the rest of the story.........
 

So this has been on my mind since I started this thread.
Bought a true "BMW" oil filter and pulled out the Mann and thought I waisted $10 for this experiment as the BMW filter was still longer than the "crushed" mann (see photo).

BUT.......those that spoke about the "snap" were correct. I never pushed my filter into the cap and heard that snap until now. I think my filters were always sitting on the circular frame of the top of the cap. This time when it snapped I pulled it back out and saw the mark where it fits into that frame. Weird that the force of screwing down the cap never snapped it in??
THANKS to all that gave there input.
Kinda feeling like an idiot that I have been doing this for years......

thanks for the update,something to look out for when doing a oil change.

I'm just chiming in on this thread to note that the last filter I installed was a Mahle-Knecht filter from AutohausAZ. Changing my oil and filter this evening and am having a terrible time trying to get that filter out. I was pulling pretty forcefully and couldn't get the old one to come out, so I resorted to cutting through the hard plastic end cap, then tore out the paper filter portion and now am left with the other plastic cap stuck down in the oil filter cap. Some have advocated for this type of filter with the hard ends, but I won't be buying another one after this experience. Now to figure out how to get the rest of the old filter out.

Most here ONLY recommend using Genuine BMW filters, these have the plastic end caps and snap out without issues.

Buy OEM or aftermarket and you're rolling the dice.

I can appreciate that some will only ever buy things stamped BMW, but bear in mind that for some items the only thing genuine is the stamp itself. BMW certainly doesn't manufacture every component and fluid they put into their vehicles. Also, if you read through the entire thread, it would appear that there is a certain amount of dice rolling when buying from the dealership anyway.

In the picture above, the Mann filter looks very similar to the BMW filter, without plastic end caps. The Mahle filter has hard plastic caps on the ends.

So....I started this thread and had gone back to say the BMW filter "snapped" in further, well.....did the oil filter housing gasket a couple of weeks ago and checked on that "genuine BMW" filter and it was just as crushed and twisted as the Mann filters I used to use.
I can't figure out why, really searched to see if anything was holding it up either in the cap or the housing and can't see anything.
Thanks to those that have said they have seen the same, at least I am not alone.

Just to clear things up, Genuine BMW filters on the 3.0i do NOT have end caps.

Has anyone looked to see if a piece of an old filter is in there. I've seen that happen with aftermarket filters. That would explain your problem. V-8 filters snap into the top cover the 6 cylinders don't.

Anything within the filter cover should be pretty obvious, at least I would think. When you look down into the cover there should be nothing surrounding the little cage that the filter slides on to.

I had installed one of the Mahle filters with the hard plastic ends and had a terrible time getting it out. Ended up ripping out all the filter media then drilling holes into the hard end cap that was stuck inside the cover until it was weak enough to break out. Of course, because of all of that, I ended up having to wash out the cover and thoroughly drying it out with a heat gun. Way too involved for an oil/filter change.

Then I installed a Mann filter (without the hard plastic ends) and when I pressed on it, it did actually snap in. I never noticed the filters being twisted like the OPs, but will watch for that now.

I love my X5, but this filter and filter cover design leaves a lot to be desired. I had a couple Mercedes prior to this and much prefer the canister design of those filters. And the filter housings and covers aren't plastic like these.

There may be some non critical parts for which that is true, but certainly not oil filters. Reference the PPAP (production part approval process) defined by AIAG and utilized by BMW and many others. Google PPAP. BMW controls every part and fluid put into their vehicles. The use of suppliers requires defined processes, both in the planning stage and later in production.