Ouch, that's exactly what I was afraid of. Was told there was no real way of checking until the transfer case had been replaced either! Seems like an increasing issue unfortunately. At least with almost an entirely new drivetrain you'll be set for the foreseeable :) Mine was theoretically under ...

Good luck with this. I had exactly the same problem a few months back. Took it into Jason (tuning guru on here) and he concluded it could be transfer case, front diff or both. At that point I decided I didn't love the car enough for a £3k + repair job and traded the car in. Was rather glad to be rid ...

RWD. That's the main drivetrain on the car. The front wheels operate via a complex clutch system in the transfer case and front diff to give traction to whichever wheel needs it most. Think it's normally about a 60/40 rear/front split. Xdrive seems to be a very effective system, when it works ...

Having said that, if you've had no clunks or any mechanical sounding issues then could be a sensor fault somewhere.

You should get the specific fault code from the garage. 5F3A is the doomsday one....

Yep, been there, done that! It's a fairly well known issue. If you are lucky, you have a stripped gear in the transfer case actuator motor. These can be bought separately (place in States sells for about £100), fairly easy job to do. If that's not the case then unfortunately (like me) you're in for ...

Does anyone know if the 1.4.0 software can clear all fault codes, or is it just basic ones?

Looking at DSC type errors.

Thanks!

In mine the locking wheel nut bolt was in one of the other spaces.

Just on the mpg question, I average about 34mpg on a normal mixed run of urban/motorway.

Clutch wise, I was told by Jason (re-map guru) that the BMW clutches are large and strong. Mine still pulls like an ox with no slippage at all.

I have a 2006 3.0d manual, so can prob assist! I used to have a 330ci and have always loved BMW manual boxes. So last Oct I actively sought out a lowish mileage (60k) X5 and finally got one in the right spec. Now for me, I think it's great fun. I live in London and don't particularly find 1st gear ...

There's also an argument that they can reduce the life of the wheel bearings due to the extra force exerted. Had spacers on my last car and never experiences any problems though. Make sure you get hubcentric ones if you do get them, otherwise you'll get vibration problems. H&R, Eibach etc are good ...

I'm told that they took the actuator apart to check it all and then reassembled. Had a long chat with Jason this morning who was extremely knowledgeable and helpful. He suggested that the symptoms could range from the actuator to transfer case to front diff. I think i'm going to take it back to the ...

Think I will give Jason a call actually. The car has previously been on a good diagnostics machine and that's when it threw up the 5f3a code - transfer case malfunction. In most cases that is usually the actuator stripping the teeth on the plastic cog, but the garage took it off and apparently it ...

Thanks Richard,

Yep, the 4x4 light is on. The car is covered under warranty by the indie garage i got it from, but they couldn't figure it out themselves so i need to try and find a specialist myself as they won't cover main dealer rates!

I've been having a problem for some time now with my 2006 X5 3.0D. Started with a clunk, diagnostics said tranfer case malfunction, garage tested the actuator (which was fine) and changed the transfer case oil and said they couldn't find anything else wrong with it. However, the 3 warning lights are ...

Mine started up with a clunk when reversing, followed by juddering at low speed and a feeling like the a brake caliper was stuck on. I think there are various ways it manifests itself. Usually the DSC, ABS and brake warning lights come on as well.