Electric Ghost in the machine
 

This morning I unlocked the car/security. Then closed the door and locked the security. The left/driver side rear upper tail light stayed on. I open the car, removed the bulb/socket. Closed the car, security set. Moments later I came back to meet the tow truck and the bottom rear left tail light was on. I removed it. The locked and unlocked. Security working. No dash lights.
2 weeks ago the radio wouldn't shut down, the top light/clock bar stayed on.
SO, I removed the radio fuse from the rear fuse links. The security/lock system as worked perfectly. Are these two related? Is this a battery issues to come sign?

the E53 (as well as many other european vehicles) has a special Curb Parking feature, when you park your car's right (or left) wheels on the curb and the opposite wheels remain on the driving road - you activate the front and rear lights on the side of the car that is "hanging" on the road by moving the turn signal stalk while the engine is off...

If that feature was not activated, then you might have battery problems - the electronics in the BMWs are very sensitive to the voltage variations...

Why were you waiting for the tow truck. I bet what you described, is due to alternator or battery issues.

The tow truck was wisely used to avoid further damage to the vehicle because of a broken Disa Valve. Diagnosed because of this site and member support information. The rebuild kit is on the way along with many other parts. Electrical is a bit more advanced for my experience with this X5 model. Thank you. I'll look into the battery/alternator readings.