BMW X5 (E53) reliability - how does it compare?

[noncom23]

Originally Posted by mkaresh

I own it, and perform 99% of the work. Started out as just a personal project. Taught myself programming and database design to do it.

can you post a link to your results in this thread?

[mkaresh]

Latest results are here:

TrueDelta Vehicle Reliability Survey results

The next set will be posted in August.

I still have not started collecting data on any year of the X5 because too few owners have signed up to participate. I am collecting data on most competitors, including the Acura MDX, Audi Q7, and Mercedes GL. The Acura and Audi will be included in the August results.

For the details, and to sign up:

Vehicle reliability research

[mkaresh]

About halfway to the minimum now for the 2001 and 2002.

[NOVAX5]

reliability and x5 hardly go hand in hand.

[Kendall]

Originally Posted by mkaresh

In late 2005 I started conducting my own reliability research. I'm reporting absolute stats like "times in the shop" that will make the differences between cars much clearer. Relative ratings obscure too much--how large is the difference between "better than average" and "worse than average"? I’ll also be updating results four times a year, so any bump in repair rates will be evident sooner.

I haven't started collecting data on the BMW X5 yet because too few owners are signed up to help out.

Participants report repairs the month after they occur on a one-page survey. When there are no repairs, they simply report an approximate odometer reading four times a year, at the end of each quarter.

To encourage participation, panel members will receive full access to the results free of charge.

For the details, and to sign up:

Vehicle reliability research

Comments, questions, and suggestions welcome.

The reliability results in Consumer Report pretty much hits the nail on the head regarding the problems / breakdowns I've had with its red, half red, clear half black and black dots for the respective categories...

I'm not sure how much more value you are going to add by conducting your own study...

[mkaresh]

My approach has two main advantages over CR:

1. Actual repair rates posted, not just dots. The differences are often smaller than the dots lead people to believe.

2. Results updated promptly four times a year, and average over ten months fresher than those of CR. When shopping for a car, do you want to know how reliable it was over a year ago, when it was a year younger, or how reliable it has been lately?

Until CR releases their latest results in a few weeks, they're still using data for the year that ended back in March 2006. And even when they update they'll be covering the year through March 2007. When they talk about "three-year-old cars," for example, they're really talking about cars that were 1.5 to 2.5 years old at the time of the survey.

The results I post in a few weeks will be for the year ending September 2007 and will even include one early 2008 model. When enough owners sign up quickly, I have results on new models very quickly.

For additional differences and more detail:

Consumer Reports critique

[mkaresh]

In response to requests, I've added a Common Auto Repairs Database (CARDb) to my site.

Currently it's just possible to add common repairs to the database. When the database has been populated, owners will be asked to report whether or not their car has actually had these problems. So we can find out how common "common repairs" actually are.

My suspicion: usually less common than people think.

The form includes a field for a forum thread URL, so people can be directed here for thorough discussions if there is a thread discussing the repair. I hope this will help make more people aware of this excellent forum in addition to providing more details about the repair.

Common Auto Repairs Database (CARDb)

[mkaresh]

Current counts, 25 needed to start:

2001: 16
2002: 14
2003: 10
2004: 7
2005: 10
2006: 7

The first couple of years are over half way. The others...well, we'll get there.

Vehicle reliability research

[X5Flyboy]

Which nav unit do you have? There are replacement dash units with the large 16:9 screen available. try Bimmernav.com

[mkaresh]

108 X5 owners now signed up. A decent start, but not enough to include any model year in the survey.

Vehicle reliability research