general problems of the 2021 BMW X5

2021 BMW X5 xdrive45e phev, built October 2020 by BMW ag (germany). In-service oct 28, 2021. Vehicle intermittently shows "drivetrain malfunction — you can continue driving" warning. Dme scan reveals 5 fault codes, all for the conventional 12v pinion starter: 21a50a — pinion starter: timeout occurred several times in succession 21a511 — pinion starter: timeout 21611a — pinion starter: starting torque could not be built up; high counter torque and/or undervoltage 216119 — pinion starter: line break in starter control (kl50/kl30) 216115 — pinion starter: attempt to start with blocked starter detected 21a50a and 216115 are protected memory codes that cannot be cleared by standard obd-ii tools. The main 12v agm battery was replaced and registered; codes continue to recur. This signature matches the b58 pinion starter defect addressed in NHTSA recall 24v-576 (Aug 2024) and 25v644 (Nov 2025, physical starter replacement). The vehicle's german manufacture date falls inside the production windows of kba recalls 15630r, 15632r, and 15633r — all covering X5 g05 for short-circuit and fire risk from starter relay corrosion or inadequate mounting. BMW ag has issued an adac advisory not to leave affected vehicles running unattended after starting. BMW na customer relations was contacted. Initial verbal response: u. S. Recalls don't apply because the xdrive45e phev uses a different starter than non-hybrid b58 vehicles. However, codes 216115 and 216119 only exist on vehicles equipped with a conventional pinion starter — confirming this vehicle has the same component. The subsequent written denial pivoted to warranty expiration without addressing the technical or recall-scope questions. Filing so the field record reflects this defect signature for future u. S. Recall scope expansion analysis.

The contact owns a 2021 BMW X5. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed on the highway, the vehicle shut off. The vehicle was pulled off to the side of the road, but failed to restart after several attempts. The vehicle was towed to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed with starter failure. The dealer referenced NHTSA campaign number: 20v761000 (electrical system); however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 30,000.

The contact owns a 2021 BMW X5. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, the push to start button failed to function as intended. After several attempts, the vehicle started. The drivetrain warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed, and determined that the starter had failed and needed to be replaced. The dealer informed the contact to cease driving the vehicle due to safety concerns. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The vehicle remained at the dealer unrepaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 47,600.

The vehicle delays to start and will not recognize that key is in the vehicle. The starter button has to be pushed three times until the vehicle recognizes the key is in the vehicle. The vehicle was inspected at a BMW dealership and no codes or errors were found. Battery is still good but possible issues with the starter.

A drivetrain malfunction warning, chassis warning, auto level suspension was locked, and check engine light was on while driving on the freeway. We made it home safely and parked the BMW X5 45e inside the garage. I plugged in my charger and was not able to charge. Went to start on electric mode/hybrid mode but was not able to turn on. Then I switched to sport mode via gas and engine started but stuttered, and was unable to switch gears from parking to reverse or to forward. Engine continued to shut studded and then engine and electrical completely shut down. I will contact BMW riverside on Monday.

The contact owns a 2021 BMW X5. The contact stated that while attempting to start the vehicle with the push to start button, the vehicle failed to start. There was a clicking sound coming from under the hood. The failure was intermittent. The contact replaced the hybrid battery; however, the failure reoccurred. The contact stated that after several attempts, the vehicle started. The vehicle was taken to a dealer; however, the failure was not duplicated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed with a pinned-out emission circuit and starter failure. The contact was informed that the starter needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact was informed of an unknown recall; however, the VIN was not associated with the recall. The vehicle was manufactured a month outside the date for the vehicles included in the recall. The contact was advised to contact the manufacturer and make the manufacturer aware of the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The contact was advised to contact the NHTSA hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000.

The contact owns a 2021 BMW X5. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, there was an abnormal sputtering sound coming from the vehicle. After several attempts, the vehicle was able to start. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with starter failure. The contact was provided with the following dtc: 0012240600. The vehicle was not repaired due to the cost. The contact stated that the failure persisted. Upon further investigation, the contact associated the failure with NHTSA campaign number: 24v576000 (electrical system, engine and engine cooling). However, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 55,000.

Similar to the incident described in [xxx] , BMW has refused to assist with repairs related to defective vehicle cupholders, causing the headunit wiring to short out and fail. This also causes any number of safety items to become unavailable as well. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

In the middle of a busy intersection, the car just completely shut down. The car only had ~35,000 miles on the odometer and has been serviced only by BMW. It turned out that the water pump broke, which led to downstream impact on additional surrounding systems. BMW X5’s up to model year 2019 had recalls due to faulty water pumps. From an independent search online, it appears there are many owners of 2021 Bmws who have experienced water pump failures like I did. This could have led to a major safety incident as my husband nearly avoided an accident. If this had occurred suddenly on a highway, for example, that could have resulted in a multi-car accident as the car very suddenly died and came to a stop.

The contact owns a 2021 BMW X5. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic; however, the contact used an obd scanner, which diagnosed a failure with the water pump. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA campaign number: 24v608000 (engine and engine cooling, electrical system), but the VIN was not included in the recall. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 72,500.

The contact owns a 2021 BMW X5. The contact stated that while stopped at a traffic light, the auto start/stop feature activated and the engine was turned off; however, when the light turned green, the contact depressed the accelerator pedal, but the vehicle failed to restart as designed. The contact stated that an unknown warning light illuminated but then went off. The contact stated that several attempts were needed to start the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or the dealer. The dealer was made aware of the failure and the contact was provided a fee for a diagnostic test. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The contact was advised to contact the NHTSA hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 80,200.

