Electrical System Problems of BMW X5 - part 1

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.

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Recently purchased a 2019 BMW X5 xdrive40i with 77k miles, after only owning for 3 weeks after a heavy rain storm. My dash lit up with “emergency call system malfunction”, upon review online it seems to be a common issue with these BMW models and no recall has been issued. The sos malfunction causes the vehicle not to function properly and unable to use the integrated idrive head unit system. It also dials emergency services on its own and won’t let me end call. After taking it to BMW dealership they found the telematics module battery to be low and suggested replacing. Previous owner had similar issue back in January of 2023 and the shark fin antenna by the roof was replaced , resealed and tcb telematics unit replaced. So only after 2 weeks of replacing the tcb battery, same issue appeared again after a heavy rain storm. I took it back to BMW for diagnose and they had to have one of there engineers test it and found out the actual sos button ecu system unit to have a short causing the sos malfunction and it dialing emergency services on its own. Vehicle is not driveable and has been at BMW they are trying to charge me additional $1,547. 58 plus taxes and fees for the repair. I feel as if this is a defect on BMW and should be addressed and issued as an recall for there customers.

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Last night my 2008 BMW X5 caught fire while parked in a parking lot - the fire was in the engine compartment and appeared to be an electrical fire - police and fire were at the scene and a report was made.

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Car would randomly not start and went dead at red stop lights on occasion. Had to have the car towed to BMW dealership where they diagnosed it as a bad starter. Car only has 35,000 miles and this appears to be a know problem by BMW and BMW owners.

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Starter failed at 48k miles. This is a known issue of starters failing early and a recall should be done for all impacted cars. . Read more...

The drive train failed on the car and left the car without power as the transmission disengaged and was revving in drive mode. This happened when I was making a right turn. Oncoming traffic had to Dodge us making it a very dangerous situation. The shoulder was narrow so half of the car in the number one lane. The car had been back into the dealership many time for similar issue but this time the car actual hard warning signs flash on the screen and loss complete power and maneuverability. A few different lights came on the dash. Prior to the car completely shutting down, the car would down shift really hard and the computer says the car was trying to go in reverse. I’ve loss all confidence in this car and feel unsafe getting back into it.

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The contact owns a 2017 BMW X5. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the engine overheated with several unknown warning lights illuminated. In addition, the vehicle lost electrical functions. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with a failed coolant pump. The contact was informed that the coolant pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The contact referenced NHTSA campaign number: 24v608000 (engine and engine cooling, electrical system); however, the VIN was not associated with the recall. The contact was advised to contact the NHTSA hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 78,000.

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The comfort access door handle, got so hot it started to melt the plastic exterior handle and produce a lot of smoke would have caught fire if I didn't turn off car and disconnect electrical signal to the cas handle.

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Sudden loss of power. Vehicle warning after starting stating power supply issue even after a brand new battery from the dealership. 3 similar incidents in a month. During the final incident the vehicle was again towed to the dealership where it’s been there for over a week and power supply issues persist. They are changing the whole high voltage box due to some unfixable errors.

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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).

The contact owns a 2025 BMW X5. The contact stated upon starting the vehicle, several unknown warning lights were illuminated. Additionally, the contact stated that there were twenty-one failure codes displayed on the infotainment system screen. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle the following day, no warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that a dealer mobile technician arrived to the residence, and the vehicle was driven to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that an improper coding of the electronic modules had caused the digital motor electronics (dme) to not communicate. The contact was informed that the electronic modules needed to be recoded. The dme data was cleared, and the dme was reprogrammed. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 3,165.

I purchased a used BMW from a local dealership, unaware that the vehicle had unresolved safety and mechanical issues. Over time, I began experiencing repeated problems including: •power loss and hesitation while driving •malfunctioning engine and drivetrain components •electrical system glitches including dashboard warnings that would disappear before I could document them the car has been in and out of shops for diagnostics, and no lasting fix has been found. These defects have created safety concerns for me and my children, as I transport them daily. The vehicle feels unsafe to operate. I believe I may have been sold a lemon and am now pursuing legal remedies, including this formal safety complaint to report the issue.

