Hi...I'm a new owner of a 2001 X5 my husband parked it in the neighbor's garage to surprise me for Xmas this morning and now we can't get it started ! Is this a Security Program keeping us from starting it? We thought at first it was the battery...called a road service and he said the battery won't take a charge....hmmmm...and we didn't get the owner's manual to figure out what???? Can anyone help here???
Thanks and Merry Xmas to anyone out there this evening.
Barb

Hi...I'm a new owner of a 2001 X5 my husband parked it in the neighbor's garage to surprise me for Xmas this morning and now we can't get it started ! Is this a Security Program keeping us from starting it? We thought at first it was the battery...called a road service and he said the battery won't take a charge....hmmmm...and we didn't get the owner's manual to figure out what???? Can anyone help here???
Thanks and Merry Xmas to anyone out there this evening.
Barb

try jerking the wheel back and forth while turning the key in the ignition, he may have locked it by accident.

I don't know if this was an option for 2001 but I know the 2004 X5 has the ability to use a PIN to lock the ignition. Basically it uses a 4 digit PIN pushed in on the radio to act as a security device before starting the engine.

As far as the battery goes, can you turn all the lights on on the car? Can you turn the key over enough to turn the radio on? Can you hear the starter spin? If these are all yes, chances are it isn't the battery that is the issue.

Oh, not to be insulting, but did you make sure the tranny was in Park or Neutral?

If the car sat for a long time without starting or driving,it could very well kill the battery to the point of no return.It happened to me on several occasions.I travel, so my X5,4.4 sits for weeks on end.I was told the computer system takes juice to perform its daily functions and if the car is not driven it will kill your battery.I was given a battery charge transmitter from the dealer($75.).It plugs in the wall and keeps me charged while I'm on long trips.This is something that the dealer didn't tell me when I spent the $60+K for my truck.