burst oil filter(?)
 

I have been driving my 2002 BMW X5 without any problems since late summer '05. It has 58,000 miles on it and has already had an Inspection II. While on the interstate yesterday, the car switched to the "failsafe transmission program" and gradually deaccelerated to a full stop. It seems as though my oil filter burst because there was a large amount of oil that had leaked onto the ground. I had no warning signs and everyone tells me that it looks/seems bad. Has anyone heard of that happening and does anyone have information about possible causes and costs of repairs? The tow truck person told me that I might possible have to replace the engine, which I find drastic.

Also, I have a "check brake lights/rear lights" reading and was wondering if that's something I could fix on my own. Does anyone have reliable BMW parts site(s) that they would recommend?

I would take a guess and say if you have a large pool of engine oil on the ground, you probably will be needing a new engine. If the oil filter burst it was because you had some really really high oil pressure in there, which probably means a blockage somewhere. Look for metal flakes in the oil.

Are you, or anyone, certain it was engine oil, as opposed to trans. fluid?

Because of the error message I would think it's the tranny. But without actually getting down and looking....
Did you pull the engine oil dipstick?

Not sure about the oil, but the rear lights can be impossible to change in the '02. We had to have both modules replaced completely (under warranty).