Greydog

Morning David First does the cars on board diagnostic give you any clues? You say you think a previous owner changed the lights, what do you think is changed? Check high and low beam bulbs, check all fuses, if the light units have been changed are the connections correct? Has any wiring been altered? If the lights have been changed from conventional to HID with ballast the control module in the footwell could be damaged through overload. Dave

Morning David Welcome to the Forum Enjoy your new 1 series Dave

Morning Joel Welcome to the Forum First you say you had the manifold cleaned ? Was that on the car or off? If on the car was it one of the chemical cleans, Terra clean or similar? Smoke what colour? white smoke at start up is light residue and condensation this should clear as the engine warms more noticeable on cold mornings. Persistent white smoke at start with a smell of diesel could be a leaking injector or two. Blue smoke is normally oil, valve guides worn turbo seals worn. Black smoke, badly coked engine, over fueling, badly worn engine. 2008 model does it have a DPF? is the EGR in good condition? Or have they been removed/deleted by a previous owner? Dave

Morning Bromley Welcome to the Forum Take a look at www.newtis.info it is a BMW Technical Information Site you should find some information there. Take care plastic clips break all to easily. Also check www.realoem.com this one is a BMW online parts list put the last 7 digits of your vin in the search box it will bring up your model and make sure pert numbers are correct if needing new parts. It also has small exploded drawings which may help. Good Luck Dave

Great Job Mick I can pop the X5 round if your bored 😁 Dave

Morning Wilmont Welcome to the Forum Is the Xtrons new or are you the second user? It could be the previous owner had issues and thats why they sold it? Normally you need the Xtrons on and your phone in search mode, it should find the Xtrons and ask for a Pass Code normally default is 0000 or 1234 Good Luck Dave

Whoop Whoop Great news Frank and not a wallet buster either Dave

The snag was when I had the early cars they were just cars of the era so traded for the next !! If I knew then what we know now about some of them, hey ho Still the X5 is calling she has developed a fault on the AC so that s the next few days planned Happy Easter Enjoy the Sunshine Dave PS Majestic now on Home Delivery

Morning John Welcome to the Forum It depends on whether you want to own the software or not? Carly for BMW I have read some good things about and has bluetooth compatibility the down side for me is it is a subscription app for your phone/tablet. Being old school I like to own stuff outright I use BMW 1.4.0 on an old laptop I can update it online and it works well +++ it it cheap. Dave

Morning Darren Welcome to the Forum and Happy Easter First make sure the gearbox has been serviced with the car it should have been serviced every 100k kilometres. I would use only the correct ZF long life Fluid and filters if you are DIY or find a ZF specialist near you. The rest is straight forward maintenance, fluids, oils, filters not forgetting diffs, transfer case etc. A couple of websites that will help www.realoem.com a BMW online parts list put the last 7 digits of your Vin in the search box it will bring up your model. It will make sure if your buying stuff it will fit. Then www.newtis.info a BMW Technical Information site the same information as used by Dealers. Get a BMW specific code reader if you are a home mechanic. The only thing to watch for is if your car has a staggered set up (wider rear wheels/tyres) are that the tyres are matched. BMW and many other makers have recommended Tyre suppliers BMW used * rated tyres particularlyon the staggered set up. Badly matched tyres will damage the transfer box pretty quickly. A square set up (same size front and rear) is more forgiving though I would still stick with the same make all round. Enjoy Dave

Morning Trevor I have been privileged and fortunate enough to have owned some interesting cars, Started with an MGA, 1275 Cooper S, Healey 3000, Jaguar Mk2 3.4, Rover P5 Coupe, Holbay Rapier, 1600E Cortina, then some company cars until the mid 80's. Then the newer list started with the Cosworths, Carlton, couple of Range Rovers (best not dwell) Peugeot 506 24v (fell to bits great engine though) Then the Volvo's 960, 850 T5, 850 R, V70 T5, V70 T5 R AWD, V70 T6, Mercs E55 AMG x2 E63 AMG. Then we sold the horse lorry due to it not being used often enough so a tow vehicle was needed, tried an ML but it was seriously flawed, so BMW X5 4.4 brilliant until sadly in a storm it got squashed by a fallen tree, replaced with the current X5 4.6. My wifes car history is almost as interesting Dave

Morning Richard From your Avatar your car is an E36 323i 1999 A quick look at realoem shows your battery as 70ah 750cca no special notes so I would get the best deal you can and fit it. A little more research shows you should be able to open the boot with the Key in the key hole in the boot there was also mention of a boot release on the floor by the seat. It also mentioned that if the top wasnt up and locked or down and locked the boot cant be opened. Hope this helps not hinders Dave

Morning Iain Welcome to the Forum Congratulations to you, remember as a new driver any modifications can have an effect on your insurance. So my advice would be plan your mods talk to your insurer or broker to see if it would be practical If it is body mods then my preference would be BMW M sport parts as (a) you know they will fit and (b) it will look right. So wheels, spoilers, suspension lowering parts plus interior are all available, check www.realoem.com put the last 7 digits of your Vin into the search box and it will bring up your model then you can search for motor sport parts and accessories for your model. Once you have the part numbers you can search the auction sites and specialist dismantlers for parts or if your pockets are deep BMW's parts department. Engine tuning an ecu upgrade will give more power but again remember it may impact your insurance. Good Luck and Enjoy your new Beemer Dave

