Transfer case roll call

[mpowered5]

I know previous threads have had members bring up transfer case issues as the f15 was prone to failure. More 50i's than 35i's from what I read

But I am just curious to see who up to date has had an issue with their transfer case
1. Year and model and miles
2. Was it warrantied
3. Anyone running aftermarket wheels when it failed


I am friends with a BMW tech who I had out in my x5 yesterday to try to diagnose a shudder I have under load around 1500rpm and up. I hadn't noticed it with the 469 wheels on. But now with the 22s and maaaybe 3000km it is an issue. He said he could almost 100% guarantee it's the transfer case.

this upcoming Tuesday the OEM wheels and winters go back on so I can send it to the dealer.

2015 35d with 35,000km (21,000m)
Running 22x10.5f... 22x12r
with 295/30/22 ... 335/25/22

[DuSh]

Originally Posted by mpowered5

I know previous threads have had members bring up transfer case issues as the f15 was prone to failure. More 50i's than 35i's from what I read

But I am just curious to see who up to date has had an issue with their transfer case
1. Year and model and miles
2. Was it warrantied
3. Anyone running aftermarket wheels when it failed


I am friends with a BMW tech who I had out in my x5 yesterday to try to diagnose a shudder I have under load around 1500rpm and up. I hadn't noticed it with the 469 wheels on. But now with the 22s and maaaybe 3000km it is an issue. He said he could almost 100% guarantee it's the transfer case.

this upcoming Tuesday the OEM wheels and winters go back on so I can send it to the dealer.

2015 35d with 35,000km (21,000m)
Running 22x10.5f... 22x12r
with 295/30/22 ... 335/25/22

Hey man, it's easy to tell - you can unplug transfer case socket/plug underneath and your car will be essentially RWD. 4x4 lights will come up on dashboard, just ignore them and drive couple miles - if shudder is gone - then it's definitely transfer case. Plug it back, restart the car and all lights will go away.

Now the thing is X5 transfer case is not really prone to failures. Only couple of cases were posted here and it's been almost 4 years and thousands of X5 sold.

With your tires. They have 1.4% rolling diameter difference. That's pushing it for AWD. Maybe that's why your transfer case shudders. Chances are it's still not damaged - just take off those tires and try your previous set. As per BMW you need to stay within 1% difference for tire sizes. To be honest some people got away with up to 2%, but that's pushing it. Why some get away and some not? My theory is that different tire brands have slightly different specs (they differ ever so slightly from what's written on them). Transfer case is taking damage slowly trying to equlibrate rolling diameter difference.

Yes, I know that some folks run 335/25/22 and 295/30/22 and they get no shudder - but the thing is as I said different brand tires have different width/height (not always exactly as the specs say) and in addition different 22 inch rims have different width - and when you mount your tires on them - they may get more stretched than others - that will also affect rolling diameter. So chances are you've hit a combo that has a bit too much rolling diameter difference. Maybe now you have more than 2% - who knows.

As I said 2 ways to exclude transfer case: either pull the plug underneath or swap the wheels for oem and see if shudder goes away. If shudder stays - then you'll know for sure it's not transfer case.

P.S. Pulling the plug is best way to determine as it will disengage AWD and transfer case guaranteed. Swapping to oem set of wheels - trasnfer case may still shudder if it's already damaged. So pull the plug to know for sure. Or just go to a dealer.

P.P.S. My bet is your rear 22 inch rims that have width of 12 inch! - are stretching your 335/25/22 a bit too much making rolling diameter even smaller than it was. And it was 1.4% smaller than your front tires (295/30/22) to begin with! So there you go - you now may be at more than 2% rolling diameter difference.

[fosterelli]

DuSh is onto something here, props sir.

[CeeTeeX5]

Interested to hear the results of this. I decided to run 275/35/22 and 315/30/22 for the specific concern called out with variance in front to rear diameter. The setup I have is only 1mm diameter difference.

[mpowered5]

Thanks for the well laid out and informative reply.

I will take a look and see if I can find the plug,if I have a chance today and see what happens.

I was under the impression with a number of guys running the same set up it was a fairly tried tested and true set up. I guess i was wrong.

I also brought up this concern with the (reputable) wheel shop I bought the wheels and tires from. And they had confirmed they have used the same set up on numerous X5s for years with no issue. I guess I drew the short straw.

