For what it's worth, I will echo the sentiment from X5SND above. I wish you well if you are getting rid of it, but if you bought the E53 and expected Toyota/Volvo reliability, it was a wrong assumption.

The E53 is a GREAT vehicle (many of us on the forums are on our 2nd or 3rd E53), and personally I don't see myself driving anything else for a long time, I've already owned mine for 2 years.

Was it a pain in the ass getting caught up on all the maintenance needed on a 10 year old vehicle? Hell yes it was. Was I a little annoyed at times, of course. When you buy a used vehicle though you better expect the most amount of problems and "catch up" maintenance in the first 2 years of ownership. I've had a few months (about 6 actually) now with literally not a peep from my X5, it just goes.

But to start off my list, when I bought it, I had to do the following:
-Air bags in the front and air compressor (known for leaks esp at 10 years old!)
-Belts, tensioners, fan clutch was shot (belts and tensioners were preventative)
-Driveline fluids replaced (PS fluid, brake/clutch flush, front/rear diffs, transfer case fluid, manual trans fluid)
-Complete rebuild of front suspension (CV boots, front wheel bearings, thrust arms, wishbones, ball joints, tie rods, front sway bushings), and some rear susp I did myself (rear sway bar links and bushings), and 4 wheel alignment
-New set of tires as original 10 year old Michelins were dry rotted and bald, I elected to upgrade to staggered 20s with Toyos

And on top of that the slight mods I did (I won't list those as its not relevant), and some minor fixes like passenger door carrier, weatherstrip clips, HVAC buttons, etc.


Basically besides the front wheel bearings, those were all things I was expecting to have to do soon after taking ownership of a 10 year old vehicle in the Northeast. Anything with rubber in it or a rubber bushing is going to break down regardless of mileage (I have 71k now, bought my X at 58k), fluids need periodic replacement, and wear items like belts, etc heat cycle. These are my experiences, but now that I am "caught up", other than every day paying attention to how the vehicle drives and behaves, I will go by a periodic maintenance schedule for other items.


The E53 has plenty of its share of quirks, which are well documented thankfully by the many members here. However, the drive of the vehicle, the way its planted, I can't see myself driving anything else. My mom drove a Q7 S-line TDI, and while the engine is beautiful and mileage great, the E53 truly sucks you in as a real driver's vehicle, whereas the Audi felt boring and disconnected from the road.

How many other examples of a 14 year old design do you see on the road each day that still excite you? You'd be hard pressed, and although yes the E53 is 14-15 years old now, it's still a vehicle that people mistake for something much much newer! Not many others like it IMO.

Since you bought the car new and list these as your major problems of ownership in 122k miles, I'd like to note the following:

• Sunroof cassette @ $3500 (not repaired) (Both repair kits can put the panoramic sunroof in working order, $250 in parts but if you are paying the dealer for everything I'd expect them to charge 1k in labor, still cheaper than the whole cassette replacement you paid $3500 for)
• Replacement of all electronics in "money corner" as the dealer puts it. Back left corner due to sunroof drain plugging. $3600. (sunroof drains clogging are very common, you didn't notice water pooling up prior to all electronics being damaged? Its a shitty situation, but normally the vehicle gets musty with standing water)
• Pixelated dash (not repaired) (both MID and cluster can be repaired with new cluster ribbons for $200 by a pro, or $60 if you DIY, as tmv has done)
• Auto wipers and headlight sensor failure. BMW says replace the windshield for $1300. (was your windshield ever replaced? if its original, I would say you it might be a recode of your DME module, but if just auto wipers and auto headlights don't work, you can still use wipers on regular cycle and manually turn on headlights, right? Not exactly a disasterous failure, I never use auto headlights)
• CV joint failure (boot ripped? very common and needs replacement every 50k miles or more in a salt prone area)
• Power steering pump replacement (not common, but has been documented)
• Thermostat replacement (very common, surprised you only did 1 T-stat replacement!)
• Passenger mirror failure (the dip function? easily fixable in an hour with no money and just hand tools)

Honestly, for original owner over 8 years and 122k miles, your list isn't too bad LOL

Wow, I am feeling lucky now. I got my old 3.0 with a lot already done... still got a list for the spring, though, hehehe.

:iagree: I came from an A6 Audi Avant.

I kinda agree with the OP. Of all the BMW's I'v owned (323, 330, 540, M3 ) , both my E53 and E70 are by far the worst.

With BMW's , it's always been a love/hate relation but with my X's , hate is taking over $1K at a time........

And always to trot out the myth of the maintenance-free and bulletproof Japanese cars, lol. I used to have an Infiniti G35 (Gen 2) and was a member on a forum with early cars that were ~5-6 years old and there was always an absolute litany of complaints about this and that failing. Suspension, brakes, interior falling apart, oil-burning engines and rust. Buddy swears by his Toyotas but they spend almost a month per year in the shop just for regular service and it's not cheap.

I've run BMWs since 1987, putting half a million km + on them (E12, E21, E30, a couple of E34s (one a super fussy M5), E46, and currently the E53 and an E60 535xi) and yes, they need maintenance, but I've never had to do more than ordinary maintenance on any of them. And I don't really expect that to change with the current ones either. Staying on top of things has always been the key.

Have you had the transmission serviced? I was having slipping/slamming issues with my trans a month ago too.

Local Indy did the trans service (pan drop, filter, fluid, flush) for 420 bucks and my trans has been flawless ever since.

Also, most of the items you listed are normal wear items for a car with the mileage you have. So don't blame it on the X5.

:iagree: I've been stranded more times in Japanese cars then American and German COMBINED. Had a brand new CRX that use to blow fusable links in winter (at least 6 each winter), bone stock vehicle.

Replaced the alternator in the dog shuttle Accord last year, went with Dealer part. Output was 14v until underhood operating temp was reached, dropped to 8v, bad regulator. Had to haggle with Dealer parts manager for over 1/2hr to swap for another unit because 1st one was NG.

Brandon,
I think most of long time BMW owners know what they are getting into maintenance wise when they buy a BMW especially used. We all get actively involved when it comes to staying on top of things. If we keep on buying them it's because we have a true passion for the driving experience they bring us. Mind you, I don't hate the occasional DIY stuff that needs to be done and at the end of the day, I kinda enjoyed myself doing it. It's part of the fun especially knowing we have a great forum community that is always there to help (like yourself for example). But comes a point where we can absolutely blame it on the X knowing we are doing everything that is possible to stay on top of our game but the X keeps on charging back with more problems.

Whenever my friends would laugh at me when I had mechanical failure and they would tell me to dump that piece of S**T, I would strongly defend the brand saying they couldn't understand as they were not BMW owners. I guess it was emotions defending the brand back then. But if you put emotions aside for a min , it's kinda hard to tell a friend that the X is worth buying even if they are willing to put in the time we all do in maintenance cause emotions aside, it's ridiculous. We find a sense in all the work because we just love the feeling of driving it??? Is it the prestige of owning one?
Emotions aside, most X's are a piece of expensive crap and yes we can blame it on the X.

FWIW, not including any items used in modding my X -- wheels, 4 sets of rubber (1 set 17" summer, 1 set 17" winter, 2 sets 20" summer/all season), or the odds&end parts that I get locally (filters, oil, misc); since 2010 when my CPO was up/ending, I'm currently sitting at about $7000 in parts alone. An X5 is not cheap to maintain by any means...but I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat.

I've had about 1.5k in repair costs in the past 4yrs/75k miles (at 175k total miles, bought with 100k miles). Repairs needed currently are new radiator, control arm bushings, driver door handle carrier and valve cover gaskets.

Would not consider selling because the X is so comfortable on long trips.

Having done dozens of 1100 mile trips (at over 70 mph average speed, 1 stop for gas) between TX & FL, I've found the X to be the most comfortable sport oriented vehicle for the 15 hr drive. Even done a few runs with a 6k lb cargo trailer and enjoyed the trip (not chasing trailer sway).