56 Plate X5 3.0d

[dan.squires]

Just wondering if anyone has had any experience with them and know of things to look out for on one.

Have been wanting one for a while and with the 330 being useless in the snow i am swaying more and more towards one.

Any help would be appreciated,

Thanks Dan.

[Rob-]

Id make sure it wasnt fitted with swirl flaps to begin with as i believe they where still using the m57n engine at that point??

[dan.squires]

Yea, I have heard about the swirl flaps as a friend of mine has got a 530d and had to have them removed, as he was saying they can break off and completely wreck the engine.

The X5 i am looking at is from a bmw dealer just wanted to know about more long term problems that could occur, obviously swirl flaps being one of the major issues to look out for on the diesel.

[Rob-]

Yea, I have heard about the swirl flaps as a friend of mine has got a 530d and had to have them removed, as he was saying they can break off and completely wreck the engine.

The X5 i am looking at is from a bmw dealer just wanted to know about more long term problems that could occur, obviously swirl flaps being one of the major issues to look out for on the diesel.

Lifted from Honest John

Build date shown on engine compartment label on top of front nearside wheelarch. Otherwise too soon to say. Reports of blown turbos on 530Ds may also apply to X5 3.0Ds.

Some early V8s are suffering from porous engine blocks.

Flat spots of and lack of power on diesels due to a known problem with the wire mesh air mass sensor. When replaced, must reprogramme ECU to match new meter. Lack of power also caused by cracked inlet manifolds. Misfires of diesels caused by failed injectors. Turbo trouble caused by ECU programme allowing higher boost than safe for turbo. Cured by replacing turbo, reprogramming ECU and thoroughly cleaning turbo inlet manifold and pipework because a blockage can cause the engine to run on its sump oil and self-destruct.

If M54 engine management light comes on, could be faulty throttle housing plug on later cars (requiring new engine wiring loom) or split crankcase breather hose or split diaphragm in cyclone separator on earlier cars.

Seems to be a problem with the servo valves on the automatic transmissions of X5 3.0Ds. The fault causes severe consequential damage to the box.

General Warning about Automatic Transmissions: Many BMWs have "sealed for life" automatic transmissions. Regardless of whether you have a full BMW service history, the dealer will never change the auto fluid. Many of these boxes are failing around the 120-150k mark - often well outside of warranty and to a cost of £3.5k plus VAT. A good independent or automatic transmission specialist can and will change the fluid for you (and any good BMW independents will recommend this anyway). This is commonplace in the US and means the 'box should last the life of the car rather than being the cause of it being written off. General advice is ensure the fluid is flushed out every 60k or more preferably at each Inspection II.

Alarm system Body Control Module (BCM) can revert to "Shipping mode" and not respond to the remote. A good specialist can recode it. But some BMW dealers want £230 plus VAT plus fitting for a replacement module.

HTH

Heres the link the the article. http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/index.htm?md=44

Outlines recalls done on that model etc..

[Cage]

I just purchased a 2004 (54) 3.0d Sport X5 and must admit I wish I had bought it years ago.

A great machine performance wise, but being a sport it has a slight harsher suspension compared to the SE models. The fuel tank is massive (93 litres), so that was a bit shocking putting a fuel tank in it for the 1st time compared to the vert.

The things to watch is swirl flaps which where plastic and could break free and work there way into the engine and do lots of damage. BMW replaced them for metal ones from 2006 (but there apparantley some earlier model got them also).

There a few companies that can complete remove them and it does not really affect performance, but emission slightly increases on idle speeds.

Front CV gaiters are also common failure.

Also say away from pre-facelift autos, which had the dodgy General Motors (GM) gearbox. That failed between 60,000 and 120,000 miles.

Check out x5drivers forum, where you can get some real sound advice.

Got no pictures yet. These are from the dealers website that I purchased it from:

[Rob-]

^^ Nice!

[HP88]

I think the new BMW's had the modified flaps or manifold that prevented the swirl flaps from falling loose, could have the 2005+. If your worried about the flaps get them taken out, PMW will either do it for you or send you some blanking plates.

Link

Although If your after a car that can battle the snow and bad weather I have heard the X3 will do a far better job.

[Rob-]

Apparently the swirl flaps where replaced with sturdier metal ones in 2006, still wouldnt trust them though.

[dan.squires]

I just purchased a 2004 (54) 3.0d Sport X5 and must admit I wish I had bought it years ago.

A great machine performance wise, but being a sport it has a slight harsher suspension compared to the SE models. The fuel tank is massive (93 litres), so that was a bit shocking putting a fuel tank in it for the 1st time compared to the vert.

The things to watch is swirl flaps which where plastic and could break free and work there way into the engine and do lots of damage. BMW replaced them for metal ones from 2006 (but there apparantley some earlier model got them also).

There a few companies that can complete remove them and it does not really affect performance, but emission slightly increases on idle speeds.

Front CV gaiters are also common failure.

Also say away from pre-facelift autos, which had the dodgy General Motors (GM) gearbox. That failed between 60,000 and 120,000 miles.

Check out x5drivers forum, where you can get some real sound advice.

Got no pictures yet. These are from the dealers website that I purchased it from:

Cheers for the info guys,

Shame all the ones I have gone to look at have sold so still waiting to find one i like to test drive.

Cage did you buy yours from big motoring world in west malling, if so do be careful if anything may go wrong with it, as I have heard alot of people complain about their after sales being very poor.

[Mikey]

Nick - Hope you got a good one if it is from Big Motoring World. They're fairly local to me and as posted above they have a shocking reputation and are regular customers of Trading Standards. That said this doesn't apply to all that they sell so I'm hoping you'll be ok buddy.

[Phantom Mark]

If your buying a later model be sure to check how many miles is left on the Diesel Particulate Filter, they are very pricey to replace, 1k IIRC.......they last around 150k miles IIRC, so worth double checking if you buy a motor with Motorway miles on it.

You can check all service item status via Idrive btw

[Daz 330 Cs]

Ive driven a few X5's , great drive & i'd own 1 tomorrow if i didnt love the Coupe so much

[dan.squires]

Ive driven a few X5's , great drive & i'd own 1 tomorrow if i didnt love the Coupe so much

that is my biggest problem i love the x5 and love the drive but am starting to debate how much i will miss the 330 coupe lol. Think I am going to leave it for a while save up abit more and decide in the spring what to do, as the demand for the x5 wont be so great then hopefully and i will hopefully get a better deal.

[mit]

Never driven one myself but I know people who have and they say it's great.

That said, if I were buying a fashion 4x4 I'd want it to be a Range Rover...

[Will Lam]

Not the 3.0d but my dad had the 4.4 petrol and it was great to drive very smooth.. love to have one in future.

Regarding the 3.0d 2 of my friends had one and both the turbo went, one being an 55 plate and as i recalled it cost nearly £3k to repair.

[Danielle kehoe]

Why you should avoid big motoring world at all costs! Their adverts are not true listings for the actual cars you are buying but are for newer models! The manager confirmed this to me and said this is how all cars are sold across the industry. This is not true any previous cars I have bought have always had what was listed on the advert and not adverts for newer models of the car. Adverts are meant to be for the specific car that is being sold! Cars are not checked before selling and have potential safety issues! Their staff are rude and once they have your money they do not care. Zero customer service skills. Pay the little extra and go elsewhere for peace of mind. Read on for more details. 

To start with we made an appointment to go and view a car we found on auto trader. The car had everything we wanted and the price was good. We went to West malling and on arrival it was very busy. We was seen by someone after a 15 - 20 minute wait who said they are still with a customer and would we like to go and look round the cars and they would find us when they were finished. 

We agreed by this time it was about 7.00pm. About 7.30pm the salesman came and found us and we had decided to buy the car we originally found. We took it for a test drive (short drive) and all seemed fine. We went in to make the payment and listen to all the sales talk even though we expressed we wasn't interest and would not be buying any. 

After going through everything and watching videos we had to wait again for someone to come and take our payment. Finally we had to wait to see someone to tax the car. This is a very long winded process! After nearly 3 hours we was ready to go. We had to arrange to go back the next day to pick up the spare key and other paperwork as they are kept at a different sites. Which is ridiculous so two trips just for the car and than the paperwork and keys!

On the drive home (around 20 miles away) the car seemed fine until we got on the motorway and there was a loud noise near the wheel. Due to the time we got home we had to wait until the morning. I took the car to a garage to be checked and they said it was the wheel bearing. They also said the break pads were below the legal limit. And a switch was broken inside the car. The car didn't come with any car mats either! 

I went home and rang BMW who tried to pass us off to the warranty company but we said no you will need to fix this. We had heard horror stories were people were sent to garages than the warranty wouldn't pay out and then they were left with huge bills. After a lot of back and forth the following week we arranged to drop the car off to Snodland, what we thought would just be with them for a day or two. On the drive down to them on the motorway again. The steering went on the car completely. I could not turn the wheel, I had my 9 month old baby with me and to say I was terrified was an understatement! I somehow managed to make the last bit of the trip with great difficulty.

On arrival around 7.30pm we was greeted by a rude young man who said drop of were until 6.00pm and we would have to come back tomorrow morning. We had agreed with a manager prior to this that we could drop it off later due to our work commitments! Due to what had happened on the journey down there was no way I was driving the car back home and told him this was agreed and I'm leaving the car here. He seemed to be annoyed but agreed we could. There's no communication between staff at all. We asked him to inform someone of the steering problem. 

We called the next morning to informing them of the steering, surprise surprise the man hadn't passed the message on! They said all the work would be carried out and the steering problem was due to some part seizing up and would be changed. They had the car for a week! We had to keep calling for updates! When we got the car back it was dirtier than when we drop it off! A quick clean would of been a nice customer service touch as this is normally done as standard! 

On the advert for our car both online and the advert on the car window screen the car was listed as having DAB. This was a selling point for us as the signal were we live is not good. On checking the car didn't have this so I queried this with BMW the day after we bought the car. I was met with so many poor excuses, one was we should of checked before buying. My argument is both adverts stated it had and the salesman confirmed the car had. The second excuses was their adverts are generic and newer models have DAB. My argument is I haven't bought the newer model the model I bought was advertised as having it so I would expect the car to have it. After so many emails and calls going over the same thing and us still being blamed, even though their advert was incorrect they said they would fit an aftermarket unit. I declined this as I do not want another screen stuck to my dashboard. I paid £18,000 for a car that was advertised, confirmed and sold as having the DAB system so this is what should be offered. 

I contacted trading standards who advised that if the advert is advertised as having the DAB it should have it. Under the consumers rights act the car is not as described and this is now a breach of contract. They said BMW had 3 options. 
1 - install what was advertised - they declined
2 - do I price reduction for the price of the unit - they declined
3 - reject and take the car back - they declined even though this is the law

Consumer rights have forwarded this on to trading standards as they have had many similar complaints with BMW. I have also contacted watchdog. 

BMW have declined all the above so we will now have to seek legal action against them as they are breaking the law. 

My advice is don't go through what we have gone through with them. We made 5 round trips up to them in total. We did not receive one apology for any off the problems! They do not follow the rules or the law. 

I did read reviews on them before buying the car from trust pilot but check other review pages and that's why you will find out exactly what this company is like.

UPDATE: they said they will refund me now on the condition I delete all my reviews and sign a disclosure. I have declined to do this as it is blackmail. I have also now reported them to ASA for false advertising. 

I now understand why reviews are mainly positive as BMW report your review (lie and say you haven't bought a car from them to get the negative review removed) just beware of this company.

UPDATE 2: my review is 100% truthful with emails to back up everything! Big motoring world have tried reporting me to trustpilot with false claims saying I am not a genuine buyer. I have now supplied all receipts and emails to back up everything in my review. It's disgusting the way this company operates and outright lies!