Is the X5 still plagued with quality problems?
 

I just bought a 2005 3.0i and will be picking it up tomorrow. I knew that it had some issued with earlier models but I thought they've gotten things ironed out. After telling this to a couple of friends I've been hearing X5 horror stories. A friend with a 2000 has had nothing but trouble.. repeated power window problems, check engine lights, and now a new trans.. for something like $5K. He said that he is glad he got the extended warranty but would never buy another. Another friend told be that when his got towed the driver said "I pick up these X5s constantly". I also got some 3rd party story of someone having to have all the chips re-flashed.. seems a little far fetched. On contrast two friends with 2003 and 2004 have had no problems. Have they got these problems nailed yet or is it still a problem?

Thanks
Bruce

Granted I've only had my X5 ('05 4.8is) since June and 3500 miles, but I've had no problems with mine.

Seem like you would have heard about here if there was a serious problem. But having said that remember they are BMW's. A bit high strung.

..there are a hundred thousand of these things on the road. There are bound to be some that are bad. Now...answer me this. If this SUV has such a bad reliability problem, why does it have such good resale value. In a time where gas prices really really suck, you can buy Navigators and Escalade for a fraction of what they were worth last year. Even the V8 version of the X5 is holding strong resale value after the gas crunch. The 2000 and 2001 cars did have some problems...but they are largely resolved in the later ones.

Also when someone is not happy with their car...you can always count on them exaggerating the story to make their anger justified.

I am on my second X5 and I can tell you this. It is one of the best everyday cars I have ever driven but it also requires trips to the dealer.
The newer ones are much better than the 00, 01's.
But that's the price we pay for the X5. Having said that, inbetween my ownership of my two X5's, I owned a Infiniti FX45. That car had every toy and gadget you could think of, never broke, no trips to service EVER, was fast and handled great. -- I couldn't wait to sell it to get back into my X5.


Also, don't believe the above posts.. (Sorry Guys)

The X5 is a problematic vehicle. More so than it's Japanese equivalents. Germans are not known for making problem free cars.. The X5 will require trips to the service station even if it is a "good" one. But it is worth it.

However, if you are the type of person that does not have the time to drop off, pick up, etc. go with the boring, bullet proof, japanese car.

The reason I sold my 01 4.4 for the FX45 is because of all the problems I was having with the 01 4.4. I was starting a very intense grad school and didn't have time to go to the dealer. So I went japanese and was bored out of my mind with the vehicle.. Came right back to the X5.

Since getting my 4.8is, I have had to make about 3 trips to the dealer, even lost the car for a week while they fixed my suspension module. (This is in the past year..) Even now, my Check Engine Soon light has come on, It was just reset about a month ago. And my car is not a lemon. It runs great. It's just finikey..

I own an '03 X5, and have owned it for almost two years. I have had no major issues with it, and it is a wonderful vehicle! I am LOVE my X5, and, as somoene mentioned, it is one of the best every-day cars out there. Love that thing!

Congrats on your purchase. You'll enjoy it and love it like the rest of us here. :)

Juan

I'm not expecting Japanese quality but it should at least be American quality. I also tried the MDX.. like kissing you sister.. nice enough but nothing to look forward to. The Lexus EX470.. big smooth boat. XC90 no better quality and poorer handling. I've kept it simple.. 3.0, premium, cold weather, Xenons, heated steering. I avoided AS and Nav. I'm tolerant of a finicky hot rod (but my isn't) but I want a reasonably reliable daily driver. Since I pick it up tomorrow only time will tell.

It will be a reasonable daily driver, and, you will LOVE IT..

It is worth the trips to the service center to own it.. Don't worry too much about it. It is better than American quality, I can promise you that.

But because it has sooo many systems in the BMW.. They tend to get a little "microsoft" from time to time.

I LOVE my X5
 

I have 05 X5 with Premium and sports package,I bought mine in April so far I love my X5 no regrets granted i don't use it that much I have only 2500 miles on it but everytime I drive mine it seems like everybody is looking at me.

We have a 01 3.0i. We got it a few years ago with 25k miles on it. I'll be the first to admit that it was a pain in the ass, taking it to the dealer once a month, sometimes twice. EVERY issue we had with it was a known issue with 00 and 01 models.

Having said that, in the last 6 months, it's been to the dealer only once for a non-oil change visit. Thankfully, we got most of the early production quirks out of it during factory warranty period. It's fine now.