2600 miles: bearings or transfer case is giving out
 

I have only 2600 miles on my X5 and just a couple of days ago I started hearing a roaring noise coming from the front of the vehicle. The pitch and intensity change with the speed of the vehicle and do not depend on engine speed or the type of pavement I'm on. Hope it is something minor but I doubt it is...

I will bet it is your runflat tires. I had the same problem. Finally replaced all four with Michelin Latitudes. Problem solved.

I hope it is. However, the noise does not change when the pavement changes. Same noise if I go from concrete onto asphalt.

happened on my E53... 3 weeks at the dealers... horror story. I hope its not your transfer case.

How many miles on your E53 when it happened? Care to give any details? (cause, fix, parts, cost, dealer, what model E53, etc.)

2002 e53 3.0
happend in 2002 so I dont recall all the details but I would say it had <5k miles on it.
It developed a loud rattling noise and was repaired under warrenty. The charge was around $6k but cost me nothing.

The transfer case was "back ordered" and the first one sent was bad... the dealer had to wait for a 2nd one. I remember needing an suv for one of the weekends and the dealer wouldnt pay for an upgrade on my rental but offered to let me drive my broken x5 around. terrible experience overall. I was very hesitant about getting an e70 but wifey insisted.

It turned out to be a wheel bearing. Waiting on the backordered part to be shipped and installed.

Hi - I'm having an issue with my x5 20" 214 and non-RFT tires as well... Sounds like a constant note, ringing sound at 20mph +. Did the wheel bearings fix your issue? Thanks

Yes, in my case it was a faulty bearing in the right front wheel. It took dealer two attempts to detect it. They ended up swapping my wheels and tires with a different set to make sure that the sound stays there.

Evolver - thanks for the reply. I'm still knee deep, trying to get my dealer to keep after the noise. Was your noise more grinding like, or a wooing sound, which increased over bumps. Like blowing into a beer bottle, getting an actual note from it? The noise would increase going over bumps as well?

Thanks for you help!