X-5 Reliability?

makaio · 10-09-2002, 08:03 AM

How have these been holding up? Major issues or recals? Just curious.

And what is the towing capabilities?

Maybe when the price drops in a few years on used ones, I can trade my truck in for one.

Wayne 962 · Wayne 962's Garage

My friends who have one love them. I think that there was some small issues with the early 4.0 engines, but I think that they are all worked out right now.

Here's a neat article on the towing capacity (from a boating mag) of the X5:

http://www.boatingmag.com/features/print_features.html?FeatureID=33

BMW NA also states that the towing capacity is:

What is the towing capacity of the X5 3.0i?

The towing capacity is 5,000 pounds. A towing hitch receiver is planned as an authorized X5 SAV center-installed option.

Also see here: http://www.bmwusa.com/site_layout/models/0164/0164_x5faq.htm

I think that this would make an excellent towing vehicle. I can't help but think though that bigger is indeed better here, and that a Suburban wouldn't be best for the price. Although the interior of the X5 truly is much nicer than the Suburban. I guess it's all just what you are looking for...

-Wayne

Jared at Pelican Parts · 10-15-2002, 11:07 AM

I know they are having a lot of transmission and electrical problems. In fact BMW has a huge recall program going on right now for these two maladies.

On a more personal note, A friend of the family bought one and it had this recurring problem where the Auto transmission solenoid would engage for no reason, throwing the car into reverse.

I kinda think the whole idea of a BMW SUV is pretty stupid anyway. If you plan on driving off road, you buy a Land Rover and thats that. When I say Land Rover, I mean the stripped down war wagon models we dont usually see in America, not these $90,000 Range Rovers.

Wayne 962 · Wayne 962's Garage

Okay, I do and don't agree with you at the same time. Land Rovers? Okay, they are good vehicles, but isn't their repair record dismal?

Frankly, if I had $90K, I would instantly buy a Hummer, and go off-roading with the Hummer club. Actually, the Hummer is a vehicle designed for a singular purpose. I had hoped that the Cayenne would have been more like the Hummer, but oh well...

-Wayne

Jared at Pelican Parts · 11:19 AM

No offense but civilian Hummers are garbage.

Land Rovers are great cars. Almost every expedtion to anywhere in the world uses Land Rovers. We dont get the REAL Land Rovers in America, though.

BMWCowboy · 10-15-2002, 05:55 PM

I have to disagree, the only recalls that have been issued on the X-5 have been very minor problems....the auxillary fans not working is the only Major one I can think of....and they are very tight & sound vehicles....no rattles or recalls.

SuperWheel · 10-16-2002, 01:45 AM

I know that the Military Hummers are the steel ones, and the US ones are the fiberglass ones. Still, I think that they are better than just about anything out there.

Jared, where is your source for the recall program?

Wayne 962 · Wayne 962's Garage

Any more recall info?

-Wayne

20PSI 240SX · 01-13-2003, 06:47 PM

they are very good trucks. very much worth the money and they drive like a car more then any suv i have driven. there was a recent recall for the brake pivot pins on the peddle. nothing serious in my eyes.
shaun

Wayne 962 · Wayne 962's Garage

Right - I haven't heard anything bad about them. They should give the Cayenne a run for its money...

-Wayne

BMWCowboy · 01-14-2003, 04:54 PM

The brake pedal recall is just drilling a small hole in the meat of the pedal incase it has stress cracks >>>iV yet to see any that have actually cracked & iV performed this recall numerous times

BMW Atlanta · 01-27-2003, 04:26 PM

Ok, so forgive me, but I couldnt resist where this thread ended up,...........Being how an X5 (diesel) mind you has just won its class, its hard to knock its offroad worthiness. But I think "offroad" must be defined as in Pre-runner, baja, rally, etc. Because in the "offroading" I do, you will never see a Hummer make it through, an X-5 wouldnt even make it to the entrance of the OffRoadVehicle Park trail. As for LandRover,......they have been around along time and are more versatile then any of the aforementioned in the generic sense of "offroad". Hummer's are extremely big, wide and HEAVY!!!!!!!!!!! they do no do well in muddy inclines or anything involving gravity for that matter. They are great for the military, but they have a specific use at that. For $90k I can buy a loaded Excursion with a Powerstroke and then tow a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon edition where ever the heck I want to go do some serious off roading and still have alot of money left over.