The contact owns a 2012 BMW X5. The contact stated that when the vehicle was parked, the contact noticed coolant leaking on the ground underneath the vehicle. The contact stated that the low coolant warning light was illuminated. The contact refilled the coolant reservoir. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with coolant pump failure. The contact was informed that the coolant pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The contact referenced NHTSA campaign number: 24v608000 (engine and engine cooling, electrical system); however, the VIN was not associated with the recall. The contact was advised to contact the NHTSA hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 98,744.

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This 2025 SUV X5 xdrive50e the hybrid battery will over heat in hot weather temperatures therefore the battery will not charge with the issued 110 plug in home charger. BMW was aware of this malfunction and never warned or recalled the information to customers. This vehicle will not allow climate control features to work because there is no charge on the battery as well. The vehicle can overheat and could shut down and this problem was never disclosed to customers. The vehicles were selling in 2024.

The contact owns a 2020 BMW X5. The contact stated that after refueling the vehicle, the contact attempted to restart the vehicle; however, the vehicle failed to restart. The contact made several attempts, and after approximately an hour, the vehicle was towed to the residence. The vehicle failed to start and was towed to a local dealer. The contact stated that there were no warning lights illuminated. The dealer diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the starter motor had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact researched online and related the failure to NHTSA campaign number: 24v576000 (electrical system, engine and engine cooling). The contact called the manufacturer and asked about the recall for the starter motor and was informed that the VIN was not included in the recall. The failure mileage was approximately 30,000.

My car said it overheated and would not start. After about 4 hours it did start and I took it to the dealer. They are saying that the battery and starter need replacement. I read that there was a recall for this exact reason on some specific vins for my car model and year. Even though mine doesn't fall under that category it seems like the same issue that was recalled for others. Doing some online searches it seems this issue has happened to quite a few people.

Battery overheated and melted plastic cover.

The contact owns a 2020 BMW X5. The contact stated that upon entering the vehicle, the message that the engine had overheated, and the vehicle was disabled was displayed. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the starter motor. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA campaign number: 24v576000 (electrical system, engine and engine cooling), but the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, a case was opened, and the contact was referred to the NHTSA hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 80,000.

The contact owns a 2011 BMW X5. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to start. The vehicle was towed to an unknown dealer but was not diagnosed or repaired. The dealer informed the contact that the VIN was not under recall. The manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to the NHTSA hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 132,000.

The contact owns a 2020 BMW X5. The contact stated that while at a complete stop, the start/stop feature failed to operate as designed, and the engine failed to restart while depressing the accelerator pedal. The contact stated that a "starting engine possibly shortly: system overheated. Restarting engine possible after cooling" message was displayed on the instrument panel. After the contact allowed the engine to cool down, the vehicle failed to restart with the same messages displayed. Due to the failure, the vehicle was towed to the dealer where it remained. Upon investigation, the contact discovered NHTSA campaign number: 24v576000 (electrical system, engine and engine cooling); however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The contact also discovered and linked the failure to technical service bulletin: b120424. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 73,000.

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 SUV has been in the dealer service center twice. BMW includes a charging cable a dual 110v/220v intended to charge the car as it is a plug in hybrid. Per the dealer the charging cable and the car are working as intended however when plugged in it will loose charge not gain it. The problem with this is the car will not remote start/ pre-condition in the hot arizona sun without the battery having a charge on it. The design is a heat pump which runs on battery not the ice. The charger is not able to keep up with the electrical demand of the charging system while plugged into a 110v outlet even suppling up to 20a. There is no formal literature about the charging cable being unable to charge the battery when the temperature is more than 90 degrees outside. The dealers suggestion is to install a separate paid for 220v charger (-/+ $2,000). The safety issue is the car will not cool sufficiently for a child to be in the car.

