Diagnostics Doctor

BMW X5

Gearbox jolt

Q I have a 55-reg E53 X5 3.0 diesel sport auto with 44,000 miles and a full BMW service history. I have a few questions. I am looking at diagnostic tools, something I can use at home, I have seen one called a Autophix 7910 going for £119 do you have any views on this model or any others?

A colleague of mine at work also has a E53 X5 which is the same as mine, but slightly higher mileage and is an 2005 model. He tells me sometimes when braking quite hard when he comes to a stop there is a small jolt or lurch from the gearbox, although there is no other problems.

Would you also have any idea how to change the gearbox adaptions back to factory as he claims the changes are a bit sluggish and a BMW tech told him the gearbox could be running on the previous owners way of driving. I would also be interested in this as I have seen videos on YouTube for doing this for other BMWs but not for the E53.

Thanks very much in advance for any help or advice.

Paul Finnigan

A I have not personally had any experience of the Autophix 7910 but looking at the information available it does appear to be quite good – though a basic unit. It will read the engine codes and set the parking brake mechanism on BMW vehicles but does not appear to be able to read andclear fault codes in the ABS, gearbox or SRS systems, and with this in mind in the long-term it may be a better investment to purchase something that