New to me 2000 E53 3.0i
 

Hello boys and girls.
(Sorry for my bad grammar, but hey, you guys probably can't speak Norwegian ;-) )
I have a couple of issues i need to sort out, i'll be back on those issues later in the post.
First, a short history of the vehicle, at least what i've figured out so far...
This particular one has 300.000 Km/186.000 Miles.

These cars had a pricetag of whopping $115.000 in Norway while new.
So when i found one in a bancrupsy auction, i gambled with kinda high mileage and relativily old (Paid $5.500 Thrust me, this is cheap)
I figured that i could spend $4.000, and still have a cheap X5 :-)

I do most of the maintendance on my vehicles my self as i'm to cheap to pay dealers more than i have to, however, i'm not a bloody electritian....

Picked up the car last week, as what i can see from the papers, this was a import back in 2003, sports package, but strange enough without a sunroof..?
Looks like she's been well tended to in her lifespan untill the last owner (Registered on the last owner in Oktober 2015, picked up by the auction house January 2016)

The battery was dead, so i had to mount a new one.
The engine lamp, traction, abs and brakes was on, found that the airfilter box was broken, temporary fix with tape and reset the codes, problem solved.
The triangle of brake lights should be easy enough as the speedo doesn't work, picking up a abs sensor for the rear left side tomorow.

On the way home i noticed that the engine were to cold according to the gauge, but still get to opperating temp on idle.
Again probably a easy fix, new thermostat arrives tomorow.
I had one faultcode on the way home that i just reset, don't remember the code, but i think it was something like "Bank 1 running to lean"
My guess is the air box combined with the thermostat?
Haven't showed up after the reset.

Still, engine runs smooth, no strange sounds, no leaks, trans seems fine, oil looks and smells fine, suspension, bearings, callipters fine...
The hood have some minor rust spots, the back lid.... WTF???
Need to source both top and bottom lid due to rust.

Parking sensors front and back doesn't work, and the PDC button blinks.
Haven't looked into that yet, but i do asume that the system fails if one sensor is bad..?
Does that aply for all eight sensors, or is the front and rear two different systems?

The ballast on the left side was faulty, and i'm quite shure that's why the airfilter box was broken....
For me it looks like that the previous ovner blamed the air box with his fist when he figured out that the ballast went bad...?

¤%"¤%/# i guess bloody morons are born every minut :-(

Fixed that with a cheepo xenon kit i allready had in my garage.

It allso looks like the previous owner had a different satnav, and he probably removed this unit, but forgot to mount all of the OEM package?
All i have is the old 4:3 unit and a broken NAV unit in the trunk.
The cd changer is no where to be found?
Allso, the 4:3 unit have some bad buttons, so i'll ditch that system and go for a Xtron unit like this..

7" BMW 5 Ser E39 X5 E53 M5 Navigation Autoradio Android 4.4.4 DVB-T WIFI RDS OBD | eBay

Yes i know that Dynavin probably are better, but as said, i'm a cheap....

So for the two weird things i haven't figured out..?

As said, had to change the battery.
As a result i had to reprogram/pair the keys.

Keys work in the lock, open the buttons on all the doors exept right backdoor.
The open/lock nois is there, but the button doesn't pop up.
The key in the lock locks all four doors with all four buttons going down.
The sentral lock button on the consol is the same, up and down for all three doors, and the same problem with the right backdoor.

Programed the keys, locks all four doors, but doesn't unpop the drivers door or the right back.
But heres the fun part, after i unlock the doors with the remote, i can't open the drivers door with the key in the lock..?

The second strange thing is, if i park the car without locking the doors, the roof lights come on by them self after an hour or two..?
Not a problem if i lock the doors..? (Yet)

I'm thinking some sort of BCM module?
But does the X5 have one unit for all, or is it several modules all over the vehicle?

I really don't want to buy modules before i'm shure, and my OBD2 can't read these kind of faults.

Still, untill now i haven't needed to spend a great deal of money.
This is a superb car that i will keep for a while, i really love the X5.

(And i was actually considering a Jeep Grand Cherokee from 2001) Hah :-)

Regards from Norway, the place the Trolls run away from because it's to cold :-(

Velkommen til forumet!

Get yourself a Bentley Manual. You will need it most likely.

Touche ;-)

Welcome!

I'd like to see a picture of the roof... slick top x5?
There's no panorama sunroof or glass at all up there?

Very few X5s I've ever seen (including mine) have any sort of sunroof - is that odd? :confused:

Welcome "Don't shoot me!!!" - good on ya for tackling all the work on this X5 - I'm guessing it'll be worth it. :thumbup:

I hope that car was not in the water!
Open that broken door! About PDC is strange! Should be constant sound...hope it is not module! Do not forget calibrate battery when u change it! Triangle in the middle u can delete with steering wheel to the right and to the left! If it doesn't go off...somewhere is a problem!

