Question on brakes and DSC - yes i have searched...
 

OK - i have a used X5 4.4 (2003) that is exhibiting the following two problems - at least i see them as problems having owned other BMWs.
1. The ABS appears to be coming on way too much. Under agressive but not abrupt or severe braking the abs kciks in and the wheels lose some traction, as is the case typicallyw ith abs. I can't turn the abs off so i don't know if the wheels are locking up and then the abs is kicking in. The tires are Michelin Energy LX4 255/18 and almost brand new so i don;'t think tires are the issue. And i know the car is heavy but i owned a 2001 740i that could brake far more aggressivly than this car. I'm wondering is some sensor is bust or off or there is some issue with the brakes that might cause this issue.
2. The DSC is kciking off all the time. Yes i accelerate fairly hard, and the wheels losing traction appear to eb the front ones, but again the 740i never had this issue. If this is how much traction an X5 offers then i don't know how peopel drive the 4.8 - it must be spinning out all the time. I own a 2005 Dodge Durango (5.9 litre, way more torque than the X5) and it suffers from wheel slippage but not to the degree this X5 does (the the dodge is rear wheel drive only). Is this wheel slippage standard fair or is sometiong going on?

Thanks for any insights....


Andrew

I don’t think I can offer many suggestions as far as solving your issues but just for reference, on dry pavement I can have my 4.4 X5 in sport mode jam into the gas from a stop with a small chirp and the car launches with out the DSC kicking in at all. The only time iv seen the DCS light is under aggressive cornering. I have never had the ABS kick in and I have stopped hard many times.

My only idea would be to have the ABS / DSC computer read out by a BMW shop? :dunno:

Check tire pressures, if normal than there are some sensor errors. The only time I can get ABS or DSC intervention is when I'm actually trying to

Yah - i did check the tire pressure all around and it was a little high. I lowered it and it may have made a small difference but stillthere is a mjor issue. I have it in to a shop in palo Alto today to see if they can figure it out.

The X5 will never handle like the 740i. The weight and center of gravity are much higher in the X5.

That being said the only time I have had the ABS kick in on either my '01 or '06 has been on a wet road when trying to put my brake pedal to the floor as to not run over the top of a Miata that tried to make a left turn from the right lane.

As for the DSC, I tried to do donuts in the dirt with the '01 and couldn't until I turned off the DSC.

So in other words, I think something IS going on. Most likely a wheel speed sensor.

OK Palo Alto BMW (greatguys by the way) found the problem - a leaking front left air bag. And they said the same thing about the abs kicking in - that i wouls ee this much sooner on X5 than on 740i due to high center of gravity and slightly higher weight. So i guess i just need to mellow out on the braking! :-) But they did say the leaking bag was 99% causing the DSC issues. So off to the dealer to get the fix done under warranty....and of course them raising it appears to have damaged the bag further and now the 'self leveling suspension" warning is on and the ride height is way high and very bouncy - great!

interesting

Very.

Put it on the lift and go home with a different problem. If the suspension hasn't returned to the proper height after a short drive, you may now have a new problem.

The suspension should self level regardless if there is a tear in the airbag or not. The only way it would not is if the hole is so large that the compressor can't keep up with it. In other words it would be bottomed out.

SS

Quick update...Palo Alto BMW did put it on the lift. It now shows the error - it did not before, and is jacked up and very firm - pogos all over the place. I have driven it somewhat like this and let it sit for a few days and it is still jacked up (not down). I am waiting on some warranty issues to get sorted out before i take it to the stealer. if anyone has nay idea why it is not self leveling at this point i'm all ears.

Sounds like the suspension sensors may need to be "re-nulled."