Question for high mileage X5 owners?
 

I have a 01 3.0 with 73k. Aside from CV boots and replacing 3 out of 4 window regulators (thanks X5World for the how to), the car has been an absolute dream and interior and exterior still look and operate like new.

Anyway, who here has 100k plus miles and what kind of problems or expensive maintenance occur as the car gets into higher mileage?

Thanks,

I just turned 95,000 yesterday and so far my only major issues have been the window regulators, final stage resistor and lower control arms.

I have had my share of failures with less than half on our '01. Front end rebuild, water pump/thermostat leaks requiring replacement, LKM failure and lots of little stupid things. Someone else on the board announced 100K miles one week and transmission melt down a short time later earlier this year. If you have not replaced the water pump I would suggest you do it now before it fails and possibly takes out you cylinder head along with it.

dr kewl has more then 135k miles and can share his experiences on this... he's been a pretty happy camper with his x

I just turned 80k. Here under the list of things which had to be fixed:
-1 window regulator
-Final stage resistor
-Cooling system (radiator, water pump, hoses)
-Control arms
The car looks like brand new and drives like brand new.

90K miles - about to fix 1st window regulator, replaced final stage resistor. Currently have a leaking windshield washer pump.

That's about it!!

Just passed 83.5k miles on my 2001 3.0 and have only replaced a window regulator and the final stage resistor; replaced both of them myself by using the DIY guides on x5world. The miles are almost all highway/interstate so my control arms, and other suspension parts are still okay, but I'm sure they'll need replacing in a while simply because of the age. But other than that, everything has been great. Transmission still shifts like new. Sounds like the consensus is window regulators, final stage resistors, and various suspension parts are the first to need replacing when the miles start adding up.

At 106K - 94k~Expansion tank ($75) DIY, 103k~Alternator ($1000) Stealer, 92K~valve cover tubes (breathers) ($120),89K~Instrument cluster (Free) by BMW,

120,000 miles and going
 

Hello everyone. I drive a 2001 X5 with 120,000 miles. The mileage is 85% highway driving. My problems are as follows: Drivers door handle (DIY) check engine soon light (gascap), and today the temperature gauge went into the red without the light coming on( will have that looked at today). I hope to get many more miles out of it. I love my SAV.
Crystal

100K+ going strong
 

I'm at 107K right now on my 2001 3.0

Replaced
- CV boot
- Both front lower control arms
- Final Stage Resistor
Needs Replacing
- power steering hose
- tail light socket
- rear liftgate handle

Been driving great (knock on wood), transmission shifts smoothly, and no other problems yet to report.

106K on '01 3.0

Non-Maintenance Items:

Outside Warranty:
Outer CV Boots
FSR
Door that wont Open


Inside Warrnaty:
1 Window Regulator

Drives like New even today. touch on wood. Will drive it atleast another 2 years (150k ish).

Wondering if I should do the O2 Sensors (pre-cat)? anyone notice a huge difference after new O2 sensors? Havent seen any appreicable loss (if any) in mileage or zippiness ...

i'm at 99,947 to be exact today. No minor and major problems at all. Came from Santa Cruz mountain yesterday and it shifts and drives like a sports car. As a preventive maintenance, i will have thermostat, water pump and Coolant reservoir replaced soon.

I have only 87K on my '03 3.0 and I am having to replace the engine due to a failed oil separator hydrolocking the engine causing a rod bearing knock.

Out of warrranty. :mad:

I could probably live with typical problems like a broken window regulator, but the engine is sorta important. Sure wish BMW would own up to this.

When I origanlly posted to this thread I was under 100K, but now I am at 132K miles and in the past year have paid for the following:

Plugs
Belt
T-stat
Water Pump
O2 Sensors
2 Cat Convertors
2 front CV boots
2 fuel sensors
1 Coil Pack
Rear crankcase hoses/ gaskets (whatever they are called)

I keep telling myself "It's cheaper than a new one, its cheaper than a new one" ;)

68K over 6 years on my 2001 4.4i:

Replaced
CV Boots (Full front)
Both Front Lower control arms - twice (Thanks Chicago potholes)
Alternator
2 window regulators
Rear Decklid lights
Needs
Rear door actuator

01' 3.0 just turned 60k.

both front inner and outer cv boots
drivers side frt and rear window regs
still have probs w/passenger brake light working intermitantly

Is it windshield washer motor bad??
 

got warning light on windown washer level. Refilled. It all ran
out within 2 days. I noticed red fluid dried around one of the
washer motors. Is the motor bad and leaking??

I've got 183,000 miles........lots of repairs, last 40K miles not
too bad.
2001 X5 3.0L
Tom

2001 3.0 , 150k , no heavy problems at all, maybe just a high consumption of motoroil.

so far so good..
 

Hi all, 03 3.0, about 126k, I purchased the car about 2.5yrs ago with 70k on it, up until that point not really sure what took place.. I have all maintence records.. just they are in German.. of the things I have replaced.. full front cv boots and joints, transmission shift module...I go through a few QTs of oil in between services... all in all the X runs like a dream, took it up to Cincinati yesterday ran great, I just miss the autobahn, fast and smooth.........:thumbup:

I got my '01 3.0 w/ 85k miles and am about to hit 105k miles. It had full service records and looked like it was babied.

In the last 20k miles / 9 months, Here's what I've had fixed by my indy mechanic:

- Replace power steering hose (leaking) ~$500
- Replaced thermostat which was stuck open, cleaned 02 sensors $250

(Also had Service II and replaced front/rear brakes and rotors, but those are just regular wear and tear)

One of my rear doors has an intermittent problem with unlocking so the actuator is probably on its way out. Also have high oil consumption (1 quart/1000 miles)

Apart from that she looks and drives like new

3.0 5 speed 80k miles.

Replaced:
Crankcase vent system
Valve cover gasket
Water pump
Tstat
Power steering hose
FSR
Changed all the fluids

I am totally 'off the grid.' I have no warranty and no records from the previous owner. I do everything myself, and have saved a good deal of cash that way. Honestly, it has been pretty good, all things considered.

ADDED: New Tranny

I'm a few miles short of 100K and so far I've replaced;
water pump
front end bushings
power steering hose
valve cover gaskets
CV boots
final stage resistor
Otherwise, been a great ride. I've changed all of the fluids, brakes, and spark plugs myself. I burn less than 1 quart between oil changes. Good luck

Update from my post 2 years ago.... I am now at 145k
CV boots
Entire front end (shaking like a bandit) ebay $349....

This car was built well.............

If I may, I don't know if its just my X, but I've done a lot more work under warranty thank God, but its been the following that have been replaced.

Battery
all belts and hoses
thermo stat w/water pump
rear main seal
the infamous crankcase breather went bad, 30 below that night
valve cover gaskets
alternator
expansion tank
final stage
front right headlight, would get foggy when I washed it
everything for the front suspension, which I just did the final one with the CV boot replacment
spark plugs
Gas cap
instrument cluster
2 window regulators
Windshield washer pump for the headlights
some other leaky gaskets that where replace, something about bank 1 needed new gasket???
power steering hose
tail light socket, which I have done something of my own design to fix my tail light issue. ;)
Valley pan
and some other little stuff, but you all get the point. Thats why I'm keepen her for ever!!! Or untill the wheels fall off, lol!!!

So, it's safe to say that if I didn't have a warranty, I'd be royaly screwed!!!
Some of the above things were from me being very anal about my car. I used to smell oil burning when I shut the engine off. It was from the stupid gaskets that were leaking slowing. They would never have done that service if I didn't bitch about it. Other then this stuff which seems like a lot , but I did most of this serivce with 3 shots. so not that big of a deal. I have 99,456 miles right now, warranty ends at 100,748 miles. So hoping my tranny doesn't die anytime soon, and will last me at least another 50k before going dead. Love this car and it looks soooo good when its clean.

Thats quite the list and you seem to have hit most if not all of the typical X5 problem areas and a few few extra maintenance items thrown in to boot - glad you got it covered under warranty.

2001 4.4 ltr 134K miles.
Other than wear items (tires, brakes, plugs. . . )
1 window regulator.
front half shafts (CV boots ripped & I replaced both safts)
Ignition switch.
It drives as tight as my 2006 4.4 ltr with 27K on her.

Mind if I ask what extended warranty you have) Also year, type and mileage of your X?
Also, if someone from OKC happens to read this thread, would you please tell me where you go other than Cooper for post-warranty repairs? I see a shop listed in the phone book (Bavarian Autohaus) but know nothing about them.
Thanks.

my mileage
 

I have 187,000 miles on my X5 3.0L
All suspension parts replaced
4 window reg
2 AC resister fuse
transfer case - gang get a reman for under 1K, BMW wants 2200K plus
the labor is $500
valve cover gasket
3 sets spark plugs
just put 4th set of Michelin MVX4 $1,046
headlight restoration
battery
water pump and belts
visor broke, did not fix, ditto rear cup holder
there's more, you get the pix.