Let the blood pressure rising begin. If I haven't stressed enough already.

[radrads203]

My car is F15 X5 3.0d and I am running the same set up as you . 295 30 22 front , 335 25 22 rear.. and my transfer case was out when I reached approx 45000km...

[mpowered5]

Originally Posted by radrads203

My car is F15 X5 3.0d and I am running the same set up as you . 295 30 22 front , 335 25 22 rear.. and my transfer case was out when I reached approx 45000km...

Are you still running the same wheels now?
What mileage are you at now, and no issues since?

[mpowered5]

Can anyone shed some light on the location of the plug.

I took a look underneath. But I think to access it I will have to remove the plastic shields.

[DuSh]

Originally Posted by mpowered5

Can anyone shed some light on the location of the plug.

I took a look underneath. But I think to access it I will have to remove the plastic shields.

Hey man, sorry for confusion. I circled blue - that's transfer case. Circled yellow the side of transfer case where the plug is (that's driver's side if I'm not mistaken). Transfer case is partially covered by that black cover. Depending if you can get your hand in there to reach the plug, you might try. Or maybe if not, any mechanic can quickly take off the cover and then it's easy to reach.

[DuSh]

If swapping back to oem set of wheels is easier for you - please do that first. Chances are shuddering will stop.

[Silververtu]

don't forget to use some tape to seal the plugs/connectors after unplugging it.

[fosterelli]

Originally Posted by mpowered5

I was under the impression with a number of guys running the same set up it was a fairly tried tested and true set up. I guess i was wrong.

I also brought up this concern with the (reputable) wheel shop I bought the wheels and tires from. And they had confirmed they have used the same set up on numerous X5s for years with no issue. I guess I drew the short straw.

Wonder if the other guys are AWD or not. Shop perhaps has many clients w/o AWD and fed you an assumption instead of facts.

Keep the blood pressure low man, you may have caught it soon enough to solve the problem by changing your setup. Wishing you well with the investigation and outcome.

[fosterelli]

Originally Posted by DuSh

If swapping back to oem set of wheels is easier for you - please do that first. Chances are shuddering will stop.

[mpowered5]

Yup. You were right. Swapped the oem 469's back on. Shutter is gone.

Contacted the wheel company I bought them from. The owner who I dealt with wasn't in. But passed on my message to him. Gonna see what they say.

Maybe I will see if I spec a new rear set up and run 22x11 and find a tire size or even just square them at 22x10.5. If the company is willing to help me out. I will lose, But not at a total loss.

Appreciate all the help from the forum. Gonna run the winters for the weekend though and see if the shudder resumes.

[mpowered5]

Now thinking about it. I had been running different tire pressures front to rear. I wonder if it has some contribution to the issue. I'll have to check my alignment papers from BMW but I'm pretty sure I was running 38f 42r.

Just for reference the tires I'm using are Pirelli scorpion assimetrico non rft


Also not sure if anyone else has noticed this. The factory 469s were equip with Pirelli scorpion rft winters when I Bought the x5.
The rear 315s are directional, the front 275s are not

[DuSh]

Originally Posted by mpowered5

Now thinking about it. I had been running different tire pressures front to rear. I wonder if it has some contribution to the issue. I'll have to check my alignment papers from BMW but I'm pretty sure I was running 38f 42r.

Just for reference the tires I'm using are Pirelli scorpion assimetrico non rft


Also not sure if anyone else has noticed this. The factory 469s were equip with Pirelli scorpion rft winters when I Bought the x5.
The rear 315s are directional, the front 275s are not

Difference in tire pressure can also contribute a bit to rolling diameter change, but in your case with difference of only 4psi between front and rear - it's negligible. 1% difference allowed by BMW for their AWD system is made exactly for that - to allow normal everyday differences between front and rear and not cause issues (like for example when you take turns - drivers side tires rotate slower/faster than passenger side tires - depending on left/right turn. So I mean that kind of differences are normal, as well as tire pressure difference, also uneven wear etc. - this all should fall under 1% allowed rolling diameter difference).

This is interesting, because some folks do run with 335/25/22 and 295/30/22 and they not always get issues like you got.

Can you clarify - the tires on 22inch rims - are they SCORPION ZERO ASIMMETRICO non RFT? I can't find 335/25/22 for that tire, I can only see 295/30/22. Maybe I'm not looking good enough?

[mpowered5]

Tires confirmed