Used X5, few questions
 

My husband and I just bought a used 2000 X5 and after we got home we noticed a few things. After looking in the Owner's Manual, there are a few things missing.
1. First aid kit and drawer. Under the seat is nothing but wiring. Is this something that can be ordered?

2. The red light on the rear view mirror doesn't work. Is this a bulb that is easily replaced?

3. The computer under the spedometer...some of the letters aren't showing. Is this possible to fix?

4. There is no front license plate holder. Is the dealer supposed to provide this? And, the rear license plate holder has two screws holding it on instead of four. Found out today that these screws are special screws and not carried in our local auto parts store.

5. The tilt steering wheel goes forward and back, but not up and down. My husband thinks possibly we need to have the brake applied for this to function.

We thought we had checked this car over very thoroughly, even talking with the mechanics that serviced this vehicle for the original owner, carfax and such. There are other problems that we were aware of, such as tinting problems (probably aftermarket) and wheel alignment.

If you have any suggestions or ideas what we can do to either replace the parts as cheaply as possible, or to repair the things ourselves, please let us know :)

Thank you in advance!

I bought a new X5 and mine did not come with the First Aid kit either, I also saw it in the owner's manual and was puzzled. The red light is a simple LED, that can easily be replaced without going to the dealer, however you may need to order the LED from the dealer, could'nt be too expensive. As for the info center on the dash, yes those can be repaired. However, generally this requires a new display, I have heard of some that send them off to be repaired though. All X5s, atleast in Florida, do not come with a front license plate bracket, however that is something you can order from the dealer. My dealer tried to install my license plate withonly two screws as well, I refused and made them use four, they had to order the other two, lol. Your steering wheel should tilt up, down, in, out no matter what the situation. That is something your dealer will probably have to look into. Hope this helps :)

Thank you so much for your fast reply! I did wonder about the steering wheel, because my husband's knees rub on the bottom of the wheel. I'm calling them tomorrow to see IF they will help with some of this, though I know they aren't required to. We are purchasing a warranty on-line that is supposedly very good, and some of this may be covered in that warranty....possibly. Did you have the drawer that the first aid kit goes in?

No, lol. That drove me crazy. When I arrived home from the dealer I looked in the owner's manual and couldn't find it. I was kinda upset because I bought the car 6 hours away from home. I thought great, I am not driving all the way down there for that. But I found out that they don't come with it. Atleast mine didn't in Florida. I also purchased an extended warranty on my BMW. Supposedly it is one of the best ones out there. If you want I can send you the info on the company?

Sure :) The only thing that really bothers me (all of it bothers my husband though lol) is the steering wheel. Supposedly they put it through some 60-some point inspection. I'd think that steering wheel operation would be one of the points lol.

Based on my MANY experiences with BMW is that they will gladly repair the steering wheel. Right now they are going to repaint the valve covers on my engine next week, even though my car is out of warranty. I do have the extended warranty but they are independant of BMW and BMW will take care of the situation at their expense. So I would not worry about that too much. I do however have extreme difficulty with the local BMW dealer. I refuse to take my car there at ALL costs. Literally, I had BMW tow my car an additional two hours at their expense because I did not want the local dealer to touch my car. I don't know where you are, but do not take it to All Pro Imports, they are terrible. But anyhow, best of luck.

I live in Newberg, Oregon, bought it in Portland, Oregon from NW Investment Cars, Inc. They seem to be pretty nice, but of course, I haven't had any dealings with them after signing the papers as of yet. If they put up a fight about the steering wheel though, that is the only thing I will fight for. The other things aren't really safety issues. Though, I must say, they are ordering a driver's side floormat for me because for some reason we had all floormats except that one 0.o
Also, I did see some recalls for this model...do you know how I'd find out if they'd been taken care of? Probably take it to a local BMW dealer?

first aid kits
 

Heather, first aid kits are supplied only on models destined for European/Aus/ SA markets. By the way, I even found an extinguisher in a 01 3 series in UK once under the front passenger seat (these were at that stage being supplied from Germany) while I was staying in UK. Mine contains bandages/spacesuit/ bandaids and I`ve added some drugs+suture kit.

Try not to take the car to the Salem dealership, I had extremely poor service there.

Cheers and enjoy the X5.

You have a couple of fairly expensive issues there.

1) You have the "dead pixel" issue with your display. This is common. You need to replace the entire display to correct.
2) You need a new tilt motor to correct the steering tilt issue. This one is also common. Mine has been replaced twice under warranty.

Best of luck to you, and enjoy your new ride!

Dead Pixel Issue Repair link

http://www.vdorepair.com/