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      08-20-2017, 08:26 PM   #1
Bruiser P
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X5 (F15) How to shift into Neutral

Hi All,

How do you shift into neutral without starting the engine?
On my E93 you push the start button without your foot on the brake and the ignition comes on then you put your foot on the brake then you can shift into neutral. I tried this procedure on the X5 (F15) and no go.
This would be great to know for forum members in case the engine won't start and you need roll the vehicle or need a tow, flatbed, etc.

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      08-20-2017, 08:58 PM   #2
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You have to crank it and move the shifter to neutral at the same time.
That's how I did it when my brand new, one week old, 2014 F15 X5 was stuck in the underground parking of a hotel in 2013 November. But that time, the car wasn't firing up.
In the case of the car firing up, I am not so sure how.
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      08-21-2017, 11:32 AM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bruiser P View Post
Hi All,

How do you shift into neutral without starting the engine?
On my E93 you push the start button without your foot on the brake and the ignition comes on then you put your foot on the brake then you can shift into neutral. I tried this procedure on the X5 (F15) and no go.
This would be great to know for forum members in case the engine won't start and you need roll the vehicle or need a tow, flatbed, etc.

Many Thanks
Check the link that I saw on bimmerfest. Hope this help, but I have not tried this.

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=836438
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      08-21-2017, 05:28 PM   #4
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I'll try and located the bolt and will report back regarding bolt size, location, and if tightening the bolt actually puts the vehicle into neutral?
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      08-22-2017, 03:53 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 1coolF15D2017 View Post
Check the link that I saw on bimmerfest. Hope this help, but I have not tried this.

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=836438
that is kind of dangerous is it not? if ur car does not start and u r required to crawl underneath the car to screw that screw in place to unlock the transmission. what if u screw the screw down to unlock the transmission and the car starts rolling?
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      08-22-2017, 11:48 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TOPEC View Post
that is kind of dangerous is it not? if ur car does not start and u r required to crawl underneath the car to screw that screw in place to unlock the transmission. what if u screw the screw down to unlock the transmission and the car starts rolling?
Chock the wheels first, or win Darwin Award.
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      08-24-2017, 01:11 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TOPEC View Post
that is kind of dangerous is it not? if ur car does not start and u r required to crawl underneath the car to screw that screw in place to unlock the transmission. what if u screw the screw down to unlock the transmission and the car starts rolling?
Simply do what you should do anytime you crawl under a car... apply the parking brake, and block a wheel with rock or a brick or piece of wood. C'mon, common sense.
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      08-27-2017, 09:12 AM   #8
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Also if your on an obvious incline turn the wheels toward the curb.
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      08-27-2017, 01:15 PM   #9
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common sense is not so common to a lot of people, car enthusiasts will see the obvious of chocking up a wheel or 2 to prevent it from rolling, but the other regular joe blows, this would prob not even cross their minds before doing it. just look at the whole jeep shifter fiasco, no one seems to know how to operate a shifter properly to put the car in park... then again the regular joe blows will prob call a tow truck in the first place instead of crawling underneath their car.
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      04-25-2023, 06:49 PM   #10
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Tried to fire up the X5 this morning, only to find the battery was dead. Needed to push it out of the garage so I can jump start it off the wife's car. Just one problem, I couldn't get the car into neutral since the ignition wouldn't fire. Tried for awhile. So, surely BMW didn't design a car that won't go into neutral when battery is dead!?!? I've read you can crawl under the car and loosen a bolt to get it into neutral. If this is truly the only way then BMW lost some points in my book. Anyone know of a hack to get it neutral without crawling under the car?
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      04-26-2023, 09:37 AM   #11
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My recommendation would be either to buy a portable battery jump box to use the terminals in the engine compartment to jump start it or just jump start it from the back (since that is where the battery is). I know people say it's not optimum to do it from the back (since it bypasses the electronics). If you can buy a jump box locally I'd go with that.

