Nick's 35d X5 Sport

[Motorsport.Nick]

Hi everyone,

Happy to say that I am the proud new owner of a 2012 35d X5!

My name is Nick - I have been a serial BMW enthusiast for the past 15 years. Currently also own an E90 M3.

I have wanted one of these cars for a long time but never really had a plan of when or what. With the news that we had an addition to our family coming my wife and I decide we wanted a bigger family car to replace our E91. This was an outstanding car but just too small once you had kids to the mix. Very well timed, as life usually is - we welcomed home our second son (who was just born last week) and the X5 followed just a few days later!

Specs:

2012
35d
125,000 miles
2 owners
All original

Alpine white
Black interior

Sport
Style 214s including Michelin AS3s
Premium
Nav
Side and top view cameras
Heated and air conditioned seats
Comfort access
Tow package

VIN: 5UXZW0C50C0B88540

We had been looking for specifically an LCI diesel, sport package with style 214s so I knew this was meant to be. In fact, we sold our E91 the same day I found this X5 which made for a super smooth transition.

From my research the car has lots of consistent dealership maintenance records throughout its life. Brakes are new, tires are good and recently one of the DEF tank sensors was just replaced.




Untitled by Nick Butler, on Flickr


Untitled by Nick Butler, on Flickr


Untitled by Nick Butler, on Flickr


Untitled by Nick Butler, on Flickr


Untitled by Nick Butler, on Flickr


Untitled by Nick Butler, on Flickr

Untitled by Nick Butler, on Flickr


Untitled by Nick Butler, on Flickr


It needs a new set of floor mats and some painted reflectors.

This is my first diesel car. Advice I've gotten is to quickly change out the spark plugs and blinker fluid - anything else I should look out for?

[pdX5M]

Looks great man! I'm not a diesel guy but based on everything that 35d owners have said on this forum you'll want to look into doing a full delete - will save you lots of potential headaches in the future. Will also unlock the vehicles full capability which is a huge bonus

[what have i got into]

Awwwwhhhh, we're twinsies, except I have the tan interior. I bought the rubber BMW floor mats off a BMW dealership on Ebay and for Portland, they do a great job. The stock ones just seemed to stay damp for too long.

My DEF tank was replaced by BMW under recall so for now, I am not deleting it. I do all the DEF fluid fills myself.

What I have noticed around here is that I get diesel from Fred Meyer just because it's close to my house but it definitely lags driving around town. So I add Diesel Kleen every other tank and it's a noticeable difference.

Other than that, I replaced with a K&N air filter and replaced the cabin filters recently. Brake dust is obnoxious, but that's normal. My passenger tail light seems to be collecting water and the driver's side rear door seal collects water. So other than minor small things, it's been a great vehicle.

I usually take it to Kuni BMW for service and they have been great for me and I have taken it to Freeman Motor too for some stuff and that's gone well.

[smass]

As a diesel owner, you will want a tool that can scan for BMW codes. Check out the bimmergeeks one. I have owned mine for almost 4 years now and have had 3 check engine lights. All 3 were sub $150 parts. (def injector, glow plug cont, and active def tank)

[Nyc Dito]

Very nice choice! I have a '13 with Nevada Brown interior and I'm loving it so far.

I would suggest making sure your coolant temp is where its supposed to be and look into certain additives like Diesel Kleen. I use Opti-lube myself but do your research and see what works best for you. Other than that, fluid change and maintenance, etc etc..and enjoy the ride!

[Pierce330]

Originally Posted by pdX5M

Looks great man! I'm not a diesel guy but based on everything that 35d owners have said on this forum you'll want to look into doing a full delete - will save you lots of potential headaches in the future. Will also unlock the vehicles full capability which is a huge bonus

Yes, listen to the above advice. Do the delete. Unfortunately, the delete is more expensive on the E70 than it is on the F15. It will save you a lot of money and time! In my area, Ontario, Canada, delete is about $2k.

[X5 MAN]

Do check if the delete is legal in your state or you will face hefty fines if and when caught.

[Spyro235]

Truthfully, you'd only be caught in California where they do the pull over mobile smog checks. I'm in NJ, where it's technically illegal, but I have absolutely 0 fear of ever being "caught." There's simply no way anyone could ever "catch" it.

I second the coolant temps- The thermostat is pretty much the most failure prone part other than the emissions systems. It fails open, and causes the motor to run cold, under 70c. Under 70c, the glow plug controller runs the glow plugs, which aren't meant to run all the time. The controller usually burns out from that, as mine did: still haven't gotten around to swapping it out. $105 for the controller, and a 2 hours or so to get it in. I have an annoying CEL from it sadly.

Mine had 204k when I bought it, I got an emissions code and deleted at 210k. I'm at 217k right now, I've driven this D 13k in four months and absolutely love the car. It feels 50% more powerful, with the combination of the DUDMD stage 2 tune, and the Sutphin transmission tune. After the deletes have been done, the motor is nearly bulletproof.

The best thing I've done, and highly recommend, is if you have an iphone, look into the unichip tech carplay box. I have oem feeling carplay in my X5, and it really brings the modern era into the car.

Enjoy those seats, you have my jealousy. One day I hope to find a beat up pair of AC/heated comfort seats and take on the challenge of making them work in my car, then having the refinished in brown to match my interior. That's the one feature that I'm really sad my car doesn't have, other than the self leveling suspension.

[sunny_j]

Originally Posted by Motorsport.Nick

Hi everyone,

Happy to say that I am the proud new owner of a 2012 35d X5!

It needs a new set of floor mats and some painted reflectors.

This is my first diesel car. Advice I've gotten is to quickly change out the spark plugs and blinker fluid - anything else I should look out for?

welcome to the club and we . if I were you, I'd make a road trip over to DUDMD for the delete. In the meantime you can check/replace the partitions if cracked, check oil lines? how old is the MAF? change vacuum lines, change boost hose and charge air hose o-rings etc. you can check out my build thread to see what maintenance I have done to my x5d.

Originally Posted by what have i got into

Awwwwhhhh, we're twinsies, except I have the tan interior.

triplets?

[Lviv777]

Beautiful, Absolutely love the car

[Naz24]

That is extremely clean! wow looks like it has a third of the miles

[boneca]

Looks great, congrats, love AW!

[Motorsport.Nick]

Thanks for all the comments guys! Appreciate it.

Loving this car so far. Such a smooth and quiet ride. Not to mention great power!

Got plates mounted and took the first trip to the green pump! Range showed 600 miles to empty! Not sure I'll ever get used to that

Untitled by Nick Butler, on Flickr

blob by Nick Butler, on Flickr