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.
2007 X5 4.8 with panoramic sunroof, sunroof tray overflows and leaks into interior electrical, airbags, and carpet due to defective design/assembly (both when stationary and in motion). Sunroof drains both front and rear have drain tubes which are prone to kink and back up water into the sunroof tray, which then spills over onto the topside of the headliner and from there onto just about every electronic item in the car including air bags and controllers, lighting controls, and electrical boxes on the floor and trunk area. Some have reported arcs and car fires due to the water damage; BMW says it is a maintenance issue although has zero listed for sunroof maintenance, and no amount of cleaning is going to fix the sunroof drain lines that I found twisted...likely been that way since initial assembly, but routing down inside the apillars makes it nearly impossible to get to try to fix it, much less see it. I can't believe this defect hasn't involved NHTSA recall since it can very easily lead to an in-use electrical fire at worst, or at best failure of airbags to deploy when needed due to water/corrosion issues, as well as thousands of dollars in electrical damage for each occurrence.
On multiple occasions while driving the car, first the ABS light would come on, then most other warning lights, then the car would lose all power, engine would stop, can't shift transmission, basically did on the road. Had battery replaced and registered. Happened multiple times again. Seems to be a common problem https://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php"T=888938 one link in there sent me to https://www.ebay.com/itm/BMW-135I-335I-435I-535I-X4-X5-X6-engine-wiring-harness-12517592511-7592511-oem/123598545546"hash=item1cc70C228A:G:pueaaoswpyxcp-mk all happened when car was in motion driving, typically on a highway in traffic.
My alarm goes off with the car running, goes off if I hit the lock button and will not turn off I have to unplug the battery and it still goes of with no power connection stays on about 15min before it completely dies after power connection is back it goes off again and is draining brand new battery
Water leaking in front right floor board cause short in electrical system, also leaking in rear at battery area. Dealer has advised this also caused the short in the alternator and battery. If BMW has been sued because of sun roofs leaking before. My car died in a rain storm and in heavy traffic causing great danger to the passengers. BMW should be forced to repair these vehicles before someone is injured or killed. And stop acting like they have never heard of this problem before.
2007 BMW X5. Consumer writes in regards to right rear break bulb malfunction. The consumer stated the dealer advised the entire rear light bulb assembly needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. 2 weeks later the vehicle shut down while being driven, displaying multiple warning dashboard messages. The vehicle had to be towed by flatbed as it was locked in the park position. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred.
- Saddle River, NJ, USA
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I'm getting warning lights on my dash stating my taillights are out. I checked both taillights and the housing that holds the bulbs are melted through. There is an electrical issue that causes the bulbs to overheat possibly resulting in a fire. This happens in park or drive. The taillights will need to be replaced and some type of coding or resister will need to be installed to prevent them from overheating again
Instrument panel is nor working properly. Unable to set time and date service schedule etc. Software in the instrument panel definitely has deflects. Cd is not working too. These problems occyrs two years ago and still remain.
My husband was driving down the road all of a sudden he couldn't stop and also, car caught on fire. Called and there's so recall it should be because my husband could have died
BMW went to North haven ct dealer for recalls such as passenger air bag however they didn't complete I am very upset as I have a teenager whom will be sitting in the front seat. I want to escalate
I have discovered a serious problem with my 2007 X5. I live in South Florida and after a heavy rain, I noticed that the trunk of my car was filled with water. I removed 3.5 gallons of water. I went to start the car but as you can imagine with the battery and electronic components being covered in that much water, it was unsuccessful. Once I had removed the water and let it dry out I charged the battery and was able to start the car. When I got it to start, the dashboard lit up like a christmas tree. My ABS, traction control, brake, check engine, 4X4 lights all lit up amongst some other warning lights. I was unable to put the car in drive or reverse and had to manually push it in the garage. The car is stuck in a limp mode/safe mode. After I had done some research on the issue I discovered that this is a well known problem for BMW's. I learned that there was a us district court ruling against this issue and that BMW 5 series cars between 2004-2010 were covered in a recall. The recall is due to faulty water drain tubes coming from the sunroof and when they get clogged the water drains into the trunk where the battery is located amongst other important electronic elements. I have contacted my local BMW dealer as well as BMW of North America and although they are quite aware of this issue there's nothing they can do for me as the recall pertains only to the 5 series vehicles. It's frustrating that BMW is well aware of the problem but because the class action lawsuit specifies only 5 series cars they can use that as a loophole and leave others to pay for the repairs.
