When to call time on my E70 X5...
When to call time on my E70 X5...
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Discussion

bluepony

Original Poster:

171 posts

221 months

Thursday 23rd January 2020
quotequote all
I've got a 61 plate X5 on 152,000 miles. I've done 70,000 miles in it myself over the last few years. It's been great, apart from now things are beginning to go wrong....
Electric handbrake failed (twice, currently not working)
Issue with diff (it's essentially locked on so it judders/snatches when on hard lock at low speed)
Air suspension issue -the compressor keeps randomly coming on and one of the rear air springs is "flat" every morning
Yesterday the check engine light came on and lots of fault codes - Lin Buss comm fault, exhaust gas recirculation issue, DPF issues (no doubt caused by the EGR), exhaust back pressure sensor.

Obviously I could fix it all, at not insignificant cost - and keep the car - BUT - how long do these cars really last? Is this the beginning of the end?

If you had a leggy one, when did you let it go?


cossy400

3,466 posts

214 months

Thursday 23rd January 2020
quotequote all
To me its a case of "how much" to fix against "how much" to chuck in to replace it in the hope the next one serves you well.

Ive given up running cars for a long time 2/3 years is the max we keep them now.

Touring442

3,096 posts

239 months

Thursday 23rd January 2020
quotequote all
Get it gone whilst it still has a value and hasn't spectacularly st itself. Has it had a front prop yet? The E70 is less robust than the E53 and this one is trying to tell you something.

bluepony

Original Poster:

171 posts

221 months

Thursday 23rd January 2020
quotequote all
Touring442 said:
Get it gone whilst it still has a value and hasn't spectacularly st itself. Has it had a front prop yet? The E70 is less robust than the E53 and this one is trying to tell you something.
No, it hasn't yet. Do those go too??? Is the next gen any better?

bluepony

Original Poster:

171 posts

221 months

Thursday 23rd January 2020
quotequote all
cossy400 said:
To me its a case of "how much" to fix against "how much" to chuck in to replace it in the hope the next one serves you well.

Ive given up running cars for a long time 2/3 years is the max we keep them now.
I horrified myself by looking up its value on Autotrader - £7250 apparently!!! Yikes. That's been some steep depreciation. I suppose I have put a lot of miles on it...
Not sure how much to fix everything. Several thousand. Handbrake alone is £1500

anonymous-user

84 months

Thursday 23rd January 2020
quotequote all
bluepony said:
cossy400 said:
To me its a case of "how much" to fix against "how much" to chuck in to replace it in the hope the next one serves you well.

Ive given up running cars for a long time 2/3 years is the max we keep them now.
I horrified myself by looking up its value on Autotrader - £7250 apparently!!! Yikes. That's been some steep depreciation. I suppose I have put a lot of miles on it...
Not sure how much to fix everything. Several thousand. Handbrake alone is £1500
Is the air suspension thing that expensive? It sounds like it’s the unit that deflated every morning, I understood they weren’t too pricy to change.

Could the check light and fault codes indicate a fading battery?


bluepony

Original Poster:

171 posts

221 months

Thursday 23rd January 2020
quotequote all
REALIST123 said:
Is the air suspension thing that expensive? It sounds like it’s the unit that deflated every morning, I understood they weren’t too pricy to change.

Could the check light and fault codes indicate a fading battery?
We've replaced the air spring twice now, so it's not that annoyingly (yes, it was fairly cheap, £166 plus fitting each time)

Battery fine - took the car in today and the laptop pulled up the faults. They cleared them down but all came back as soon as engine restarted. Taking it to a specialist tomorrow so accurately diagnose the smorgasbord of issues!

Mr-B

5,109 posts

224 months

Thursday 23rd January 2020
quotequote all
Don't know anything about X5's so can't help there, but £1500 for the handbrake!eek Wow. A complex solution to a problem that was solved for the last 70+ years by a cable and a ratchet and £20 if it broke. I am assuming companies come up with this crap just to gouge the customer when it breaks, can't think of any other reason for stuff like this. Boils my piss.

bluepony

Original Poster:

171 posts

221 months

Thursday 23rd January 2020
quotequote all
Mr-B said:
Don't know anything about X5's so can't help there, but £1500 for the handbrake!eek Wow. A complex solution to a problem that was solved for the last 70+ years by a cable and a ratchet and £20 if it broke. I am assuming companies come up with this crap just to gouge the customer when it breaks, can't think of any other reason for stuff like this. Boils my piss.
I agree with you!! If it ain't broke...oh wait, the really expensive and complicated (electronics, electric motors, gears) alternative to a manual handbrake DOESN'T WORK!

gizlaroc

17,251 posts

254 months

Thursday 23rd January 2020
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bluepony said:
Air suspension issue -the compressor keeps randomly coming on and one of the rear air springs is "flat" every morning
Replaced one of the airbags on an F11 the other day, new air spring was £21 from eBay.
Took 30 mins to fix.

Get it done sooner rather than later as you are burning you compressor out.

