thanks to everyone who helped out with this

New starter needed and fitted by BMMotors in Stockport.

Good service. Delco Remy fitted instead of OEM, £300 + vat all in.

Very happy little X5 now!

thanks RickUK

I'll report back once I get to the bottom of it

thanks for having a go grumpywurzel :)

I'm going to take it for a quick battery and alternator check today

I tried this morning cold after a long motorway run yesterday and it turned over noticeably faster than it normally does after the school runs my wife does

This seems to suggest either ...

thanks for the good advice grumpywurzel

the bm specialist we're using said glow-plugs shouldn't be an issue even though all 6 show up as problematic on the diagnostic

I've asked the garage to do an amp drop test on the starter motor as I've been told that's a good indicator of starter health

just ...

thanks for the suggestions

I'll give it a try at home time

this is our first diesel and we both learnt to drive in old petrol bangers (mine was a Triumph Dolomite!) so have probably got into bad habbits

thanks for the reply

the battery was replaced last summer

I've been doing long motorway runs the last couple of days with some occasional hard acceleration in order to see if that helps matters

I'm worrying that I'm going to shell out for the starter only to find another issue as sometimes the ...

Hi folks

Does this sound like a real thing?

My wife normally puts her foot down when starting her X5 (2005 3.0d E53).

The first try in the morning just won't start, sits and turns over until it starts to slow down.

I've driven it for a couple of days now and notice that it bursts into life as ...