I?ve owned my April 2004 530d SE from new, but only recently used this excellent forum.

Here are some of the issues I?ve had with my car (and some cures for them) which may be of interest to E60 owners with similar 2004 models.

Issues so far: -

BMW Recall to replace Exhaust Manifold (apparently it could splinter and drop bits into the engine)

Auto Gearbox intermittently made a brief whirring noise when it changed down gears from 5th to 4th under medium to heavy acceleration around 50 MPH. Cure was to adjust the level of oil in the normally sealed for life gearbox, the workshop only added a little extra fluid, but it has been fine since. I was told that it was a hydraulic gear selector issue that was very sensitive to the correct fluid level in auto transmission.

Creaking door seals.
Cure to thoroughly clean the tops of the door seals with using a cloth and some Silicon remover (BMW part 83 19 9 407 906) then after allowing them to dry apply some Carbaflo fluid KSP105 (BMW part 83 23 0 309 627) to the seals along the outer edges. (This stops the creaking for up to 8 months)

Steering wheel creaking/scrubbing noise only noticeable when turning at low speeds i.e when manoeuvring into a parking space.
Dealer replaced the steering column, since then it has sometimes made the noise again only quieter, but generally the noise goes away after a few days.

Noisy Turbo recently replaced (at 28,000 miles). The noise started as a slight whistle at around 2.5-3K revs then approx. 3,000 miles later began to make more of a screech even with a small press on the accelerator at lower revs (around 1.5K rpm) All quiet now after the replacement.

I have found the original Dunlop Run Flats to be quite noisy and twitchy on many uneven road surfaces, Bridgestone Potenza run flats seem much better.

Car seems fine now and I?m generally very pleased with it.

P.S many of my friends didn?t like the style at first, but now have grown to like it a lot.