Cargo cover 'vent louvers'??
 

And now for one of the many newbie questions I have – I’ve searched for the answers and possibly missed some in the forums, so my apologies if any of these are repetitive - please let me know if any of you have any responses...
So, here’s the first of many to come :)
I purchased my X5 second-hand and it did not come with the rear cargo cover (previous owner removed it) and I would like to add one. I was thinking about updating to the ‘04+ version but the ‘vent louvres’ are not clear to me. My local BMW shop quoted me a lot more than the posting/article put up by iflyx5 (like double!!), and I would like to see if I can find them on a local parts yard. The only problem is that I have no clue what they are and where to locate them – do any of you have images? Or better yet, any of you have the rear cargo cover that you would like to part with (I know a lot of you remove them) or even some vent louvers to sell (I can get the cover for a reasonable price on ebay). If so, I am based in Vancouver, Canada – please pm me with details...
But for now, some pics of the vent louvers would be great... please. :)

anyone..?
I just bought the cover off ebay for a good price - now I need these special louvers...
Maybe someone can point me in the direction of an online retailer who would sell me some of these elusive pieces for a better price than my local stealersh-i mean dealership..?

A picture of the roll up cover is found on page 126 in the manual for the e53.
But what's a vent louver? http://www.bmwmotorsports.org/pdf/BM...20-%202005.pdf

I just picked up my X5 last week and the roll up cover was faulty. It didn't wan to roll all the way out or back in easily so BMW has ordered me a new one under warranty. If I get to keep the old one you're welcome to any poieces/parts off of it if they're what you're looking for. No charge :) just pay for your own shipping!

wow - that would be awesome! thanks for the offer - keep me posted please... :)

I got the idea to retrofit from the article posted by 'iflyx5' - http://www.xoutpost.com/articles/x5/i...formation.html
the vent louvres are mentioned and when I ran the product #'s by my stealership, they quoted $130 each for them (double!). Just trying to keep my costs down for the conversion and was hoping to find an alternate source...

e bay
 

My 05 X5 did not come with a cargo cover either. I found one black on e bay for $160 which as you know, is much less than new.I would recomend starting there.

Hi Kennoli - thanks for the advice. Actually, I've already ordered one of those from ebay as well. My problem isn't the cover, it's the method of attaching the cover. Basically, the pre-2004 cargo covers (see pics below) had a lot more moving parts and therefore ended up being very noisy and clunky when driving. that's why most owners removed them. In 2004, they introduced a simpler cover with less (or no) moving parts. Apparently, it is retrofitable (is that even a word?) to a pre 2004 X5, but you supposedly need the 'vent louvers' to do so. My problem is that I can't seem to find an affordable option other than dishing out about $275(!!) at my dealership for them. Worse than that is the facct that I still have no clue what they actually are..! lol.
I guess I'll have to wait until my new cover comes and hoepfully I can figure it out from there...

Thanks for the update. Ya, i didnt know that they were so different.

dib, you have a PM :thumbup: