empleinair- I think he means the option to control the hot to cold air ratio coming from the vents. Before iDrive there used to be a vertical knob above the vents that allowed for a quick adjustment of that ratio, now you have to do it through idrive.

That is not the same as controlling AC or heat however, you don't need idrive for that, but to do some micro adjustments to the airflow you will need to do it through idrive now.

I hope that makes sense..

Update-EDC Fault
 

Took car to the dealership today. SA was sympathetic, "This should not happen with a two week old car!" (I agreed!)

Dealership gave me a loaner (528i, 3,600 mi. clean)

SA called this PM. Part (ECD sensor) on order should have by Tuesday of next week.

I am pleased so far with the attitude & service. Hope the sensor swap fixes the issue. Miss the X-5 already.

kustjag-thanks for your clarification

jwhkc- good luck & hope the problem gets resolved asap!

good choise :) the interior of the x5 is so badass

• Brake dust. Same here. I've only had it a couple of weeks and a few hundred miles. Surprised at how dirty the front wheels have already gotton.

• I don't seem to have a problem with the backup camera. I see just fine backing out of my 60' driveway. I have a single street lamp on my property line between my neighbor and I. It's not very bright, but it's bright enough... where I don't have problems seeing/ backing up at night.

My brother is an Engineer with Micron Tech - CMOS image sensors division. He works with CMOS image sensors everyday. I'll see if he can look at the BMW backup camera and see about replacing it/experimenting with one of their nicer CMOS cameras.

• I've pretty much have figured out the whole iDrive system, so the learning curve for me was rather easy. I actually wish there was more Engine data I could see in iDrive. Like water temp, oil temp, voltage, etc...

• Having issues with my Samsung cell phones, not transferring my address book to the iDrive. But, every other feature for the iDrive/cell phone works just fine. Just got into hacking into my cell phone, so I'll see if I can change some cell phone settings via BitPim to see if I can get the iDrive to recognize my address book.

2008
 

I have had my 2008 X5 3.0 for one month. It is a terrific, if not fantastic driving car. This is my 5th BMW, but first SAV, did not like the first version, second version seems to be a bit crisper looking especially from behind. It took awhile to realize that you need to be firm on the accelerator pedal if you want a quick response from a stand still. But once you get the hang of it you can get very good performance from the car. Plenty of room in middle row for my three kids. Two back seats are very small and cramped even for my 11 year old.

2k miles into it, I am thrilled with the car. averaging 18 miles per gallon so far here in Massachusetts. I guess I was hoping for a little more, but my Z4 only gets 24 and it weights about 1500 pounds less. Most will not look to own the X5 for its MPG.

Overall an absolute winner.

knocking noise...
 

I had to get be 08 with the knocking noise in the rear hatch area!!!!! Bringing it in to the tech tomorrow. Dealer says it maybe the rear hatch lock... I had it since the first week in December and it went from one knock a day to several a day. Like its getting looser (whatever it is)... Keep you all posted on the tech fix tomorrow... Any other 08's with this problem???

Most likely its the rear hatch latch is loose!! Do you have a problem with the lights staying on when your trunk is closed ?? Don't bother taking it in ( waste of time) if your latch is loose, just tighten it down with wrench . I had the same problem

so far after three weeks of owning my beloved X I must say i am totally happy with her!!

my comments....

* love the nevada leather...very rugged and offers a good amount of grip...(I don't like the slippery feeling of other smoother leathers..)
* backup camera not as bad as others have mentioned... it seems to brighten as it comes to life... to the point where it is actually pretty useful in the dark...(as long as it's not pitch black dark)
* auto-tailgate is a beautiful thing...hold the button for 1 second and voila!
* plenty of storage areas to hide things...(cleaning supplies, tools, etc) without having to leave it in the trunk area.
* I've been keeping it under 4500 rpm cause i'm still breaking it in..but pickup is adequate and more than my previous E53 and Landcruiser...
* quiet ride... non-sport suspension still feels sporty and stable... i can take fast turns without feeling like it's going to give out....still running on stock 18s but will swap to 214s after winter season..
* standard sound is not bad...sounds great at a descent level but buzzy if you really raise the volume so i'm definitely upgrading the speakers for more bass and clarity... (wish i'd opt for the premium sound)
* heated seats work great! wife simply loves them and looks for an excuse to accompany me on my errands..
* comfort access is a must have... haven't used the keyfob since...(except when showing off the ambient lighting when arming/disarming at night!!)
* no issues with idrive...screen comes right on and immediately starts playing the radio when i hit the start button.
* NAV is pretty good! (comparable to my Garmin) but without the touch screen!! (BMW should have made it a touch screen!!)
* ipod adapter works perfectly! no issues whatsoever!
* heated steering wheel would have been nice in this frickin cold!!

** only real problem is that the PDC and DTC buttons require some finessing when manually activating/deactivation these features... they don't seem to come on on first touch.

an upcoming trip to the service dept should fix this..

so far no issues, error codes or stalling.... :thumbup:

will post pics when i have my accessories and other options installed..

^ I wish the ambient lighting comes on when you're within comfort access range. Seems a waste. It doesn't come on at all without hitting the keyfob, right?