Cold weather realted issues...
 

I have read several threads regarding issues people are having in cold weather.

I thought it would be a good idea to list them all in one spot, maybe that way someone can recognise a pattern and come up with a grand unifying theory on why some of them are happening.

If you care to, please contribute. I will start with my issue.

On days below 35 degrees, when I first start the car, I get brake, abs, 4x4, and tire pressure warning lights. After getting to operating temperature, if I shut down, wait 30 seconds, and then restart, all the lights clear.

There doesn't seem to be any other problems related to cold.

It may be a mind thing, but it seems like my X uses up more gas when it's cold (below 35ºF)

Mine 'seems' to have a slight drop in mileage too, but not enough for me to be concerned. On long highway trips, I am actually getting 22.3 (according to the computer.)

coolant temperature
 

My X5 3.0i 2001 has a problem related with cold weather either.

When the out air is below than 37?(not sure) coolant temperature
goes to the end of the gauge after I drive 10~12 min. And heat
dosen't getting warm soon. After the engine restart the gauge turns
normal but still cold inside.

This is different from temp' problem,

There was a flat battery problem yesterday. It is second time and I
think something wrong with electric part of my X5. Mechanic brought
potable battery and started engine after 24 hours flated battery.
It looked like everything OK before I found the language changed
Deutsch. And there is nothing on odometer. I can't change language in setting menu.

Ha. I was thinking of starting the exact same thread.

Lots of snow and cold weather the past couple weeks in Tahoe. This is the first winter I've had my X and had no idea how much it hated the cold. Here's what I've got so far, in order of occurrence over the past 2 weeks. I later realized that these are all common probs.


1) Overheating false alarm- temp gauge is pegged at red within 5 minutes of starting after subzero temps overnight (-8c). I just switch the ignition on and off.

2) Temp gauge never leaves blue zone when driving

3) Heater does not blow hot (possibly related to #2, since when the temp gauge does register normal operating temp, then hot air is blowing).

4) Set off the yellow self-levelling suspension warning. I switched it off and on then it went away.

5) Frozen door locks. By far the most annoying s#!+ I've had to deal with. Open door, door won't close. Lock it using keyfob, then I get trapped and have to crawl thru the passenger door. Luckily it melted by the end of the day when the sun came out.

6) Got stuck in a foot of snow over ice. I turned off the DSC and eventually escaped. Never got stuck with my previous truck, a 4Runner.

7) SES light came on and stayed on

I talked to my mechanic and it sounds like #s 1,2,3 and 7 are related.

But regardless, I still love her :D

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...s/DSC02727.jpg

The hazard lights and interior lights came on as well as the doors unlocking. It was almost if I were involved in a collision, but this happened in the cold weather with sleet/snow under normal driving conditions. Another member had this happen as well.

Funny things happen when those electrons get cold . . . Brrrr! I'd love to get my X5 in some snow like donovan's post. Don't get to much down here in SoCal!

>>It may be a mind thing, but it seems like my X uses up more gas when it's cold (below 35ºF)<<

That's normal. The egine runs "rich" until it has reached suitable temperature and that's why MPG drops.

>>heat dosen't getting warm soon. After the engine restart the gauge turns normal but still cold inside.<<

>>Temp gauge never leaves blue zone when driving<<

For these I can see couple possible reasons.
- coolant water is too old and gets frozen and coolant doesn't circulate in system, after a while coolant warms and starts to circulate. Note, the coolant water must not be pure water but 50/50 of coolant liquid and water.
- thermostat in coolant system may be stuck and coolant may circulate too much so engine doesn't warm up. I had this problem in one of my old car and changing the thermostat helped.

Here we go...

1 Frozen door latch..so annoying and ridiculous that this even happens.

2 Rough grinding type of start when below 30 degrees or so and car has been sitting for several hours.

3 Infamous Oil seperator issue...

I think thats it for now..But yeah..X5's are not cold weather vehicles.. Especially the 00-03 models. Winter Blues.....

By far my biggest annoyance is the sticking locks when it's cold outside. I hate telling my passengers to reach across and let the other person in because the locks don't like the cold! They always say "isn't this a BMW?". That is embarrassing. I can only imagine if I lived in Denver still or someplace where it is really cold - I only have a week or so of sub freezing temperatures in Vegas!