This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
The brakes failed while I was driving to work. I stepped on the brakes to stop from approximately 30mph and the vehicle did not slow down or come to a stop. I had to steer onto the median to avoid hitting the vehicle in front of me. Mechanic said the booster needs to be replaced. No warnings displayed in dashboard. Extremely dangerous and I'm lucky to have avoided a more serious accident. Someone could have been seriously hurt given the size of this vehicle.
My X5 4.4 began to have a harder and harder brake pedal. In a three week period it went from a little hard at the end of the stop to absolutely no brakes. What is more concerning is that my mother-in-law also has a 2006 X5 4.4 that the same exact thing has happened and she has half the miles. This appears to be a workmanship or design fault since it is not mileage dependent but age. It is an absolute safety concern since the brakes will completely fail shortly after the 1st indication. BMW has a history of skating on recalls, the same problem happens to 5 series using the same set up and it was recalled.
On August 8th 2013 while we were on vacation in northern NY, the vehicle braking system failed -' pedal to the floor with very minimal braking function. This is a huge concern in any area, but we were in a mountainous region of NY and this could have ended very very bad. Luckily it didn't. I called the closest BMW (keeler) dealer and spoke with a service representative. I noted the year and model and explained the symptoms. The service representative knew immediately what it was. He had me check under the driver's side of the vehicle for a brake line leak. Sure enough he was correct; brake fluid was dripping from the cover under the driver's floor. He made note that they see this very frequently in their service group. They had another X5 in the shop for the same problem and because that owner was a "local", keeler used their parts for our vehicle. Very concerning is the fact that a month earlier, we had a nys inspection and the corroded brake lines went unnoticed. When we returned home, I spoke to the BMW of rochester service guys about this. To my surprise, they confirmed that they to see this corroded brake line problem on a regular basis. I paid $2106.57 for a problem that your service teams see on a regular basis, yet nothing has ever been mentioned to me and the vehicle passed the nys safety inspection a month earlier. I worked with BMW of rochester service and discussed my concerns regarding the brake failure. BMW extended a good faith offer of $2000 towards a new vehicle. This appears to be a common problem that the BMW service shops see frequently. It rendered the vehicle unsafe to drive and should have been discovered with a proper safety inspection. Best regards.
The contact owns a 2006 BMW X5. The contact stated that the while driving 10 mph, the contact attempted to brake but the brake pedal seized. The vehicle did stop, but hesitated to respond. The failure recurred at different speeds. The vehicle was inspected at an independent repair shop where it was determined that the failure was caused by oil that was present in the brake booster. The vacuum pump leaked oil into the brake booster, causing the brake assist to fail. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure and current mileage was 120,000.
Very disappointed in BMW this time. My brakes system suddenly failed, causing my vehicle to crash into a poll in the street parking. Front bumper was completely damaged. Right after, we found out that the brakes were not working properly, has to keep full force on brake to keep at full stop. We called BMW service they said to just bring the car as they recently recalled my car for recall for this issue. We took the car to BMW service, after they checked my VIN # they said my car was actually not covered in that recall, even though it was the same problem. This incident could have been worst, someone could have been seriously injured or killed as a result to this sudden loss of brake assist. Called BMW, but they are not willing to do anything at this point until a official recall is posted for 2006 year X5 4.4 models. Now I have body damage and a $1,500 brake repair estimate I have to deal with. "not good BMW. Not good." Please consider this as a recall guys, every X5 4.4 owner should get this preventive maintenance, I see many other people complaining about the same issue.
- Washington, DC, USA
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The contact owns a 2006 BMW X5. The contact stated that while driving 30 mph, the contact applied the brakes but the vehicle failed to decelerate. The contact had to apply both feet to the brake pedal to stop the vehicle. The contact took the vehicle to a dealer for a diagnostic test. The test results showed a defective brake booster. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 114,000.
The contact owns a 2006 BMW X5. The contact stated that oil was leaking from the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for diagnosis who informed the contact that the brake vacuum pump would need to be replaced. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where the contact was informed that the VIN was not included in the manufacturer's recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 46,000.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- West Babylon, NY, USA