When BMW bought Land Rover in 1994 the BMW engineers immediately started work on a vehicle that combined the technology and design of the two companies. Their efforts became public knowledge in 2000 when the BMW E53 X5 rolled into show rooms. BMW marketed the E53 X5 as an SAV (sport activity vehicle) rather than an SUV (sport utility vehicle) in order to portray the E53 X5 as a powerful on-road vehicle, distancing it from the off-road focus of their competitors. Even though BMW stopped production of this car in 2006, it is still a popular model among BMW enthusiasts. Occasionally, the pixels on the E53 X5’s dashboard lights will fail.
The areas commonly affected by this are the LCD dashboard display and the OBC (on board computer) messages. It may start off as one or two pixels, or a whole line could disappear, making the OBC messages and the LCD display difficult or impossible to read. Sometimes everything starts working again as the dashboard reacts to high or low temperatures.
While there is a chance that some of the LED lights in the display have burnt out, it is more likely that the ribbon cable connecting the OBC to the LCD display needs replacing. The ribbon cable transmits the messages from the OBC to the LCD display, and the ribbon’s malfunction will result in a bewildering patchwork of pixels, or simply no pixels at all.
Driving a car in this condition can lead to problems, especially if important OBC messages start becoming distorted. As soon as a pixel failure is noticed, take the E53 X5 to a local German import mechanic who can quickly make the necessary repairs.
Search for a local, independent BMW repair shop with BMW mechanics that have dealer-level expertise at a fraction of the expense.