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Comments
I know your message is quite old but i got the same problem. Except the noise occur after 2-3hrs driving for me. Prior to the squeaky noise my brake light came on saying "replace brake linings" when i went to service they put new brake pads on. Since the new pads now i get the sometime loud squeaky sound.
I never had that sound before even when my brake light was coming on. Did you get it fixed? if so what was the problem?
I did some research and here was the most logical problems for squeaky brakes:
**An early warning sensor on brake pads could be touching the rotor. When the brake pads wear down they squeak against the rotor. The noise goes away when you apply pressure to the brakes and that is because the pad shifts and the sensor moves away from the rotor.
Note: Some German and newer American cars have warning lights on the dashboard that warn you if there is a brake problem.
• A gravel or foreign object could be between the rotor and backing plate on the vehicle itself.
• The braking plate could be bent and touching the rotors. You can try and bend the plate back in place. **
Went Ski ing last week but the Snow overcame the Car ??..Rear wheels spinning and front wheels doing nothing...Thought this was a Four Wheel drive car ?? looking back I had the car in Manual mode (Not D)...was this the problem..?? does the Four wheel drive only come in ..in the D mode..what am I doing wrong ???
HELP
I am having the same problem with the "Trans. Failsafe Prog". Took it into the dealer and had the DME and EGS reprogrammed. Problem was fixed for a short while but the error came up again after 2months. Did the dealer fix the problem?
Any tips would be appreciated. Thanks
do you have snow tires? summer tires ain't worth didly in the snow, 4 wheel drive or not. they just have no grip.
Thank you for the input.
Jet
Victorycruiser@aol.com
Good Luck!
My mother-in-law's X5 is about 2 months from being out of warranty. Do you know if it is possible to purchase a BMW extended warranty, and if so, what pricing should we be looking at?
Thanks - Damon
Third party warranties are available though dealers and elsewhere, but they are not BMW factory warranties and need to be closely examined for coverage details and exclusions.
The requirement for synthetic oil is not the place to economize with a BMW.
Now, if it is a heavy metal CD that could possibly effect power .......;-)
You have two issues to deal with - the third party warranty plan and your local BMW dealer. First, I would find the exact specifics of your warranty - read the fine print and know the exact problem. Second, the dealer needs to give you a clear and specific diagnosis and proposed resolution. Do not depend on the BMW service department to decide if the warranty company will pay - you will need to push this directly when you know the exact issue.
Last step once unsatisfied by the dealer is to call BMW (800) 831-1117 or email at CustomerRelations@bmwusa.com.
Wouldn't most dealers just go ahead and do the work, take the money and run?
If it were a BMW warranty then I would understand, but a BMW dealer and a third party warranty (BLANK CHECK)??
Just doesn't compute.
Or your BMW dealer may just be crooked enough to bill you and the third party.
I would like to buy a CD changer from eBay and install it in my 2001 BMW X 5. What model number should I look for? How hard is it to install?
What about upgrading the navigation system from a CD to a DVD?
Thank you,
Jim
Here's some information on the new window regulators you have installed in your X5:
All BMW authorized parts and accessories are warranted against defects in materials or workmanship for the balance of the New Limited Vehicle Warranty, or two years starting on the date of sale for parts sold after April 1, 2003, whichever is greater.
If you have any more questions regarding the Original Parts and Accessory Warranty, you can reach us at (800) 831-1117 and mention Reference # 200511000467 so that we can help you more efficiently.
I was wondering if someone could be kind enough to help me with my 2001 BMW X 5. 4.4L. Here are my questions.
Were is the cabin air filter. Where can I get one besides the BMW garage?
How can I find the 6 hole CD changer plug in the back trunk compartment. We have looked all over for it. I have navigation and DSP. It could be used for one of the other components?
Is there a recall for the Coolant Reservoir sensors? How do I install the sensor on the bottom of the Coolant Reservoir. We jumpered the sensor and the dash light indicator went out.
Where can we find a Boush steering wheel tilt electric motor. The existing boush motor has a bad brush. It was built on a Monday or Friday.
How can I turn off the "service engine soon" light? What is the best way to check the emissions system. Do the O2 sensors seem to go out on the X 5 a lot?
Thank you,
Jim
Your advice about the sensor under the coolant reservoir was right on the money. We jumpered the switch and the indicator dash light did not light up.
The next question is what are the steps to replace the sensor?
We are also looking for a Boush steering wheel telescoping electric motor. The boush motor in my 2001 BMW X 5 has a bad brush. Did they use that same motor in most of their BMW's with a telescoping steering wheel?
