Strange problem with E53 any more and im gona kill it!

Sender · Post by **Sender** » Thu Nov 18, 2010 4:49 pm

right well hi im new here and im hoping you guys can give me and idea whats goning on with this damn X5 and its issues

only at the beginning of the month did we solve and repair the issue with the interior heating (FSR replaced)

and now something else has gone wrong, this time the engine emissions warning light has come on the car sounds like a V8 and the damn thing shudders really badly on tick over.

once your up to speed you cant feel the shudder, but while waiting at traffic lights its dreadful.

so heres abit of background on our X5

2005 3lt sport

just over 26,000 miles on the clock

had the air filter sensor and air in take pipes replaced due to a previous issue no more then a year ago

any ideas on the cause?

thanks for reading

gmc15 · Post by **gmc15** » Thu Nov 18, 2010 6:13 pm

Bit of a wild guess, but I had a petrol Jag which developed a miss-fire. It turned out to be a coil pack breaking down. Older cars had a coil that the spark plug leades went into, but the Jag had individual coils on each spark plug. It was a 6 cylinder, so a bit rough on tickover but smoother when revs up a bit. This wouls cause engine management light to come on.

I had Ford Focus that developed a miss-fire and again it was the coil pack at fault (engine management light reset once pack was replaced).

HTH

Graeme.

phill · Post by **phill** » Thu Nov 18, 2010 6:15 pm

Welcome I will let the others reply to your problems as I sent you the link, hope you get the answers you want. Enjoy it on here as we are all friendly (well most of us). May help if we know if it is petrol or diesel.

Seeker_UK · Post by **Seeker_UK** » Thu Nov 18, 2010 7:20 pm

[quote=""Sender""]

and now something else has gone wrong, this time the engine emissions warning light has come on the car sounds like a V8 and the damn thing shudders really badly on tick over.

[/quote]

Assuming the X5 is a Petrol.

It sounds like a cylinders not firing. I had a 740 with the same problem. It was a simple case of one of the sparks not working but all sorts could be causing that such as a knackered coil pack or faulty cam sensor. Happens a lot with M54s.

You need to get it to someone with a diagnostic computer - it should tell you the problem.

Good luck

Sender · Post by **Sender** » Thu Nov 18, 2010 7:52 pm

thank you everyone for repling and your suggestions

yeah the car is petrol
we're taking to our mate who has a diagnostics reader on saturday morning
hopefully its a quick easy fix as we've already forked out nearly a grand on that car this year alone

gchristofi · Post by **gchristofi** » Fri Nov 19, 2010 12:45 am

this sounds exactly the symptoms I had on my old 330Ci (same engine), turned out to be a simple fix by replacing cam sensor. Good luck.

Sender · Post by **Sender** » Fri Nov 19, 2010 9:38 am

thanks mate, this damn car is driving me insane if it was up to me i would replace the car cause since we've had it so much has gone wrong its just getting beyond the joke!

currently we've had fixed:
retracting wing mirror motor was going
air intake senor and pipes
Left CV joint and Right CV boot
Battery due to a ECU issue
Final stage resistor
and now this damn problem aswell as its telling us the self leveling suspension is inactive!

i aodre my E46 but this damn X5 is driving me up the wall as soonas we fix something something else goes!
we've had the car two years and seem to be having a problem evey few months which is just not right!

my 318i has had TWO issues in three years and one is common issue with the rear lights and a cheap easy fix 50 quid max.

but the X5 has cost me nearly a grand just this year alone!

but when it does work its the most comforatbale drive ever

AW8 · Post by **AW8** » Fri Nov 19, 2010 4:20 pm

Thats a considerable ammount of failures at just 26k miles

Re the failure of both CV boots - from recollection I caused mine to be replaced at 80k. I have extensively trawled history of work done on my car with dealers & owners past & believe this was 1st repalcement of these items.

Are you sure its never been clocked(early CV boots), &/or flood damaged (early electrical issues)?

What was the indicated mileage when you bought the car ?

You could speak or write to last keeper as per V5/C to find out more re the cars past.

You could get RAC History check cheaper than but near same as HPI.

You could call BMW customer services to get dates/mileages of dealer visit dates & then call visted dealers for more info.

Keen to help find answers rather than trying to discredit you or car, (albeit you already openly indicate you personally regard the car as unreliable)

Of course it could be a car with fine history & integrity - you could just be unlucky.

lezmtaylor · Post by **lezmtaylor** » Fri Nov 19, 2010 4:53 pm

I would go for a coil pack ,but get an indy to check it out and whilst about it fit a new set of spk plugs.
Is the diesel 3 litre ? as OP says it is 3 litre and I assumed it was petrol(since confirmed)

Sender · Post by **Sender** » Sat Nov 20, 2010 7:50 pm

[quote=""AW8""]Thats a considerable ammount of failures at just 26k miles

Re the failure of both CV boots - from recollection I caused mine to be replaced at 80k. I have extensively trawled history of work done on my car with dealers & owners past & believe this was 1st repalcement of these items.

