Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION | |||||
| SI B12 04 08 | 04/01/2008 | 10025583 | E53 with m54 and gm5 - reprogram dme. e53 (x5) with m54 engine and gm5 transmission produced 9/3003 - 10/2004. *pe | 08/22/2008 | |
| 2420205 | 01/01/2006 | 240106 | 10014893 | Harsh 2-1 downshift. *eh bmw e35. *sc x5 from 10/03 up to 04/05. *tt | 05/11/2005 |
| POWER TRAIN - AXLE ASSEMBLY | |||||
| 335003 | 10/01/2003 | 10004535 | Service action on checking rear axle differential bolts. *tt | 12/18/2003 | |
| POWER TRAIN - DRIVELINE - CONSTANT VELOCITY JOINT | |||||
| SI-B31-01-08 | 09/01/2009 | 10031624 | Bmw: replacement of front outer cv joint. complaints of clicking or grinding noises coming from the front axle area when making a turn. the front outer constant velocity joint boot is split open and the joint is already damaged. | 01/06/2010 | |
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| POWER TRAIN | |||
| 01/19/2010 | 60000 | ||
| Oil separator froze causing high pressure and blown seals. initial cost about $1100 to repair. dealer states this happens all the time to x5's in cold weather. temp was in the single digits. in january 2013 oil separator froze two more times;however, this time damaging the engine - cost over $5000 to repair - basically totaling the car. with about 15 minutes of research, this appears to be a common and known issue on bmw x5 3.0, 4.4 and 4.8 engines from 2001 to 2008... looks like the parts were redesigned in 2009. looks like a simple preventive maintenance routine and insulated oil lines would have prevented the catastrophic engine failure and dangerous condition of tailpipe fire, or being stranded in zero degree weather (which seems to be a condition required for the failure). owner of car is the original owner, with all maintenance being done at local bmw dealerships including major services at 60k and 90k so there appears there is no preventive maintenance included in either of these major service milestones for the known oil separator defect. a recall on this defect to install the small amount of parts to prevent catastrophic engines failure and dangerous conditions being stranded in single digit weather seems like a logical choice... or at least changing major service milestones to add preventive maintenance so the probability of the failure can be reduced. | |||
| 03/03/2011 | 70513 | 1 | |
| I own a 2003 bmw x5 4.6is my transmission has gone completely out with only 70000 miles . i have done a lot of research. i'm not the only one with this problem. i have read in forums that other 2002-2003 4.6is owners had transmission trans failures. i believe the transmission is defective on this vehicle. there is no reason that a 75k vehicles transmission should not last under 100k miles. *tr | |||
| 03/03/2011 | 70513 | ||
| I own a 2003 bmw x5 4.6is my transmission has gone completely out with only 70000 miles . i have done a lot of research. i'm not the only one with this problem. i have read in forums that other 2002-2003 4.6is owners had transmission trans failures. i believe the transmission is defective on this vehicle. there is no reason that a 75k vehicles transmission should not last under 100k miles. | |||
| 06/06/2012 | 136000 | ||
| Driving on highway at approximately 60 mph, felt as if something fell off or came loose and vehicle began to slow down in middle on traffic and would not accelerate when gas pedal was pushed, which could have caused anyone to crash the back of me. luckely i was able to get to the shoulder and stop. very tragic, this could have been fatal. i was told there was a recall but my vehicle came from the wrong manufacturer. very unfair :-( | |||
| 07/13/2008 | |||
| Tl*the contact owns a 2003 bmw x5. while the contact was driving 50 mph he noticed a clicking sound coming from the front of the vehicle. when the contact attempted to accelerate the rpm's would rise but the vehicle would not move. the contact did not notice any differences in the vehicle beforehand and was not in a crash due to the failure. the vehicle was towed to the dealer where the contact was informed that the transmission and the differential failed. the vin is unavailable. the current and failure mileages were 48000. | |||
| POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION | |||
| 07/01/2009 | 115000 | ||
| I have a 2003 bmw x5 4.4. which seems to vibrate/jerk between 20 and 30 mph. the first time (2009) i went to the dealer they told me i needed to replace my tire which i did. this did not help. i went back to the dealer again and now they tell me i need to replace the transmission. after researching this issue online, i am learning many other bmw owners have this same problem. i am curious to know if this is a defect. | |||
| 04/01/2009 | 80 | 1 | |
| 80k on my bmw x5 and the transmission needs replaced. *tr | |||
| 01/15/2009 | 68000 | 1 | |
| On 01/15/2009, the extremely chilly day, my wife drove the x5 on route 2 east bound around exit 58 in arlington, ma, the exhaust system suddenly emitted heavy white smoke, but the oil warning light did not turned on at all. my wife pulled over the car and turned off the engine immediately. 15 minutes later, she found the engine was disabled when she tried to restart it. after the car was towed to bmw service center ,i was informed the car needs the following replacements | |||
| 1 | |||
| While driving 70 mph vehicle stalled. driver was able to pull over. vehicle taken to the dealer for inspection, and mechanic determined that transmission needed to be replaced. *ak | |||
| POWER TRAIN - DRIVELINE | |||
| 07/07/2011 | 129000 | ||
| 2003 bmw x5 4.4i transfer case/front drive shaft failed leaving car stranded on a railroad crossing with no power. rr lights began to flash but manged to push car off tracks in time once we found help (too heavy to push alone). same failure at 90k miles had stranded car on a local street about 2.5 years earlier. bmw replaced transfer case and front drive shaft under certified pre-owned warrantee. current failure occurred on transfer case/drive shaft less than 40k miles / 2.5 years old. same failure is well documented with numerous other owners on various internet message boards. research suggests the failure is due to a design flaw invoving insufficient spline engagement and poor placement of a/c condesate drain directly above tranfer case / shaft connection causing accelerated rusting of drive shaft splines which eventually weaken and strip out. attempted to get bmw to cover repair out-of-warrantee due to circumstances of early failure fo a drivetrain part. multiple calls (messages for service managers) to two local dealerships went unreturned. call to bmwna was unhelpful - would not take any action until car was towed to a dealership for inspection at my expense and would (at best) be repaired with same parts of poor design. | |||
| POWER TRAIN - DRIVELINE - DIFFERENTIAL UNIT | |||
| 12/11/2004 | 44500 | 1 | 12/30/2002 |
| Driving bmw x5 at 50 mph, front differential locks up taking vehicle from 50 mph to approximately 25 mph in about 1 second then differential fails. gear oil sprayed on hot exhaust and engine, car would not move forward, passenger (my wife) jumps out when we stopped thinking car was going to catch fire (smoke and strong burning smell from oil). dealer had car towed to shop, had to replace forward drive train. car was in shop 4 days. my wife will not ride in car again, she almost impacted the dash when axel locked up, had road been wet or icy, we could have very easily lost control. had a vehicle been behind us, very likely they would have run into the back of the car it stopped so fast and unexpectedly. felt like we ran over a large tree in the road but the road was perfectly clear. immediately traded the car and bought another vehicle, believe ntsb needs to be aware of the failure and see if it happens elsewhere, very scary to have car wheels lock up on the highway at any speed. *jb | |||