If it runs another 50K I'll feel allright about repairs.

All of the above was out of my pocket, est $15,000+

I'm getting a Tundra truck this month, you would never
see this level of repair out of a Toyota product. I've had
tons of Lexus, Nissan, Toyota - don't know what a repair
bill looks like, all went 100K miles.

I've had 3 BMW's - all broke down except for motor.

BMW sells their product to first buyer who then trades in
3 years. They just make $$ on the subsequent owners.
Not a bad biz model I might add. I just won't give them
another 50K................

I would rather have the rest of the car fall apart than have the engine seize and leave me a my family stranded 400 miles from home and 400 miles from where we were going. That happened in me 2 year old Toyota Tacoma 4dr 4wd in Virginia. We stopped to get gas when I went to start it, it let out a chirp like a scalded monkey and died. The thrust bearing spun. Luckily it was 3200 miles short of the warrentee running out. Customer service was very good to us and got us on our way the next day. It did; however, take pulling the engine again and the transmission and transfer case twice to stop the oil leak after the engine change. And then there was my 1978 Land Cruiser. That spun the #6 main bearing. . .

In my book, you can have your Jap cars and trucks. I'll stick with fixing the little BS things that might go wrong with my BMWs and VWs. At least I know I'll be able to get home to change my window regulators.

On most cars with 187K I would expect these things to go bad. I have an '01 and I just turned 80K miles--only non-typical things that have gone wrong was one window regulator, some kind of O2 sensor and a couple ball joints for suspension.

2001 3.0 with 99,000 miles, repairs since the warranty expired:
camshaft position sensor
CV boots both sides
Thermostat
Right Tail light assembly
4 window regulators
engine aux fan
1 lower control arm
oil separator
power steering hoses
oil return hose
driver's door handle carrier
On Monday:
Main seal $750
Oil Filter housing seal $250
Unfixed:
General module with intermittent passenger door unlocking
Seat heater drivers side which gets so hot it burns your skin and has burned the leather bolster

It seems it's basically a car payment every month to have the car repaired. Every time something goes wrong I tell myself that I'll eventually run out of things to repair and the car will not have any issues for a while. It drives great and I don't want to spend the money for a new car. I wish there would be some warning about the transmission getting close because I would definitely trade it in then --

I don't know that I agree with this generalisation... I have been driving long distances for 30 odd years and the only car that ever stranded me on the side of the road was my 3 Series BMW... the plastic expansion bottle in the cooling system popped (the same one that our X's all have!). I did over 250,000kms in a Toyota Camry 300 SEi and it never let me down once!

The BMW is definitely the nicest vehicle to drive, but I have no illusions about its reliability...

3.0 2001 97,900miles

No Horror stories till now:

1 window regulator
1 outer front CV boot

I have a leaking steering hose... will keep toping up....
The coolant needs 2 cups every 6 months... will keep toping up as well :D

With a 2001 X5 4.4i that has 118,298 K on it.

Well honestly I went through my share of fixes and I guess I have to be very grateful I have a lot of family members who are in the mechanic business.

What was does so far:

<> Replaced right lower control arm
<> Replaced Spark Plugs
<> Fixed driver side window screws (Window got stuck while closing the door and window is all the way down)
<> Oil Changes...
<> Replaced 2 anti-freeze leaks. (Hoses wear and tear)

----------------------------------------------------------------

What I still need to get done:

<> Rebuild transmission (It doesn't skip alot but it starts to after a good 3 hour drive, hard down shifts come up after all that as well)
<> Replace cat converters (Both sides)
<> Replace thermostat (Code comes up on ODB II, but car does not overheat at all)
<> Replace 3rd Brake Light (Needs replacing but it seems to be way to much $ for a stupid light...
<> Signal Side Markers (Change them from Yellow to White)
<> Window Tints
<> Buy & Install custom sub-woofer & amplifier

And honestly I hope after all those things I will be finally happy and done with mechanical fixes for a while.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Mods:

<> Installed 2 DVD Headrests (I will be making a thread soon)
<> JVC NX7000 Navigation
<> Front Hood 2 blue lights
<> Headlights and Tail lights (Updated from yellow tails to white, headlights are eh so-so ebay ones, maybe ill update this later...)
<> Front blue LED side lights (Interior, Hard to explain, ill take a picture one day)
<> Sound LED Strip (Interior, A blue flashing strip that reacts to the sound of music in the X)


Well thats about it. Once I am fully done I will see how much this will all cost me overall.