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.
While out of town, vehicle in motion on road, hear a clunk in the engine bay and many warning lights go off. Go to pull over and steering is very difficult to operate. Manage to pull out of traffic safely. The reduced mobility of vehicle due to loss of power steering could have easily caused a life threatening situation. Call tow truck. Garage states loss of power steering is due to loss of serpentine belt due to broken idler pulley bolt, even though a recall for this part exists and has been performed. Recall 12V5500000 engine idler pulley may break, was performed in 2013. This same recall should apply but BMW service states they will not service again as it has already been completed. Parts are on back order, takes over a week for bolt to arrive. Many documented cases of original recall repair failing a second time in as little as 5 months to as many as 3.5 years after initial recall service. BMW refuses reimbursement for the cost of repair, $1153. A new recall should be issued.
The contact owns a 2012 BMW X5. The contact stated that the steering wheel bolt fractured and the steering wheel had to be turned with force. The contact drove home and discovered that the steering wheel bolt was fractured. The vehicle was towed to BMW of West houston (20822 katy freeway, katy, tx 77449, phone (855) 627-3055) where it was diagnosed that the steering wheel engine pulley bolt failed. The manufacturer stated that NHTSA campaign number: 12V550000 (steering, engine and engine cooling) was performed on the vehicle, but did not correct the failure and the steering wheel engine pulley bolt fractured. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 114,000.
I was driving on the highway with a posted speed limit of 70 mph with my family on a road trip. The check engine light came on and said engine is overheatted and power is reduced. When I tried to press down on the gas, the car would not go faster. Traffic was a bit heavy and I was going 70 mph with traffic behind me. It was nerve wrecking to slow down (because the car isn't producing any power because the engine is overheatted) due to physics and needing to pull over to the side of a busy highway. When I took the car to the mechanic, they told me the water pump has failed. My car only has 55K miles on it.
Last Saturday 11/11/2017, we as a family (me, my wife and my 6 year old child), started to go on a 3 hour drive from our home to telimena state park to watch for the fall foliage colors through the beautiful telimena national scenic byway in Arkansas. It is part of a huge ouachita national forest. Little did we know that we are first timers and we did not anticipate our T-mobile cell phone signals will quit on us. Everything was going good until a point where my engine almost quit on me with a warning message "engine is now working at a reduced speed and advised to see nearest BMW dealer", we were on a speed of about 60mph and the car does not accelerate all of a sudden, it was extremely extremely scary and terrifying. With all the traffic, we barely managed to divert a potential accident and pulled over to the side and shut down the car. We managed to survive the sudden engine quitting on us on a speedy road. This is extremely life threatening. We did not have our cell phone signal and we were stranded for some help for about 4 hours. We did not want to take chances driving this car and do another life threatening experience. We managed to get some help and get out of there. Next day with some help, I managed to drive the car slowly by myself and a friend following me. We made it to the dealership in BMW plano. Recently I had a recall work done with BMW plano on 10/30-11/1 for 3 items. Front airbag, front driveshaft, mass airflow sensor. Yesterday they returned the car mentioning that the issue is possibly related to other unrelated items. (1) charge pipe near throttle body is cracked / torn / leaked.. charge pipe codes seen during smoke testing I bought this car on 30th Dec 2016 when the mileage on the car was around 48000 miles and it was working fine up until this life threatening and terrifying situation now at current mileage of 57000 miles.
