Initial thoughts on new x5 3.0d, and some questions!

[Entwicklung34]

Initial thoughts...
Had the car almost a week now and knocked up a couple of hundred miles. My first impressions are mixed but overall quite positive. The x5 was the only car the wife and I could agree on to replace our e39 3.0d. (She wanted a Ford Kuga or the X5... No need to say how that conversation went!) :p
I would say the things I really like about the car are; Performance (it goes well for a heavy car and feels effortless with all that torque), visibility (particularly the wing mirrors!), high spec (heated seats a nice addition and the panoramic sunroof!) and perhaps most of all the road presence and overall look of the x5.
Things that i'm not so impressed with are; the Mpg (18.9around town I feel is terrible - but the thermostat does need changing), gearbox having a slight but annoying 'lurch', the computer seems a bit awkward to use and you can hear things in the boot when going over bumps etc (not used to this with having a saloon!).

I have a couple of VERY newbie questions that someone might be able to help with...
1. What oil should I top up with? (Looked through the owners manual and all it said was anything that is LL-O1 :s I've got some 5w30 LL-O4 oil left over from my e39 3.0d... is it safe to assume this is right?
2. Is it ok to leave the lights on the 'auto' setting when leaving the car overnight etc, battery-wise?
3. Is there a way to display the time in a larger way on the dash or the main computer screen? Even as the whole screen like a screen saver?

I must also say this forum has been a great resource already and the people on it are most helpful. I will be adding to the how-to section myself as soon as I am able to get some preventative maintenance work done.  

[Entwicklung34]

Oh, and doing a search I found so many varying opinions on whether to blank the egr off via the vacuum line or not... help me decide!!

[Horizon]

Rattling in the boot area can be the bump stops on the rear tailgate. They can be adjusted to stop the rattle. Worth checking.

[Insight G40]

5w30 LL04 is fine, see my recent thread asking same question

http://xdrivers.co.uk/forum/index.php/t ... #msg124313

I leave mine on auto light with no problem, turns them off with ignition.

[mark hamster 28]

my lights have been in the auto position since buying car 18 months ago and never a problem for me 

[Entwicklung34]

Hey thanks, missed that thread... been caught up with a few issues lately putting me off my game. Good to know I have the right oil in stock!

[Entwicklung34]

Thanks Horizon, that's defo getting looked at tomorrow! Noises in the car drive me nuts!

And thanks fella's, will leave the lights on auto... Novelty for me as i've never had a car with that function before :d

[X5Sport]

Time wise the answer is no unless you can find a non-OEM Nav disk and software.  There are tricked out versions around but not that do what you might want.

You can have the time showing in the cluster I front of you if that helps?

As above anything LL04 and ACEA C5 will be fine.  Dealers use Castrol FST Edge either 5W30 or 0W30.

Also as above, my lights have been in Auto on all 3 of our BMWs and never caused trouble.  As long as the car goes to sleep normally the lighting module (LCM) will be unpowered and that control the lights power.

[Entwicklung34]

Oh and I forgot the mention what is probably the best point about the x5 - the interior space is great with two child seats in the back!! Plenty of room for a person in the middle too.

X5sport thanks for that info... i'll have to leave it on the cluster although I like to have Mpg on there normally... First world problems ay! :p
The oil choice is interesting as my old e39 diesel took 5w30 and one time I used 0w30 I found it all over my drive a short time later! Seemed the gaskets couldn't handle it??? When I swapped out for 5w30 again all was well. Bizarre!

[Entwicklung34]

Thought the brakes had a bit of a harsh bite when coming to a full stop, so I had a look at the pads earlier... The rears are almost non-existent!! I'm assuming these cars have a brake pad wear sensor though, as my e39 did... If so, it's got to be tripping any day.

[X5Sport]

It should do, one front, one rear.