thanx for the kind words guys......

in answer to some of the comments, we are part of BMW assist, but they were 1 and a half hours away at best, and the temperature was 120 degrees (51 degrees C)....with no shade around, and a 3yr old. they made the decision to flag someone down as my wife could not undo the the wheel nuts......

Yes I have shown her all the safety features such as how to change the wheel, where everything is located etc. I have even gotten her to 'simulate' an emergency stop so she understands what ABS feels like (so she does not get scared of it) when it is working both in the wet and dry.

From what I understand, the car was not level, but only by about 2-3 inches. They placed the jack correctly in the spot and lifted it to remove the wheel. The spare wheel, being inflated, meant the car then had to go up higher and that is when the jack buckled.

I intend to have a look at the hardness of the jack arms when my wife returns.

It seems to me that

a) it is a 4wd and the chances of needing a jack on uneven ground would be high-ish so the design would have to reflect that,

b) a jack should have a load margin greater than the corner weight of the car fully fueled,

c) the X5 is not a low car so the deisgn would have to take into account operation load at it's most extended point

A shredded tyre and possible rim damage doesn't matter as they can be replaced. I certainly would not lay that at BMW's door either as that is wear and tear in my book, however I don't think a $100k car should have a jack performing like some cheap $2 shop item......

This jack clearly doesn't cut it.

Isnt there any lawsuit potential in this?! Make 'em pay! Someone could have been seriously hurt!

Maybe if enough people complain about this ,Bmw will recall all X5s owners and provide adequate jacks!

it does?? :dunno:

Page 164, 2005 owner's manual

164

What you will need

In order to avoid rattling noises later,
note the position of the tools when you
remove them and return them to their
original position when you are through
using them.

>

whilst dropping off my 4.8 today I took my wifes car jack in for examination....

the dealer asked me all the right questions, including was the jack used correctly. during the discussion they revealed that they recently had another jack brought in to them in pieces. seems it collapsed under the weight of the car, although there was some doubt as to whether it was used properly according to the dealer.

they are replacing our jack as the centre screw was bent out of shape, evidence that it was not hardened enough to take the load. dealer seems to think it was faulty out of factory.

I personally recommend anyone with a 2004 X5 does a practice tyre change and see if their jack will hold the load. methinks there is a faulty batch out there...........

thanks for the advice. I always use my floor jack when working on the X but of course that is not an emergency situation. I will definitely test the OEM jack.

Glad no one was hurt.

Worse story:
One of my friends is a wholesale car dealer. He was jacking up an Integra with the Honda jack to put a new tire on and while he was pulling the old tire off, the jack gave way. He was so lucky, when the car fell it torqued the tire being removed in at the bottom of the tire. This caused his thumb to be split open by the body of the car. However, had the tire torqued inward at the top, it would have caught his hand between the rotor and the rim and the weight of the vehicle.

Another thought as far as the wives, daughters, and kids are concerned--make sure they call someone first or get highway patrol enroute to provide a degree of security. Even if they can do the change themselves, there is a window of vunerability and their time and location needs to be immediately noted and monitored...FHP will usually get a trooper on the scene right away, but they are loathe muss their uniforms.

Make sure when demonstrating a change, to break the nuts (how else do I describe this?) free before taking the load off the tire.

Use Caution
 

What an ordeal!! Glad to hear the family is safe, though no doubt a bit frazzled. In the big picture I afree with Withidl above that the jack just takes some care in keeping it plumb/straight up & down, and also chocking the tires. Both tips are mentioned in Bimmer manuals, and make it an effective jack, for level road situations.
A quick note: If you ever feel unsafe with the angle/ use of a jack on ANY car, follow your intuition & get a tow! When I first started driving, I pulled over to help an elderly woman waving wildly at the roadside, only to find her husband had been changing a flat & the jack dropped (slipped in gravel). The entire Cadillac dropped onto, get this... his wedding ring,pinned between the frame & the rim, as I recall. Though it was still wildly painful for him, the wedding band at least saved his fingers from getting chopped, and we flagged down 2 more guys to lift up the car & get him freed just before the ambulance pulled up. So just a note to err on the cautious side when setting up & using a jack. If it feels dangerous, it probably is.

In my earlier posts, I mentioned that my wife knows how to use the jack, secondly the car did NOT move. It was unable to be jacked up to the full height as it began to collapse WHILE BEING USED TO LIFT THE CAR.

The dealer has thought that the only other way for it to fail as it has was for the car to be overloaded..... although we reminded them that you have to unpack the car to get to the spare and the jack.

See reply above