BMW 5 Series Touring (2004 – 2010) Review
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BMW 5 Series Touring (2004 – 2010) At A Glance
As saloon, with the advantages of a station wagon body.
Looks not everyone's taste. Some problem areas. Two rear suspension balljoint failures notified the same month (January 2014).
Reviews for BMW 5 Series Touring (2004 – 2010)'s top 3 rivals
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BMW 5 Series Touring (2004 – 2010) models and specs
| Dimensions | |
|---|---|
| Length | 4843 mm |
| Width | 1846 mm |
| Height | 1491 mm |
| Wheelbase | 2886 mm |
| Miscellaneous | |
|---|---|
| Kerb Weight | 1665–1835 kg |
| Boot Space | 500–1650 L |
| Warranty | 3 years |
| Servicing | - |
| Costs | |
|---|---|
| List Price | £27,925–£52,150 |
| Insurance Groups | 33–45 |
| Road Tax Bands | E–M |
| Official MPG | 25.2–53.3 mpg |
| Euro NCAP Safety Ratings | |
|---|---|
| Adult | 4 |
| Child | 4 |
| Pedestrian | 1 |
| Overall | - |
On sale until March 2010
| Estate | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Version | List Price | MPG | 0-62 |
| 520d M Sport | £33,200 | 53.3 mpg | 8.5 s |
| 520d M Sport Auto | £33,200 | 48.7 mpg | 8.6 s |
| 520d M Sport Business Edition | £34,225 | 53.3 mpg | 8.5 s |
| 520d M Sport Business Edition Auto | £34,225 | 48.7 mpg | 8.6 s |
| 520d SE | £30,080 | 53.3 mpg | 8.5 s |
| 520d SE Auto | £30,080 | 48.7 mpg | 8.6 s |
| 520d SE Business Edition | £31,105 | 53.3 mpg | 8.5 s |
| 520d SE Business Edition Auto | £31,105 | 48.7 mpg | 8.6 s |
| 523i M Sport | £35,145 | 35.8 mpg | 8.5 s |
| 523i M Sport Auto | £35,145 | 35.8 mpg | 9.1 s |
| 523i SE | £32,025 | 35.8 mpg | 8.5 s |
| 523i SE Auto | £32,025 | 35.8 mpg | 9.1 s |
| 525d M Sport | £37,210 | 44.1 mpg | 7.8 s |
| 525d M Sport Auto | £37,210 | 42.8 mpg | 7.9 s |
| 525d M Sport Business Edition | £39,000 | 44.1 mpg | 7.8 s |
| 525d M Sport Business Edition Auto | £39,000 | 42.8 mpg | 7.9 s |
| 525d SE | £34,090 | 44.1 mpg | 7.8 s |
| 525d SE Auto | £34,090 | 42.8 mpg | 7.9 s |
| 525d SE Business Edition | £35,880 | 44.1 mpg | 7.8 s |
| 525d SE Business Edition Auto | £35,880 | 42.8 mpg | 7.9 s |
| 525i M Sport | £36,825 | 35.8 mpg | 7.4 s |
| 525i M Sport Auto | £36,825 | 35.8 mpg | 7.9 s |
| 525i SE | £33,705 | 35.8 mpg | 7.4 s |
| 525i SE Auto | £33,705 | 35.8 mpg | 7.9 s |
| 530d M Sport | £41,210 | 42.8 mpg | 6.9 s |
| 530d M Sport Auto | £41,210 | 41.5 mpg | 7.0 s |
| 530d M Sport Business Edition | £43,000 | 42.8 mpg | 6.9 s |
| 530d M Sport Business Edition Auto | £43,000 | 41.5 mpg | 7.0 s |
| 530d SE | £38,090 | 42.8 mpg | 6.9 s |
| 530d SE Auto | £38,090 | 41.5 mpg | 7.0 s |
| 530d SE Business Edition | £39,880 | 42.8 mpg | 6.9 s |
| 530d SE Business Edition Auto | £39,880 | 41.5 mpg | 7.0 s |
| 530i M Sport | £40,965 | 34.9 mpg | 6.5 s |
| 530i M Sport Auto | £40,965 | 35.8 mpg | 6.8 s |
| 530i SE | £37,845 | 34.9 mpg | 6.5 s |
| 530i SE Auto | £37,845 | 35.8 mpg | 6.8 s |
| 535d M Sport Auto | £45,720 | 40.9 mpg | 6.5 s |
| 535d SE Auto | £42,600 | 40.9 mpg | 6.5 s |
| 550i M Sport | £52,150 | 25.2 mpg | 5.3 s |
| 550i M Sport Auto | £52,150 | 26.4 mpg | 5.4 s |
| 550i SE | £49,590 | 25.2 mpg | 5.3 s |
| 550i SE Auto | £49,590 | 26.4 mpg | 5.4 s |
On sale until March 2007
| Estate | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Version | List Price | MPG | 0-62 |
| 520d | £27,925 | 46.3 mpg | 8.9 s |
| 520d Auto | £27,925 | - | - |
Model History
May 2004
BMW 5 Series Touring revealed
E60 Touring on sale in the UK May 2004 with two petrol and two diesel engines. 4,480mm (190.55”) long, 1,850 mm (72.83”) wide, 1,490 mm (58.66”) high. Slightly bigger inside and outside than previous 5 Series Touring. Up to 535 litres load capacity with the 60:40 split folding rear seats in place and 1,650 litres with them folded down.