Vehicle keeps stalling and accelerating shuts off in the middle of the road while driving mainly in the city I could B turning or driving straight and shuts off and takes awhile to restart...electrical wiring keeps shorting out sunroof shorts out and tail light keeps burning out...I took it to dealer paid $5000 and same problem continues to occur
Check engine light comes on whenever the gas cap is opened when re-fueling and a noticeable burnt smell is noticed inside the vehicle. I have to have it towed to the nearest repair shop servicing BMW near me. Please see photos attached. I incurred about $2230 in repair charges. From then on, the problem hasn't re-occured.
The contact owns a 2007 BMW X5. The contact stated that water drained into the module on the rear driver side compartment of the vehicle, which caused the radio and navigation system to experience a short circuit failure. The contact was concerned that due to a design flaw in the draining system in the rear sun roof of the vehicle, that water could enter the compartment where the modules were located, causing an electrical failure, a vehicle stall, or an electrical fire. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that drain needed to be repaired. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 49,000.
The electric water pump has constantly failed even after replacing it and caused also damage to fuse box and thermostat most of the time. BMW must be forced to recall the 2007 X5 3.0I and get this problem fixed once and for all.
It was the night of independence day 2012, it had rained moderately hard earlier in the day. When I started my 2007 BMW X5 3.0si to drive home, I was greeted with a bunch of warnings and errors on both my instrument cluster and navigation display. The most major one read "electronic system malfunction: Take to nearest BMW center." The ABS light was also lit up. Since it was late at night, the dealership was closed and so I proceeded to try to drive home. On the drive home, I noticed that my A/C system shut itself off and that my turn signals were extremely laggy & at times, were not even turning on ' a real traffic hazard. Fortunately, I made it home, but turning the car off was tricky because each time, oddly, the lights inside the car and ambient lighting on different parts of the car were still lit even when I removed the keyfob and locked the car. Examples include the radio unit, the engine start button. The next morning, I took the car to the BMW dealership and they charged me $200+ just to perform diagnostics on the car. They ended up finding nothing and suggested that I pay more for them to take off the two front seats and inspect the wires under the carpet in the front of the car (I found out that this because they knew about NHTSA item #: 10032845 / service bulletin # sib-61-13-07). I declined because I did not want to spend any more money all for them to not be able to find anything again. As of July 28, 2012, the electrical issue still occurs after a moderate to heavy rainstorm. I believe (along with many BMW X5 owners with the same issue) that it has to do with a faulty drainage pipe relating to the panoramic moonroof, which allows for water to leak inside the car and screw up the car's wiring. Please do something. This is something BMW should be responsible for & repair at no cost. Why should I pay to resolve a design flaw that BMW made!??
The contact owns a 2007 BMW X5. The contact stated that only the front driver's door could be opened. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where the contact was informed that the failure was caused by an electrical system failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and the contact was awaiting a response. The failure mileage was 33,000. The VIN was unavailable.
