I would be SHOCKED if your insurance does not 'total' your X5. If they try and insist on fixing it...I would fight like hell. Your car has substantial damage.

6 years ago, my X5 4.4i saved my life. We were hit by a pickup truck, travelling 50-55mph! The ambulance, police and tow truck drivers could not believe I walked away! It was the morning of my 30th B'day. I firmly believe had it not have been for the BMW...I would have died!

At first the Insurance Co, tried to fix the X5 (damages were in excess of $40,000). I fought like crazy, and then the insurance Co. backed down and "totaled" the car!

When the Insurance Co. insisted on fixing the car, I told them I am having an attorney draw up legal documents that state in the event of an accident, and the repaired X5 does not protect vehicle occupants & someone gets hurt or killed due to the fact that the car's structural integrity was weakened due to being in a severe accident and repaired; that they are responsible and will pay accordingly. Within a day or two after I informed them of this...they decided the car was a total loss. It sucks you have to do this, but all insurance Co's are out to make money, and are never trying to help their customers. Sad, but true!

We replaced the 4.4i X5 with an Awesome 4.8is (to date the 4.8is X5 is probably one of, if not my favourite BMWs).

Good to see the X5 protected you and yours!

Glad to see you and your wife escaped with minimal injuries.

The passenger compartments look intact and the deformation zones did their job. The x5 makes me feel very safe and hence why I use it as my daily drive and the preferred car when I have passengers with me.

Total. The door hinge areas will never be the same. The A-pillar is toast, so the entire body side and roof area would have to be replaced to bring it back to bring it back to 'almost as strong as before'. The front upper frame rail is damaged badly.... on and on. Let's say it is repaired, would anyone trust this vehicle in another similar impact? Can it be as strong as the original? Besides, the scrap yards will make a killing on selling the rest of the parts!

I think, fortunately for you, it is totalled, as frame looks damaged and you dont really want to drive a fixed-up car from such severe damage.

The most important point though that you and your wife walked away un-hurt!

Good to hear everyone is ok. Is anyone else surprised that none of the airbags were deployed? Head Curtain? Drivers side at least ?

Glad you both are doing good.
@CarsRmyVICE, this is one thing that came into my mind when I saw the pics.
Atleast that would have avoided some bruises and scratches.

I certainly was. Only explanation short of a malfunction, would be the angle of impact at the left front of the vehicle, then kind of an offset impact down the side wasn't enough to set off the side curtain.

The seat belts certainly cinched up. Wife is still commenting about that.

IMO the air bags worked as they are supposed to. I would be very glad that they didn't go off and slam you sideways into your wife.

AFAIK It's the basic physics 'a mass in motion ties to stay in motion" issue. Where YOU are the mass. Air bags are meant to 'cushion' passengers from impacting their own vehicle. But they do so with quite a bit of force. IOW they aren't just fancy pillows/padding. Air bags only deploy when passenger's and the vehicle's velocity differ by quite a bit (e.g. frontal impact, side impact, etc.). If they went off on sideswipes like this one, they could do more damage than good.

Funf Dreisig

My insurance company trucked my X5 over to the dealer today, to get a formal estimate of repairs. I was there inquiring about "things" and asked about the airbag issue. One of the front sensors, the one on the left side where the impact occurred, was found laying in the general area of the engine compartment, with it the wiring sheared, with the speculation that perhaps the impact cut the wire to the sensor, along with a significant number of other wiring components. Anyway, just speculation. I am glad the airbags did not go off.

So far, the unofficial estimate for repairs is $47K and some change, and still some more counting to go. Insurance requires 75% of value to total vehicle.

Will update more as I find out.