Performance and prices:-
525iSE Touring, 192bhp, 245NM torque, 0-60 7.9, top speed 144, 28.5mpg, 238g/km CO2, price £29,415;
525dSE Touring, 177bhp, 400Nm torque, 0-60 8.0, top speed 140, 40.4mpg, 187g/km CO2, price £30,300;
530dSE Touring, 218bhp, 500NM torque, 0-60 6.9, 150mph, 39.2mpg; 192g/km C02, price £33,890;
535d SE Touring, 272bhp, 560Nm torque, 0-60 6.3 seconds; 155mph (limited), mpg TBA, CO2 TBA, price £41,225;
545iSE Touring, 333bhp, 450Nm torque, 0-60 5.6, 155mph (limited), 25.0mpg, 274g/km CO2, price £48,002.
All feature six-speed manual gearbox as standard or optional six-speed automatic with Steptronic or six-speed Sequential Manual Gearbox with steering wheel-mounted paddles on the BMW 525i and 545i SE variants. 16” (17” on 545i SE) light alloy wheels fitted with 225 / 55 R16 on 525i SE, 525d SE and 530d SE models (225 / 50 R17 run-flat tyres on the 545i SE).
Selection of 17” and 18” alloy wheels are available as options, all featuring run-flat technology. This allows a car with a punctured tyre to be driven fully laden for at least 90 miles at speeds of 50 mph, removing the need for hard shoulder tyre changes. Run-flat tyres also have the added benefit of negating the need for a spare wheel, thereby providing extra storage space and reducing weight.
535d Touring starts from £38,600 in UK from October 2004. EU4 compliant. 272bhp and 560Nm of torque from sequential twin turbo 3.0 six with small turbo giving maximum performance from idle to low engine speeds – 500Nm of torque at 1,500rpm, then, as the revs build, a larger turbo helps to further compress the air for a second, seamless boost of power. The result is a continuous surge of acceleration making for a zero to 62mph time of 6.5 seconds yet a combined fuel consumption 35.3mpg.
3 year UNLIMITED MILEAGE warranty from 2005. For 2006 model year, 170bhp 2.2 litre '520i' replaced by 174bhp 2.5 litre '523i'.
March 2007
From March 2007, CO2 reduced
523i manual 183g/km
523i auto 184g/km
525i manual 183g/km
525i auto 184g/km
530i manual 187g/km
530i auto 184g/km
550i manual 267g/km
550i auto 254g/km
April 2007
Range refreshed April 2007 using 'Efficient Dynamics' principles. Facelifted cars have single under-bumper aperture with single horizontal bar across it and reshaped spoiler boot lid like M5's. Piezo injectors now used in High Pressure Injected petrol engines. New, more efficient 6-speed automatic transmission. 'Brake Energy Regeneration' and AGM battery only recharges on engine over-run saving 3% CO2. 530i M-Sport auto now 271PS, up 5.4%; does 37.7mpg combined, up 24%; and emits only 178g/km, down 20.5%, putting it into VED Band E and bringing only a 24% of list price BIK tax base.
