so i got my truck back yesterday. they had to change an actuator of some sort.

I have come to know that you must call your sales person to get things done quickly for ya:iagree:

I am a new member in this forum as I was trying to research regarding "parking brake malfunction" in X5's. I have a year-old BMW X5 3.0 (2007 model) that just had a paking brake malfunction. I drove my X5 to one of the mountain snow resort here in southern california (mt. baldy) one time (the snow has been more or less week old since it last rain here in socal). The temperature was only in the mid 50's up there in the mountain. I parked the car in the roadside (beside the ice area) and stayed there for only 2 hours. After coming down from the mountain when I parked in front of the restaurant where my family and I will dine, the nav screen suddenly showed the "parking brake malfunction". It was towed after calling the BMW assist and after I told the driver that he can manually released the brake in the trunk as he was trying to drive the car with a stucked brake. The dealer called me just now and they told me the electronic component of the parking brake just froze up and need to order parts (while the mechanical portion does not have problem). As I was reading some of the posting, it appears cold/ice/snow has something to do with this problem, huh?

Wasn't cold when mine locked up. No parts to replace either when serviced.

well mine could be the cold and parts got replaced.

I dont use it anymore. Afraid to use it actually:(

sounds like we need to avoid using the parking brake unless you're on a steep hill and need that extra level of "comfort."

but, the manual also states that we should not solely rely on the "P" function...(that is also an electronic process)

who decided to change a good mechanical concept to some unreliable but technically "advanced" model???

give me a gear shifter that physically locks into "Park" using gears and pulleys!!

so rufus, what did they do with your SAV and what did they tell you on why the parking brakes malfunctioned, if no parts were replaced?

They cleared the code and reset the brakes. I asked the SA what was the problem and he said this is the first time they ever saw a parking brake malfunction and they had no idea why it happened.

I could see his nose growing as he spoke.

For those who do not use the parking brake, let us hope the E70 does not have a problem like the earlier X5 had on a few transmissions:

Recall Date:
NOV 01, 2005

Model Affected:
2005 BMW X5

Summary:
CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES MAY HAVE BEEN BUILT WITH AN INCORRECTLY MANUFACTURED AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION PARKING PAWL GUIDE PLATE.

Consequence:
THIS COULD CAUSE THE PARKING LOCK SYSTEM NOT TO ENGAGE, AFTER THE TRANSMISSION IS PLACED IN THE PARK ("P") POSITION. IF THE VEHICLE WAS PARKED ON AN INCLINE, AND THE PARKING BRAKE WAS NOT ENGAGED, THIS COULD RESULT IN A VEHICLE ROLLAWAY CONDITION.

Remedy:
DEALERS WILL REPAIR AND REPLACE THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION GUIDE PLATE FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON NOVEMBER 30, 2005. OWNERS MAY CONTACT BMW AT 1-800-332-4269.

Potential Units Affected:
240

holy crap

I will have to resume using it before i push the "P" button.
I find that if i push the P without the parking brake, the vehicle jerks a bit

I drive a 2008 4.8i and I had the same problem.

So I guess there really is a problem with the parking brake of the 2008 X5. The towing company told me that my X was the 5th that he towed because of a parking brake malfunction. But when I spoke to the Service Advisor, he said that it was the first time that he encountered such problem and he doesn't know what causes it.

What sucks the most is, I just got my car last December. Pretty premature to have this problem of sorts. I love the X5 to bits, but I must say that a chunk of my confidence in this vehicle is gone.