Hi Martin If your car is a genuine Schnitzer car there will be a plate in the engine bay plus a plate on the engine. Same as AMG the engine plate is engraved with the signature of the builder. Have you Googled Schnitzer pictures to see if you can get a clue to what badges Schnitzer fitted. Dave

Hi Sam BMW like a lot of manufacturers have an incredibly arrogant attitude towards their customers, they act as though their cars are a box of bats and if you delve under the bonnet they will all escape and only they can get them back !!!! (try Mercedes) No black magic and loads of help here to catch bats if you need it. The weak points in the X5 are really only the suspension bushes which is basically a 5 series but fitted to a car twice the weight. Therefore the bushes have a life of about 60 to 80k max rapid tyre wear is the give away. Replacement is a DIY proposition with either standard or Poly bushes, the poor old gearbox also tends to get forgotten as BMW say "sealed for life" their interpretation of life is the end of their warranty obligation. ZF who make the box recommend service every 100k kilometers (60k miles) If you check out either Opie oils web site or Castrols web site they give information on oils for engine, diffs and transfer case, for the gearbox I only use ZF longlife and also pay to get it serviced at a ZF specialist, 150k so 2 services around £300 each is much cheaper than a gearbox. The engine you have is without a doubt one of the worlds great engines the only niggles tend to be where BMW bean counters cut corners. My Ford experience is late 80's I was driving a Cosworth Scorpio (still up there with the best cars I have owned and I have had a lot) replaced in the early 90's with a Whale tale Cossie then a Cossie Saphire 4x4 loved that car until it was stolen!!. Replaced it with a Lotus Carlton due to the Cosworths being almost un-insurable the Lotus was less than half the price, could never figure that out?? Enjoy your Beemer Dave

Morning Richard You say you tried to Jump Start the car? Do you mean you can get into the car? If so can you not open the boot with the dash release button? Dave

Hi Sam My brother-inlaw's 5 series touring (same engine) uses Castrol Edge 5-30 M. Have you checked your hand book there is normally a list of oil spec's listed. I believe you need an oil that meets BMW Longlife 04 spec's for the M57TU2 which most of the major manufacturers meet. You could also look at www.newtis.info it is a BMW technical information site so you should be able to get service information there as well Hope this helps not hinders Dave

Morning Daniel Welcome to the Forum Wow what a Saga, on the plus side the forum has gained a trans specialist😁. If your battery is on its way out that is where I would start X5's are power consumers extraordinaire. Battery voltage should be minimum 12.5 to 13.00v engine off, 13.00 to 14.5v engine running. Any voltages below 12.5v engine running will throw all sorts of spurious codes "Trans Fail Safe", "Susp Inactive" being the favorite 2 when charging is low. So as a Battery weighs way less than the trans that would be may starting point, first get the battery checked also check the alternator out put should be around 14.4 v. I suspect the battery is dead so I personally would bite the bullet and change it. Good Luck Dave

Way to go Jay Don't worry about the essay the result counts Dave

Hi Peter With your Budget have you considered a BMW AUC (approved Used Car) search BMW Auc the BMW used car website will come up put your post code in and the distance you want to go and it should give a list of cars costs deals and where they are. Considering the current climate cutting a good deal should be a doddle, get things like servicing, warranty and as much stuff as possible in the final cost. Good Luck Dave

Morning Peter Welcome to the Forum My advice would be leave it, there are loads out there without problems.. Take a look at www.newtis.info it is a BMW Technical Site used by BMW Dealers you should find an indication of time to change parts there. My guess would be minimum 5 to 6 hours x about £60 per hour minimum (my BMW Dealer £140), plus parts. That of course assumes your or our remote diagnosis is correct if not then you may be the proud owner of a money pit. However if you are a competent mechanic with a good tool chest and the price is at the right level to cover issues then it may be worth a punt, if not and by your question your not a mechanic I would walk. Sorry if it's not much help Dave

Hi Trevor Hope you and the family are keeping safe in these strange times Trying to conserve stocks 😁 Can't take all the blame Majestic Wine was the only shop that didn't look as though it had been looted and SWIMBO had sent me shopping. Dave

Morning Jake Welcome to the Forum Well done Jake we like these questions, for future the are wiring diagrams on the www.newtis.info web site plus upgrade information Dave

Not sure but I think it was after the model change E83 to F25 that everything needed coding, of course at my age and after sitting in the sun with a glass of wine that could complete twaddle. If you have someone near by with INPA loaded or maybe you have it yourself you could code yourself, I take it the Switch is OK? Relays all check out OK Dave

Morning Frank Have alook at www.reaoem.com put the last 7 digits of your Vin in the search box it will bring up your model when you search there are small exploded drawings that will show where stuff is located. Also it will give the part number you want to look for, if you click on the part number it will open a list of alternate options and other models it was used on. I know that it is in the passenger footwell in the X5 so that is where I would start. Good Hunting Dave