X5smw

Morning ! firstly, check the battery. amazing what a dead cell or discharging battery will do. the fact that they sometimes go away while driving could be that the battery gets enough charge from the alternator that journey, but loses charge next time you fire it up.

I had an issue similar, the remote locking and the immobiliser are two separate issues. the dead battery in the fob won’t affect the immobiliser which is read by a benign chip in the key by the ring on the ignition barrel. the lights on the dash should illuminate when the key is turned regardless of the engine starting. if it doesn’t turn the dash on, I would look toward the sensor on the barrel. do the interior lights and seats move when you get in? Is there power through the car? when you get the car plugged into a reader, put the live data feed on and check the ews/ dme module. when the key is inserted into the barrel, the chip should be read and the key number displayed, I think the check boxes turn green too, then the car will start. If you are getting no green lights on the programme or key numbers come up, then it’s either the chip in the fob or the chip reader on the ignition barrel. I found this out the hard way after replacing everything including the ews and dme modules, locks, barrels and sensors…. Turned out to be a chip not being recognised, new key, new chip, programmed up and presto! hope this points you in the right direction

Karl… if the alternator fails, your car will run for about 10 miles before dying…. I can assure you this has happened to me!

Hi … I second @Greydog sounds like a dead battery cell. it’s amazing what a small amount of under current on the battery does to the brains of the car. I got a new battery from euro car parts on offer for £80. my Halfords one was a yuasa one I believe and was £114. It lasted around 2 years, before I started to notice random faults appearing. The garage tested the battery and said it was ok, just needed a good run out, but I took it out and it discharged by itself. Stu.

Well…. Took the car on a run out to holiday and back without any fault, so looks like mission accomplished on the failsafe issue. Thank you to @Greydog for valuable insights … now to tackle the next one!

Happy new year sir! thank you for your wisdom and knowledge throughout the year. enjoy a beer or two

Took it out yesterday and then shopping last night 4x20 mile runs and the car didn’t miss a beat. Still a few little nigly bits to sort, but hopefully the limp mode issue is solved! got a long run next week when I go on holiday so we shall see if I end up coming home via the RAC or not… now to fill it with more petrol!

Right! Quick update…. replaced the throttle body with a brand new one and took all the pipes and diss valve off for a thorough clean. I found some hairline cracks in the folds of the air intake boot of the idle valve intake pipe, coverered it with order tape then electrical waterproof tape as I couldn’t get another one today. started the car and it was banging and popping and wouldn’t run… then I remembered to plug the throttle body back in! reset all modules and adaptions and it calmed down. took it for a 20 mile run at pace and it’s off like a whippet again. thank you to @Greydog as usual for the advice. hopefully this has sorted the issue and on to the next one!

Happy Christmas to everyone. Thank you to all that participated and helped me along the way. have a blessed festive time, a good rest, and no calls to the RAC!

Looking around the net, most people are pointing toward coil pack failure. how is the battery? Do you have any diagnostic software? another one raised was a broken cam shaft wire. nothing to do with the drivetrain on any fault mentioned but my own experience has been that most faults and failsafe etc is down to a battery issue.

I have a new one coming Saturday… I may need to borrow your gun Sunday! Lol

Have you tried dpf cleaner? it could be something like a blocked manifold? my parents (non bmw) has just been serviced and now the turbo actuator has failed. Stripping it down, the manifold and all the inlet pipes were so clogged up it was choking itself. my petrol x5 has been jumping and stuttering and it looks like a failed throttle body. mine usually drops into fail safe mode, but sometimes a quick stutter and it’s off again. maybe worth trying the dpf cleaner route before anything else?

….. well, if you’re not busy Thursday….. 😂😂😂…. ill keep you posted! cheers.

Hi matey. It was a recon one, so it has a warranty. to be honest, I’ll just get a refund and buy a new one… do you think a pedal could be faulty? Would you expect it? It seems to jump and choke if I’m lightly feathering the throttle. Idles fine without fail safe mode intervention and seems to be ok at full throttle. ( not that I can do this much before either speed limits or trees get in the way.)

Yet again, it’s dropping into fail safe mode. Drives fine, then it’s like a misfire…. Then fail safe, the three yellow lights and no power and stuttering… Got home and the revs are all over on idle. Little scanner showing the throttle position controller jammed… it’s so far had a new throttle body, new idle control valve, new battery, new maf… luckily I wasn’t on a motorway this time!