Are you sure its never been clocked(early CV boots), &/or flood damaged (early electrical issues)?

What was the indicated mileage when you bought the car ?

You could speak or write to last keeper as per V5/C to find out more re the cars past.

You could get RAC History check cheaper than but near same as HPI.

You could call BMW customer services to get dates/mileages of dealer visit dates & then call visted dealers for more info.

Keen to help find answers rather than trying to discredit you or car, (albeit you already openly indicate you personally regard the car as unreliable)

Of course it could be a car with fine history & integrity - you could just be unlucky.[/quote]

well we took it to the garage this monring and the damn thing is only running on four cylinders and one of the coils have died, awaiting a qoute from another garge but our bmw dealer gave us a qoute of nearly a grand, i cant believe this damn thing has cost us so much on less then a year.

the electrically problems have not been caused by flooding or water damage it was something to do with the lights in the rear of the car, cant remember exactly now.

while at the garage got talking to this normal looking bloke sat drinking coffee, ended up ranting at him about all the problems i've had with the car, only to find out he was the manager

well he offered us a "good discount" his words on another car if we wanted, my OH was more annoyed that they didnt offer a better repair deal other then just trading in his car.
what really got us was that they qouted us for a service but didnt included having the brakes fliud, coolent or fuel filter in the price, they are writen down as separate items on the qoute
i was really annoyed that changing the brake luid would cost us 150 quid! im sure that should be covered under a damn service!

right now tho i love driving the X5 i really would consider moving it on cause the amount of damn problems we're having with it are getting to damn expensive.

just for you guys heres the costs of the "repair"!!

service Â£396
coolent Â£119
Brake fliud Â£150
Fuel filter Â£142
sparks and coil TBC (as they want to inspect it themselves) Â£100 for the inpsection and probably another Â£200 for the sparks and coil!

AW8 · Post by **AW8** » Sat Nov 20, 2010 9:58 pm

If you have FBMWSH without blemishes or gaps & want to keep it that way then by all means get dealer to do the service Inspection.

The service intervals on these are about 15k miles or thereabouts........Assuming it has 26k it would have only had an oil Inspection thus far & should only need an Inspection 1 now. Of course it may have had additional services in past but in my experience only the very fussy get additional sevices when mileage low.

There are spaces in your service book for service inspections, brake fluid & coolant, however, the fuel filter & coil pack etc can be done anywhere, (often cheaper at a specialist BMW independent), & without compromising any dealer stamp collection.

Your dealer may have the discretion to ask BMW UK to make a goodwill contribution towards a premature component failure. Historically these have been offered for cars just out of warranty or with low mileage. The integrity of past main dealer service history is a major factor in considering a claim as would be any indication of intent to later buy another car from a BMW dealer. On the negative flip side of this the motor trade is suffering in the UK and goodwill is quite simply less forthcoming than it has been in the past. Nothing to stop you asking, however, it might help if they warm to the person seeking the goodwill.

The coolant & brake fluid changes require significant extra labour time & cost of coolant plus brake fluid. These actions are carried out based on fixed time whereas the totally different service inspections are usually done when the service lights extinguish &, relative to miles travelled & type of use. It is simply unrealistic to expect them to perform these tasks within a service inspection & for no additional cost(s).

1. Exactly what Inspection types, fluid & collant change stamps are in the book & at what dates/mileages ?

2. Exactly what type of Inspection have you been quoted for ?

3. Once again - What was the indicated mileage (& age), when you bought the car ?

4. Have you verified the mileage is 100% accurate & how, (still not convinced it should need outer front CV boots below 26,000 miles) ?

I would contact other dealers, seek broken down competitive quotes for all work & politely state I was comparing squotes for the best deal. I would also contact a couple of BMW independents. When I get quotes for service Inspections I get them to quote me with & without oil as I supply my own exact & correct spec oil.

My car has 98k indicated miles, (nearly four times that of yours), & been owned by me for approaching 4.5 yrs. I have paid for every type of service inspection, ( to date all at main dealers), as well as paying for other repairs & maintenance plus doing odd bits myself. I have managed to save very considerable costs from initial dealer quotes by polite, careful, methodical & gently assertive negotiation on labour & parts costs, (with savings quoted & later yielded from initial quoting dealers, other dealers or independents).

I am not suggesting you have been anything other than polite, however, I have no doubt whatsoever that I have saved many Â£'s by polite negotiation & legwork & would have paid more if I had merely ranted.

