milleniumaire

I noticed today that the version details of the satnav in the car are showing: Europe BMW Group 101204.3.210 Road Map EUROPE EVO 2021-2 NBTevo_U19384I So, the "Road Map EUROPE EVO" has now changed to "Road Map EUROPE EVO 2021-2" and this matches the version details provided on the BMW Connect Drive website. I'm therefore more confident the map information has been updated. I sent an email to [email protected] but so far haven't received a response. I guess that will be due to COVID!!!!

I'm in the UK and have a 2018 X5 xDrive30d and it is coming upto 3 years old i.e. the end of the warranty period. A couple of days ago I got an email from [email protected] warning me that "The subscription period of your ConnectedDrive services for your BMW will expire shortly.". It mentioned that the "Map Update" and "USB Map Update" would expire on 2021-08-30. It included a link to the "BMW CONNECTED DRIVE" website, so I clicked through and logged in (using my BMW Connected login details). I saw the option to manually update the map using a USB flash drive and went through this process. It took a looooooong time to download and copy a 34gb file onto the USB stick, then install in the car. According to the Map Update webpage, the latest version of the map is EUROPE EVO 2021-2. That's it, no more version details are shown! After going through the process of updating the satnav map in the car, it is now showing the following version information: Europe BMW Group 101204.3.210 Road Map EUROPE EVO NBTevo_U19384I Annoyingly, I didn't take a note of the version details prior to the update, so not sure if anything has actually changed! As far as I can tell, the update has been applied to the cars satnav system. On inserting the USB stick into the car for the first time, a message on the console screen told me a newer version of the map was available and would be updated. I confirmed to go ahead and left it. 20 mins later I went back to the car to check progress and the ignition had turned off. I turned it back on again and it appeared to continue from 60%.... Left it again and returned in another 10 mins. Same thing, ignition had turned off. Turned it on and it told me there wasn't a newer version of the map on the USB stick (can't remember the exact words). I took this to mean it had installed the map update and detected a "new" update on the USB stick, but because this was the same version as was already installed on the car it warned me. So, I never saw a message confirming the map update had completed successfully. Rather annoying that the car ignition kept turning off. Given these updates take a while, why does it do that? Do BMW really expect someone to sit watching the screen until the update is completed? So, I have no idea what the current version details (shown above) are telling me, compared to the limited version information on the BMW Connected Drive website. Is my satnav map data now up-to-date? How can I confirm this? Thanks. PS. Compared to the map update process used for my Mercedes, the BMW process is truly awful! With the Merc, it is possible to update map regions individually, so no need to wait for hours for a single, huge update file. As the file size exceeded the size of the many 32GB USB sticks I own, I had to purchase a new 64GB stick just for this upgrade! The Merc software also tells you WHICH maps are out of date (by region) and when they are up-to-date. No such info appears to be available on the BMW Connect Drive web pages or on the BMW Connected Android app. I assume they just expect you to "know" or to "guess"! Very, very poor.

We have just traded in our trusty old 2004 X5 for a brand new 2013 facelift M Sport X5, but I notice the new car doesn't come with a spare tyre or jack due to the use of runflats. Really wish I had known this before taking in the old X5 as I would have been tempted to "remove" the jack etc. from the car. I want to paint the calipers, so need to be able to jack the car up at each corner. I assume I can purchase a BMW jack that I could carry around in the boot (there seems to be a space for it), alternatively I could purchase a trolley jack, which I could then use on my other cars if necessary. Can anyone recommend a jack for this vehicle? Thanks.

As a result of this issue, I noticed the X5 front tyres were badly worn on the inside edge, so had them replaced yesterday. The Kwik Fit guy told me one of my C/V Boots was split and I should get it looked at, so promptly took it to the guy who maintains my car (Tony at InTune in Knaresborough - he's brilliant and trustworthy). He warned me that it was so badly split, there wasn't much lubricant left and that a 500 mile journey would probably result in a damaged axle! Funny how things work out. If I hadn't had the self leveling issue last weekend I may not have noticed the tyre ware and had them replaced and so wouldn't have been aware of the C/B Boot issue, which could have resulted in an expensive/dangerous axle failure! Thanks Kwik Fit. From memory, this is the 2nd C/V Boot to fail on this car and I'm sure it won't be the last. My mechanic told me he replaces a lot of these on X5's. I (and my wife) have owned a number of cars and the X5 is the ONLY one that has ever needed the C/V Boots to be replaced. I guess this is another poor design feature of the X5, just like the rear brake lights, the panoramic sunroof, the park distance control, the wing mirrors, the electric windows etc. At least the engine seems to be sound, although I'm waiting for the Turbo to break any time soon!

Tonight I took the X5 for a run, in the hope the self leveling system might reset. The first 7 miles were pretty uncomfortable with the car bouncing around like a bouncy thing! It then settled down while I was doing around 60 mph on a smooth back road, but then the SELFLEVEL SUSP.INACT message flashed up on the dashboad I pulled over, turned off the engine and checked how the suspension looked. It still looked high at the rear. Turned the engine back on and continued. At this point, the warning didn't re-appear and it was feeling pretty smooth again. Joined the motorway for the route home and about half way got the warning message again, but by now it felt like the suspension was back to normal. Took the next exit, pulled over and restarted. No warning message. Returned home on the bumpiest back roads I could find (about 4 miles). No warning message and everything felt okay. Checked the levels when I got home and they are good again. So, it looks like the self leveling system has reset itself, but I'm not sure if the warning message will return. I have a 500 mile round trip to make this weekend with my family (equivalent of 5 adults + luggage). Not sure I should risk this!!!

Hi Greydog, thanks for the information. The warning only appeared briefly while I was testing the lights - it hasn't displayed since. I've been out in the car for a short run, in the hope it would "self level", but no luck. The warning hasn't displayed since, so as far as the car is concerned it doesn't seem to think there is a problem. I've checked the two fuses related to the self leveling system and they are fine. I've just disconnected the battery and reconnected in the hope this would force a reset, but nothing, even after another short run. There doesn't seem to be anything I can do (even jumping up and down in the boot!!!!). I read on a couple of other forums, that a raised suspension like this just "sorts itself out". Also one guy said after driving 20 miles it "self leveled". I'm not sure I would want to drive that distance with the rear so pumped up - it feels like it's about to take off every time I hit a bump. I believe there are sensors that can be replaced, but also read that when these fail, the suspension drops, not raises, so I'm not convinced this is the issue. Any other thoughts?

Today, after spending a few hours cleaning our 2004 X5 I finally got around to fixing the intermittent brake light/rear light problem that is common on the X5, but which BMW aren't interested in. I used the soldering technique to build up the contact point, the same technique I used on the other brake light a few years ago, and which seems to have fixed the issue. While testing the lights by turning on the ignition and turning the light switch on/off and pressing the brake pedal, I noticed the SELFLEVEL SUSP.INACT message popped up on the dash as I was turning the ignition off. I didn't think much of it at the time until my wife pointed out that the back of the car was very high in the air. Got the manual out and read about the self leveling suspension, but no suggestions about what to do when it is set high. I don't have a button to manually adjust the suspension, I assume this is an option, so there doesn't appear to be anything I can do to fix this thing! I took it for a short run in the hope it would sort itself out. The SELFLEVEL SUSP.INACT message is no longer displaying, so I assume the car isn't aware of an issue, however, nothing I do will cause the car to "self level" and it is incredibly bouncing to drive - uncomfortably so. According to the manual "The suspension levels are adjusted manually by pressing the button (well we don't have one of these), or automatically at certain speeds". I got upto 40 mph, but nothing changed and I dare not go any faster due to the car bouncing around. This couldn't have happened at a worse time as we were planning to visit my son in Newcastle tomorrow; a 3 hour round trip and the following weekend we have a wedding in Milton Keynes; a 5 hour round trip. Does anyone have any idea what might have caused this? Is it likely to be an electrical or mechanical issue? I ask, because today I used a snow foam lance and a power washer to clean the car - the first time I have done this. There was a LOT of water being sprayed around! Is it possible that the electrics for the self leveling suspension have been affected? Thanks.

Hi Greydog, thanks for the pointer, I've sent them a message.

Unfortunately my wife drove into a large bird (the feathered variety :)) at 70mph the other day and thought she had missed it until she stopped and saw the thing wedged in the front grill! It was a very messy job extracting it and unfortunately the grill has a large hole in it now. I'm not talking about the kidney grill that is attached to the bonnet, this is one of those "cross" shaped grills nearer the bumper. There are two; a low and a high one. It is the high one, which looks like it comes in seperate parts; a left and a right. I need to replace the left grill as you look at the car from the front. I've seen some black grills on ebay, but ours is silver (titanium). It's tricky to get to with it being behind the bumper, so I'm not sure if the bumper needs to be taken off first before replacing the grill. I have the X5 E53 model (2004). Can anyone please provide me with instructions on our to remove the upper bumper grill? A link to a utube video would be superb. Is it a reasonably simple job? Also, if anyone knows where I can get a replacement from without paying BMW dealer rip-off prices, that would be great. It is a 10 year old car after all - even a second hand grill would be adequate (as long as it wasn't broken). Thanks.