2000 BMW X5 4.4i Sport with issues
 

Where to start, I've had the car almost two months and its been nothing but issue after issue. If anyone can shed light on any of these it would be greatly appreciated....

1) Self-Leveling Suspension. The left (drivers side) rear leaks out on cold days, not sure if its a stuck valve or bad air bag. When you open up one of the doors you can hear the air release and watch the whole back end of the car go up and also hear the air compressor kick on. Once you start the car it goes the rest of the way up. Has any one else experienced this? I'm just afraid that one day it won't go back up like its supposed to. On really cold days even when the back is fully up I get the self leveling suspension inactive message, restart the car and all is well.


2) SES. Yes the dreaded SES light came on shortly after I bought the car... typical used BMW... it reads P0011, Camshaft Position system actuator bank1 timing over-advance. The light comes and goes, I've changed oil, unplugged the sensor and checked it, only run premium gas. Short of tearing apart the engine, I done it all. Has anyone else had to deal with the P0011 code?


3) Transmission. Yes with 115000 it is acting up. It seems like it has a mind of its own. Sometimes in regular drive, you can feel the car fluctuate up and down gears. I've never experienced this before with any other car. Also sometimes when you are on the highway and it is in 5th gear you can feel it drop down to 4th gear and jump back up to 5th after a little while. And this is on perfectly flat Kansas highway going 75 with no need what so ever to be in 4th gear. Once again, has anyone else experienced this?


4) Rear hatch button. The most recent problem, I go out back up my car last night and on its own, the the top of the rear hatch opens on its own. Then I go close it, start backing up and it does it again. I shut it once more and it stays. But now, I can't open the rear hatch with the button near the license plate, I can only open it up with the button beneath the NAV System. Is there a fuse that could have blown? I really think my car has little gremlins inside of it.


5) Steering wobble when braking at highway speeds. I've read the other blogs about this and have seen mixed thoughts on rotors versus suspension related causes. I do get a slight squeal when I brake anytime, so I think mine is probably rotors. Any thoughts?


6) Lastly, the key remote. The remote does not work. It starts the car, unlocks the car using the drivers door lock, but none of the buttons work. I've seen the fixes where you can split the key and replace the battery and solder the new one in and glue the key back together. However, I also know that the keys are "smart" and that they ignition reads the chip that is inside of it before it will start. Even though its a laser cut key, there is a small circuit board in the key letting the car know that it is authentic to your specific car. Any recommendations, short of buying a new one from a dealership.


Any thoughts are welcomed. I'm a DIY person, I refuse to pay anyone to do something that I can do myself. So your suggestions/expertise is greatly appreciated. I just pray the car gives me a chance to get all this fixed before something new comes along.

5) Steering wobble when braking at highway speeds. I've read the other blogs about this and have seen mixed thoughts on rotors versus suspension related causes. I do get a slight squeal when I brake anytime, so I think mine is probably rotors. Any thoughts?

Checked wheel lug nuts for proper torque, had this problem recently and came to conclusion after removing suspected wheel that had flat tire serviced that tireshop had overtightend wheel lugs. May not be same for you; also check thrust arm bushings since yours is high mileage.

serious gremlins
 

switchman... don't think its the lug nuts... just had all new tires put on... it was the same before and after the tires were switched out.

but everyone... here is what started happening tonight.... what a way to end '09....



when i turn off my headlights, my trunk opens up. when the lights are on... you can operate the trunk latch switch... but when the lights are off nothing. i'm thinking there is water or corrosion but its 1. dark outside and 2. 10 degrees F. so I don't really want to start tearing things apart right now. has anyone else experienced this... or have any ideas where to start hunting the problems down?

steering wobble is thrust arm bushings. i would change those and the corresponding ball joints and the lower wishbone should also be changed

any ideas on the P0011 code? has anyone ever fixed it? i can't find any thread where it is totally resolved. right now i'm thinking camshaft solenoid but still don't know for sure and the parts are all little too much to be shooting in the dark - trial and error.

UPDATES:

I'll go in order of my original questions.

1) no update :(

2) timing chain jumped two teeth on the right side, at my indy shop in wichita getting fixed

3) temperature sensor fault..... not sure if its a connection problem or bad wiring harness.... will know when i get the car back next week

4) bad seals on the upper trunk lid around the license plate lights that caused a short when the lights turned on and triggered the latch

5) bad lower control arm on the left side and bad upper control arm bushings on the right side

6) no update

Had SLS inactive code on a very cold day. dorve and let the car warm up. Code reset, no issue since.

I am having the same issue with the same air spring. In fact I ordered and just received the air spring today. I plan on installing next week. This is where I bought the spring.

getBMWparts.com powered by Tischer BMW - Your #1 Source for all OEM BMW Parts/Accessories!

Tischer has it for just under $160 and my local dealer sells for over $300. There is a recent thread with a DIY on the air spring.

http://www.Xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-foru...pring-diy.html

I feel you on the nothing but issues with your X. I have had mine just shy of year and have had to do the following major repairs.

Transmission rebuild
valve cover gaskets
2 ignition coils
Radiator and hoses
Water pump
driver side top strut mount (I think the bad air spring had something to do with this as the mount was replaced when I lowered the X.)

Welcome and GL. :thumbup:

I sure hope you aren't complaining about having issues on a 10 year car you just bought. :stickpoke

UPDATES?
 

So what was the outcome?:dh: