Let's hear from the '08 owners.....
 

I'm interested to hear experiences from the '08 owners regarding issues, praises, improvements over the '07's etc, etc. I'm very curious to know if past issues discussed on this board have been fixed in this new model, for example, the quality of the backup camera etc.

good idea!!

i will definitely post when i pick up next weekend!!

most of the fixes are software related so it's good for all of us to know what version of firmware they are up to...

pls specify any improvements and firmware version if you have that info....

im an 08 owner ..

the backup camera is still the cheap quality one ..
ive had the car since Nov 12th and so far , no issues ..
i dont think i have the latest firmware version because i only get to choose between the PDC or camera on reverse mode , not both ..

thats abt it ..

PROS:

- amazing handling , very quiet at speeds up to 140 km/hr ..
- PDC is very very reliable ..
- with active steering , parking is a breeze :)
- AC is very fast in cooling .. only one bar is enough !! or if you're extrememly hot , then maybe 3 bars will do ..
- i have the premium sound system and they are absolutely the best !! never heard better speakers than those in any other car !!
- Head Up display is a MUST !!!!!
- comfort access is a MUST as well .. i never ever unlocked the vehicle using the remote .. all u have to do is touch the door handle and thats it !!


CONS :

- very bad mileage , this baby GULPS petrol down !!
- "cruise control with braking function" is not that reliable , it takes ages for the car to brake when going downhill ..




thats about it .. this is one amazing baby !! good luck with her

Overall love the truck, if I were to nitpick, here we go.
1. Not thrilled with backup camera, in pretty dim areas when backing up, camera barely displays anything. I have attempted to clean it and there was a little improvement, but much more to be desired.
2. When parked and just listening to ipod or on the phone, I sometimes hear the navigational DVD spinning as if its navigating me somewhere, navigation was not in use nor was I moving.
3. when going through mp3 cd or ipod, at times delays could be up to 1 second to switch the song, etc. thats a little annoying, but nothing you cant get used to.
4. I had at least 3 occasions when drivers side rear door was closed but apparently not pushed hard enough to actually fully close and had to have passengers open and close it again. It may need allignment or something. Also if the door is not closed, the interior lights stay on, but no indication of which door untill you actually start moving, thats a little annoying if you are trying to figure out who didnt close the door. my older e46 had a diagram all the time with a particular door lighting up when its open.
5. when braking at night, the center tail light in the hatch reflects some of the red light back into into the car and I would not expect that for a high end car like this.

you are right about number 1 and 4 (except that it was the rear hatch instead of the side doors) and number 5 is so TRUE !!

Can't give any feedback yet- she is still stuck in production.

Love it!!!
 

I have only had 1 minor problem with my 2008. The factory installed ipod adapter is not compatible with the gen 6 ipods. This is just a software fix that BMW is coming out with. I have not experienced any of the problems any one else is experiencing. I do however agree that the backup camera sucks.. During the day its great, but at night it blows!!

X5 - is he or she or may be...??? Fuel consumption problems in UAE, interesting...

so no one is complaining about the actual vehicle performance as a drivers car then?

nope, I have the 3.0 gasoline and I am not complaining.
I dont expect it to rip up the asphalt especially after performance package e46, but its just fine..
I havent broken in my X yet so I havent had him/her rip, but keeping light on the pedal, I feel plenty of power.

I have had friends tell me not get 3.0 because of lack of power, but I didnt listen since didnt feel like getting a gasoline hungry 4.8 and needed a truck my wife can drive with baby in the car. I am not dissapointed at all.
I am sure some want or require more power, but I think they should get a sports car instead.

After a few weeks and about 1,000 miles, I am pleased with the X5. The comfort seats are very nice and if you can't find a comfortable setting with 20 positions then it isn't the car that is the problem. The backup camera isn't anything great but it works and is useful. The auto tailgate, which I wasn't originally going to order, works very well and I would highly recommend it. It should actually be standard on the vehicle. I am more than pleased with the premium sound system, never had one that sounded better. The nav system works. I have used a Garmin previously and actually found it to work a little better, but it might be that I haven't learned all the navigation features of the X5 system. The Idrive requires getting use to, several nights sitting in the vehicle with the manual and experimenting. Having nearly mastered the knob and learning to scroll through the various commands, I don't think I would ever want a car without the Idrive, bluetooth and voice command features. The ipod interface is amazing. The 3.0 engine has more than adequate power and acceleraton. I added the trailer hitch but haven't towed anything yet. The running boards are for looks only, they serve no function. I will be adding mud flaps. Storage, one of the reasons I bought the X5, is good. I do wish however that my golf bags would fit sideways in the cargo area. The best thing about the X5, the very best thing, is the ride. Especially at highway speeds. Smooth, quiet and responsive.
All in all I am very pleased with the X5 and the purchase experience with my dealer. After looking at the Volkswagon, Range Rover Sport, Volvo and the Lexus GX, I am pleased I settled on the X5.

Overall, love the truck. Can't compare it to an 07 but will say its light years ahead of our 01 E53.

Biggest gripe - Brake Dust! cant wait for dustless pads.

I posted extensive comments in an earlier thread.

http://www.xoutpost.com/x5-e70-forum/...ion-video.html

Since then mileage has improved a bit (14.1 MPG, 60/40 urban/highway.)

Back-up camera & brake dust still suck.

On the quality side. all was fine for 10 days or so. Then.....

Saturday "EDC Malfunction" appeared on the iDrive (Electronic Damping Control)

Joined yesterday by "Level Control System Malfunction."

And today by "Dynamic Damping Control Malfunction" and the vehicle now rides like a brick (or a 'real' truck!).

Called BMW service again & got service moved from next Thursday to this Friday.

I hope I haven't landed with one of those 'bad builds' 'cause I really like driving this thing!:mad:

let us know what happens....

So far so good since Nov 2,
Havent driven it since the snow fell 10 days, miss driving it, still waiting for my winter wheels due this week.

PRO'S
- Comfort access, very convenient
- Soft closing doors, neet feature, makes you baby the car even more
- new tabacco leather- well blended with interior colors

CON'S
- Ok but shabby rear view camera
- NAVy could be better
- fuel consumption, not bad for V8 (should a least have a bigger gas tank)

i can't believe they offer soft close doors in canada but not for us in the USA. this really makes NO sense that they can't offer it as an option. ridiculous, idiots.

We have barely put 100 miles on the thing, having had it for two days.

(4.8i)
So far...

PROS
-Excellent handling
-Angry exhaust note
-Gorgeous interior (Napa beige leather, bamboo wood)
-Very comfortable to ride in
-Fast electric trunk operation
-Useful Comfort Access
-Great in-car phone
-Awesome USB connecter in center console

CONS
-Backup camera is a joke--WAY worse than the one on our outgoing RX330
-PDC is annoying, and we have yet to figure out how to completely shut it off (as in, it never turns back on again, ever)
-Wife is having trouble learning how to iDrive

Are you sure you cannot select both in the iDrive setup? I can on mine.

I just installed a 6gen iPod (iPod Classic) in mine and haven't had any issues. What were the problems you were having?

Everyone, as you post your feedback and "CONS", please specify the build week number, or, if you dont know the week it was built, the week # it has been delivered to you. This way we can see if there is any pattern to the problems...

Thanks !

feul consumption in UAE ? its a 4.8 V8 , ofcourse itll consume more fuel ..

Kaify's is actually 07 by US standards... I dont think he has autohold ether
his is built sometime in August.

yup i am sure ..

that is true , mine is a 2008 on paper .. no auto hold

I just got my 2008 x5 4.8i a week ago or so and I can't tell you how much I love this baby.

first of all, iDrive is great, I don't know why people hate this, it just takes a lil while to get used to but after you are done learning, you want to use the knob for everything. there's also independent buttons for the air, volume and basic things like that.

interior is beautifull, stylish, not to overcramped with buttons (cough, cayenne)

my number one choice was the porsche cayenne turbo but i stepped away from it because of the interior and its not filled up with tech like the x5

Mine was delivered with a faulty sensor that caused failures of the x-drive, stability control and ABS system. Part took 2 weeks to deliver from Germany. Also, turn signal control did not work properly so had to replace that unit as well. So much for the extensive testing BMW brags about at the plant and processing centers prior to delivery!!

I drive is annoying and the slow response times causes me to have my eyes off of the road more than should be. Accident waiting to happen.

4.8 with sport package is Fantastic to drive, I have a 911 and this is almost as much fun. Got the Napa leather and it is worth evey penny as the leather is vastly better, softer, nicer than the standard. Evey BMW owner who has looked/sat in my car comments on it and wishes they had upgraded.

Late-year 2007 4.8 with 7500 miles and no problems. The X5 is truly a joy to drive. Great seating position and excellent feel and control of the road. The suspension is the perfect balance of comfort and sport and the growl of the exhaust reminds you that you are not driving a Landcruiser (my 3 previous vehicles).

My only complaints are with the climate (having to change the vents in Idrive when switching from A/C to heat) and the horribly designed tow package that cuts a huge rectangular hole in the bumper. Minor problems for such a great vehicle.

'My only complaints are with the climate (having to change the vents in Idrive when switching from A/C to heat) and the horribly designed tow package that cuts a huge rectangular hole in the bumper. Minor problems for such a great vehicle.'

Pablo- I have a question, what do you mean you have to change the vents with the idrive? I currently drive a 345i but will soon have a 08 X5, so I am used to idrive, but not that 'feature' with the airvents
thanks

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?

After 1200 miles and one month
 

I think my X5 3.0 may be a 2008 but technically it's a 2007. Build date is 8/07 - is there a date certain I can find somewhere? I have been unable to find any difference between mine and a 2008, what should I be looking for? Stereo?

Couple of impressions:

This rig is big. Excellent fit and finish. Tight, quiet drive. I love the tobacco interior. It looks and feels rich, the sport seats are comfortable. Neat glove box.

The seat heaters and heated steering wheel have been used extensively by Mrs H.

I came out of a lemon tagged X3 (transmission) so I was really watching this one. The X5 transmission is much better mainly because there are no hesitation issues. Sport drive is great.

I almost got a 4.8 but couldn't close so I went for a 3.0 with all the packages and am very pleased with this choice. I sometimes miss the power (mountain driving) but overall the 3.0 is all I need 98% of the time.

Car handles great, like it's on rails. Great handling in the mountains.

The 3d row seat is for very small people. I will use them 1/2 dozen times a year with smaller kids and it is worth it for me. Real leather, cup holders and seperate climate in 3d seat. IMO it is almost worth the price for the 3d row seats to be able to multi-adjust and recline the 2d row.

Back up camera is fine. No lightness issues here. Too noisy.

Idrive is a great way to manage info. and the reviewers who dis it just don't get it.

Navi is too limited (no straight name search w/o going through a category) but I wanted it integrated so it was a trade off.

Ipod is neat but I have 35 gigs and whenever I go to artists it goes to "A" and takes me forever to get to the latter half of the alphabet. Playlists the way to go.

The biggest difference is that the '08 has an Auto Hold button right next to the parking brake. Also, moonroof is standard so if you don't have it or had to order it separately (in premium pkg), then it's an '07. I can't remember which month MY2008s started but I believe it was Oct. 07.

Good review BTW... love hearing the pros and cons.

Love this truck picked it up on Dec 20th! Only one issue, dealer had to replace the TPM in front left wheel. They came out, picked up my X and left a 3 series for me to use. When it was fixed (same day) they returned my X to me and picked up their 3. I've spent 5 years looking at this truck, now I know why you guys love your X's so much.

Whats the TPM ??
The only problem I'm experiencing is this odd Trumpet Sound type of 'roar' from the front tyre area. My E70 is on run flat 275 front & 315 rear tyres but this is an odd type of noise to be from the tyres. I have had the car checked at the dealers and their put it down to tyre / road roar but I'm not sure !!
Does anyone else hear this noise which is usually between 20 - 70 mph and the noise only changes slightly with different road surfaces - as I say I can only best describe it as a type of trumpet sound
Any help would be appreciated
Happy New Year all !!

drivers car/sav
 

done things in this x5 that I wouldn't even dream about doing in my 2004 gmc envoy. Totally different class anyway. This x5 handles corners at high speeds like crazy... Got mine up to about 140 mph- felt like I was only doing about 90 - it was soooo smooth... Couldn't get it above 140 though... Handles like a sports car to me... Thats my opinion...

You'd think the Envoy's quarter panels would be flying off the car if it pushed 140mph...near disintegration mode. I wonder how far others have pushed the line on the X5? This is not a contest, I'm just curious. (Those who crash are disqualified and sent to their respective maker.)

I've had my 2008 X5 4.8i since Dec.25th. I also had a 2007 X5 3.0si "Launch Supply"...and it was a nightmare. I had the vehicle less than 4 months.

So far, my 2008 4.8i has been great, besides from one visit to the dealership. I kept getting the warning that the battery was excessively draining. Luckily, there was a SIB from BMW, and knock on wood...it's been fine ever since.

The 4.8 is Really, Really fast!! The engine has this amazing, throaty growl. So far, all electronics work great, but the back up camera is basically useless!! It is SO blurry, dark and the colours are odd. At night, it is 100% useless. Sadly, the dealership said: "That's the way it is, we know it's awful...but there is no fix from BMW, sorry". Oh well, the PDC works great, and visibility is good for this size of an SAV.

The only real negative with my X5 is the gas mileage. I didn't buy the car expecting economy...but I never thought it would be this bad!! I am not lead footed at all, but if I can get 10mpg in the city....that's a lot. A good percentage of the time, my 4.8i yields about 8mpg, sometimes 6mpg up hills. Awful. It now costs me about $80.00 USD to fill her up. Ouch!!!

ease............. into the throttle. pretend there is an egg under the pedal that you do not want to break. i get 15-17 around town and 19-20 on the highway. remember you are pulling 3 tons off the line at every red light. good luck.

Just got back from a 600 mile getaway drive to Disney World. My 2008 X5 3.0 performed awesome! Average gas milage was about 20MPG doing a steady 70MPH, not too bad. As for ride quality, rides really good and does not feel top heavy like my old 2006 Infiniti QX56. Overall, no real big complaints so far.

TPM= Tire pressure monitor...

Craig