Welcome to the forum! I agree with getting a Bentley manual, and if you are at all tech savvy a cable from the "Romanian guy" would serve you well in detecting and correcting issues. I used mine to tell me that my middle left rear pdc sensor was out. I tried a stethoscope to listen for clicking, but couldn't find it! my computer told me right away, fixed the problem and cleared the code. pdc works great now!
how is the front suspension? (shaking when you apply the brakes, and its not warped rotors!!)

What i ment was, i found it weird to add a full sportspack, navpack, auto trans etc, but drop the sun roof when you buy the car new..?

Calibrate battery, ehh, what?
How do i do that?

It is a costant beep for a couple of seconds while in revers, that's it.
I see there's a lot of PDC modules for 50-60 Dollars on Ebay, So they are cheaper that i thought.

I was expecting problems in the front suspension/ brakes when i bought it due to miles on a common problem on heavy cars, But the calipters/discs and brake pads were brand new :-)
Looks like if this was a problem it's be en sorted out just before i got it.

She feels tight all over.

You do not need to program the battery on the E53

Hokay..
So i changed the rear left abs sensor, stuck and a pain in the...
However, still no speedo and the triangle of lights are still there...
Is there a way to check the abs module by my self, or do i need to go to a dealer for a deep scan?

Probably a stupid question, But why does a salvaged unit need to be recoded?
And does the local autorised dealer recode a unit?

You need INPA and/or DIS to scan the ABS module. You can get the software and cable online.

I believe all the cars sold in the U.S.A. came with moon roof as standard equipment.

Negative.

It was included with the Premium Package.

Sunroof or pano? I could see the regular sunroof being standard and the pano roof being Premium only.

Neither were standard; at least not in the pre-facelift years.

I ordered my 01 3.0i brand new, before the dealer even had one in stock. The regular sunroof was not standard and mine doesn't have one. It was included as part of the Premium Package. The pano roof wasn't introduced until a few years later.

U need to scan your module may be! But not sure..may be something wrong connections...u r in Norway...i am in Latvia! We use salt..sometimes in the winter my pdc doesn't react because of salt.... I spray some cleaner!
I do not know how u call it in Norway...we call it calibration...it means like put in the computer's brain info that u have change the new battery...let the car knows it! Like u change oil! U can call it 'service reset' :) hope u catch what I mean!

Good to know. Wish one could get the other options available sans the sunroof or pano... but they were part of a package and not a-la-carte I suppose.

Would be cool to have a "slicktop" 4.8is.

Some of the options were available a-la-carte, but not all. Some were only available if others or a package were included. I remember the ordering sheet was a little baffling. I have it somewhere in my files.

Changed the thermostat today.
The thermostat was actually broken loose from the housing and the wires were ripped off..?
Wonder how the %"!&¤ that happend?
Another thing that put me a bit out was that the coolant was red?
I was shure that all beemers had green coolant?
Didn't flush the system due to lack off time, will do when i'm back from work (Three weeks at sea.)
Does it matter which coolant i use after flushing, or should i go green no matter what?

BMW coolant is actually pretty cheap in the US. It comes not diluted. You just mix it yourself to 50/50 with distilled water. What they charge for it, you get double because of mixing yourself. So the price is actually pretty good. Put the correct stuff in.

The PDC is also easy to do. DO NOT BUY ANY SENSORS YET. Turn on the PDC, then go to each sensor and listen for clicking. Its fast and very low, so be in a quiet area. Each sensor that clicks, is working fine. Sensors that do not click are not working. If any of the non working sensors are on the front, then I suggest you take off the bumper (fairly easy process, search forum). Once removed, check the wires. I had two on my front where the bumper cover shaved the wires, and actually shorted them. I re-soldered them, all good since.

Get the obd cable and software for less than $20 US from the romanian ebay seller, and scan your car like a boss.

I checked all PDC sensors today, left corner rear didn't "Click"
However, non of the four in the front made any sound..?`
I'll remove the bumper and check the wiring, just curious, are the sensors front and rear the same?

I have a bluetooth OBD2 and use Tourqe.
But these cheap code readers can't tell me anything about the PDC or which wheel sensor thats faulty.
i changed left, rear ABS sensor as i didn't have a working speedo...
Well, still doesn't have a working speedo :-(
And still have a general ABS code.

Allso, the traction control light.
Will it be on until i get sorted out the ABS sensors, or do i allso have a faulty steering angel sensor?
It least it doesn't reset while turning the steering wheel left and right?

Ok, So i meassured the resistance on the abs sensors, the front right side is probably faulty as there were no resistance at all.
But that sensor shouldn't affect the speedo?
Or am i wrong?

PDC sensors are different.

Use Realoem.com to look at parts, and correct part numbers.

I believe the speedo is the rear right wheel. I am not sure though, so double check that.