Second Opticoat Video

Blogger would only let me upload one video per post.  Here is a second one showing the Opticoat during a washing.

Youtube Link to Opticoat Pro Plus on X5

Tool Kit

I went back and forth on what tool kit to put into the car.  BMW does sell some decent tool kits (see part number 82292151462, for example) but their kit isn’t very comprehensive for what you get.  Instead, I bought a Proxxon (German made) tool kit.  I had bought Proxxon before from Ride West BMW Motorcycles when we lived in Seattle.  Really nice stuff, on par with Facom or Snap-On.  This time, bought from Amazon.  The kit is kit number “Proxxon 23080 36 Piece Socket Set with 1/4 inch Square Drive” and I paid $64.60 shipped for it from Germany.  The kit doesn’t have everything… I’d like to add a pair of larger pliars (bigger than the Leatherman ones already in the car) and also an adjustable wrench, but it’s a good start.  Fits nicely into the area on the left side of the car near the rear tail light.

Total cost of this mod = $64.60
Total investment in vehicle to date = $4186.00

More Paint Protection Film and Opticoat Paint Coating

After about 15,400 miles, I wasn’t happy with the rock chips on the hood.  So, we took the car back to Chris Arthur at Arthur’s detailing and added clear paint protection film on the whole hood (no lines) and also small pieces on the front fenders.  Chris installed the film then re-applied Opticoat Pro Plus on top of the film.  I should have done the whole hood when we took the car in the first time.

Total cost of this mod = $400
Total investment in vehicle to date = $4121.40

Here is one of 2 videos of the Opticoat shedding water.  It is amazingly hydrophobic.  Water just sheets off the car and the car seems to stay cleaner longer than anything I have ever seen.  The whole car has Opticoat Pro Plus on it.  Even the black plastic unpainted trim and the wheels and door jambs.  This post was just to show you the hood.

Suspension Airbags Replaced

Shortly after the first service, the rear suspension airbags - on both sides - failed completely.  There were no fault codes.  But, the car was metal-on-metal in the rear and it was obvious.  We had to have the car towed to the dealer again.  The dealer was very nice, they believe they must have cut or scored the airbag material during the fix of the differential leak.  The airbags retail for $398 each.  You can replace them quite easily DIY, all from below the car.  Hopefully you never have to.

First Dealer Service

Took the car in for it's first "free" oil change at about 10,600 miles.  We used Rick Hendrick BMW in Charleston and they did a nice job.  They fixed the leaking differential seal and put new oil into the differential.  They confirmed on the F15 there is no drain plug for the differential.  So to change it, you either remove the rear cover or you use a fluid extractor.  I come from the old school and I like to change fluids on a regular basis.  You can see the part number for the correct fluid below... FYI cars with Dynamic Handling Package (DHP) have a different differential but both use the same fluid.

They used 0W-30 for motor oil.  We have been using 5W-30 with excellent results: no oil is burned by this car.  But, the manual for the 2016 does say that 0W-30 is the preferred oil, so we'll try it I guess.  I am going to continue to change the oil every 5,000 miles so we will alternate free / me until the free service runs out.

The car used three 2.5 gallon containers of AdBlue.  Not sure what the exact tank volumes are for the active and passive tanks, but that's a lot of AdBlue!

One of the techs did manage to scratch the intake plenum in the engine bay.  We mentioned it to the service advisor and he agreed to replace it without question.

We asked about diesel fuel contamination and the service manager reported they rarely if ever see it.  Much more common is people putting gasoline into their diesels.  We asked how common the leaking differential is and he didn't think it was very common on the F15 but they did see it often on the E70 X5s.

Details of the oil change.  Note the AdBlue Diesel Exhaust Fluid.  Part number is for a 2.5 gallon jug.  Also note the -951 oil part number, that's 0W-30 LL12.

Parts reacquired to fix the leaking differential.  Some hardware is one-use-only.  The differential did have to come off the car for the fix but the rear subframe did not.  They did do an alignment on the car once the new eccentric bolts were installed.  Part number for F15 X5 differential oil is shown there too, you need 2 liters for a change.

Wet differential

When I jacked up the rear end of the car to fix a punctured tire, I saw this.  I have seen at least one other post about a leaky rear differential.  I iwll mention this to BMW at the first service.  The leak is minor, but it should be dry there.

How to Jack an F15 X5 (rear)

Haven't seen any posts on how to do this.  Here is how I did it.  As always, feel free to do it your way.

On many of the newer BMWs, I have seen BMW official documents that say it is OK to jack using the rear differential.  This is unusual to me because on cars like the Z3/E36, this was forbidden.  So I'm not comfortable with it.  Still, I could not find any official BMW documentation on F15 jack points.  I haven't bought a 24-hour subscription to TIS yet to verify.

I needed to jack up our car to patch a puncture in a run flat tire.  This is the second puncture in less than 10,000 miles.  Bummer.  For the first patch, the tire guys (Hay Tire Pros in Charleston) scratched both the rim and the Xpel on the front bumper.  Not cool.  I will never go there again.  For this repair, I am taking the wheel (not the car) to my wheel guy, Hugh Jett at Jett Wheels of Charleston.  Hugh doesn't normally do tire repairs but he will for previous customers.  Anyway, I jacked up the car to put it on jackstands while Hugh fixes the tire.  I used the rear subframe as my jackpoint.  To access it, the jack needs to go in under the car at an angle because the center input pipe to the muffler is in the way.  I used a piece of 2x4 to help spread the load.  Worked like a champ, no issues.  Esco jackstands work perfectly with the F15 side jack pad receivers.

UPDATE: Bimmerpost member E90Fleet posted this diagram directly from TIS.  It shows you can jack directly by the differential.  That still scares me.  Also shows the front jack point and mentions you can jack by the outboard subframe points in the rear.