September 2007
More power for 520d from September 2007, now up from 163hp to 177hp. 0 to 60mph down to 8.0 seconds in the Saloon compared to 8.3 seconds previously. Top speed is 144mph. Combined figure now 55.4mpg. CO2 136g/km sees 520d drop into Band C VED. Now with EfficientDynamics technology including Brake Energy Regeneration, active aerodynamics, Optimum gear shift indicator and low rolling resistance tyres. The BMW 520d Saloon costs from £27,190 OTR while the 520d Touring costs from £29,200 OTR.
What to watch out for
Very thin windscreen glass cracks easily when hit by stones.
Check PAS fluid level regularly. Steering rack may leak fluid unnoticed out of end seal and into track rod end gaiter. Seems to be a Europe-wide shortage of parts to correct this.
Self levelling rear suspension prone to failurre after around 4 years and/or around 80k miles.
Wiring connection between car and tailgate fails. Best fixed independently because BMW dealers have been known to quote £2,000 to repair it.
06-05-2011:DPFs and car converters tend to need replacing at 120,000 - 130,000 miles. Cost is £1,500 - £2,000.
06-05-2011:Some cases of brake pipe corrosion on cars just 6 years old.
03-02-2012:Significant numbers of high pressure fuel pump failures on 530i and 535i in the USA. See link: www.n54tech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14650 BMW initially "blamed" "ethanol" or "poor quality" gasoline in the U.S. for these failures. In fact, BMW HPFP failures are well documented in Germany (even with their "superior quality" gasoline), Australia, Asia, South Africa, etc. Some of these countries have never used ethanol in any of their gasoline..... HPFP Part Numbers 1. 13-51-7-537-320 2. 13-51-7-585-655 3. 13-51-7-592-881 4. 13-51-7-596-123 5. 13-51-7-594-943 6. 13-51-7-613-933 7. XX-XX-X-XXX-402 8. 13-51-7-616-170 9. 13-51-7-616-446.
13-02-2013:Another case of wiring problems to the reversing lights in the rear hatch becaude the cables supplying the power get crimped by the wire guide when the hatch is closed. (See above.)
04-01-2014:E60/61 petrol models can develop electrical failure in three different areas simultaneously: fan blower in the cabin; mirror demisters and rear window demister. This can be solved by simply unclipping the 'Intelligent Battery Controller ' cable connected to the battery, then reconnecting. It's part of the problem listed above at 10-802012 and 31-8-2012.
09-01-2014:Rear suspension arm balljoint failure on 120k mile E61 525i Touring leading to collapse of nearside rear suspension. From the photo it looks like a wear and tear problem that should have been picked up in the car's last MoT. May have been due to the weight of loads carried.
10-01-2014:Fault with high pressure fuel pump of petrol models can lead to stalling without warning and does not show up on BMW diagnostics. This led to a voluntary recall on 26-10-2010 on 2007-2010 5-Series E60s and E61s in the USA so is an acknowledged fault, but no recall in the UK.
13-01-2014:Failed turbo in 61k mile 2010 E61 520d auto, probably due to failure to idle from super-hot. BMW generously offered £1,000 towards £1,800 replacement bill.
26-01-2014:Another complaint of rear suspension arm balljoint failure, this on a 130k mile 2004 E61 530D Touring. This is becoming quite a serious safety issue and owners should report the failures to VOSA. However, very difficult to blam BMW for failures on what are now 10 year old cars. Owners shoud have the rtear suspension of their E61 Tourings independently inpected, especially if they are considering towing or carrying heavy loads.
17-06-2014: EGR, DPF and turbo problem with 50k mile 4 year old E61 BMW 520D Touring. Total bill £2,676 including £270 + VAT for diagnostics.
Reader reported total electrical failure of his 2009 BMW 525D. Insurance Assessor's report: "The vehicle suffered an electrical failure of an unidentified module mounted in the vehicle's boot. Thius caused an electrical short circuit, causing the earth wire in the body wiring loom to heat up. This has melted the plastic insulation of the earth wire and adjacent wires." Total repair cost estimated at £10,414.28. (See E60 entry 31-8-2012 for an hilarious account (some swearing) of a ridiculous design deficiency of E60/E61 5-Series whereby the battery is sited directly beneath the one-way rear cabin vent flap so if the one way flap fails water is forced through it onto the battery: http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=af8_1346299893. There was a recall: R/2012/039: http://www.vosa.gov.uk/vosa/apps/recalls/searches/expand.asp?uniqueID=39ADAE6B50B53351802579CA0037A982&freeText=Blank&tx=/)
