Coding is not going to fix the tamper lamp or VIN/SIA data. You can get a 4.6is cluster to work in a 3.0i. You'll need a special coding file from me and 1 more thing which I can help you find. Once you get the cluster let me know and I'll walk you through it.

What year is your x?

sounds good thanks

2002

from what i have gathered on multiple forums the 4.8 X53 and M5 E39 cluster are same and can work on 3.0i with "high" rating and needs re-code from dealer and for comp to tell new (used) cluster its an X, i just purchased M5 cluster so ill keep you posted to how accurate claim is.

Actually i beg to differ. I had a friend who had a X53 and when he tried to put it on the 3.0i, it gave him problems. Not sure whether he recoded it from the dealer or not tho'

Twinspoppa helped retrofit someones cluster from low to high and coded it etc. at a meet last year or so, I don't think they had the warning LED's or oil temp gauge working, but otherwise I think they got the tamper light out and mileage swapped.

heres what i found , not really sure how true but never hurts to try. its based on V8 but imma give it a shot.

The reason you need an oil temp gauge is because your engine sees the MOST wear when it is cold. Oil temperatures take much longer to get to 'normal operating temp' than your coolant does. This means that just because your engine temperature sensor says that the engine is 'HOT'. it really is NOT and that the oil will not be at operating temp for another 5 miles. This is one reason why bmw M put these oil temp gauges on their M series cars and those little rpm lights to turn back the rev limiter so you cant over rev the engine while cold.

I work for BMW. I have access to all the information I needed to come to the conclusion of how to get the cluster to work properly.

It is all in the coding.

The M5, the 540i, and the v8 x5s all share the same oil level sensor/temperature sensor. All of them are wired up the same.

It is ALL in the coding of the cluster! You have tell the car it is an m5 or a sport package X5 v8 with the fancy gray faced gauges, and an oil temp sensor.

There is no adding sensors or running new wiring. Everything is already there, the 540i just needs to be told that it has an oil temp gauge.

If you go through your OBC tests, you will see one test is for OIL TEMPERATURE which always reads at -40 something degrees just like your ambient temp sensor in the bumper when it isnt connected.

On a side note-

I own a Canadian spec car which reads in metric with no option to turn off the day time running lights which is a law in Canada. I hate DRLS and I had get them off.

I had to go in and tell the car that it was NOT a canadian car and that it was now a USA car. After changed programs, I then had the option to turn off the DRLs along with a few other settings that Canadian cars do not have.

if it doesnt work ill just order a used 3.0i : {

Beg to differ, yet you don't know if they coded it or not? :confused: Of course it's not going to work without coding. It's like when I dropped the M5 6spd into my 740iL, I got Trans Failsafe warnings until I coded the car to think it was a 540 6spd since the automatic transmission wasn't there anymore. People dropping the clusters with the variable RPM gauge has been going on for years and now that mostly everything needed to code vehicles can be bought online via eBay or elsewhere, people are doing this in their own garage, walking around with laptops at car shows, etc. Clusters aren't plug and play, so you should find out exactly what your friend did before you start disagreeing.