2012 BMW X5 xdrive50I purchased 10-25-2014 as certified pre-owned from BMW of austin with 54,554 miles and extended warranty to 8-1-17 or 100,000 miles. All service work and maintenance pertaining to engine done at BMW of austin on time as scheduled. Numerous recall work performed under warranty. Numerous issues with engine hesitation during acceleration reported to dealer, investigated by dealer, and supposedly "fixed" by dealer. Problems with engine hesitation at acceleration persisted. Problem reported twice to dealer the last month of eligible warranty alone along with statement that engine was burning through an excessive about of BMW supplied synthetic oil (on 7/5/17 and again on 7/21/17). Engine finally seized entirely on 10/25/17 at 89,000 miles while driving at 50 mph and was towed to BMW of austin. Service rep stated they could not get the engine started and requested approval to crack open the engine compartment to investigate. The work was approved and he said there was "unusual and several scoring on the number 6 cylinder that would require replacing the engine." This type of catastrophic engine failure is not usual for a well maintained engine. The numerous recalls on this vehicle are suspect in the early engine failure. The known defects in material parts associated with the front drive shaft being the most suspect. To date, BMW usa is only willing to offer $5000 towards repair or trade in (now only worth $2500 due to non-functioning engine). I strongly believe this issue should be handled under the 10 year/120000 mile extended warranty provided by BMW for repairs related to the aforementioned recalls. They disagree.
- Austin, TX, USA
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The contact owns a 2012 BMW X5. The contact stated that while the vehicle was being reversed, the steering wheel seized and difficult to maneuver. The vehicle was towed to faulkner BMW located at: 1530 manheim pike, lancaster, pa 17601, (717) 569-4269, to be diagnosed. The contact stated that the idler pulley bolt fractured and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was previously repaired under NHTSA campaign number: 12V550000 (steering, engine and engine cooling). The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 140,000.
Power steering tensioner bolt broke causing belt to come off and power steering to fail. Note: This was a part already replaced on recall 25000 miles previously. Vehicle was in motion.
The contact owns a 2012 BMW X5. The contact stated that while driving at 65 mph, the check engine warning light illuminated, as all power was lost. The contact stated was able to restart the vehicle after several minutes. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with bolts to the variable camshaft timing adjustment (vanos) unit housing become loose or fractured. The vehicle was not repaired by the independent mechanic but was towed to BMW of santa maria dealer located at 2150 S college dr, santa maria, ca 93455 (805) 614-0306 to be repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and confirmed that the VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 14V176000 (engine and engine cooling). The failure mileage was approximately 84,000.
The contact owns a 2012 BMW X5. Upon starting the vehicle and while driving, the low coolant level warning indicator illuminated. The contact added coolant to the vehicle, but the warning indicator remained illuminated. The vehicle was taken to global imports BMW (500 interstate N pkwy, atlanta, ga 303369 (800) 294-1853) where it was diagnosed that the oil filter housing gasket needed replacement and the coolant was contaminated due to fractured coolant and oil lines. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made of the failure and stated that the warranty was expired. No further assistance could be offered. The contact spoke with the manufacturer and the dealer and a reduced repair price was agreed upon. The contact also spoke with several unknown BMW dealers who informed him that many other vehicle owners had the same failure and it was a design flaw in the vehicle. The failure mileage was approximately 59,800.
The contact owns a 2012 BMW X5. While driving 20 mph, the vehicle failed to accelerate and the check engine indicator illuminated. In addition, a message displayed indicating that the vehicle experienced an engine failure. The vehicle was taken to valencia BMW (23435 valencia blvd, valencia, ca 91355) where the dealer provided an unknown diagnosis and unknown repairs. The failure recurred and the vehicle failed to accelerate again. The vehicle was taken back to valencia BMW where the dealer again provided an unknown diagnosis and unknown repairs. The failure recurred two more times, and the vehicle was taken back to valencia BMW and given an unknown diagnosis and unknown repairs. The manufacturer was made aware of the failures and stated that they would try to repair the vehicle, but that it would take time to review the case; however, a case manager would be in touch. The approximate failure mileage was 29,000.
Scr catalytic converter failure and nox sensor failure in diesel exhaust system on a 54,1xx mile vehicle -- much too early for these systems to fail. The system alerted me of a "exhaust fluid incorrect" cel with a 200 mil count down timer. This count down time renders the vehicle immobile if you do not bring it into the BMW dealer within this mileage. This count down timer could have left me literally stranded in the middle of no where if I were to take this vehicle on any road trip or extended travel. I believe it is absolutely criminal that BMW can disable your vehicle on an emission related issue potentially leaving you stranded. Yes, I would have (and have) brought the vehicle in for repair -- immobilizing the vehicle is absolutely ridiculous and should not be allowed and is very unsafe and could have caused me and my family harm. I have a 2 year old and a 3 month old that could have been left stranded. I'm afraid to drive this vehicle with my family now.
