Hey all,

I have a 2001 X5 4.4l Sport. A few days ago I was driving on the highway and a very slight shaking began. Over the next hour it got worse and worse. When I would give the car some gas at highway speed, it would feel like I was driving over those sleep strips on the edge of the lanes to wake you up. If I took my foot totally off the gas it would shake as well. If I give it just enough gas to keep current speed, not speed up or slow down, the shaking would disappear. It would also disappear the second I put the car in neutral at highway speed, so I know it's not a tire/balance issue.

Anyone ever heard of this problem? I'm pretty worried that this is some MAJOR drivetrain issue.

When I got to my destination I learned I had a flat tire, but strangely changing the tired didn't fix the shaking, so I guess I was lucky enough to be dealt a 2 for one problem that day!

Ideas?

Best,

Forrest

check the other tires for bent wheels.

I agree, take those Kumho's or Nexens off. Back to Michelins for you!

I've got Michelins on it, always have. I don't know why it would be a bent tire since the problem began gradually while I was on the highway.

Check your front axle CV boots. one of them is likely torn and the CV joint is on its way out. You've described the symptoms exactly for a failing CV joint (especially if the vibration seems more harsh when gassing than decellerating).

And actually, the boot doesn't have to be torn for the joint to be failing. The right outer joint is the most likely failure point. If neither of the boots are torn, then get under the car (you don't need to lift it to do this) and grab the axle shaft in the center and see if you can move it up and down. If either shaft has more than just a tiny bit of play up-an-down (and I'm talking like anything more than about a half millimeter of play), then the axle will likely need replacement.

So I did a little testing and here's another symptom. When I turn in a tight circle at low/moderate speed I can hear the front right tire occasionally sliding as if it were not turning smoothly. Almost like when you turn in a car with a locking differential and the outside tire binds on the pavement.

That's actually pretty normal if you've got the steering wheel locked (or nearly so) one way or the other to feel a little binding up front. Not a lot, but enough to notice.

did you check the CV joints and shafts yet?

sounds like you either have a failing front diff(could have been caused by the flat tire if it was on the front)..or possibly a bad cv joint...

Does the shaking seem to emanate from any particular area of the vehicle - front, back, drivers side, passengers side?

I had a very similar thing happen to my '05 X5 3.0 sport last winter. Took it to my local BMW and they diagnosed the problem as a bad front brake caliper. As the brakes heated, especially from extended driving at higher speeds, the caliper would expand and grab the disk. I'm no mechanic, but that's basically what they told me. The kicker was that my extended maintenance didn't cover it. They said it was wear & tear - $1,800 bucks worth!

Hopefully your problem is a cheaper fix. Good luck!

Zillion... if you had CPO, the caliper would have been covered. If you only had the Extended Maintenance coverage, then the caliper isn't covered. maintenance coverage doesn't cover mechanical failures, just routine maintenance stuff... oil services, brake pads (when they wear out, not when a stuck caliper grinds them down), wipers belts, etc...

Calipers is another good possibility though, if the OP is still with us.

Critter7r, unfortunately I did not have CPO....it was a leased vehicle. Since I knew I'd go well over 50k miles, I sprung for the extended maintenance. The caliper problem happened with about 70K miles on it.