Four problems related to wiring have been reported for the 2001 BMW X5. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
The contact owns a 2001 BMW X5. The contact stated that both brake lights failed to illuminate when the brake pedal was depressed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where both brake light bulbs and holders were replaced; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer where the technician stated that there was a short within the brake light system and both wiring harnesses needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 40,000.
On oct. 16,2008 I was experiencing hesitation when accelerating after I bring it to auto repair shop, after they diagnosed the problem they informed me that the entire wiring harness and the throttle is bad and need to replaced and inform me there was service bulletin on it I call BMW dealer speak to then about it but they said there nothing they could do for me because the car is out of warranty and the bulletin was over I, it cost me $1,200 to fit the problem 2001 X5 3. 0 60,000 mi.
After experiencing previous hesitation when accelerating and after dealer inspection, no faults were found and no corrective action was taken by the BMW dealer. While driving on a high speed expressway, the X5 suddenly and without warning shut down all systems and all warning lights came on. After finally getting off the road, the car was towed to my home. The next day, the car was able to start and, although the car was not able to go over 30 mph, I drove to my BMW dealer. The service technician diagnosed the problem quickly and informed me that a service bulletin was issued in August, 2003 on this problem. The entire wiring harness and throttle had to be replaced and because the car was out of warranty, BMW assumed none of the cost which was about $1,200. 00. I believe that owners should have been notified of this problem when it was recognized by BMW. The service bulletin stated that the problem should only be corrected "upon a customer's complaint" which I believe is totally irresponsible and jeopardizes the safety of occupants.
The wire harness failed, which caused the consumer to pull over.