Thank you for your help,
J. T.
as for the steering column motor, BMW used same on all of the X5 as far as I remember, the best place to get is a junk yard. take a metric allen pack with you to take the motor off, but be carefull doing it
as for the cabin filter you will find it in the engine area located center above the engine at the firewall, you will have to loosen ( i think ) 7 black fasteners ,remove the cover, and you will see a long small door with 2 more fasteners on it loosen them and theres your filter.
for O2 sensor Bmw has not had any problems with them as far as I know, I don't know how mechcanically incline you are but the o2 is not that hard to replace.
Cd changer is always located in the rear left near the nav unit,amp and phone module ,if you do not see it there then you do not have one
Thank you for your e-mail.
I have a 2001 BMW X 5.
We were able to replace the brushes on the electric telescoping steering wheel motor. We just re-installed it tonight.
We were wondering if you can really twist off that sensor under the coolant reservoir with our spilling coolant?
I have a service engine soon light on. What are the most common causes for that light to go on? I read in the manual an emissions problem usually makes that dash light go on.
Is there a way to diagnose a problem with BMW's. I had a Jeep that you would turn on and off the key three times and a dash light would blink a code to notify someone of a problem. Does the X5 have a similar function?
How hard would it be to upgrade the navigation system to a DVD system?
My fan motor in the climate control seems to cycle up and down with no
reason when it is running. Even if the AUTO mode is running or if it is set on manual.
Thank you for all of your help.
The service engine light (are you sure its not the oil service light?) either way you really should go have it looked at,if you can go by auto zone and have them run an OBD check on it, have them tell you what it means and maybe we can go from there. As for the Jeep trick, your instrument cluster will flash any errors that it may get.
The nav system and the dvd are two different systems you can not upgrade them together
Fan motor in your climate control (aka IHKA,as we call it) If this fan noise is bothering you go have it replaced,
someone also asked about a CD unit install,that you had a DSP, the cd changer will have a 4 pin connector that fits into it and a coax cable that goes from the cd player to the amp, I hope this helps as for it being a older model i'm alittle rusty.
PS your X5 was made in Greer SC
Thank you for your information about my X5. You are a very kind soul.
With the Low Coolant Level code we jumpered the sensor like you said and the code went away. We figured the grey elbow looking sensor was bad. We bought a new sensor and the Low Coolant Level code came back. Is there something we need to reset? We unplugged the sensor with out a jumper and the code came back. The new coolant sensor could be bad also? Please let us know what you think we should do next.
We went to Advanced Auto and ran a OBD II test on my X5. It said that bank 1 was running lean and bank 2 was running lean. The guy at AA said maybe someone ran your car out of gas which caused the service engine soon light to turn on. He turned off the SES light and we will see if it will come back on. Am I doing the right thing with this issue? The guy at AA said you might need to replace all 4 O2 sensors. I don't want to do that if I don't need too.
The fan motor in my climate control sounds fine, the problem is that it will run slow or fast on its own if it is in the AUTO mode or the manual mode. When it is on the AUTO setting it will make the speed of the blower motor randomly go fast or slow. Like someone is turning the blower motor up for one minute and than it will turn down for two minutes and it will do this at random. Have you ever seen this type of activity before?
Thank you for your help!
Did you plase the sensor into the tank area where it needs to go and test it or did you connect it up and leave it hanging and checked it. It needs to be inside to work, if its in and its possible you did get a bad unit, they are fragil things as you can see.
Dont do anything with you O2 for now wait and see if the SES comes back on, then we will go from there.
As for your console motor do you have a fan in the center console that blows air to the rear seats? Does the fan change speeds when its only park or will it do it when you drive or only when the car is moving?
After 8000 miles since the last oil change, the oil indicator came on . The dealer said it needed about 3 quarts of oil. The 1993 X5 has about 40K total on it. Is it normal that the oil level drops that much?
Thanks,
A
Thanks,
JR
PS Great site.
The X5 has a number of options and I am trying to get my arms around them. I have a number of questions, and if you can help in any way, I would greatly appreciate it.
Questions:
1) My X5 has a NAV system and sometimes I can input the city, street and street number, and sometimes I can only put in the city. Any idea why this happens? Does it only let you put in the full location when you are at a complete stop?
2) When I look at the NAV display, it has a feature called Memo. I can go into settings and turn it on and off, but I have no clue what it is. I've read the manuals inside and out to no avail explaining its function.
3) I don't have the DSP feature. Is it a hardware or software upgrade?
4) My PDC emits a long tone when I put the car in reverse, and the light on the button flashes. I've heard this is normal when I sensor problem is detected. I've taken all eight (8) PDC sensors out and cleaned them. None of them appear to be damaged in any way. Is there a OHM test I can do on them to see if I can isolate the problem, or is there another possible problem with the system?
