We repair a lot of 2000 to 2006 e53 BMW X5 at our shop and in this blog post we will discuss the 7 most common repairs we do on these BMW X5 models. These BMW X5 models are popular and affordable SUVs that are great for New York City’s terrible roads. We get these often at Tolima’s Auto Center and these are the most common repairs we find on them.
1. Air Suspension on V8 Equipped Models
Fully Loaded V8 BMW X5 models come equipped with rear air suspensions. Instead of using springs and struts the rear suspension has a computer controlled air struts and compressor. The air struts will eventually leak and cause the air compressor to turn on constantly to keep the rear of the car raised. This will burn out the compressor if the leak isn’t fixed quickly. Then the rear end of the car will sag and the suspension will ride poorly. The rear air struts and compressor are expensive to replace. That is why another option people consider is replacing the air suspension with traditional aoil springs from a non air ride equipped BMW X5, but that is also a costly solution as well, although more permanent as you’ll never have to worry about the air suspension again!
2. V8 timing chain guides
As these car age V8 equipped BMW X5 models start to suffer from worn timing chain guides. There will be a distinct chain rattle when the engine is started cold. Infrequent oil changes make this problem happen sooner. This is a problem that happens around 100k miles and with most people buying these cars used the problem tends to creep up quickly. The repair is quite involved and costly. If the problem is ignored then the timing chain tensioner brackets can break apart causing the engine to go out of time destroying the engine.
3. License Plate Light Strip
This seemingly simple part of the rear hatch is a bit over complicated and trouble prone component. The rubber pad that you apply pressure on to open the rear hatch cracks and breaks with time. Then the computer board the it protected becomes exposed to the elements. This causes it to corrode and break more which make opening the rear hatch harder and prevents your license plates lights from working. This whole component must be replaced with a new unit and the new unit come unpainted. The cost of the unit, painting to match the car, and labor add up.
4. Door Handles
BMW designed the door handles to be pulled up in order to open the doors. The problem is that people pull them “out” towards themselves instead of “up” which in time breaks the internal aluminum door handle frame which is made out of aluminum. Once these break the door will not open from the outside, but can still be opened from the inside. These break often with people continuously pulling on the door handles the wrong way.
5. Window Regulators
The window regulator are also common failure items. The mechanism are made out of plastic and in time the plastic gets brittle and fails. They can be made to last longer if Silicone is sprayed in the window glass tracks on each door. This greatly reduces friction and strain on the window regulators. When these regulators fail the window glass tends to fall inside the door sometimes shattering it or making the glass unreachable to temporarily tape it in place.
6. Broken Sunroof Mechanism
The sunroof mechanism are made out of plastic and as plastic ages it becomes brittle and finally breaks. The problem is that when the sun roof mechanism breaks it isn’t possible to close the sun roof properly and to fix the mechanisms properly a god portion of the interior need to be removed. The A pillars, B pillars, C pillars, seatbelt mechanisms, grab handles, and many other small trims must be removed in order to get to the sun roof to service it. That is why many customers request we try to get it closed and disconnect power to the sun roof so it can never open again.
7. Coolant Leaks
This is a common problem with most BMW models starting around this generation. The coolant hoses are made out of hard molded plastic and start to leak as the cars age. Best way to help prevent this is to make sure you have fresh coolant in your car as old coolant loses its ability to condition the plastic hoses making them brittle and easier to crack and leak.
Aside from the problems listed above the e53 BMW X5 models tend to be fairly reliable as long as other basic maintenance is kept up to date. If you have any questions about a repair or problem on your BMW, feel free to Contact Us.
