X5 WORST BUILT CAR IN THE WORLD!!!!!!
 

Do I have your attention? Good. I have owned over 10 BMW's and I have to say, my 2001 X5 is by FAR the worst car I've ever owned in my life (over 100 cars in 30 years).

Just hit 140K miles and every single part of the front and rear suspension has failed in the last month...okay, fine...wear and tear. The reason I am so pissed is because NO MECHANICS, not even the DEALER, can get the brake disks off, the ball joints out, the control arms off, etc.

I have broken a dozen "ball joint removal" tools working on this suspension, gone through dozens of propane torches, and destroyed several 4lb hammers trying to remove a front lower ball joint (the one in the really tall knuckle that no tool seems to fit).

Tried air chisel, air hammer, pickle fork, etc. So now I have this $10,000 hunk of metal sitting in my garage that I can't drive over 30 mph without the wheels literally shaking the steering wheel out of my hands.

Have also had to replace all four window regulators, ABS sensors, camshaft position sensors, and a dozen other sensors.

This morning, the SES light came on...but I haven't used my Peake scanner on it yet because I simply don't care any more. If anyone wants to see the soon-to-come video of me lighting this vehicle on fire in a vacant parking lot, shoot me an email at [email protected].

I realize your frustration but seriously?, They're amazing cars but do need their share of maintenance. Everything you've described going wrong is just little things going bad due to old age and wear. Fix the damn car and you'll be fine. It's not going to be a Honda in terms of reliability but it's still a BMW. I have an 02 4.6is with 127k and wouldn't hesitate to drive it across the country tomorrow.

I agree with X5Alpine, e 53 do need a fair share of maintenance but You have to have BMW certified shops or the stealer to do the work, if not, You are asking for trouble.

HA!
 

Cross country? Yeah, I thought that too at 120K when I drove to Dallas for Christmas...halfway back to Kansas the little hose between the radiator and the reservoir sprung a leak and drained all the fluid in about a minute. Tow truck driver wouldn't give me a ride to the gas station 30 miles away so I could buy a pocket knife to cut off the split end and re-attach, so paid to have it towed. My 11 year old son had to wait in the freezing back seat while I did the repair in a 30mph blizzard.

Even if by some miracle someone repairs this car as it sits right now, I wouldn't trust it to go 10 more miles without something else failing.

If I hadn't spend every dime of my disposable income on parts and tools in the past year, I would have bought an older Honda Accord in a heartbeat to have as my reliable daily driver, and kept the X5 as a project car.

The vehicle is over 10 years old....nothing of what you posted is unexpected and is quite frankly unreasonable NOT to expect all of those items in terms of maintenance (if not from the miles....based on age alone). Secondly, a handheld propane torch is for plumbers; if you expect any kind of real results get your hands on a real fire wrench (Oxy Acetylene Torch). Personally I find it hard to believe even a dealer could not get rotors off one way or another...Theres ALWAYS a way.

IMO it's posts like this that give incredible vehicles such as the E53 a bad wrap; when, in actuality, it's the owners who are at fault for not being prudent with the scheduled maintenance or armed with any sort of preventative measures.

I have never heard of not being able to get the suspension apart, certainly not the rotors off. I have never heard of every part of the suspension failing inside of 1 month either. Having owned 100 cars in 30 years it sounds like you have not emotional attachments your vehicles. I assume you have become aware when vehicles hit the stage of their lifecycle when the higher cost maintenance items like a suspension rebuild normally take place. If my history was similar to yours I would have sold it between 60-70,000 miles. What prompted you to buy over 3 cars a year?

Well KC, I tend to echo a lot of your concerns. I've also owned a pretty good sampling of vehicles (mostly German), and my 2002 X5 4.4, has been a real let down! I bought it because it seemed to be a good deal, with relativley low mileage (111Km/66M). I've owned it for about 8 months now, and have had the pleasure of fixing:
-Coolant expansion tank
-Valley pan gasket (PITA!)
-Valve cover gaskets
-Thrust arm bushings
-Mystery clunk from the rear (loose Trailer hitch)

It seems to drive OK now, but there are still a bunch odd electrical issues:
-Bizzare intermitant stereo issues (distorted sound, won't read CD's)
-Periodic starter clunk, and failure to start (seems to work 2nd try?)
-Odd behaviour with the door locks
- Oh, and an abnoxious periodic squeal from the brakes (not wear)

I previously had a '97 528i, with a lot more mileage that never gave me a fraction of the issues that this pig has. In fact, this rig has left me with such a sour taste for BMW that it made me sell my '04 M3 Convertible.

The manager of one of the shops that I deal with said, "BMW's are nice vehicles, but they sure don't like getting old!". I think that he is spot on, and the build quality for the X5 seems to be exceptionally poor.

Good Luck! Chances are you're going to need it!

+1

Could be a "rust belt" X with a prior owner who chose to ignore the importance of regular underside cleanings/conditionings. Some are fooled into thinking that their local car wash chassis rinse does the trick when most simply filter and reuse the salt laden water. Clean/seal B4 winter and regular CLEAN water flushes during winter are a must. Spring clean/lube/seal too. BMW spells it all out in the care manual provided with EVERY vehicle yet most owners choose to ignore it.:confused:

I agree Ogo...
 

Haha...yeah I forgot to mention the weird starting problem mine has...sometimes when I start it, the starter keeps going by itself. I quickly turn it off and try again, and it works fine. Happens about once a week.

I also had a 1997 BMW 528i that I took to 250,000 miles with only having to replace brakes and shocks, which were all easy DIY jobs. All my other BMW's were 3-series and all had over 100K miles on them and NEVER had the issues that this X does. I'm not arguing that parts might fail sooner on this vehicle because of it's weight or whatever...what I don't understand is why all the steel parts tend to "weld" themselves together or rust together...especially since I live in the Midwest where rust just hasn't been an issue.

I don't know the history of this vehicle so I naturally assumed that everything on it was still a factory part, and planned ahead for certain repairs. However, I buy vehicles not so much based on mileage, as I do on the overall condition...inside and out. This X5 was immaculate...and all the rubber boots on the driveshafts, balljoints, etc. looked fine, and there was no wheel wobble at all. (expecting the common wheel bearing wear)

I also have the dreaded oil leaks that I haven't tackled yet because I honestly don't have any more time to devote to this car, and can't just leave it at a shop all day until I can buy a little beater car to get to work and back.

The other fun part about owning a BMW in Kansas is that it's almost impossible to find sockets and tools to fit. Get this...went to AutoZone, Advance Auto Parts, O'Reilly Automotive, Harbor Freight, Clark Tools, and Sears, looking for a 36mm 12-point socket for the drive shaft. Nobody had it. Took the vehicle to a local shop asking them to just break it free for me so I could replace the drive shaft, but they didn't have that size either so had to special order it from the web.

Also had a hard time finding a 16mm socket, which seems to be a pretty common size for this vehicle, but no other vehicles. Before you guys write me off as an idiot...do a little homework...go look at metric socket sets at Sears and auto parts stores...no 16mm and usually no 19mm. Same with open-end wrench sets.

Now I have a garage full of BMW-only tools and code scanners that I'll never use again and will never get back what I paid for all of it.

All I can say about BMW now if someone asks is, "buy a new one, and buy the most expensive extended warranty package they will offer". "If you don't have $10,000 just lying around for repairs, don't bother...you will be taking a taxi."

History includes the location where prior owners have used the vehicle. Even 1 or 2 years of severe winter use will continue to cause rust if the materials applied to roads remain on the chassis/suspension components. Wet weather/humidity re-activates them.