2004 BMW X5 from Australia and New Zealand - Comments

Climate control sensors wired to wrong side of car (3 visits to dealer)

Windscreen wipers lifting off screen (5 visits to dealer)

Bluetooth unreliable

Wheel bearing failure (2 visits to dealer)

Auto levelling headlamp failure (1 day after wheel bearing replaced - dealer claimed "coincidence")

Headlamp main beam disintegrated

Lower ball joint failure (2 visits to dealer)

Rear park distance sensor faulty (3 visits to dealer so far, yet to be resolved)

Beautiful car to drive; after sales support lousy.

I was considering buying a 2001 X5 4.4 with only 17K miles on it, but now I am having second thoughts. I hate maintenance problems. Driven Mercedes for last 30 years so I think I'll go with the new SUV. thanks for the review.

These cars are overrated. BMW should have stuck to what they know best- sedans.

And of course the dealer said it was coincidence, about the self-levelling headlamp problem! It has absolutely nothing to do with the wheel bearings, and nothing the machanic did to the wheels could have affected the headlamps!

Its just common sense.

The X5 is not a 'German' car. It is manufactured solely in Spartanburg, South Carolina, USA.

I have a 2003 X5 4.4I and I'm very disappointed with it.

At 70,000 miles I had to replace transmission which costs $5800.Dashboard cluster LED's were going out ($1,100),wipers washer reservoir pump was leaking ($125),front CV boot tore ($650),fuel tank vacuum pump went out ($360)

I love the way the car drives, but maintenance costs and the frequency of break downs are too many for a car that is only 4 years old. BMW used to build cars that would last a very long time, that is not the case anymore.

Definitely WILL NOT buy another BMW.

What you should be saying is that you will never buy another 'AMERICAN MADE' BMW. The German made ones are generally OK and in line with Germany's reputation of building quality cars.