10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
45,326 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

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.

2013 BMW X5 electrical problems

electrical problem

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2013 BMW X5 Owner Comments

problem #18

May 022024

X5

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I had been getting battery discharge warnings off and on. I went to fill my car up with gas yesterday, and after I filled it up, the car wouldn't start. After having it towed to my house, my husband and I were looking at it this morning. We discovered that the battery charge distribution box had melted and even burned a hole in the cover.

- Lake Stevens, WA, USA

problem #17

Aug 012022

X5

  • miles
I have been trying to have my car repaired last year. I have expressed to BMW USA that none of their certified dealers want to touch a diesel and/or work on one that another dealership had done poor work on. They have asked me to continue reaching out to this dealership even though I have mentioned I do not feel comfortable about it as I have slipped thru the cracks multiple times with them which they wont admit to. They are understaffed and have employees that are broken from being overworked, are constantly rude, careless, forgetting things and will never admit to error even when you show them mistakes that have even been documented in writing that are a liability. Their mechanics do rushed inspections and the last 2 times I have brought my car in to be scanned they completely disregard all concerns brought up prior. NO ONE WANTS TO TAKE ON A CAR WORKED BY CENTURY WEST BMW and/or A DIESEL. BMW USA is aware of this and its in their favor as its allowed this matter to drag on past my warranty period in their favor. BMW USA is aware there are odometer stamps that confirm codes appeared within coverage yet neglect to acknowledge it from me and only will from a dealer that is a mess, cannot find all my records which I have expressed I have copies of diagnostic scans yet they wont take my word or documents. These delays have resulted not only in exhausting and upsetting me but also further wear and damages to my car with every day this drags on which I pray everyday my car does not break down. This is my only car, I am not in the position to buy a new car or pay for a 5k+ repair and/or anymore emission repairs due to faulty diesel parts, repairs or emission technology which has resulted in many lawsuits against BMW. Its saddening to have to go thru this considering I have been loyal to the brand for many years, this is my second time purchasing a BMW and hoping these experiences wont make it my last. I need help at this time instead of being brushed off.

- Sherman Oaks, CA, USA

problem #16

Feb 012023

X5

  • miles
During the past raining season, car battery compartment flooded creating a fire/electrical hazard during operation and addition total malfunction of instruments, lighting, warning systems in general, airbags, rendering the vehicle useless. The issue is well documented online by various owners, BMW stop assisting owners of vehicles that have the same issue of flooding. Please assist with any possible help to resolve the problem(s) of the vehicle 2013 BMW

- Chula Vista, CA, USA

problem #15

May 092022

X5

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

When the engine cooling system fails (which is common) the vehicle shuts down wherever it is....the occupants of the vehicle are in high traffic areas and are subject to being injured and/or killed as a result of the vehicle being undrivable at the time. It is VITAL that BMW be held responsible for the cooling system(s) optimal operation regardless of the age or mileage of the vehicle due to the safety of occupants when there is a major or catastrophic failure. If this agency does it's due diligence, it will find a mulitude of such failures

- Lapel, IN, USA

problem #14

Jan 152013

X5

  • 110,041 miles
Failed original electric engine coolant pump and the coolant thermostat

- Wake Forest, NC, USA

problem #13

Mar 152020

X5

  • 92,530 miles
The care was off overnight in the garage unlocked. In the am, in the garage, there was a smell of burnt electronics. Noticed something on the behind the driver's door handle and the same thing dripped down the door and some on the floor. Looking closer at it, it appears that something overheated in the door handle and melted a hole in the backside of the handle which caused some melted material, plastic or rubber to spray on the door panel and drip down the door. I checked the fuse that corresponds to the door handle, specifically the comfort access feature and found the fuse to be blown. This all happened overnight with the car not running or otherwise occupied. I am concerned that this could have resulted in a fire and suspect that the fuse doing it's job prevented a fire from occuring.

- Westerville, OH, USA

problem #12

May 292019

X5

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Doors won't open from inside or out. You can open only the drivers door with the key only. This is the second time in 10 months that this has happened with this car. This is very unsafe and BMW will not fix it my warranty has been exspiref for three days. You would think they would fix it where it's been less than a year since the last time and it was under warranty.this happen after driving to work came out to unlock car and nothing would unlock. Had to use key. This is a major safety thing for me because if something happen you can't get out of the car

- Danville, WV, USA

problem #11

May 022019

X5

  • 96,000 miles
On Thursday, May 2nd, 2019, my wife and 19-month old son were at the park and returned to the vehicle, which was parked in the parking lot. My wife had the key fob in her bag. She placed her bag on the floor of the car, just behind the front passenger's seat. She placed our son in his car seat, strapped him and closed the door. The vehicle then proceeded to lock itself, thus locking my son in and my wife out. She had to call ems to come and break open the car in order to gain access, this took close to 15-20 minutes total in which time my son was trapped in the car with temps in excess of 100 degrees as it was about 90 outside at the time it occurred. This is a known issue with BMW's comfort access feature. There has already been one class action lawsuit for owners to recover expenses, however I feel this is a bigger issue. If a person or pet, who are unable to operate doors or locks, get trapped in a vehicle it could very easily result in death under the right circumstances. When they pulled him from the car he was soakeddd in sweat, glossy eyed and out of it. This was a terrible experience that no one should ever have to go through and I feel BMW should step up and fix these vehicles. I don't care if that's replacing the system or taking it out, it's dangerous. Https://comfortaccesssettlement.com/home/portalid/0 this is literally the same story of what happened to us... https://www.carcomplaints.com/news/2...ttlement.shtml BMW describes the comfort access system as follows: 'the vehicle can be accessed without activating the remote control. All you need to do is to have the remote control with you, e.g., in your jacket pocket. The vehicle automatically detects the remote control when it is nearby or in the passenger compartment. Comfort access supports the following functions: Unlocking/locking of the vehicle.'

