BMW X5 (E70) 3.0d

[Blown2CV]

hello, just bought a 2007 BMW X5 (E70) 3.0d, reasonably leggy miles (114k) but pretty much OK I hope. Just wanted something big and solid to run around in for a bit, with lots of room for family things. Pretty happy with it initially, on that basis.

Service history looks OK but the service indicator and the brake fluid change overdue warnings are showing which is annoying is I am pretty sure it will just be that they were unable to (or the service place couldn't be bothered to find out how to) reset them. Having a FoC battery and 15-point safety check done at Halfords this week.

Just wanted to sound out the BMW forum about things like common faults, things to look out for and so on.

I understand these are cam chain engines, so there shouldn't necessarily be a 'big service' that might have been missed... but I am no expert.

thanks in advance!

[margerison]

There are some good 'X' specific forums here:
http://xdrivers.co.uk/

[rayyan171]

Blown2CV said:

hello, just bought a 2007 BMW X5 (E70) 3.0d, reasonably leggy miles (114k) but pretty much OK I hope. Just wanted something big and solid to run around in for a bit, with lots of room for family things. Pretty happy with it initially, on that basis.

Service history looks OK but the service indicator and the brake fluid change overdue warnings are showing which is annoying is I am pretty sure it will just be that they were unable to (or the service place couldn't be bothered to find out how to) reset them. Having a FoC battery and 15-point safety check done at Halfords this week.

Just wanted to sound out the BMW forum about things like common faults, things to look out for and so on.

I understand these are cam chain engines, so there shouldn't necessarily be a 'big service' that might have been missed... but I am no expert.

thanks in advance!

XDrivers has a very good guide on the X5, specifically the 3.0D. We have a 3.0sd, and they are very good cars indeed, if a little bit rough on suspension. Mileage is fine on these engines. I suspect you have the earlier 3.0D, so I would recommend possibly getting swirl flaps done on it. Google will tell you more.

Check the car has star marked tyres. These cars hate it when they don't have good tyres, and there is talk that having the wrong tyres leads to gearbox issues. Star-marked tyres are expensive but they simply stop the car from making weird groaning noises, gearbox whines, etc.

They are heavy beasts, therefore the single turbo on the 3.0d has a bit more load on it. Kind of why we went for a 3.0sd, as they are a bit more reliable. Nothing to worry about however, just ensure that you do good mileage on it, as its a diesel (12k+). Watch oil levels, the sensors can go wrong and say the oil level is too high. Please change your brake fluid, sometimes its missed, and it led to a calliper replacement on ours which was £500+ from a local garage, not even an indy. Check its had its service as well. Tracking is key to long life of the tyres, again something we learnt the hard way. Ensure you use hunter alignment, as that is what BMW use. No need to do it at a dealer though.Be careful of air suspension airbags, if you have self-levelling suspension.

[Blown2CV]

thanks guys. From looking at it, it doesn't look to have had a major service since 2013 or maybe 2014. It is also approaching 120k miles which I believe is when the 'giant' service is due too (every 60k miles??). Am I best off just having that done...?

[rayyan171]

Complete service is a Vehicle Check I believe. BMW offer it, I guess it would be very expensive from them. I'd suggest a complete fluid change - every single fluid that can be changed should be changed. Not too sure about transmission fluid - ask an expert. Change all filters that need to be changed as well. Think about glow plug changes, that is a possibility as well.