5) Technical Service Bulletins. Where can I find them on the web? I tried the Autozone site and it showed me a long list of them for the '01 X5, but when I tried to sign up for them, it didn't list BMW as an option. I can call Autozone to find out why, but if anyone knows where I can get them for free, I would greatly appreciate it.
If you can help with anyone of these questions, I would greatly appreciate it. This is my first time logging into a forum like this. Hopefully I can get some answers.
X5/540i owner
PDC should come on when you put it in reverse, try it in forward and see if the light flashes then, if it does then you may have a bad pdc sensor. There is no way of telling which one is bad unless you unplug and replace it until the light stays green, someone at the dealership could put it on the DIS machine and it will tell them which one it is.
As for the memo button can't say I remember what it does either
I called my local tech and he said I should bring it in to get it tested at the dealer.
Thanks again.
I will try to bring the new coolant level sensor back before I would buy yours.
We are wondering about the coolant level sensor. It is a reed valve. Should the valve be open or closed when you look at it. Is there a way to test it with a volt meter?
On my last post on the message board I posted that we went to Advance Auto and they reset the Service Engine Soon light. Since then the SES light has come back on. I have not had a chance to go back to AA to see if we get the same codes. Is it possible to clean the O2 sensors so they will work better? Are the O2 sensors easy to get too? You said two of them are behind the CAT. Where are the other two?
The climate control fan motor speed will run fast or slow at random at any time. It does not matter if the X5 is at idle or driving 45 mph.
My climate control fan motor seems to cycle through the speed settings at random every one or two seconds. It will stop and try to re start at a different speeds over and over again. Sometimes we can hear a relay kicking in under the dash. It almost sounds like a faint drum or clicking noise as it kicks in and out. It must be a bad relay or something is bad that controls the relay. It will work this way if it is in AUTO or manual mode. The blower motor sounds fine. If the fan motor has four settings it seems like someone is trying to turn the motor on and off in all of the different settings at random
Where can I find a used Boush telescoping steering wheel motor? The motor that I have had bad brushes and would not work. My father found new brushes and ground them down to get them to fit. We don't really know how long the motor will work. We were unable to find a junk yard with a BMW. I know they use that same motor in just about every newer BMW with a telescoping steering wheel.
Thank you so much for your time and help,
Have a great day!
as for the O2 sensors ,no you can not clean them, they have to be replaced,(if they are defective) the other 2 O2 are located in front of the Cat, on each side of the exhaust manifold I believe. O2 are really cheap to replace, but check the codes again at AA before doing that.
IT sounds like you have a bad IHKA(climate Control) about the only way to find out is take it to a dealer, they will replace it and recode it for you.
As for the steering column motor I did have one, let me try to find it for you. If not you may have to go to the dealer (sorry)
PS I watch X5 and Z4s get made every workday.....mmmmm
I sent an e-mail to your hotmail account. Please let me know if you received it.
We were able to fix the climate control blower motor by replacing the Final Stage Unit. I found great information on the x5world.com site on how to replace it.
It seems like the low coolant sensor is working OK, the little reed sensor will open and close when we put a magnet close to the sensor. The BMW computer is still saying the coolant level is low. Is it possible for the magnet on the bottom of the bobber inside the coolant reservoir to fall off? We think the sensor is working but we could be wrong. Is there a magnet that makes the sensor open and close? I heard there was a recall on the low coolant reservoir issue.
I went to Advance Auto twice and ran an OBD 2 test and both times it said “banks 1 and 2 are running lean”. I heard a loose gas cap or dip stick can cause the service engine soon light to come on. Would you buy used O2 sensors and install them? I understand the O2 sensors are covered under the 8yr/80,000 mile warranty.
We are still looking for a telescoping steering wheel motor. The motor we have had bad brushes.
I am also looking for navigation CD’s for the navigation system.
Thank you for your help!
I have a 2001 3.0 X5 with 52,000 miles on it. I got the check brake lining message and called the dealer to find out how much to replace. He told me $500 an axle because the rotors also needed to be replaced. Is the dealer lying to me? I have a 1990 Honda Accord with over 150,000 miles that has never need the rotors replaced, just pads. Thanks for any information about this problem.
But back to your issue.......if the rotors are in good shape I would go ahead and get new brakewear isenors and replace them yourself. should be 2 of them, 1 on front left and 1 rear right(if memory serves me well) Take the tire off and you will see the (brown, i think on your model)wire going to the brake caliper in the middle and it should go back to a small black plastic box that snaps together, make sure the ignition switch is off, disconnect and replace them, if for any reason your brake wear light does come on don't worry drive it around for a few miles and it should reset, hope that helps