Parking on a hill
 

I've never owned an automatic before and I need some advice about parking my X5 when I go away for a month. My driveway is on a slope so I park nose up and apply the parking brake. When I last went away I came back to find that I have a pulsing when applying the brakes at high speed. I wonder if the pulsing has to do with leaving a deposit on the rear brakes, I feel the pulsing through the steering as well as the brake pedal.

Two questions:
1. Should I not apply the parking brake, what does this do to the transmission.
2. How do I get rid of the pulsing. I hear I can have the disks ground but that sounds a bit drastic.

Parking brake does nothing to the transmission. In fact, has nothing to do with it. Apply a parking brake on an automatic simply takes the strain off the trans from holding the weight for an extended period of time. Park simply engages the output shaft of the trans to stop movement.

Could be that your parking brake has not fully disengaged maybe :dunno:

Don't think he was implying the brakes have something to do with the tranny, but if not using the brakes how will this impact the tranny, meaning the weight of the vehicle will be on the tranny instead of the brakes - this is not ideal.

Not sure what your issue is with the pulsing brakes, unless your parking brake is not fully disengaging when you release it. Regardless, it is better to put the weight of the vehicle on the brakes than it is the tranny. Here is typically how I park mine on a hill:

1.) Stop the vehicle where you are going to park it, leaving it in gear and keeping foot on brake
2.) Engage parking brake
3.) Release foot brake
4.) Press foot brake again and place vehicle in Park
5.) Turn it off

The order you disengage should not matter bc the weight of the vehicle is on the brakes, so you won't get that disturbing "thunk" when trying to put it back in gear like it does when the weight is on the tranny.

I've had this on other cars and it was explained as a build up of corrosion on the discs which went away after a few applications of the brakes. Never had it on my Xs though - they've never sat around that long.

i put mine in neutral and let the X rest on the brake, then put it in park.

per mfg recommendation, do not turn the rotors. check you control arm bushings. you can also try bedding the pads, but can be dangerous if you have something more critical wrong than some brake warping / buildup.

the parking brake doesnt apply the brakes, but a seperate pad on the output drive of the tranny. you can adjust it but if it gets burnt out i think its a very difficult job to replace. (so be sure not to drive with it engaged.)

I have had a similar problem.

My driveway is probably about 10-20 degrees of incline and I park nose up also. If I back out of the driveway after being parked for more than a few minutes I get a very jerky acceleration, but only the first time I use the gas pedal.

I'd love to know what it is also :)

I have a 2006 X5 4.4

these are the correct facts
the parking brake is a drum brake in the bell of the rear discs and does not use the caliper or disc that the footbrake uses , so is not likely the problem .
the problem is most likely caused by moisture corroding the disc surface at the points between the pads whilst parked for some weeks . you may be able to see marks on the disc where this has occurred , it should clear after using the brakes several times . if the problem persists for more than a few hours then you may have some other problem . the parking brake on the X5 should not be solely relied upon so use the transmission park always . I have experienced my parking brake releasing due to defective teeth on the ratchet .