On 13 July, 2011, with only 56,201 miles, our BMW X5 suffered what an independent BMW auto repair shop later diagnosed as a "total electrical meltdown involving almost all powertrain components and data bus system." Symptoms upon startup that morning included a level control system malfunction light, a transmission malfunction warning, a parking brake malfunction warning, a passenger restraint malfunction warning, an all-wheel drive, dsc, ABS, and emergency abv malfunction warning, as well as rapid windshield wiper movement and an intermittent engine start button. I am an officer in the United States navy, on active duty, and I deployed that morning for almost six weeks; I have recently returned. The burden of coordinating an automobile tow and repair that day was left to my wife, the mother of our two young children. To say that this was an inconvenience to her is a gross understatement. We purchased the BMW based on its previous reputation for quality, and we paid much more for this vehicle than we would have for something like a Honda Odyssey or a Toyota sienna. We were willing to pay more with the understanding that, during my long and frequent absences in the service of our country, my wife and family would have a reliable and safe vehicle. I feel this decision to purchase this BMW product was a mistake, and one I never intend to repeat. The vehicle was only 6,000 miles outside of the 50,000 mile warranty, and yet none of the $1,781.31 invoice was covered by BMW; it was covered solely by my savings. I can not in good conscience recommend any BMW product to any of my friends or colleagues.
In July 2007 I purchased a brand new, fully loaded 2007 BMW X5 4.8. back then, it was my dream car. Now, it is a nightmare. From the beginning, we have experienced different minor issues with the car (dvd player not working, for example) that the dealership fixed. However, once we started having problems with the car not starting, that was no longer a "minor" issue. The first time the car did not start was around thanksgiving in 2008, only a little more than a year after I had purchase my car. By the summer of 2009, the problem got worse and half the time the car would not start. We finally took the car in (Nov 2009) and the dealership told us the battery was death, and they replaced the battery at no charge (warranty). Everything was fine until March 26, 2011, when I was ready to leave and my car did not start. At this point, I was so frustrated that I immediately called the dealership and told them I did not want a car that doesn't work parked in my garage, so I was going to drop it off. It was a Saturday, so I did not hear back from the dealership until the following Monday, only to tell me that the battery was very low and needed to be replaced again. They also told me that it was because of my driving habits, because most of my trips are very short (less than 5 mi) trips. I asked them if I needed to change my driving habits in order for my car to work, and they said "hmm, yeah". really"?" to top it off, since the problem was caused due to my "driving habits", I needed to pay for the replacement of the battery. I believe the design of the of the electrical system has problems. No car, especially no high end car, should not work because "it is not driven enough". did BMW engineers finished the design and said, it is done, but it will only work if you drive it enough!. BMW needs to fix this problem and stop blaming the car owners for their poor design.
The contact owns a 2007 BMW X5. The contact stated during rainy weather, water leaked into the satellite radio receiver module and caused severe damage. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for diagnosis where they informed the cotnact that the satellite module would need to be replaced. The part was not in stock and the vehicle would be repaired when the part became available. The manufacturer was made aware of the defect. The approximate failure mileage was 45,000. Updated 07/06/11 updated 3/15/12
In May 2007, I purchased a new BMW 2007 X5 4.8 vehicle. Since then, I have experienced "high battery drainage" warnings at least 12 times. The dealership says the computer doesn't show a history of this message and it does not find a problem with the battery. The car engine also fails to start after repeated attempts- the lights, radio and air turn on, but the engine does not. After several hours, the engine starts. This has occurred at least 12 times since 11/2007 as well- but independently of the "high battery drainage" warning. The dealership fails to find a problem with the engine starting when I take the car in. In addition, the engine (automatic transmission) stays locked in one gear and the engine revs up while driving, failing to automatically shift to the next gear unless the driver releases the gas pedal or pushes the gas peddle to "throw it" into the next gear. It would also lurch on inclines, but stopped experiencing this problem (perhaps coincidentally) when I removed my cellphone from the car's bluetooth/hands-free system. The dealership again said that it could not detect any problems. BMW usa is no help either, since they rely on the dealerships to report issues to them. If the local dealers aren't reporting the issues that owners experience simply because they can't find an answer, then nothing can be done to ensure the safety of the owners and their passengers driving their vehicles. I believe a problem exists with the electronic system and perhaps something else. I have seen complaints by other 2007 X5 owners for the same issues on websites such as edmunds.com and owners locally where I live. Please assist us, because it's become clear that we have exhausted our recourse with the BMW dealerships. Below is the date of the most recent incident.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Washington, IL, USA