2013 X5M reliability

[ajee622]

anything major to look out for.

currently have a 2011 M3 and everyone in that world knows about the rod bearing issue...

just trying to do some homework on X5M's

[jiggz]

Originally Posted by ajee622

anything major to look out for.

currently have a 2011 M3 and everyone in that world knows about the rod bearing issue...

just trying to do some homework on X5M's

Overall reliability is pretty good based on what I've read on the forum. The 50i w/ the N63 motor seems to have more issues than the X5M's S63 motor, even though they're close relatives.

Definitely nothing close to the rod bearing issue with the E9x M3s.

[mleun481]

I have a 2013 (June build) and no probs at all. Only 2 "issues" that were both taken care of: airbag recall (got it replaced) and BMW Assist (got the retrofit).

[Salottox5m]

I have an 2011 w 74k miles. Nothing abnormal - had it from 42k miles until now and zero major issues. Love it

[gan23]

Same here, June 2013 build, 80 000 km, nothing special except the usual maintenance.

[Dr.Duct_Mossburg]

Bottom line... These things are POS from a maintenance stand point. They will nickel and dime you to the point you will go insane. Little stuff adds up to big stuff.. If you like your money and want reliability this truck is not for you.

If you want performance and can turn your own wrench, dive on it... Over pay, deal with the depreciation... and drive the living shit out of it.

[Revnato]

Fuel injectors. Cost $$$$ to replace all eight on my 2012 x5m, but I think the 2013 have the updated index versions, so you're good there.

Also vacuum lines. Theres a shit ton of them and if there is so much as a tiny crack/kink you will get a Reduced Engine Performance warning that will put your car into limp dick mode until you cycle it off then back on.

Theres also a "mystery" Reduced Performance Warning thread, go give that one a read to hear more about this

With all that being said... I f'n love this car. Its an absolute torque monster and I wouldn't trade it for any other "sport" SUV out there. Catless DPs & a tune really open this car up its a must have in my opinion.

[TheVazha]

Originally Posted by TreyB

Fuel injectors. Cost $$$$ to replace all eight on my 2012 x5m, but I think the 2013 have the updated index versions, so you're good there.

Also vacuum lines. Theres a shit ton of them and if there is so much as a tiny crack/kink you will get a Reduced Engine Performance warning that will put your car into limp dick mode until you cycle it off then back on.

Theres also a "mystery" Reduced Performance Warning thread, go give that one a read to hear more about this

With all that being said... I f'n love this car. Its an absolute torque monster and I wouldn't trade it for any other "sport" SUV out there. Catless DPs & a tune really open this car up its a must have in my opinion.

Agree on the performance. This thing is a BEAST. There's not much out there that can touch it on a red light blast. If there is, the AWD levels the playing field.

[mirob]

Originally Posted by Dr.Duct_Mossburg

Bottom line... These things are POS from a maintenance stand point. They will nickel and dime you to the point you will go insane. Little stuff adds up to big stuff.. If you like your money and want reliability this truck is not for you.

If you want performance and can turn your own wrench, dive on it... Over pay, deal with the depreciation... and drive the living shit out of it.

This.

[boneca]

I have 2013 (April 2012 build), tomorrow is 1 year since I bought it with 35k miles, I put 23k miles within this year and besides regular maintenance it's a solid car!
There was 1 recall for injectors which I didn't have to do since my indexes were up to date, the Air Bag recall is still there but my dealer don't have parts yet.
I had few small issues but this was related to previous owner who didn't take of the car well enough those issues were fixed

Not a cheap to own, looking at about $3500-$4k a year on a gas only but then again it depends on how much u drive!
Extended warranty is expensive as well!
Parts are expensive!
Mods are very expensive!

besides all that nothing can take that smile of your face while you driving it!

good luck

[0-60Motorsports]

Bumping this up since im looking for an X5M right now and the only two i have found in mint showroom condition are a July 09 and Jan 10 build. Thanks for the above feedback and if you guys have any updates please post up as it'll help me make my decision. Thank you.

[coolmayank]

Originally Posted by 0-60Motorsports

Bumping this up since im looking for an X5M right now and the only two i have found in mint showroom condition are a July 09 and Jan 10 build. Thanks for the above feedback and if you guys have any updates please post up as it'll help me make my decision. Thank you.

