i am proud and "lucky" owner of a 2003 4.4i :-)
got it for couple years now and(in canadian dollars):
1. remote key - battery died, needed new, 180$
2. door lock cylinder - used key for time of waiting for new remote... 260$
3. water pump - fell apart as i was pulling in my yard(lucky me)... 180$
4. my passenger door: mirror doesnt work, windows doesnt work, central lock doesnt work... pain in a butt, with -30 outside my wifey waiting to get door opened lol
5. new battery - 130$ got the most powerful one
6. takes 40 minutes for truck to blow hot air - probably thermostat...
7. got a spike in tire - 350$ tire (not vehicle related but - "luck")
8. constanty getting "check back light" "check break light"
9. turn signal burned out - gotta get whole headlight out... bulbs cheap hehe
10. leaking antifreeze - 6$ o-rings but 6 hours of certified work required
11. replaced rotors and pads - 300$ front and 300$ back. btw - dealership quoted 460$ parts and labor(rotors,pads and sensors)... very cheap! Midas qouted more and using aftermarket parts...
12. replaced whole front end "wear and tear" - paid 350USD on ebay, kind of regret doing that, was unnecessary and had to get two wheel alignments and still shakes.
13. replaced driver side front break cylinder - 105$!!!
Well, that's all i did in past year...
14. Two days ago my wiper went up and stopped there - either motor or relay...
15. Last week my rear window washer stopped working...
But, i love the truck and plan to keep it :-)
The only thing is a relatively common issue with a 4.4i (M62) is the hydraulic effect which causes engine to become garbage... its -25C again and i am worried every morning my friend had that, 3000$ for a used engine...

Wait till your transmission starts acting up :D

Oh man, not another one of these "I hate my X5 threads". I have a 02 4.4 with 108k on it. I have replaced the valley pan gasket, the entire cooling system, alt, all the brake pads and a window regulator. Still love the car. If one learns to maintain their X5 they will learn to appriciate the engineering behind it all. I guess some of you bought the wrong car. Good luck with your next purchase.

And I thought it was only me. Sure I love the car but if I didn’t pay 11K for a 2001 in 2006 I would not be happy, if I had to pay for repairs I wouldn’t be happy. If I paid $70K for a new one I would have shot myself by now.

I’m not sure what to list, the things that broke or what still works. Currently have 3 BMW’s and this one is by far the worst to maintain. If you’re wondering about the $11K price, the PO was about to trade it in for $10K when he had the dreaded white smoke problem. Cost me $300 to repair vs. the quoted $3000. I wonder if it was worth it at 11K, for now I just live with it.

None of my current BMW's or past have ever been like this. The first gen. X5 is not a good model to judge BMW by.

:iagree:

I've made several major repairs on my X just this year alone.
- Transmission rebuilt
- Entire Cooling System
And other maintenance items...

I am just glad that I have an extended warranty to help me cover most of the expenses.
Having said all that, I still love my "X", it is one of those things that you just have to learn and accept that the maintenance and repair work comes w/ the territory of owning an older but sexy vehicle. ;)

love/hate
 

i own a 2005 x5 4.4. bought it cpo in august 2008 with 14k miles, it now has 27k..i have had some problems...fuel pump replaced, water pump replaced, tranny reflashed twice. tranny still not fixed getting the famous bucking sensation from 2nd to 1st..bad pano roof rattle...all was fixed under cpo but these required several dealer visits...i dont care what they say but a car that costs as much as our x's whether new or used and all the engineering that goes into them thay should not have all these issues..imo it is poor parts procurement and design issues...and the argument that they require more maintainance because thye are performance vehicles does not sit well with me. that would be a point if it were a ferrari or lambo but not a sport activity vehicle which is supposed to have been designed to handle a littlle more wear and tear than a regular car...sorry for the rant but when i hear well its a bmw yada yada yada it drives me insane...thanks rob

:rofl: :iagree:
i agree with that!
it is pathetic that vehicle that originaly cost over 60k should be falling appart afer 3 -4 years.
i personally think the big problem is that it is put together in u.s.a....
i;ve heard from bmw technicians that x3s are alot more reliable because they are(were) made in germany not in states.:dunno:
maybe its a lack or training or lack of patience or lack care for what they do but...

btw i fixed my wiper - was lame proble, one of bolts got loose and arm was catching on it, had to put longer bolt
turn signal was very easy, took 10 minutes to do , 4bolts :)

Thanks for all of your feedback. Makes me feel like I am not alone. I certainly do not hate my X5, but its just a downer to have a car less than a year and I have had to do more to it than all of the other cars I have owned combined. Even though I have a 2003, it only has 58K on it and the previous owner had all of the service records from the dealership. I live about 10 minutes from BMWNA and have been in the plant several times as my company supplies services to them. These cars go through tons of quality inspections. They are extremely picky as to what passes their inspection and what doesn't. I can understand regular maintenance and am happy to do it, but for the cost of the car and everything that is put into it, you should be able to have more than 58K on it before things start breaking down. With that being said, I just saw the new X3 a few days ago and it is a beauty! So even with the issues I have had, I would buy another one in a second.

I love to maintain my X, it just makes me happy to put new parts on her; with that said, I do not like to fix cars. I try to catch any potential problems before they become problems. I strongly believe keeping it clean is the biggest way to keeping her happy. Clean fluids, filters, engine, and her skin.
There is something to be said about most Americans and their lack of pride in what they do, there is far too much entitlement here and everyone works for "benefits" and not for the pride of accomplishing something or provicing for yourslelf and family. I HATE when people ask "what benefits do you offer?" A PAYCHECK!!!!! NOT everyone is like this though, I'm sure there is a ton more pride at the BMW factory or any other foreign car company building here that there is in the big 3.
O well, I absolutelly LOVE my X and my wife won't give it up for anything either. Which says a lot about it because she usually doesn't mind what she is driving as long as it is clean and in good shape. The only time I get to drive the X is when we are together. She is the family's work horse, we take her everywhere. I just got a tow hitch on her and now she has even taken over our 'truck' duties as well :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

I totally agree with you. I have 06 BMW X5 4.4. It was no problem at before 50K miles. After 4 yrs and 50K miles factory warranty, I start having so many problems which are very normal for BMW X5 based on what I read from this forum. That's bad and painful for my pocket. I have spending around $2K plus for :

1. Left Front bushing replacememt and Alignment
2. Steering Fluid leak, sweating hoses. I can not believe it.
3. broken door handle, poor design on the cable carrier inside.
4. Normal break job, I understand. It is maintenance.
5. Transmission fluid and transfer case fluid change

Now my car is 63K miles, I suspect that I will have many issues coming up. My wife Mercedes did not have many issues in general.

But I have to say, the car is truly Ultimate driving machine. Handling is beautiful. It requires extra $ to drive this monster.

Have fun, I feel your pain.