Greydog

Sad you have made the tough decision to off load your car, good luck with whatever you decide to go with remember where we are. Sadly in the UK and Europe the major manufacturers hide all sorts of things with out a consequence, maybe a slapped wrist, at worst a dip in sales. Finding information is difficult as often a part swapped under warranty by a dealer is returned to the manufacturer so evidence disappears. Also in the UK and Europe Dealers are made aware of issues by "Technical Bulletin" and told to check and correct items at next service so issues are hidden this of course assumes that all their cars are serviced in their dealer network and excludes those who aren't. Example Vauxhall (GM) fuel delivery failures resulting in fire, it took TV programs before a recall was issued. BMW have had similar issues technical bulletin said possibility of a thermal incident ??? With the world wide recall for airbags Europe was last to issue the recall as a result we still have a hell of a lot of cars that are driven on the road every day where the owner has no idea that there is s safety issue. Go across the water to the USA and it is a different story the fear of a "class action" that could cost big $$$$$ makes manufacturers far quicker to respond to all sorts of issues Good luck for the future with whatever you buy Dave

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Hi Lee Welcome to the Forum as Trevor has said first change the Pads and Sensors. While you are in there check the ABS sensors and reluctor rings are clean. At 2005 your car is at the change point for AWD and Xdrive does your car have the 5 or 6 speed gearbox? If it's 6 speed you will have xdrive so check the fuses no 44 or 45 can't remember which check your manual. If the fuse is blown or missing you may well have a transfer box issue. With regard to HDC (Hill Descent Control) it is only active at less than 35kph (22mph) when the car is moving down hill it will reduce the cars speed to around 8kph (3mph) you can adjust speed with the =/- on the Cruise control or you could have a fuse gone?. There is also a program in the Gearbox which will select a lower gear when travelling down hill to maintain speed it works at around 30mph. DSC is a stability program that is linked to ABS not clear if you have the DSC symbol on the dash between the clocks illuminated and tried to turn it off or whether you have tried the switch? Have you disconnected the battery recently? This will illuminate the DSC symbol on the dash driving slowly forward turning lock to lock should clear the light. Rear suspension increased camber will be the lower ball joint/ rose bushes a straight forward job just remember to pull the fuse for the air suspension (right hand cubby in the boot) if the air suspension is charged you will not be able to find any movement. BMW say about 80k for the bushes is their life and they are right. when I did mine I changed I also changed the upper arms as I brought a kit. Also consider changing the bushes on the lower swing arms (2 to each arm) BMW will try to sell you a complete arm. The old swing arm bushes I pushed out using a couple of suitably sized sockets and a piece of stud, to put the new bushes in they need to be compressed I used a couple of jubilee clips to do the job then used a couple of big washers and a socket to pull them into place.Also worth checking the rear subframe bushes while your at it. Once done the ride handling is completely different.plus it will save a fortune in tyres. Dave

Morning Eric A quick check on www.realoem.com shows the 2008 E90 328i and 328xi as using the same front disc 312 x 24 PN 34116792219 If you log on to www.realoem.com put the last 7 digits of your Vin number in the search box it will bring up your actual model just in case I looked at the wrong one. Dave

Morning Dereck Have you checked www.realoem.com it's a BMW parts list put the last 7 digits of your vin in the search box and it will bring up your model then search away. It will list the parts BMW supply so if the bits you want are available they will show. However BMW in their wisdom supply certain components as assemblies and don't list parts.As an example the rea suspension swing arms on the X5 are sold as an assembly, so if the £20 bushes start to wear or fail BMW want to supply a complete swing arm at £300+ Also look at www.newtis.info this is a technical site same information used by BMW Dealers lots of information and "how too's" you may find help there Another possibility is www.Pelicanparts.com it is an American site but technically very good. Particularly their how too's which have step by step pictures just that the cars they work on have the steering on the wrong side. Good luck with the search I hope you find a fix that isnt a wallet buster Dave

Morning Oneel First port of call, you need the gearbox codes read to know if it is actually a gearbox issue or something else. A ZF agent or good Independent with Autologic software a BMW Dealer or Specialist with dedicated software.will be able to read all Gearbox functions, at 40k a gearbox service is almost due so consider that also. It could be as simple as a sensor not reading intermittently or a software upgrade without the codes it is a guess which could end up with £££ and parts being thrown at the problem. Dave

Hi Peter I may be wrong but I thought the car needs to have the adaptive suspension package for you to be able to change settings. I believe you can still see the selection but nothing will change unless the full adaptive package is fitted. As to changing on the move my next door neighbour works for BMW UK his car can but then it is an auto 440 with all the bells and whistles. Dave

Morning Chris When selling set your price with a little wriggle room as with all the car shows on TV everyone will want to knock the price down Good Luck with the sale Dave