Please dont take my comments the wrong way - I am genuinely trying to help & prevent you from being fleeced more than needed

Good Luck

petert · Post by **petert** » Sat Nov 20, 2010 10:42 pm

Sounds like the engine problem is easily solved - i had something similar at about 30k miles but once sorted (and it was done under warranty I have to admit) the car then ran faultlessly until I sold it. Don't give up too easily - you may pay for someone else to have afine and reliable car! We all understand your frustration though!

Good luck

Peter T

philip600 · Post by **philip600** » Sun Nov 21, 2010 5:41 pm

'' 4. Have you verified the mileage is 100% accurate & how, (still not convinced it should need outer front CV boots below 26,000 miles) ? ''

Hi,

Car has only done 26k but it's 5 years old & rubber does perish.
Having said that I was suprised I had to have mine replaced recently at just under 40K ( verified ) on my Dec 05 3.0d.
I inspected them on the car before the garage replaced them & they looked prerished.
Mine's back in on Wednesday to ( hopefully ) complete what will have cost approx Â£ 1500 in repairs

Will update my original post once it's all complete & let you know how I get on with warranty company with regards claims

One things for sure these cars are not cheap to run. They seem to be let down by inferior quality parts, which is a shame because the cars are great when all working.

Regards, Phil.

Sender · Post by **Sender** » Mon Nov 22, 2010 3:17 pm

[quote=""AW8""]
3. Once again - What was the indicated mileage (& age), when you bought the car ?

4. Have you verified the mileage is 100% accurate & how, (still not convinced it should need outer front CV boots below 26,000 miles) ?

[/quote]

dont worry im not taking your comments the wrong way

there is one really simply and easy answer to your questions about the car being five years old and only doing 26,000 miles LOL

we live in jersey channels islands UK, the island is 9 miles by 5 miles, our cars unless taken to the UK barely break 5000 miles a year.

this car was taken to the uk by its previous owners but after three years we had it, we bought when it had done 20,000 miles, we've had two years and its just over 26,000 now.

we just dont get massive milage in jersey

we've been hunting around for qoutes on the repairs as my OH really doesnt want to sell his car, im waiting on afew qoutes today and hopefully they wont be stupidly high.

im joking boys if you want low milage cars come to jersey

here is the bmw dealer in jersey, first car on the list a 2005 slk 200 for Â£16,000 milage 18000 miles
http://www.jacksonsci.com/cars_used/ind ... urerRS=120

bigshout · Post by **bigshout** » Mon Nov 22, 2010 5:46 pm

I hope you get it all sorted. the E53 X5 has so many features some are bound to fail, I too feel like I'm forever having to get things tweaking, fixed or replaced.

As for you quote I think your still being stung. Â£119 for coolent is madness, it's a 10 minute job to flus the system and bleed with only Â£9 of BMW coolent to complete.

[quote=""Sender""][quote=""AW8""]Thats a considerable ammount of failures at just 26k miles

Re the failure of both CV boots - from recollection I caused mine to be replaced at 80k. I have extensively trawled history of work done on my car with dealers & owners past & believe this was 1st repalcement of these items.

Are you sure its never been clocked(early CV boots), &/or flood damaged (early electrical issues)?

What was the indicated mileage when you bought the car ?

You could speak or write to last keeper as per V5/C to find out more re the cars past.

You could get RAC History check cheaper than but near same as HPI.

You could call BMW customer services to get dates/mileages of dealer visit dates & then call visted dealers for more info.

Keen to help find answers rather than trying to discredit you or car, (albeit you already openly indicate you personally regard the car as unreliable)

Of course it could be a car with fine history & integrity - you could just be unlucky.[/quote]

well we took it to the garage this monring and the damn thing is only running on four cylinders and one of the coils have died, awaiting a qoute from another garge but our bmw dealer gave us a qoute of nearly a grand, i cant believe this damn thing has cost us so much on less then a year.

the electrically problems have not been caused by flooding or water damage it was something to do with the lights in the rear of the car, cant remember exactly now.

while at the garage got talking to this normal looking bloke sat drinking coffee, ended up ranting at him about all the problems i've had with the car, only to find out he was the manager

well he offered us a "good discount" his words on another car if we wanted, my OH was more annoyed that they didnt offer a better repair deal other then just trading in his car.
what really got us was that they qouted us for a service but didnt included having the brakes fliud, coolent or fuel filter in the price, they are writen down as separate items on the qoute
i was really annoyed that changing the brake luid would cost us 150 quid! im sure that should be covered under a damn service!

right now tho i love driving the X5 i really would consider moving it on cause the amount of damn problems we're having with it are getting to damn expensive.

just for you guys heres the costs of the "repair"!!

service Â£396
coolent Â£119
Brake fliud Â£150
Fuel filter Â£142
sparks and coil TBC (as they want to inspect it themselves) Â£100 for the inpsection and probably another Â£200 for the sparks and coil![/quote]

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