Yes, agreed it's a poor design but many cars have the same transmission design. It's not just BMW. The similar transmission (ZF) is used in many cars (with the same challenge)
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      04-26-2023, 09:45 AM   #12
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The answer is in your owners manual. There is a looped wire in the rear left cargo compartment that you pull up.
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      04-26-2023, 10:06 AM   #13
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If you need to use the procedure where you go underneath the vehicle...see the instructions below:





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      04-26-2023, 01:19 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by M302_imola View Post
Tried to fire up the X5 this morning, only to find the battery was dead. Needed to push it out of the garage so I can jump start it off the wife's car. Just one problem, I couldn't get the car into neutral since the ignition wouldn't fire. Tried for awhile. So, surely BMW didn't design a car that won't go into neutral when battery is dead!?!? I've read you can crawl under the car and loosen a bolt to get it into neutral. If this is truly the only way then BMW lost some points in my book. Anyone know of a hack to get it neutral without crawling under the car?
There is no hack, you must go under the car and you need a torx bit to access the neutral release. I had to deal with this once when towing my previous F15, idiotic tow shop manager insisted on lubing the flatbed with dish soap and then I slipped off and fell once they insisted that I search for some nonexistent release in the toolkit area. I was so annoyed I wanted to sue them on account of their sheer stupidity but I really wasn't injured.
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      04-26-2023, 03:01 PM   #15
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Luckily, the X5 fired up no problem this morning. Further confusing if the issue is really battery related. The battery is only 1 year old. I however, did not register or code the new battery. I used the method of leaving the trunk hatch open for 15 minutes, allowing the car to go into sleep mode (or whatever the proper term is). Then I simply disconnected old battery then installed the new battery. It's like my car never knew I replaced the battery. All seat memory and presets were retained. Could this possibly be decreasing the life of the new battery?
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      04-26-2023, 03:28 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by M302_imola View Post
Luckily, the X5 fired up no problem this morning. Further confusing if the issue is really battery related. The battery is only 1 year old. I however, did not register or code the new battery. I used the method of leaving the trunk hatch open for 15 minutes, allowing the car to go into sleep mode (or whatever the proper term is). Then I simply disconnected old battery then installed the new battery. It's like my car never knew I replaced the battery. All seat memory and presets were retained. Could this possibly be decreasing the life of the new battery?
It could because the charging current/voltage will be tailored to an older and more degraded battery but this shouldn't cause it to fail in just 1 year, and it doesn't explain why it would be dead one day and fire up no problem the next.

Are you getting any warnings along the lines of "Increased Battery Drainage" or "Replace battery"?
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My wife would give me so much head if I did that.
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      04-26-2023, 05:58 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by M302_imola View Post
…I simply disconnected old battery then installed the new battery. It's like my car never knew I replaced the battery. All seat memory and presets were retained. Could this possibly be decreasing the life of the new battery?
Don’t know if that is the cause of the no start situation…but see info below about the IBS and energy management system and why BMW recommends battery registration (for new batteries)…and battery coding if you change the type and capacity of the battery.



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      04-27-2023, 10:33 AM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Vivek. View Post
It could because the charging current/voltage will be tailored to an older and more degraded battery but this shouldn't cause it to fail in just 1 year, and it doesn't explain why it would be dead one day and fire up no problem the next.

Are you getting any warnings along the lines of "Increased Battery Drainage" or "Replace battery"?
Agree with you, that's why this is confusing. The day it wouldn't fire, it did prompt a battery warning. But strangely enough right after the prompt I went inside to tell my wife. Then tried to start it again and it fired right up. And has fired up everyday since. This was dating but to Tue this week. I need to get the battery checked, but this being my daily makes it difficult as I know O'reilly's (where I bought the battery) will have to remove the battery to test it. Leaving me with some downtime without the car.
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      04-27-2023, 10:36 AM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Qsilver7 View Post
Don’t know if that is the cause of the no start situation…but see info below about the IBS and energy management system and why BMW recommends battery registration (for new batteries)…and battery coding if you change the type and capacity of the battery.



I prob need to register it or if O'reilly's does find the battery faulty get the new one registered. I have bimmercode but I believe I've read I will need bimmerlink to register it.
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      04-28-2023, 10:11 AM   #20
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I prob need to register it or if O'reilly's does find the battery faulty get the new one registered. I have bimmercode but I believe I've read I will need bimmerlink to register it.
Yep...battery registration is done with the Bimmerlink app.

Bimmercode only allows you to "code" the battery...which is only required if you change the type of battery (ie from AGM to wet/cell) or if you change the AH capacity of the battery from 90 AH to 105 AH or vice versa.

Either procedure is really easy to do if you have the apps.
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      04-28-2023, 12:37 PM   #21
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I will buy the bimmerlink app then. I'm also going to invest in a portable battery jump box just to have in case I run into this issue again. Will be a good thing to take on road trips with the fam as well. Prob just go with a fairly cheap brand that has good reviews on Amazon.
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