G05 DIY Maintenance: Tyres, Top-Extracted Oil, AdBlue

I owned a BMW X5 (G05) for about three years, from April 2023 to May 2026. This is my G05 DIY maintenance record from those years.

The dealer mostly handled inspections. I did the tyre changes, oil changes and AdBlue top-ups myself at home the whole time.

G05 DIY maintenance information is hard to find, though. I did not even know whether the oil could be extracted from the top until I tried it. So here is the G05 DIY maintenance I repeated over three years, with the numbers I actually used. Prices are what I paid in Japan.

Tyre changes at home, twice a year

Summer meant 20-inch wheels; winter meant 19-inch studless tyres. Every November or December, then again every April, I swapped them in front of my house.

Tools and wheel-bolt torque

A 3.5-tonne floor jack I bought as a student, plus BMW jack pads
A cordless impact wrench that takes Makita 18 V batteries, about ¥3,000 (roughly $20 at ¥150 per dollar) from AliExpress
A torque wrench set to the specified 140 Nm

Before lifting the car, switch off the air suspension. Hold the ride-height switch down for about seven seconds, then let go.

I used the impact wrench to loosen the bolts quickly, then to run them in. For the final step, I lowered the jack a little before tightening each bolt to 140 Nm with the torque wrench. Finishing with the impact wrench would over-tighten them, so that part stays manual.

Including setup plus cleanup, the job took about an hour. If I also washed the removed wheels, it took 1.5 to 2 hours.

My impact wrench is no longer listed, so this is the same type:

Cordless impact wrench for Makita 18V batteries on AliExpress

View on AliExpress

My tyre-change log

Date	Odometer	Change
15 Nov 2023	41,695 km	Summer to winter
7 Apr 2024	47,135 km	Winter to summer
8 Dec 2024	55,170 km	Summer to winter
20 Apr 2025	58,960 km	Winter to summer
22 Nov 2025	65,544 km	Summer to winter
5 Apr 2026	71,280 km	Winter to summer

With each wheel off, I photographed the brake pads plus discs on all four corners. That is also how I found the tip of a screw stuck in a summer tyre in November 2025.

The full procedure, with photos, is in my G05 tyre change guide.

Oil change: 6.5 L extracted through the dipstick tube

The G05 still has an oil dipstick. I fed the oil extractor hose down the dipstick tube to pull the oil out from the top.

There is no drain bolt to touch, so no jacking is needed. On my F25 X3 I had to remove the air-filter box; the G05 does not need that, so the job was actually easier.

Steps and numbers

The engine cover comes off by pulling it straight up by hand
About 6.5 L came out (filling less was better, as explained below)
The oil filter was a MAHLE OX 1146D, about ¥2,000 (around $13)
The filter housing needs a 32 mm socket (my F25 used 27 mm, which surprised me for a second)
The housing is marked with a tightening torque of 25 Nm

The car is tall, so I set the air suspension to its lowest level. I also stood the extractor on an empty can so the hose would reach.

I bought oil in 20 L drums. At first it was Mikado Oil PREMIUM C3 SP 0W-30. From 2025 I switched to Shell Helix Ultra Euro 5W-30, about ¥21,000 (around $140) per 20 L drum. Mikado was cheaper, but it seemed to hold up slightly less well, and its price also went up.

Each change cost about ¥9,000 (around $60). A dealer would charge over ¥30,000 (around $200), so this was where DIY saved the most.

My G05 oil change guide walks through the full job with photos.

Resetting the service reminder without a scan tool

After the oil change, the service reminder needs resetting. On the G05 I did it with the BC button on the tip of the indicator stalk, without an OBD tool.

Without pressing the brake, press the start button three times
With the odometer showing, hold the BC button for about 10 seconds
Tap the BC button to select Engine Oil, then hold it
When Reset? appears, hold it once more

iDrive can also measure the oil level electronically. It only works once the engine is warm. While it measures, idle rises to 1,000 rpm.

Overfilling triggered a warning

In July 2025 I refilled with the same 6.5 L that had come out. In April 2026, on the motorway, the car showed “Engine oil level above maximum”.

Back home I drained about 1 L as a stopgap, then changed the oil early. That time I put in 5.5 L, checking with the electronic measurement as I went.

I had assumed that refilling the amount drained would be fine. It was not.

AdBlue: bought at a filling station, poured in at home

The diesel G05 needs AdBlue (diesel exhaust fluid). Having a dealer top it up is expensive, so I always bought it at a filling station, then poured it in myself.

Date	Odometer	Trigger	Amount / cost
Jul 2024	50,000 km	Warning (1,500 km left)	10 L / ¥1,440 (about $10)
May 2025	59,612 km	30% remaining	9 L / ¥1,188
Apr 2026	about 71,400 km	30% remaining	about 9 L / about ¥1,500

With my driving, that worked out to about 9 L per 10,000 km.

Most filling stations in Japan do not allow AdBlue to be dispensed directly into passenger cars. So I kept the 10 L carton from my first purchase, then had the station fill that carton on later visits.

The filler is the blue cap next to the fuel filler. Push in the carton’s nozzle, tip it up, and 10 L goes in within 2 to 3 minutes. A 10 L carton with a nozzle bought online works the same way.

The details are in my G05 AdBlue refill guide.

Key battery, second-row seat, 12 V battery

The smart key takes a CR2032

I replaced the smart key battery in January 2024, again in April 2026. Pull out the mechanical key, then open the cover with a finger from that slot. No tools needed.

A key carried on you apparently does not go to sleep, which drains the battery. After the first replacement, I only carried it when I needed it. See my G05 key battery replacement for photos.

The centre seat of the second row would not fold

Once, the strap that folds the middle seat of the second row had disappeared into its slot. Probably one of our children.

I removed the black trim cover the strap comes out of with a trim tool. Then I slid in two thin, flat-blade-screwdriver-like tools, pinched the strap, pulled it out, and everything was back to normal. The record of that fix is on the Japanese site.

The 12 V battery was never replaced

The battery was never changed from new. At inspections, its starting capacity read 82% in 2023, then 85% in 2024.

Given its age, I felt it was due. For about the last year before I sold the car, I kept it going with a pulse charger.

G05 DIY maintenance: what it came down to

My G05 DIY maintenance centred on three jobs: tyre changes, oil changes and AdBlue top-ups.

None of them are difficult once you have the tools. Oil came to about ¥9,000 per change; AdBlue about ¥1,200 to ¥1,500 per top-up.

What I hesitated over most was whether the oil could come out through the top. In practice 6.5 L came out without trouble, so if you drive a G05 too, it is worth trying.

I now drive an EV, so oil and AdBlue are gone. Tyre changes are the only job that continues, and I will write about anything new that comes up.

AliExpress items I used on my X5

I bought each of these myself and wrote about them. Items marked as similar replaced ones I bought that are no longer sold. Prices are what I paid; they change.