Bet it is the rear passenger side, they get all the st from the gutter thrown up at them and that rubs the bag itself and it tears.





gizlaroc

17,251 posts

254 months

Thursday 23rd January 2020
quotequote all
bluepony said:
Yesterday the check engine light came on and lots of fault codes - Lin Buss comm fault, exhaust gas recirculation issue, DPF issues (no doubt caused by the EGR), exhaust back pressure sensor.
Make sure your thermostats are working, if not your car cannot do a regen, you dpf will get blocked and give you the errors you are getting.
I would replace your egr too at that age.

Cost is around £80 for a new one and easy to do.

Are you glow plugs working OK?
Light goes out and stays out after you start?

Welshbeef

49,633 posts

228 months

Thursday 23rd January 2020
quotequote all
Other questions to consider
How long do the tyres have left
How long do the pads and discs have left
When is the MOT - out of your list what’s an MOT fail? handbrake clearly the rest?
When is the next oil change with filters air oil and also the fuel filter?
When is the bu annual brake full I’d change due?

Work that all out job done

bluepony

Original Poster:

171 posts

221 months

Friday 24th January 2020
quotequote all
gizlaroc said:
Replaced one of the airbags on an F11 the other day, new air spring was £21 from eBay.
Took 30 mins to fix.

Get it done sooner rather than later as you are burning you compressor out.

Bet it is the rear passenger side, they get all the st from the gutter thrown up at them and that rubs the bag itself and it tears.
Wow that's cheap - I have gone through two air bags now at £166 each but the problem continues. It's rear drivers side

bluepony

Original Poster:

171 posts

221 months

Friday 24th January 2020
quotequote all
gizlaroc said:
Make sure your thermostats are working, if not your car cannot do a regen, you dpf will get blocked and give you the errors you are getting.
I would replace your egr too at that age.

Cost is around £80 for a new one and easy to do.

Are you glow plugs working OK?
Light goes out and stays out after you start?
Yes no issue with glow plugs at all

bluepony

Original Poster:

171 posts

221 months

Friday 24th January 2020
quotequote all
Welshbeef said:
Other questions to consider
How long do the tyres have left
How long do the pads and discs have left
When is the MOT - out of your list what’s an MOT fail? handbrake clearly the rest?
When is the next oil change with filters air oil and also the fuel filter?
When is the bu annual brake full I’d change due?

Work that all out job done
It's quite recently had new tyres and a major service at BMW, so it's ok on that front. Which is something! MOT in late October

Welshbeef

49,633 posts

228 months

Friday 24th January 2020
quotequote all
bluepony said:
Welshbeef said:
Other questions to consider
How long do the tyres have left
How long do the pads and discs have left
When is the MOT - out of your list what’s an MOT fail? handbrake clearly the rest?
When is the next oil change with filters air oil and also the fuel filter?
When is the bu annual brake full I’d change due?

Work that all out job done
It's quite recently had new tyres and a major service at BMW, so it's ok on that front. Which is something! MOT in late October
So you’ve likely spent £2k for the work done and gifting that away to the new owner.

Get a proper quote for all the corrective actions and then you are likely looking to keep it 2-3 more years. If your not happy to do that job done.

Riggie

182 posts

155 months

Friday 24th January 2020
quotequote all
Mr-B said:
Don't know anything about X5's so can't help there, but £1500 for the handbrake!eek Wow. A complex solution to a problem that was solved for the last 70+ years by a cable and a ratchet and £20 if it broke. I am assuming companies come up with this crap just to gouge the customer when it breaks, can't think of any other reason for stuff like this. Boils my piss.
You can get the handbrake actuator reconditioned for around £250.

Elliot2000

786 posts

206 months

Friday 24th January 2020
quotequote all
With regards to front diff and front prop- remove fuse 92 (in the boot on the right) whilst ignition is off and it will disable the transfer box motor leaving the transfer box open and sending no drive to front wheels. It will drive smoother, be a bit more economical, reduce the chance of prop failing- because although it will still be spinning as the front wheels move their will be no torque being transferred along it from the drivetrain.

On a lot of x cars it won’t even log a fault or warning lights.

Only downside is you lose 4 whee drive and revert to just rear wheel drive - to me this is no loss

gizlaroc

17,251 posts

254 months

Friday 24th January 2020
quotequote all
bluepony said:
Wow that's cheap - I have gone through two air bags now at £166 each but the problem continues. It's rear drivers side
Are you saying that it keeps happening after a while, or that you have replaced it twice and still not sorted it?

If it is the latter you need to look at the line from the compressor bag to the air strut, the hose itself is known to perish and air can escape through it giving the same results.

There is also a return valve, but these don't tend to give up. Check the line, squirt some soapy water over it while the car is rising and see if you can see any bubbles anywhere.

Could be a really cheap/easy repair.

bluepony

Original Poster:

171 posts

221 months

Friday 24th January 2020
quotequote all
Riggie said:
You can get the handbrake actuator reconditioned for around £250.
Good to know - any recommendations?