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As for tires. Have a good alignment shop provide a less aggressive alignment geared towards tire wear. They would know how if they are good at it. Regulators are common and it was BMW and their damn design using certain parts for plastic.

:thumbup::iagree:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skyline (Post 921376)

No...the 2002 4.4 does not have the intermediate lever problem.

While I admit, we strongly considered the Lexus RX330 as an alternative to our 2002 X5, I'm very glad we ended up with an X5. While these vehicle seem to have similar utility, the X5 is capable of towing a car on a trailer. The Lexus can tow a jet ski on a trailer. The Lexus is basically a reskinned Camry with AWD, (same platform). The driving feel is totally different. A V8 X5 is a couple of seconds faster to 60 than the Lexus. The Lexus is mushy and soft to drive. The X5 is the closest thing to a sports car you can get in an SUV. All the above are subjective factors of course.

Where the Lexus wins is reliablity and gas mileage...both by a long shot. I can't see how anyone could prefer the driving feel of the Lexus; but women and senior citizens seem to love them. And they purchase them in vast quantities. As I am very mechanically inclined, I can live with the issues of my pre-facelift X5, (had I chosen a post face lift car, I don't know how I'd deal with the major potential issues). After driving our X5 more than 5,000 miles in the last month, it is an amazing road trip car.

Yeah expect window regulators for sure. And im pretty mad at myself for breaking one on accident the other day digging in my door speaker

My 05 4.4 has a little over 87k and nothing major has happend . . . but eventually will as the car gets older - I expect that. It's the cost of ownership of any car. Sure the Lexus and Toyota are more reliable but when things break they are just as expensive to replace and repair. My 2001 Infiniti QX4 was really reliable but started to show some signs of issues right before I sold it (had approx. 110k on it).

Recent things I had to replace:

- front boots torn - decided to replace entire axles and seals on both sides- figure I do preventive maintenance since I was working down there anyway. Axles are aftermarket, inexpensive and have no problems with them. If I do, lifetime warranty . . .

- trifecta lights (ABS/4x4 . . .) - found out it was the alternator - autozone $250 and replaced

- changed shocks and struts - figure I change them since I was already replacing the axles and down there. While I was at it, I lowered it with H&R springs.

- replace coolant resv. - was cracked - cheap as I ordered from a dealer in IN. My local dealer wanted 2x as much.

- replaced battery - 7+ years old .. . that's expected.

- got some deal pixels on teh Nav so planning to replace soon and priced it out at $170 - OEM.

- new tires - DUH they wear out. They are performance tires and they will wear out faster than the ones on the Lexus or Toyota - its the trade you get for better handling.

- replaced a couple of door carriers in the past 2 months - normal wear and tear IMO but not bad for a 7+ year old vehicle.

Overall the X5 has been a workhorse and extremely reliable. I'd take it over any Lexus, Toyota or Infiniti made in the same year. Put it this way, I thought about the Lexus GX450/470 and thought the car was dated. Take for example, greater displacement in the GX450/470 but WAAAY less horses/gas milage AND the thing that made me laugh was that the 4x4 system was still manual (Toyota was the same obviously). You had to pull a lever on the floor - even the 2001 Infiniti QX4 had a switch on the dash.

At the end of the day, it's preference AND most importantly - do your homework on the car you are thinking about buying. You're buying a used car. I'd take my X5 anyday and plan on getting another soon.

What about a 4.8is?

Quote:

Originally Posted by boostd92 (Post 921335)

I've got a 3.0 and would never buy a 4.4

Having worked at a dealership and seeing the "Trifecta of Death" happen to so many people, I just don't want to take the risk.

Trifecta of Death:
1. Valve Seals
2. Intermidiate shaft levers
3. Transmission

Each one of the repairs above is $5,000+ and the 3.0i's don't have any of those problems (typically).

Bottom line is you have a 10+ year old vehicle. Maintenance and worn parts come with the territory. These are heavy vehicles that can perform. The stresses on its most basic components get taxed regularly.

I believe that with every vehicle there comes a point where you spend a bunch of money replacing basic elements in hopes of getting another relatively trouble free 80-100k miles.

I just got rid of mine at 100k because I was off extended warranty and felt any trip to the mechanic was going to be $2k to get it back up and running.

Negative equity doesn't help. I am sure you won't make that mistake again. It is a downward spiral.

