on the brakes one morning trying to avoid another sleepy head on their way to work.
Pads - POWER STOP 17681 Z17 EVOLUTION PLUS w/Hardware Kits, as these will give you close to OE cold stopping, better hot stopping, and will have 20% of the dust. See Rockauto.com.
Brake Fluid - See Autozone/Advance/Wall Mart etc and pick up DOT 3/DOT 4 silicone brake fluid like Valvoline brand. Flush every two years and you are good to go.

I am sure others will chip in with personal favorites as well.. Once it warms up, change the oil and filters (air, Oil, and cabin) as well as that is the life blood of the vehicle. Lots of self help info post up top under "Articles", so you get to experience replacing the valve cover gaskets & seals, Alt bracket oil seal, cooling system refresh (Rad, pump, hoses, sensors, clamps), change Diff fluids, CCVC refresh (OIL SEPARATOR), wiper blades, tires, and all the normal wear items that will need service in the life of our vehicles. Welcome to the family. This site has a TON of information so make the SEARCH feature your first choice before posting as trust us, you are NOT the first one who is experiencing the issue.

Very helpful post! Thank you so much. I will work on it this weekend and come back with what I learn.

That is what this forum is all about helping each other resolve ownership challenges through sharing info and knowledge learned the hard way...
Now it is going to 60 degrees tomorrow here in Wash DC, so I am shifting to detailing out doors! Three need a bath and a little wax on the hood areas. Then it off to a car cover for the non daily's as it will rain on Sunday/Monday. Winter does suck. At least all the snow melted away...

quick update:
replaced the battery and she fired right up. Hopefully it will stay charged. The "old" one was purchased 6-2014, so I'm not sure what to make of that. I replaced the hood struts and that resolved the hood release issue. I am working on the new brakes and sensors this afternoon ( have to go buy a 7mm hex socket). New issue I found this morning though...torn outer cv boots on the front :(

Could have been a bad battery. Had one that was return the next day after replacing it. Your battery should still be under warranty.

Took the old battery back and it tested at 8.09V. The guy at the counter said it was probably a dead cell.

Anything that low is dead.....:rofl:

Somebody tell me there is supposed to be a rectangular sized opening in the bottom of the transmission!

At the bottom of the bell housing, yes, to access the flywheel bolts

Just about had a heart attack! Thanks for clearing that up.

Update on the X:
1- replaced hoods struts. Easy and resolved the hood prop and pop issue.
2- new hood struts solved this issue as the old ones weren't strong enough to "pop" and hold the hood when you pulled the release.
3- New pads and sensors installed all around. simple job.
4- old battery was shot, and only 20 months old. New battery has the car up and running.

Only new issue (so far) is that both front outer cv boots are torn and spraying grease. The car runs and drives great!

That's early for a batter to die, even in an X5. Unless the battery was abused heavily I'd be curious about the condition of the alternator and using the cluster feature to monitor the voltage for a week while driving it around.

This is a concern of mine as well. I am hoping that it was a bad battery that just took a dump because of the cold weather, but I will keep and eye on it. Is there a link to a tutorial on how to check the voltage using the cluster?

Here is a link that will help. He is learning as he goes but you will get the idea. He has someone locked in a wooden box in the back that is trying to get out. He mentions that he doesn't do that anymore in a later video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cO_tBe58ew8

I found a good one I'm going to just leave here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4Kk3Q5co5c