This thread already have great insight about x5m reliability.
I would say this is a great vehicle to drive but has its own reliability and maintenance quirks. If you are buying this car pre owned and if i was you , i will particularly be interested to know about the items that get failure on this engine type like valve stems, turbos, transmission .
Ask seller, If he can provide you the major service items that are done in last couple of years? Are there any known issues that he want the perspective buyers to know.
It would be even better if you can ask them to provide the copy of maintenance records, some of the common failures in this car which are expensive to fix are ::
Rear main seals
Vacuum line leaks and filtered air ducts
Vacuum pumps
Evaporator core ( very expensive from labor perspective)
Air springs on rear suspension


Here was my response to one of the prospective buyer, which may be helpful to you . Your options
1- Either buy an exclusionary warranty and drive it to sun set
2- Find a reliable Indy mechanic, but nothing on this car is cheap
3- learn to turn your wrench, there are a few DIY videos available.
4-don’t buy the x5m, but nothing can beat the driving experience at this price
You get a performance of a super car at a fraction of price. Even if you add all the maintenance cost, still it’s a great vehicle

Please don’t get offended with the point 1,
as some member on another forum was thinking that I am representing any warranty company )

He made comments like I don’t own an x5m. Furthermore he was thinking he can drive this truck for 10-15 years with a total maintenance cost of 10-12 k $ in total and this joke made me laugh a lot

[yco]

Originally Posted by Revnato

Fuel injectors. Cost $$$$ to replace all eight on my 2012 x5m, but I think the 2013 have the updated index versions, so you're good there.

Also vacuum lines. Theres a shit ton of them and if there is so much as a tiny crack/kink you will get a Reduced Engine Performance warning that will put your car into limp dick mode until you cycle it off then back on.

Theres also a "mystery" Reduced Performance Warning thread, go give that one a read to hear more about this

With all that being said... I f'n love this car. Its an absolute torque monster and I wouldn't trade it for any other "sport" SUV out there. Catless DPs & a tune really open this car up its a must have in my opinion.

recently started to have that problem more frequently.. what vacuum lines are those?

[coolmayank]

Originally Posted by Revnato

Fuel injectors. Cost $$$$ to replace all eight on my 2012 x5m, but I think the 2013 have the updated index versions, so you're good there.

Also vacuum lines. Theres a shit ton of them and if there is so much as a tiny crack/kink you will get a Reduced Engine Performance warning that will put your car into limp dick mode until you cycle it off then back on.

Theres also a "mystery" Reduced Performance Warning thread, go give that one a read to hear more about this

With all that being said... I f'n love this car. Its an absolute torque monster and I wouldn't trade it for any other "sport" SUV out there. Catless DPs & a tune really open this car up its a must have in my opinion.

What do you mean by cycle it off then back on. Is it possible to drive the car without fixing the vacuum line

[coolmayank]

Originally Posted by yco

recently started to have that problem more frequently.. what vacuum lines are those?

In my case it was the vent pipe, this part is covered by bmw warranty. The other lines are filtered air ducts that are connected on bank1 and bank2. BMW removes turbos to get access to these lines and hence labor is expensive. I don’t know if there is any easy way of replacing filtered air ducts.

[0-60Motorsports]

Originally Posted by coolmayank

This thread already have great insight about x5m reliability.
I would say this is a great vehicle to drive but has its own reliability and maintenance quirks. If you are buying this car pre owned and if i was you , i will particularly be interested to know about the items that get failure on this engine type like valve stems, turbos, transmission .
Ask seller, If he can provide you the major service items that are done in last couple of years? Are there any known issues that he want the perspective buyers to know.
It would be even better if you can ask them to provide the copy of maintenance records, some of the common failures in this car which are expensive to fix are ::
Rear main seals
Vacuum line leaks and filtered air ducts
Vacuum pumps
Evaporator core ( very expensive from labor perspective)
Air springs on rear suspension


Here was my response to one of the prospective buyer, which may be helpful to you . Your options
1- Either buy an exclusionary warranty and drive it to sun set
2- Find a reliable Indy mechanic, but nothing on this car is cheap
3- learn to turn your wrench, there are a few DIY videos available.
4-don’t buy the x5m, but nothing can beat the driving experience at this price
You get a performance of a super car at a fraction of price. Even if you add all the maintenance cost, still it’s a great vehicle

Please don’t get offended with the point 1,
as some member on another forum was thinking that I am representing any warranty company )

He made comments like I don’t own an x5m. Furthermore he was thinking he can drive this truck for 10-15 years with a total maintenance cost of 10-12 k $ in total and this joke made me laugh a lot

Thank you for your insight. I will make sure to do all the above of course.

[Colodano]

Originally Posted by coolmayank

In my case it was the vent pipe, this part is covered by bmw warranty. The other lines are filtered air ducts that are connected on bank1 and bank2. BMW removes turbos to get access to these lines and hence labor is expensive. I don’t know if there is any easy way of replacing filtered air ducts.

You don't have to remove the turbos, but the easy way to do these does involve removing the pipes from the turbos to the intercoolers. It can be done without removing them, but is a tight fit, and takes patience.

