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 coolant lines needed completely replaced causing the engine to start barreling smoke after about 400-500 ft. Looked like it was on fire there was so much smoke. Got repaired at BMW of westlake in Ohio. They told me there was nothing I could do to have prevented it.
I was told I have issues with the nox sensor and scr catalyst. I have also been preovusly told that the entire diesel emissions system was faulty and it would cost me $6000 to repair. Because I have 155K miles on the car nothing falls under warranty. BMW is also unsure that the oxygen sensor is really the problem so it will cost me $1000 to replace that and hope it works. The issue now is my car is giving me a message "incorrect diesel fluid" even though there is correct fluid in (since the dealer is the only one who has ever put any in there) and is at the full level. The sensor is now saying I only have 60 miles to drive it before it won't start again. What I am most disturbed about is that there is information that there was a recall on this exact issue but because I can't find a recall number they will not honor it and will not fix my car. www.autonews.com/article/20120504/retail05/120509927/BMW-will-recall-diesel-models-to-fix-emissions-glitch I have been with BMW for a number of years and my family has purchased quite a few. As a result of this, I have now had to purchase another car (a Nissan) and had to take an uber to the lot to pick it up since my car may not even make it to the lot and back.
The contact owns a 2011 BMW X5. The contact heard an abnormal noise and noticed smoke coming through the vents inside the vehicle. The contact also smelled a strong burning odor. The vehicle was included in NHTSA campaign number: 18V336000 (engine and engine cooling), but the contact was not notified. While driving, the idler pulley bolt fractured. The vehicle was not included in NHTSA campaign numbers: 18V248000 (engine and engine cooling) and 17V683000 (engine and engine cooling). The vehicle was unable to be driven due to the failures. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was notified of the failures. The failure mileage was not available.
The contact owns a 2011 BMW X5. While driving 65 mph, the engine shut off. The vehicle was able to coast to an off ramp and a parking lot. There were no warning indicators illuminated prior to the engine shutting off. The vehicle was towed to BMW of darien (140 ledge rd, darien, ct 06820, (203) 656-1804) for diagnostic testing. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The VIN was unknown. The failure mileage was 80,000.
Replacing the leaking turbo oil drain block and faulty valve seals which causes oil to drain and the vehicle to smoke and burn so you have to add at least 1/2 quart of oil within 2 weeks time while driving and check engine light comes
While driving on highway, the engine overheated, loss of power, stop driving message appeared on dashboard. Car towed to dealership, diagnosed issue due to water pump failure.
Auxiliary water pump failed which caused engine overheating. When I called BMW us and my local BMW dealer - BMW of alexandria, va I was denied for repairs, despite there was a recall for my particular car and model. According to my car repair history that recall was never performed.
This vehicle has numerous complaints about the vanos system. As I was driving on the highway with full traffic, my engine failed at 70 mph causing to me almost get killed in traffic as I fought my way the the shoulder. The car would not start, I took the car to the dealer and it seems that the vanos bolt backed out of the camshaft and caused catastrophic damage to the engine. I went to my warranty and they would not cover the damage due to it being the bolt that backed out. As they do not cover bolts. Now I am paying for a car that I cant drive and is currently sitting at BMW of mt. Laurel in New Jersey with an 18K bill. This can happen to alot of people in these vehicles. That vanos unit is dangerous and should be recalled again with the correct bolts reinforced.
I would like to report a vanos issue the camshaft bolts loosen and break and it could be catastrophic. My bolts loosened and I caught it in time but if I didn't know any better I could've had a complete engine failure. My code originally came up as camshaft sticking. When the problem originated I was traveling on a main city road and my car went into reduced power mode.
Driving down street steering wheel locked up, car shut down, had it towed to BMW, they said engine, powertrain failed, warranty people refuse to pay to have fixed
During hard acceleration of the car while getting on the free way ramp, the car went into limp mode. The engine performance was degraded and I had to pull on the side of the road to restart the car. The car was taken to BMW of bellevue next week after initial diagnosis of a dme internal fault by a signature independent kirkland. BMW of bellevue replaced air mass filter and oil filler cap. A few weeks later the issue happening again during regular driving on the freeway. BMW of bellevue diagnosed this as a vacuum hose leak. A few weeks later the car went into limp mode again while getting on the freeway, BMW of bellevue diagnosed this as a high pressure fuel sensor short, BMW of North America opened a puma case, but did not recommend replacing the dme yet. Right after picking up the car I hit the issue again where the car went into limp mode while accelerating on the freeway ramp. BMW of bellevue worked with BMW of na to replace the dme which is covered under warranty. Before handing the car back the service advisor did a test and was able to still reproduce the car going into limp mode getting on the freeway, diagnosis is still not known. It has been 3 months today since the issue first happened and the car has been out of use for more than a month and there is still no conclusion on the root cause.