The vehicle starter fails intermittently. I have to also keep it out of start/stop mode for efficiency due to this starter issue.

The contact owns a 2021 BMW X5. The contact stated that the vehicle experienced difficulty starting and was able to start after several attempts. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the starter had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to NHTSA campaign number: 20v761000(electrical system); however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 56,000.

The contact owns a 2021 BMW X5. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 24v608000 (engine and engine cooling, electrical system); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the VIN no longer showed the recall as being open. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure.

Started car and 2 error messages popped up, one for powertrain warning and one for battery charging system. Contacted dealer and was informed as long as vehicle drives it is ok to bring it in however on the way to the dealer car died and would not start. Dealer mentioned they charged the battery and reset system however could not find any other faults with the car. Approximately 1 month has gone by and the exact same warning appeared. Had vehicle towed to a different dealer and they said they will once again be resetting the system to see if that fixes the issue. Car is still under warranty but near expiration.

The starter for my 2021 BMW X5 recently went bad and had to be replaced. The defect with the starter ruined my battery as well. Leading up to the starter not working, I received warning messages that the car could not be driven. The BMW representative at united BMW (alpharetta, GA) stated the starter issue seemed to be a problem as many were needing to be replaced. I am submitting this information because of the recent recall related to the 2020 model staters. It seems it should be investigated whether the 2021s also have problems.

Unknown.

Good morning, I was driving down the road at around 60 mph in my car. Abruptly my car had simultaneous warning lights about 12 of them. More importantly, I lost my power steering and brake by wire putting all of our lives at risk. The speedometer , air bags, restraint systems all failed and went out. The car wouldn't turn off on the side of the road and after about 5 minutes I was able to get it off and called BMW assist for a tow. Since it was night and raining I and waiting for a tow truck was dangerous I attempted to restart my car and get successfully got it to the nearest exit. All the warning lights were off. About 15 minutes later on the limp home the same thing happened with all the fault codes so my family decided to uber home. I took the car to BMW rockville and they did diagnostics and we're not able to replicate the problem. They returned my car back to me the same day with no repairs. I'm concerned. There was no indication or warning lights before the electrical failure. It was completely out of the blue.

While driving about 60 mph on a freeway, the vehicle rapidly flashed several "advanced driver system failure" messages, lost all power and came to a stop. It was not possible to prevent the vehicle from rapidly decelerating even by depressing the accelerator all the way to the floor. The vehicle rapidly decelerated, forcing other drivers behind to swerve to avoid a crash.

Car has an emergency call system in case of a crash. The dashboard shows a malfunction that flashes every few minutes. Call to dealer for a repair was not considered a safety hazard and was scheduled for the next month.

Previously reported that the BMW X5e, plug in hybrid, shuts itself off once the driver's door is opened leaving anybody in the car at risk of serious health problems or even death! a menu selection option should disable this unsafe practice but it does not work. As if there is a software glitch. Other models, the x3e stays on when the driver's door is opened. I've previously reported this item but now my father has injured himself recently. After a medical appointment and retrieving his medications my father was in the car in unsafe and deadly heat and attempted to exit the vehicle due to the car shutting itself off and he fell and hurt himself. The manufacturer has been contacted several times and at times they say this should not be happening but the dealers are saying that is how the vehicle is designed. I also have videos of the other models not shutting off for review. Please fix this item!.

Vehicle was being driven and showed power supply issue and then flashed a drive train warning and lost propulsion power. The vehicle started hopping / jerking. The a/c stopped working and the center console became intensely hot to the touch; so much so it was uncomfortable to keep you hand on the center console. The vehicle is currently at the dealership stating they believe a software update was needed. The issues mirror those that occurred when the car failed as a result of a previous ev battery recall. Issue concerns me as the intense heat created makes me concern about of potential electrical fire or failure when driving at higher speeds. Occurred on July 10, 2021.

The cars hybrid batteries caught fire while sitting in garage being charged. After car was removed from garage and fire department had things "under control" which took about 2 hours they left saying it would be towed in the morning. About 30 minutes later the car exploded setting fire to the house. The house was saved the car is nothing more than a burnt shell, a total loss. Thank god no one was hurt but I see where BMW had a ton of recalls on the 2020 version on the exact version of this vehicle for the same thing. Obviously nothing was fixed.

This is a new BMW X5 2 months old with 2000 miles. The vehicle was parked not running with no power in my garage. On Saturday morning it spontaneously combusted into flames. I happened to be near the garage and spotted the flames 4-5 feet tall shooting out from hood. I immediately ran inside to ensure my family was exiting the house and we called 911. I attempted to extinguish the flames with a hose while waiting on the fire dept. They arrived and extinguished and cut all electrical power to the vehicle and winched it out of my garage. Very upsetting and disturbing that the new vehicle randomly burst into flames while sitting in garage.

My X5 was parked in my garage and started by itself while I was outside of my house with garage doors closed. I was able to stop the engine by using the BMW connected app. I did not have any scheduled or programmed start events. I called BMW corporate and was told to take the X5 to a dealer for a diagnostic scan which could not be scheduled for two days from now.

Tl the contact owns a 2012 BMW X5. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 20v601000 (electrical system) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. An unknown dealer was contacted and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

Car had 2 alerts 2. 5 hrs into journey, having gone I-675 to 1. Drivetrain malfunction 2. Power supply. I had stopped for food. I got back in, turned on the engine, and these alerts came on immediately. I called BMW, they said car should not be driven. Had it towed to hilton head BMW. They've had it two days and say this is related to the recalled battery and they have no idea as of today how to fix it. They said this problem is happening all over. I also got a third message about driving assistance support last week that I was told to ignore.