Gauge questions - 4.6is
 

This weekend I went for a trip to Illinois but left my car outside at a friends house. It was put away hot (45 minute trip from work to friends house) and had not need started while I was gone. Last night, I jokingly said I wonder if it will start so I went out, key on to acc 2 saw that everything looked good and keyed off. I Did not start the car. Then I had to run to the gas station so I went out got in my car, started fine but I had two issues with the gauges and possibly one with the head lights.

1. Tach lights read that the car was hot when in reality the car was stone cold.

2. Oil temp gauge read above 210 on initial start up, however as I drove the gauge swung back down to "cold" and worked its way up to temp. This was a short trip, engine did not get up to full operating temperature

3. Headlights appeared as though the auto level was stuck down. This could be all in my head as I was in a 3/4 ton pick up truck this weekend which sits higher than my x5 but I though my low beams were pointed higher then what they seemed last night.

4. On start up this morning, I had a lot of exhaust/smoke which smelled but I could tell if it was a burning smell, fuel smell etc. is it possible that due to the short trip last night, there may have been some left over gas that didn't evaportate as it normally would have if the engine was hot? No warning lights, no loss of power etc. Afrer the 40 minute trip to work this morning, he car was still producing exhaust but it's also about 3 degrees here this morning.

Overall conclusion, my x5 does not like cold weather.

Other important information: I did not disconnect the battery to try to reset the cars electronics. I am going to attempt this after work today. Until then, any insight is appreciated.

Whenever a BMW starts acting up like that (weird electrical malfunctions and general unexplainable behaviour), you will want to check your battery.
Our beloved cars are pretty sensitive to low battery performance.
How old is your battery?

I would need to check. I Just bought the car in December but I would imagine it is probably on the older side. No problems starting, maybe a slightly extended crank on first start up back from the weekend. I will be going to lunch shortly and am nervous / excited to see if everything is back to normal after a 45 minute drive to work today.

It propably will be. But i would still get the battery checked if i was you. It might be just strong enough to seem ok for everyday use. But chances are that next time the car is parked in cold weather for an extended period, you will have problems again and perhaps not even be able to start the car.

Also check the connections on the battery posts. Sketchy battery connections can result in the same weird problems.

During the winter months i connect a trickle charger to mine once or twice a week, to keep my battery on top of things.

Looks loke everything is good now gauge wise. Will have to see the lights tonight after work and Im not sure if I saw smoke or not on start up

Hopefully it's just water vapor from the water that has condensed inside your exhaust system while the car was parked.
It should be gone after a 15-20 mins drive at operating temperature.

Parked the car in the garage overnight, roughly 40 degrees inside the garage. started the car this morning and ran to the back to see if it had any smoke. No smoke on start up. I think this car just hates the extreme cold weather we've been having lately.

My 02 4.6is hated the cold unless it was already up to running temp then it loved the cold air but I never ever let it sit outside on a cold night because the cold start the next morning would make the motor sound like it was coming apart.

Agreed. Normally mine stays in the garage. my most recent service included an oil change ( ccv stuff) and my indy put 5w40 amsoil in. I really don't like it for winter. Going back to 0w40 mobil 1 tonight. Thought I'd try to get away with it as long as possible but on a cold start it sounds like the engine is going to blow up (rattle for sec or 2)