Morning Harry Have a look at www.gov.uk/check mot if you haven't already, you may be able to find the MOT station. Or at least see what sort of life its had/having. Good Luck with the search Dave

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Commiserations water in places it shouldn't be is a real pain and if it gets into looms and electrics !!! The only way I know is the hard way get a set of trim removal tools look on www.realoem.com for part numbers and get the trims then www.newtis.info for how too's Lets hope you get some dry weather to allow replacement Dave

Welcome Richard Very nice and a serious pocket rocket 😈 Enjoy Dave

Hi Dale If you have ABS and Traction lights on then almost certainly that's the culprit.Did mine a few years ago from memory OEM was about £30 for the sensor, check the reluctor ring is clean and not clogged with muck and rust. Dave

Afternoon Dale I believe that the X3 is the same as the X5 check the passenger side ABS sensor at the rear as the speed is taken from there. Dave

Morning Dave That's a new one I don't think I have heard or read of this before. As you have taken it to a BMW Dealer I take it the car has a full BMW History. My simplistic view is "it was working fine when it came to you, something you have done has caused the issue. As the car was in your care it is your responsibility to fix it fast" What you don't want or need is for you to be car less while the Dealer and BMW argue over who's Insurer should pay. I am sure they have given you a loan car (well I hope they have) but that is not the point I would up the anti write/email them saying you want a resolution and a date for completion, at least then you have a record..Itemize the list of failures promises to call etc, and the time frame to date. Escalate your complaint by addressing the Service Manager but copying the Dealer Manager, MD or Directors and BMW Customer Services on all emails. If push comes to shove then ultimately there is the small claims court I am sure neither the Dealer or BMW want a court action for damages. I went through a painful process with a Mercedes Dealer with an AMG that had super charger issues, the Dealers attitude was you have a loan car what's your problem! as they had had my £80k car longer than I had? I ran out of patience and issued a small claims action the response was electric Dealer MD called me to ask why I was doing this? He too thought the fact that they had given me a loan car made it OK he didn't get "I brought an AMG not a C class diesel", Short story they settled out of court fixed my car in a week and paid compensation. The best bit was taking the car back for service you could see the Service Manager cringe when I walked through the door, service was instant though. Push hard Good Luck Dave

Hi Jim I went through similar with E class AMG Mercedes, super charger failures then on the CLS AMG gearbox issues I got the X5 when we sold the horse lorry and I would be towing a trailer, I didn't like the ML and everyone had a RR so after driving an X5 that's what I brought. I had done my research so knew that the suspension bushes are made of Lurpac and would need upgrading, my experience with the CLS had taught me enough about the Autobox to make sure it was serviced as soon as I got it. I was expecting a BMW V8 to last longer than 75k though, still now it is at 140+ and going strong. I change the oils and filters every 6 months regardless with the best BMW compliant synthetic.My view is if I brought something else would it be better? or just a different set of issues to learn about and iron out? So I stick with the devil I know I am sure now you have the latest version installed and are aware of the need for regular oil changes will see your Msport giving you great service for years to come Dave

Morning Mike Normally the light goes out with the sensor being replaced I would check the sensors again are they connected correctly wires not pinched or crimped? It may even be a faulty sensor even if it is new. Dave

Morning Jim Sadly your research is spot on, BMW and many other leading Marques give bean counter led advice not engineer led advice. All the major manufacturers over the last 20 years have incidents of catastrophic failures. I believe it began with dropping duplex timing chains and moving to simplex alongside moving to plastics for internal chain guides added to the insistence that long life oils were fool proof. Add that to the genius who thought it was a good idea to put timing chains at the back of engines or in the middle making them completely inaccessible without removing and completely striping the engine! main dealer labour costs meaning the unit is often scrapped. BMW Mercedes Audi VW Jaguar Toyota Nissan Citroen all guilty The "Life" of the vehicle became the end of the Manufacturer Warranty so in most cases 3 years or 60k after that they could effectively wash their hands of any problems as most cars were now outside their dealer network for service and maintenance so they could look down their nose and blame poor service or materials.. My own X5 fully serviced by BMW and a local BMW Specialist suffered chain guide failure bits of which clogged the oil pump you know the result!! but due to my X5's age and mileage BMW were not interested fortunately I had a 3rd party Warranty. The plastic chain guides have a life of 80 to 100k ? due to heat cycle hardening and accelerated wear due to oil degradation. My X5 comes with a ZF Auto box sealed for life say BMW service every 80 to 100k kilometers say ZF. BMW are not alone look at VW Audi tales of woe or Mercedes or Toyota or Nissan the list goes on. After a complete engine rebuild on my X5 and having the opportunity to examine the internal parts I realized that the main chain tensioner is a cheap spring assisted hydraulic device, the spring over time becomes annealed with the heat cycles that the engine goes through, the same heat cycles that are hardening the plastic guides. At engine start as the spring is soft and not applying tension there is a small moment between oil pressure building where chain slap can happen. Result is chain guide accelerated wear leading to failure being simplex chains they also stretch. At reassembly I have fitted a pre-oiler to give full oil pressure at ignition on to help avoid many of the issues I combine this with 6 monthly oil changes, my gearbox is serviced by a ZF agent according to ZF requirements and all suspension bushes (including the swing arm bushes which BMW advise cant be changed) have been replaced and where possible switched to Poly Bushes. My "improved" X5 is a great car 16 years old pulls the horse trailer like it isn't there copes with mild off road use and is used properly every day. There will always be jobs to do but for now I am comfortable with the X. Could BMW have avoided many of the issues, in my opinion yes. A few extra £ spent at manufacture a few extra service intervals small costs to the manufacturer would re-enforce the myth of great engineering. When we buy a car we are a bit like the Tom Hanks character in the film Apollo 13. just before launch he says something like "here we are sat on top of billions of dollars worth of components all supplied by the lowest bidder" THE BEAN COUNTERS STRIKE. If we understand the short comings under neath there are some really good cars we just have to dig a little, hopefully not in our wallets. Dave