The vehicle is an X5 diesel. Since purchasing the vehicle new both nox sensors (before and after catalytic) have failed. I searched the internet and found others who have had multiple nox sensor failures on other BMW diesel models. The second, most recent, nox failure happened to be immediately after the car was serviced (oil, def fluid, vehicle check) was performed. All service since new was performed by the BMW dealership. BMW said the nox failure was not as a result of the service. Replacement of the nox sensor was $1,100. I can provide all service records from BMW if they are needed. Thank you for your assistance.
While driving in a highway approx 70 mph, warning light came on; "engine too hot. Drive moderately". had to be towed. Electric auxiliary pump is bad. The 6 cylinder model should also be under the same recall/warranty as the 8 cylinder X5. Please include in recall!
The egr cooler was discovered to be leaking harmful exhaust underneath the vehicle. This harmful exhaust could eventually be breathed in while the engine is running and the vehicle remains parked to run the air conditioner. Based on the mileage of my vehicle which is at 75,000 miles, the part is not covered under the emissions warranty. The odd part here is that my vehicle received a full inspection at 60,000 miles and there was no sign of any exhaust leak at this time. All that the vehicle is used for is to get groceries and bring the kids back and forth to school. Right now I am in a bad position where the cost to replace the egr cooler is nearly $2,000. If an inspection was performed just prior to 70,000 miles then this part would have been covered under the emissions warranty because I live in California.
The contact owns a 2012 BMW X5. While driving 20 mph, the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the engine seized and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 88,000.
One week ago, cooling fan made high speed noise. It kept went on and off. One week later, "engine hot" sign turned on while I'm driving on highway. I turned off the engine and turned on 20 minutes later. After I turned on, engine oil level shows up empty, 0. we changed engine oil when 45,000 miles and current is 50,000 miles.
Vehicle mileage 56,341mi. Vehicle engine would crank but not start after coming out of business while running errands. Dash warning message "engine malfunction" was present. Codes read via generic obd2 device were P10E4, P10F5, P10E5, B2aaa. These codes are related to the valvetronic system in the engine. Checked related fuses and no problem. Had to get vehicle towed to dealer. Dealer diagnosed that the valvetronic system error. Vehicle was first reprogrammed and issue remained. Valvetronic system was replaced due to dtcs that led them to believe eccentric shaft was stuck. Talking with the technician the eccentric shaft was not stuck and he assumed the actuator\ motor had failed. Per BMW instructions the entire system was replaced though. Technician stated that he has done many replacements of valvetronic systems and the parts were already in stock which raised a flag to me. The engine was reassembled and the engine would still not start. There were faults left in the engine control unit. Apparently the engine control unit was damaged by actuator\ motor that was drawing high current.(confirmed by BMW service engineer) engine control unit was replaced and reprogrammed and engine is now reported to be in operational condition. BMW and dealer has discounted the service and provided a loaner vehicle but based on information from the technician this entire repair could possibly be a recallable item as it can leave the end user stranded and with a healthy repair bill with a vehicle that is not too far out of warranty. Repair bill has been uploaded.
The contact owns a 2012 BMW X5. While driving 50 mph, the engine warning indicator illuminated on the instrument panel and the vehicle stalled. The contact stated that the vehicle was unsafe to drive because it stalled abruptly while in traffic. According to the contact, the vehicle was diagnosed thirteen times for engine failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and insisted that the contact bring the vehicle in for diagnostic testing. The failure mileage was 16,000...updated 10/18/16
The contact owns a 2012 BMW X5. The contact stated that the check engine, brake light, and tire pressure warning indicators illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the oil pan gasket and power steering pump had leaked and needed to be replaced. The contact had the software updated; however, the power steering pump and oil pan gasket were not replaced. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was not provided.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Corrales, NM, USA