Winter tires are uncommon and not necessary. The BMW manuals in Australia have always stated that the X5’s rear wheels should be equipped with chains.
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The quick answer to whether the BMW X5 is suitable for winter driving is as follows:
The BMW X5 is a good option for light to moderate winter conditions because it handles snow and ice-covered roads with ease. It can even travel through heavy snow thanks to its xDrive AWD, stability control, and considerable ground clearance. It can also engage in modest off-roading on backcountry routes and up icy slopes.
In this video, BMW demonstrates how to properly install snow chains.
Even if winter in the Northern Hemisphere is almost over, it’s never too early or late to learn how to put snow chains on your BMW vehicle.
In certain circumstances, snow chains can significantly increase your car’s traction and the adherence of the road. When the surface is composed of a lower layer of primarily ice followed by an upper layer of new snow, snow-ice combination, or snow-ice-water mixture, they are effective on substantially snow-covered tarmac.
Snow chains should also only be used briefly and when necessary when driving on such surfaces. By giving greater grip, they are particularly effective in hilly areas where sloping roads are common. They are ineffectual and might even harm your automobile by compromising important wheel components if the tarmac is wet but clean or the snow cover on the road is thin.
In conclusion, snow chains should only be utilized in situations where they are actually necessary. They must also only ever be mounted on the car’s primary drive axle or the drive axle that receives the most torque from the engine.
The latter circumstance specifically refers to BMW cars with xDrive. For such vehicles, the rear wheels must be fitted with snow chains in order to maintain appropriate torque distribution.
Snow Chains Comfort, which is available for the majority of the portfolio’s models, is another item offered by BMW as part of the Original Accessories program. The latest How-To video outlines the procedures needed for correctly installing snow chains on BMW vehicles.
Step 1: Extend the snow chain with two hands and make sure there are no tangled components before starting the procedure. The blue rubber ring must be held with the interior of the wheels in mind. Once in this position, move on to passing the ring over the top of the wheel and into the wheel arch’s interior.
Step 2: After that, move the vehicle by roughly 1/4 of a wheel either forward or backward to make that the tensioning chain is not underneath the wheel. To tighten and lock the tensioning chain in the locking plate’s opening, grab the yellow portion of the chain and draw it all the way through. Then raise the yellow tensioning chain while sequentially passing through each of the metallic rings and eyes.
Step 3: Unwind the clamping hook of the yellow chain and secure it to the blue outer chain once you have successfully threaded the tensioning chain through all of the pull-through eyes. Stop the automobile after traveling 200 to 300 meters and check the snow chain’s tensioning.
Make sure you carefully re-hook the yellow tensioning cable on the outer blue chain more securely only if necessary, without using too much force that could break the entire snow chain (subsequently damaging the wheel and wheel components).
Step 4: Last but not least, make sure to choose “Snow chains fitted” from the OS 7.0 infotainment menu when driving with mounted snow chains. In order to prevent physical damage to important parts, the Integral Active Steering, which steers the rear-axle wheels, will be deactivated when the vehicle equipment is applicable.
Remember that the top speed limit when using snow chains is 50 km/h (30 mph).
Let’s now examine the precise process in the most recent BMW How-To video below. Safe travels!
Are snow chains required for AWD vehicles?
In light to moderate snow, all-season tires and an AWD (all-wheel-drive) are usually safe to operate. But a widespread misconception holds that AWDs would behave like tanks when driving in slick situations.
If you’re driving in a blizzard or snowy conditions, it’s advised that your AWD has either winter tires or snow chains. Winter driving poses a safety risk for any car with summer or worn all-season tires. If the tires on a 4WD (four-wheel-drive) vehicle have insufficient tread, even that vehicle will slide and skid on icy roads.
What vehicles don’t require snow chains?
In California’s mountainous regions during the winter, drivers may come across traction chain controls. Signs identifying the sort of need will be placed along the road once chain controls are erected. In California, there are three levels of chain requirements:
- Chains are necessary for all vehicles, with the exception of light-duty trucks and passenger cars with less than 6,000 pounds of gross vehicle weight and at least two driving wheels fitted with snow tires. When using snow tires, cars must carry chains. Chains must be installed on the driving axle of every vehicle pulling a trailer. Chains are required on at least one axle of trailers with brakes.
- All vehicles, with the exception of four-wheel/all-wheel drive cars having snow-tread tires on all four wheels, are required to have chains or traction devices.
NOTE: In chain control regions, four-wheel/all-wheel drive vehicles must have traction devices.
- All vehicles must have chains or other traction devices, under requirement 3 (R3).
Conditions R-1 and R-2 are the most prevalent. Frequently, a highway will be shut down before an R-3 condition is put in place. These names may be used differently in some localities. Even if these instructions conflict with broadcast road condition reports or information provided here, you must abide by the chain control checkpoint instructions written on the signs and any instructions given by Caltrans or CHP staff there.