Morning Danny How is tyre wear at the rear? is it even across the tread? are the rear tyres the same each side? Do you have air suspension at the rear? The reason for asking is the rose joints on the X5 (5 series on steroids) are a known failure causing all sorts of odd wear and alignment issues. To actually see the wear the air suspension has to be deflated. When I did mine (I have done them twice now due to pulling a horse trailer) I buy a kit and change all the links and bushes. Kind of clutching at straws now Dave

Hi Jim When you say you have lost power to windows, roof, mirrors does your car have electric seat and steering wheel adjustment? I can see windows and mirrors being linked so check check for fuses and relays in the circuit my brother inlaws 530d has had electrical issues which we traced to one of the earth blocks, the main mounting was corroded so several circuits that were earthed through it were giving trouble. You say roof is your soft top powered? may be a common earth/relay problem. Have a look at www.newtis.info then look for any mechanical/electrical information wiring diagrams etc if you need parts check www.realoem.com Good luck Dave

Welcome to the Forum Amit Nice collection you have had, and the 540 looks solid Dave

Morning Danny What a pain in the proverbials !! So a recap on work done. 1) Engine Mounts changed (Question were these OEM as I believe they should be active mounts ?) 2) Gearbox Mounts changed 3) Propshaft centre bearing and couplings changed 4) DMF and Clutch changed The only things left is the Diff and axle driveshafts and rear wheel bearings, is the oil level OK in the Diff no excessive backlash? are the drive shaft UJ's OK ? An after thought have you had the codes read in case it is a misfire under load?? Dave

Hi Keith 640d Lucky boy !! As far as I know the facelift LCI is mainly cosmetic but also has some power upgrades and efficiency improvements. Though the couple of people I know who have 640's give them so much stick they don't tend to see much in the way of efficiency? Depreciation with all cars is worse in the first 3 to 5 years then tends to level out (doesn't go away just levels out a bit) The only issues I have read about are folding roofs on early cars had issues with sensors which gave a "roof not closed" warning. Are the spec's and options not available on the BMW web site? Like the X5's these are complicated beasts so making sure everything works as it should is paramount in my mind. I do mean everything every button gadget and switch make certain they all do as they are supposed to do. Test drive make sure that the gearbox functions in all modes and find a stretch of road to stretch its legs and check for smoke under hard acceleration and lift off. Probably teaching Granny to suck eggs but those are my thoughts Good Luck Dave

Morning Chris Early X5 E53 V8 models suffered with Cam Chain follower failures (ask me how I know about that!!!) the 3.0 Petrol and Diesel engines are pretty much bullet proof with regular oil changes. What model are you buying? I have assumed it is a Diesel? As I said earlier my brother inlaw commutes his 530d (same engine) into Europe weekly and as a result has covered 330+k. Squeeze them on a deal try at least to get enough off for a full service at BMW (about £650) then drive it and enjoy it. Dave

Morning Clint Great that the "Ducks" are in a row so now down to the nitty gritty, remember the above is a possible stick to pummel the sales guy with. Your plan has to be "Get a Great Car at a Great Price so push for as many concessions as you can get, the dealer will have head room it's much better to spend the sales guys commission than your hard earned. All cars of every make will have faults that is how and why Forums exist, I am a fussy old git and "warts and all" I have kept a gas guzzling V8 X5 for longer than any other car I have owned and I have owned a lot!! Dave