dealer says it MIGHT be the control arms
 

I noticed a sound coming from the front driver side (2003 4.4i with 45,100 miles, air suspension all around) when I turned left and accelerated moderately from either a stop or very slow speed. Also notice a sound occaisionally when agressively accelerating straight line. It sould like a grinding or a rubbing and you can feel it in the floor. Took it to my local BMW dealer and they said there was "slight play in the lower control arm. Not enough where it wouldnt pass an inspection, but thats all they could find." My question is there is obvously something not right with the vehicle but they are supposed to be the specialist and why would they recommend I just keep driving it? They did give my a quote of $1035 to replace both sides lower control arms and alignmnet but couldnt guarantee that would fix it. My access to BMW dealers is limited in southern Maine. I dont want to replace control arms unless it could possible be the issue but they didnt sound very confident. Any other recommendations? The technician did say X5 have front end issues commonly and it being a 2003 even with the low miles, it is possible that it could be the issue. I replacing the control something a moderately handy person could do?

take it to a trusted indy shop. have them check it out. when i took my 06 to service they found that both tie rod ends were bent, they wanted almost $4,500.00 to replace the whole steering system. rack and pinion and all. i took it to a trusted indy shop that i have been using for years and $400.00 later i got both the tie rod ends replaced, 4 tires mounted and ballanced, and a wheel alignment. like i said get a second opinion.

Dous it sound like metal splines stripping out? If so I would suspect the front output shaft splines of the transfer case. I see that sometimes on the <04 X5s that don't have x-drive.

Otherwise it would need to be properly diagnosed... and I'd ask the service manager at that dealer if they have an older tech that is more experienced with suspension work as it sounds like you likely had a less experienced entry level tech that wasn't sure how to properly diagnose the hard to find noises.

Side note..since when does it cost $1000+ to change control arms and get an alignment?! Run away from this dealer, can't diagnose properly and gouging..the lethal combination.

thanks all. It does not sound like splines stripping out. It still has plenty of power to the wheels too. I asked about a more experience tech. This guy supposedly has 30 years experience. As far as price, they quoted me two hours labor for both sides so it didnt seem like that big of a job.

Can anyone recommend where I could possibly order the control arms in case I want to attempt this myself?

MorristwonBMW has among the best prices. Control arms are a very easy job to diy. 2hrs labor + 2 control arms + alignment doesn't add up to $1000+.

+1000

Just replaced one last week...Indeed....the BMW dealer wanted 291 for it...i bought it at Bavauto.com for about 130 shipped ....:thumbup:

I went to partsgeek.com very resonably priced. I did my upper and lower arms in 3 hours on my 2000 4.4 X5

update...took it to an indy. Precision Autoworks in Portland, Maine. Deals with only german vehicles. Told me there was absolutely nothing wrong with it and the sound I am hearing is the AWD system..a shuttering noise. I hate dealers.