As for comparing towing abilities of the Suburban versus the X-5,.......they arent even in the same league. Yeah I think an X-5 will tow, but good luck if you fabricate a hitch and go to a BMW car dealer for any driveline warranty work. If you really want an SUV that can tow,......go for the Ford Excursion with a Powerstroke. Hands down the most able towing SUV available, its built on a 1ton chassis. If you want sport like handling and carry the occassional canoe,......buy an X-5 or Cayenne and maybe even tow a jet ski. And dont even get me started on these new H-2's............GARBAGE!!!!! bad enough the original Hummer was over rated. They took a suburban and put an H-2 body on it and tripled the price,...forget that.

20PSI 240SX · 01-28-2003, 06:32 PM

true, the x5 is rated to tow 6000lbs. the bmw hitch is a nice unit and worth it if you ask me. but, not many people buy an x5 for off road use. i'll take a 4.6 x5 with the sports seats and 20" rims if anyone is curious what i want for my birthday!
shaun
ps...tell me about your all-trac! what turbo setup and details! i have NEVER seen one where i live.

SkierX · 02-14-2003, 12:55 PM

I know someone who has an x5 and it is an AWSOME vehicle. He has let me drive it, and it drives like a BMW. Thats all you need to hear. It is by far one of the best SUV's I have driven.

blw · 02-19-2003, 05:13 PM

I'm not sure those who are panning it have driven an X5. It certainly does fit a certain class of user. Where I live, 4wd is not optional. If you don't have it, you don't get out - I've already tried that experiment.

The X5 is definitely not the ultimate off-road vehicle, but my "road" sometimes looks like "off-road" - one of those times being right now, with 12" of snow in some places, big hills, muddy rutted spots, and "passing" zones that are clearly not part of the "pavement."

I happen to be a pretty loyal BMW owner - so when I needed 4wd, I looked first at BMW. There are two options, the 325ix and the x5. I drove them both, and I liked them both - I prefer the 325ix, but the x5 is a far bigger animal with much better ability to "pass" on my roads. (My daily driver is a 3-series convertible, weather permitting/encouraging.)

Then I drove a Range Rover, a Land Rover (Discovery), a Bronco and an Escape. The X5 is a car, the others are really trucks. And of course, it's not just a car, it's a BMW car. The X5 isn't equivalent to an M3, but it just kills the others as far as responsiveness, smoothness on the road, quietness, etc. It's not close. The RR and LR are both more capable of offroad excursions, but I'm not pioneering here, I'm getting home on bad roads half of the year.

No, most of these aren't in the same price category, but most of those that ARE share the same characteristrics, and I'd rather drive a BMW than a Mercedes, Lexus or whatever.

If I still lived in suburban San Francisco/San Jose, I would have never even thought to try an X5. My 740i was plenty of space, and "off road" meant driving on the shoulder. If I needed more hauling space, I'd have gone for a wagon, perhaps a 525iT. But here, the X5 makes perfect sense, and so far it's been a good fit.

mbuhrig · 01-02-2004, 09:35 AM

Well I am on my second X5. I had a 2002 3.0, however, it had a reoccurring electrical problem ("Check Engine" light kept coming on). After a few trips to the dealership and calls to BMW North America, BMW was nice enough to put us into a 2004 with matching specs but with our choice of interior and exterior paint. All I paid was a couple K for 25K miles I put on the '02. The 2004 is much nicer than the '02-'03's, X Drive is incredible!, Angle Eyes, auto wipers/lights, clear turn signals, etc. etc. all standard now. My '02 had the towing package, which I put to work trailering a 30' go fast every weekend for almost a year. The only recall I heard of with the '02 was for sticking driver side door handle, but I never had a problem with it.

Great all around vehicle that I can drive like a sports car now that I have sold my SC.

PS If you buy a 3.0 get the new 6 speed trans, it's a lot a fun for SUV/SAV.

Happy New Year!