- Raleigh, NC, USA

problem #10

Apr 122019

X5

  • 61,000 miles
While driving one rainy afternoon on a city road, I noticed smoke coming from under the hood. The smoke turned into flames. I pulled over and called 911. An off duty police officer stopped and had a fire extinguisher. He was able to put out most of the fire until the fire department showed up and finished the job. The firemen thought that the fire started in the air bag control module. The BMW dealer said that the fire started in the wiper motor. The car was at the dealer the previous week for the air bag recall.

- Apex, NC, USA

problem #9

Mar 162019

X5

  • 78,000 miles
My 2013 BMW X5 35D was in motion on a city street, when it stalled, lost all power and ultimately would not restart. I was able to get it to the side, but not off the road and it was towed to the BMW dealership where they discovered that there had been a still unidentified sourced, fuel leak into the electrical harness and finally pooling into the dde component, frying the dde component to failure. There was enough fuel in the dde component that it was drained into a drip pan and fuel covered the wiring connection points as well as had discolored the wiring. I was informed that had this been a gas engine and not diesel, it would have probably caught on fire as fuel was able to access and travel across the electrical wiring in the car. BMW has refused to help in anyway to investigating the reasoning for this happening and or any repairs that would be involved as they "do not have a financial responsibility because the car is no longer under warranty" I feel that this is an opportunity for them to discover the reasoning without the destruction of evidence that a fire would have caused and they are choosing not to do so as to claim ignorance to the safety issues that this happening represents.

- Aurora, CO, USA

problem #8

Mar 152017

X5

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Warning light on dash that reads "fault in passenger restraint system affecting airbag, tensioner or belt-force limiter." BMW dealer (roadshow BMW / memphis) did replace belt tensioner at a cost to me but the error code remains. The passenger seat mat could cause this problem. Has there been a recall on the passenger seat mat? I feel that this is a safety issue dealing with airbags and seatbelts. The BMW dealer in jackson, ms did replace the driver and passenger airbag under a recall but I am still concerned about the safety due to the "system malfunction...fault in passenger-restraint system affecting airbag" warning light on dashboard. This warning message and seatbelt warning light remains when car is in motion. I bought the car on March 17, 2015 (33,000 miles) from my sister who bought the car new from the BMW dealer in nashville, tn. The error message was on the dash at that time. The car now has approx 64,000 miles.

- Oxford, MS, USA

problem #7

Jan 012017

X5

  • 56,000 miles
N63 engine failure and battery charging problems. Engine blows massive amounts of white smoke from rear tailpipes and battery indicator states low charge. This is a known defect to BMW as thousands have complained but BMW is attempting to weasel there way out of this by not releasing a recall.

- Griffin, GA, USA

problem #6

Sep 112018

X5

  • 74,000 miles
Vehicle was parked in a parking lot. Wife unlocked doors using left/rear door handle (vehicle has comfort access locking system) and placed baby and diaper bag with key fob into the back seat. She closed the rear door and the door locks immediately locked with no input from my wife. The car would not unlock. Police were called and broke out the rear window. They were unable to open the door using the interior handle. They had to retrieve the key fob from the bag, bring it outside the vehicle, and after numerous attempts were able to unlock the vehicle. After driving the vehicle home, I was able to record video of the locks randomly locking without user input. Vehicle was taken to braman BMW back in August, 2017 for a similar issue and the left/front door handle was replaced. It is disconcerting that occupants can be randomly locked in the vehicle with the key and not be able to use the interior handles to open the doors.

- Boca Raton, FL, USA

problem #5

Mar 272018

X5

  • 53,000 miles
Drivers door not opening or closing properly. The inside door handle malfunctions not allowing driver to open door. In some cases after opening door the door actuator does not work properly an maintains door in locked position which prevents closure of door. Both situations are safety concerns with not being able to exit vehicle and/or close door. Issues happen frequently but are hard to reproduce. The only work around is to repeatedly press the door unlock button until door opens or closes. This problem always occurs when stopped and vehicle is in park.

- Highlands Ranch, CO, USA

problem #4

Dec 192017

X5

  • 64,000 miles
Scr active tank heating issue

- Aurora, IL, USA

problem #3

Jul 142017

X5

  • 60,000 miles
Faulty door lock actuators cause doors to lock but not unlock with button or key fob. Happened after dealer charged to replace junction box module.

- Chicago, IL, USA

problem #2

Jun 112017

X5

  • 56,000 miles
I heard the engine fan going at max speed. About a mile later, warning messages came on to drive the car moderately and then to pull over and turn it off. Said the engine temperature was too high. Electronic water pump failure

- Temple Hills, MD, USA

problem #1

Aug 142014

X5 6-cyl

  • 15,300 miles
On 3 separate occasions the electric door locks have locked the car with the key fob inside the car. On the 1st occasion, a 2 Y/O child had just been strapped into his car seat, a purse with the key inside the purse, was placed on the floor behind the driver's seat, the rear door was closed & all locks were activated. This occurred in the heat of summer & required another driver with a spare fob to quickly drive to the site of the parked car & avoid having to break a window. This was a very scary moment ! same thing happened ( no child in car ) ; all doors locked when a briefcase containing both key fobs was placed on back seat & rear door was closed. A call to BMW hot line resulted in the doors being unlocked via the airways.the same incident occured this week with only one key fob in the car. The vehicle was checked by the local dealer & no problems were found. It seems there is a potential problem & I wish to document such fact so as to hopefully prevent unexpected door lock activation with small children in the car.

- San Antonio, TX, USA

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