The harder job honestly, is the vent pipes on either side of the engine, as they are a bear to get at the lower connection points, and to work the hoses into place. Mine were honestly in good shape, I should have left them alone, and just done the center one and filtered air ducts, as those were very loose in the turbos, and the check valves were sticking.

[0-60Motorsports]

Originally Posted by Colodano

You don't have to remove the turbos, but the easy way to do these does involve removing the pipes from the turbos to the intercoolers. It can be done without removing them, but is a tight fit, and takes patience.

The harder job honestly, is the vent pipes on either side of the engine, as they are a bear to get at the lower connection points, and to work the hoses into place. Mine were honestly in good shape, I should have left them alone, and just done the center one and filtered air ducts, as those were very loose in the turbos, and the check valves were sticking.

Oh great! Thank you.

[jandref321]

Originally Posted by 0-60Motorsports

Oh great! Thank you.

It’s not all doom and gloom. Most of the stuff mentioned above is fairly easy since everything is on top of the engine, just have to dig a bit to get to it. The air springs are easier to replace than normal springs...just look it up on youtube...like 30 minutes and only $130 per spring if you go with arnott.

Here is the filtered air duct diy:
http://www.xbimmers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1434167

[0-60Motorsports]

Originally Posted by jandref321

It’s not all doom and gloom. Most of the stuff mentioned above is fairly easy since everything is on top of the engine, just have to dig a bit to get to it. The air springs are easier to replace than normal springs...just look it up on youtube...like 30 minutes and only $130 per spring if you go with arnott.

Here is the filtered air duct diy:
http://www.xbimmers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1434167

Oh i didnt mean it like that. I meant Like Great and thanks for the info. I have a great Master Tech and when i mentioned these things to him he said it was no big deal and once i find an X5M we should get them done as preventative maintenance.

[KCLARK]

I know that this thread was particularly asking about 2013 models, but from the looks of the posts it seems as if ALL the years are prone to these problematic issues. So is that the case, or is 2013 the BETTER year to get?

[Thecastle]

So here are the common E70 / X5M issues I've read or experienced (I have had multiple E70s)/

Things that are not common to the X5M that do affect other E70s
1) Valve stem seals (v8s)

Things that affect all E70s and are not X5M specific
1) Sunroof fails to close from vent mode (common, hard to fix right, easy to hack)
2) Oil leaks
3) Power rear hatch struts fail
4) Vacuum lines fail (maintenance item)
5) Engine partition failure (crappy bmw plastics)
6) Alternator failures every 40-70k miles (x5's seem to eat these)
7) expansion tank failure (cheap and easy to fix) mine just failed on my 2011 X5M with 48K miles.
8) rear air bag suspension, common
9) heater control valve (dies after coolant flush easy diy)
10) Thermostats die (common any car issue)
11) Electronic parking brake failure (see this problem all the time on used cars)
12) hatch rattles
13) interior plastics peel in the heat! Why BMW do you still use this melting plastics!

X5M Specific problem areas
1) PCV vent houses turn to crispy and crumble
2) Filtered air hoses fail
3) Rear main seal failure (very common)
4) Vacuum pump seal/failure (very common)
5) injector failures (under extended warranty)
6) turbo coolant lines
7) A few harmonic balances (pretty rare, not like the diesels)
8) Short battery life (fixed with charging), a N63/S63 issue
9) Oil Leaks, omg the oil leaks. I'm always amazed how much oil this engine can puke and never show a low level. I've had rear main seal, valve covers and turbo oil return line block all replaced. Its stinky again so its leaking again.


X5M problems that worry people but are extremely rare
1) Transmission failures (never heard of any stock X5M blowing theirs, or modded really)
2) Turbo failures (seems really uncommon, assuming your oil lines and coolant lines don't crap out)
3) diff failures (like never)
4) Warped rotors, never heard of it.
5) Valve stem seals, pretty rare only heard of 1 M5 having this issue. The X5M uses a 105C thermostat but the computer controls the thermostat to stay at 95C which seems to preserve the vavle stem seals. X5M does not have upgraded seals.
6) cooling system problems outside turbo lines and expansion tanks.

Generally the X5M has been quite reliable, but extrodinairly expensive to keep running.

I've had probably 10K in repairs on the car in 1.5 years of ownership and I'm very glad the car has an extended warranty

Failures include
1) Turbo Coolant Lines
2) Engine partition (all turn crispy)
3) Alternator
4) Turbo oil return block seals
5) PCV vent lines (all of them have failed)
6) Filtered air lines
7) Driver side valve cover gasket
8) Rear Main Seal
9) Battery
10) expansion tank
11) something else is leaking back to the dealer soon.

these are not maintenance items, battery was killed by the failed alternator running it dead 2x.