The contact owns a 2011 BMW X5. While operating the vehicle, the temperature gauge indicated that the engine had overheated. Upon inspection, it was discovered that hot water had leaked from the engine area. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer (united BMW, 11458 alpharetta hwy, roswell ga) where it was diagnosed that the water pump and thermostat had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but while leaving the dealer, the vehicle began to violently shake and rattle. The vehicle was towed back to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the drive shaft and transfer case failed. The vehicle was not repaired and the manufacturer was not notified of the failures. The failure mileage was 86,000.
The contact owns a 2011 BMW X5. While driving 35 mph, the contact smelled a burning odor from the air conditioning vents, and the vehicle stalled and could not be restarted. There were no warning indicators illuminated before the failure. The vehicle was towed to the dealer (BMW of tulsa, 9702 S memorial dr, tulsa, ok 74133), but the cause of the failure could not be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the manufacturer was willing to pay half for a replacement engine. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified and confirmed with the contact that they would pay half of the cost for a replacement engine. The manufacturer opened a case. The failure mileage was 69,000.
Intake and exhaust valve seals went bad. Which this is a known problem for N63 engines. BMW has a bulletin for it, but the extended warranty will not honor that because it's a known problem. And BMW won't honor it cause they won't do a recall on it either. When this happens, it consumes oil and you have blue smoke going out your tailpipe. I've been going back and forth with extended warranty, BMW dealer, and BMW corporation. They want me to pay over $9000 to fix this, cause you have to pull the motor out. And this gonna get worse if you gonna keep driving
Valve seals problems in 90 % of X5 from 2010 to 2013, I bought mines from the dealer with this problem... they told me at the dealer nothing was wrong.... I am very upset about this.
Since the N63 engine technical update (aka N63 customer care package) was performed on our 2011 X5, we noticed an increase in engine oil consumption evidenced by the onboard system alerting us to low engine oil condition requiring adding engine oil. In addition to this symptom the onboard system is alerting low coolant fluid and requiring coolant fluid top off. Prior to this N63 technical update performed on our X5, the vehicle did not require engine oil or coolant fluid top off as it does now and went even as far as between maintenance cycle without requiring oil or coolant top off. We have communicated this peculiar level of consumption on a number of occasions to the service advisor at the onset of the symptom and while during the warranty coverage period and we were told that this consumption by the N63 engine is normal and is to be expected and to top it off when low and as required. As such in its current state we are not confident with driving our X5 on long distance like a road trip from la to sf which we have enjoyed - the N63 is extremely needy for fluids between relatively short mileage intervals.
X5 xdrive 35I sav; while driving under normal street and highway conditions, vehicle speed and engine RPM have become unstable. This causes the vehicle to increase and decrease it's speed intermittently and without warning. The vehicle is not trustworthy as you may lose power, or unintentionally accelerate while trying to execute a driving maneuver, causing a dangerous condition. Check engine warning light illuminates. Vehicle was brought to BMW dealership (zt motors) for diagnostics. Service personnel stated that the high pressure fuel pump indicated a low fuel pressure at the inlet. This would tell me that the low pressure fuel pump is not delivering the correct fuel flow/pressure to the high pressure fuel pump. Ref NHTSA campaign # 16V746000 et al. Diagnostics also indicated the valvetronic motor shows it short circuiting. Dealer recommended replacement of valvetronic motor, cam shaft and oil injectors. The replacement of the cam shaft and oil injectors are unnecessary maintenance items, only the valvetronic motor would need to be replaced, and fuel system reprogrammed. Ref NHTSA campaign # 14V176000 et al. Recommend recall replacement of both high pressure and low pressure fuel pumps, valvetronic motor, vanos cam shaft and oil injectors as well as reprogramming of fuel operating system. Also replace cam shaft mounting bolts.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Rocky River, OH, USA