1 Snow-tread Tires: According to California Vehicle Code Section 558, a snow-tread tire is one that has a tread pattern that is more aggressive and deep than a typical passenger tire tread pattern. Examining the sidewall of the tire for the letters MS, M/S, M+S, or the words MUD AND SNOW will allow you to identify snow-tread tires.
2 Tire Traction Devices: According to California Vehicle Code Section 605, the following is the definition of a tire traction device: “Devices or mechanisms with a composition and design capable of enhancing a vehicle’s traction, braking, and cornering ability on snow- or ice-covered surfaces are known as tire traction devices. Tire traction devices must be built and put together so that they have enough structural strength and can’t unintentionally come off of cars. Tire traction devices must have a permanent imprint at the time of manufacture or final assembly that includes the name, initials, or trademark of the primary manufacturer or assembling business as well as the nation where the devices were made or built in their final form.”
Leginfo, the website for California Legislative Information, has a searchable, comprehensive version of the California Vehicle Code.
Please be aware that if it is found that a vehicle will have trouble safely navigating the area, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) reserves the right to forbid that vehicle from entering a chain control area.
How effective in snow is BMW xDrive?
It does, indeed. The fundamental idea behind this technology is to provide an all-wheel-drive system, as was already explained. It gives you better traction control underneath your tires by doing this. You can benefit from having extra grip to assist you prevent spinning or skidding in icy weather.
Dynamic Stability Control is a crucial component of the xDrive technology. Once more, this maintains your car’s stability as you drive over snow and ice. If you sense that you are about to lose traction, this is paired with the anti-lock brakes to prevent any spinning and to save you from losing control.
If you drive a BMW equipped with xDrive technology as opposed to one without it, you will undoubtedly notice the difference. To maintain control when driving in winter weather, this technology’s power distribution is crucial.
Of course, there is a small caveat to this. You probably won’t profit if the snow is quite deep because it will be difficult for you to maneuver your automobile through it. Additionally, you still need to take additional safety measures to prepare your BMW for driving in poor snowy weather. Therefore, xDrive functions in the snow, but there are still additional factors to take into account.
What is the cold weather package for the BMW X5?
SUV models of the BMW X5 are available with either rear-wheel drive (sDrive) or all-wheel drive (xDrive). The X5 has a cold weather kit that includes heated rear seats, a heated steering wheel, and retractable headlamp washers. All trim levels come with heated front seats, a temperature display for the outside air, and automatic front climate controls with separate settings for the driver and the passenger. Optional 4-zone automated climate control lets you choose different temperatures and fan speeds for the front and back of the house.
Is an X5 from BMW all-wheel drive?
Engine X5. A 335-horsepower turbocharged six-cylinder engine and an eight-speed automated transmission are included as standard equipment with the 2022 BMW X5. Both all-wheel drive (sDrive40i) and rear-wheel drive are options (xDrive40i)
How should I operate my BMW when it’s snowing?
It can be a bit of a nightmare to drive in below-freezing weather. Rear-wheel drive and xDrive aren’t exactly the finest options for BMW owners. A prime example is the lack of a Winter Mode on devices like the X5. However, there is a way to avoid this fairly alarming topic, so don’t panic.
There are numerous driving modes available on modern BMWs. These include Comfort, Sport, and Eco Pro, which is the least enjoyable of them all. The fact is that the preferred setting for winter driving is Eco Pro. There are a few causes for this.
BMW’s Eco Pro modifies the way the 8-speed automatic transmission shifts for better fuel economy, just like every other efficient driving mode. The alterations made to the vehicle’s throttle mapping are another factor that accounts for why the loud pedal feels numb and acceleration appears a little out of character for a BMW.
These days, turbocharging is the only option for BMWs, which makes winter driving problematic. Another disadvantage of driving a BMW in the winter is the low-end torque it produces, mostly because turbocharged engines lose grip substantially more easily than normally aspirated engines. Eco Pro does, thankfully, set a maximum torque delivery.
Turning off the coasting feature is the second lesser-known tip for driving a BMW in the winter. Coasting, also known as freewheeling, is disconnecting the drive shaft anytime it starts rotating more quickly than the engine. When a vehicle has a manual gearbox, coasting refers to holding the clutch pedal down or putting the transmission in neutral while the vehicle is driving.
A freewheel mechanism, meanwhile, is a feature of automatic transmissions. One of those is present in the ZF-designed 8HP, and as to be predicted, it may be managed via the iDrive system of the car. Go to Option, then Settings – Driving Mode – Eco Pro – Configure Eco Pro – Coasting to get the appropriate menu. Now disable the coasting feature.
It does, primarily due to the extra work required of the car when using regenerative braking. However, you must disable the coasting function in the Eco Pro driving mode if you want your BMW to be simple to operate in winter weather. The goal here is engine braking, as you might have surmised by this point.