Guess maybe spending a bit more more for a vehicle with less than 80k would be a good idea then.

first, regards to all X5 users in world wide ,second i sold my x5 e53 2003 model 3.0i due to the following reasons and i am very sad , it's comes to my dreams every time and usually search on internet for it.
1-radiator leaks.
2-passenger door window not comes up .
3-its very hard and not comfort.
4-also weals very hard 20 inch .
5-eating to much gas.
6-transmission suddenly stop work even in D RBM comes up only with no move.
7-leaders seats is very hard too
.8-steering very heavy and the bump very noisy turning time
9- some electrical issue some times rough idle.
10-maintenance very expensive and no good BMW fitter in my country
11-

Quote:

Originally Posted by ttzcar (Post 720028)

Unless I missed it, is there a page somewhere on this forum of which upcoming problems I might expect?

What should I expect to go wrong next with my X5?
I have a 2002 4.4i with the Sports Package and 107k miles which I bought pre-owned at about 51k miles, it was one owner and a perfect carfax (some lady in Manhattan Beach previously owned it) and I realize that you can’t truly subject a common problem, but I think if let's say 25 X5 owners experience something that RX350 owners don't, then it’s reason enough to warn others about it.

Because it seems like I'm always going through something. And my extended warranty ran out 2 years ago.
Coincidentally it seems like everything started going wrong after my first year with the car. (pre-owned, owned it for 3 years now)

So far:

Radiator went out
1 year later water pump broke and took out all the belts
Driver door handle broke (common problem)
Interior door handles pealing
Currently my Self-Leveling Suspension sensor needs to be replaced
Currently power steering pump is only half working. Steering is VERY hard.
Steering wheel has squeaked for 2 years now
All 4 window regulators broke, 2 within 2 months, one was 2 months after that (currently 2 are rigged to stay up)
My a/c or heater doesn’t work. Blower is out. (could be final stage resistor – could be another common problem) I found this to be dangerous because my windows COMPLETELY fogged up during the rain and I had to immediately pull over and wipe them down.
I replaced my brakes and they still squeak. (yes I know what I’m doing, I did my fiance’s IS250 the say day and hers are fine).
My rear drive-shaft/transfer case splines stripped. Thanks to RaceMalibu on this forum, that didn’t cost me much to fix (custom extended drive shaft)
None of my pixels work on my dash, I can’t tell what the hell is going on with my car.
Right/passenger rear view mirror stopped moving down when in reverse.
Power heated rearview mirror stopped working on driver side so when it rains, I can’t see.
I GO THROUGH TIRES LIKE A MUTHER F#CKER. Seriously, it’s HORRIBLE!
And unless something is wrong with my car, I’m spending about $400-$500 a month in gas.
(seriously with these gas prices I could go finance ZERO down a 2001 Lexus IS300 that would pay itself off. The monthly payment and gas combined is not going to be what I pay for gas alone. Then I could just wait my car out until I’m in a position to trade it in. Because I’m very upside-down on it, or this bitch would have been gone a long time ago.)
And I feel like the more I drive my X5, waiting until I could trade it in, the more I risk something else happening to it.

Including repairs, for what I pay for my car, I could buy myself a 2007 M5 and it’ll cost less monthly.

The SUV has a classic look, I don’t know how else to explain what I love about it, but it’s seriously completely embarrassing at this point.
It seems like every other month, I’m telling my friends something is wrong with it and EVERYTIME someone gets in my car they say “should I have my AAA card ready”.

Anyways, what else should I expect?
What has happened to your X5 that you read is common on this forum?

Thanks,

EVERYTHING!!!

PLAN OBSOLESENCE BY THOSE VERY SMART VERY GERMAN ENGINEERS.

BMW is a company whose goal is to make money. If a car last forever where is the profit in that. Lifetime fluid means they don't need to include it as part of their FREE maintenance programs to the original owners. Even ZF recommends fluid change for their trans, but they defer to BMW schedule and recommendation because they want to continue selling trans to BMW.

Old Post resurrected from the dead. Walking Dead series 2?

Gee, this whole list from Saudi looks like normal maintenance and wear and tear items on a high end European sport model in a harsh climate.

If you want a low maintenance vehicle buy a boring Jap model and enjoy.

There are only two options on High end cars, the pain of rapid Depreciation or out of pocket repairs that thoroughbreds require.

A well thought out DIY program with tools and knowledge like this web forum makes ownership and repairs easy as you are not the first person experiencing the issue posted.

Good Bye and good luck with your next purchase!