I own a 2020 bmx X5 s40i. Car was parked and turned off. When I tried to turn the car on, the car refused to start and smoke and fire smell started coming from engine compartment. I opened the hood and could smell a burning smell. Waited for smell to disappear and tried starting the car again. Car would not start and burning smell appeared again. Got a warning on the dashboard that engine compartment was overheated and car would be ready to start after 180 seconds. Called aaa to jump start car and same behaviour was observed and car refused to start. Technician also stated that battery was completely dead. Took car to dealer and replaced main and start/ stop battery. Car still would not start. On inspection dealer observed started mechanism was shorted and needed to be replaced. After replacement, car starts fine without burning smell. Going through recall database, this issue with fire hazard from starter assembly is documented for my make, model and year but when I enter the VIN number it doesnt apply to NY vehicle VIN number. 4 year old child and me were occupants of the vehicle when burning incident happened originally.

The vehicle's electrical system experienced a starter malfunction, which led to a complete failure of the starter. As a result, the car would not start, ultimately causing the battery to fail as well. This failure posed a serious safety risk. I could have been left stranded in the middle of traffic, increasing the risk of a collision that could have caused injury to myself and others. If the malfunction had occurred in a remote location, I could have been left stranded, placing me in a potentially dangerous situation. The issue was confirmed by the dealership. Although there is an active NHTSA recall related to this exact problem, my vehicle’s VIN was not included. However, it should have been—my vehicle was manufactured during the affected production period and experienced the same failure described in the recall. As a result, I had to pay out of pocket for these substantial repairs. The manufacturer failed to include my VIN in the recall, despite clear evidence that my vehicle was subject to the same defect. The manufacturer inspected the vehicle and confirmed that the failure involved both the starter and the battery; however, I was required to pay out of pocket for the replacement of both components. There were no warning lights, error messages, or other symptoms prior to the failure—the vehicle simply stopped functioning without notice. Further research revealed that many other owners have reported the same starter malfunction, frequently resulting in battery failure and the need to replace both components. Although the manufacturer is aware of this widespread issue, they have not issued a comprehensive recall for all affected vehicles. Had they done so, this failure—and the associated safety risks, inconvenience, and significant repair costs—could have been avoided.

The contact owns a 2018 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 unavailable. 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. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

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The contact owns a 2019 BMW X5. The contact stated that while attempting to start the vehicle, the vehicle failed to start. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a local dealer where the vehicle was diagnosed, and the contact was advised that the starter had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact referenced NHTSA campaign number: 24v576000 (electrical system, engine and engine cooling) as a possible cause for the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 80,100.

The contact owns a 2016 BMW X5. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the transmission unexpectedly downshifted, and the contact discovered an unknown liquid leaking underneath of the vehicle. The check engine warning light was illuminated. 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 local dealer was contacted however, the vehicle was not diagnosed. 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 failure mileage was approximately 120,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

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Car has premature failure from the ac system. My system started to fail between 40-50k miles. Both the ac compressor and condenser failed causing metal pieces to be in the system. If not fixed, those metal shavings will cause failure in other electrical systems including the hv battery.

The contact owns a 2018 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 manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

Brand new X5 BMW 50e came to a stop and entire car went dead. No start, lights, in total darkness with no emergency lights. Dash screen did show a drive trane malfunction before it totally died. Car was repaired after 2 months and replacement parts malfunction. Car still has electronic issues and has been in the shop 3 times since major failure. Safety issue with no emergency lights and if I had been driving and vehicle went dead I would have had a crash.

The contact owns a 2020 BMW X5. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to start. The contact stated that the message that the vehicle was overheating was displayed. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that the failure was related to NHTSA campaign number: 24v576000 (electrical system, engine, and engine cooling). The vehicle was towed to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the failure was due to the starter. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to the NHTSA hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 35,000.

Vehicle didn’t move after coming to a full stop at a traffic light. And it displayed a message stating the starter has overheated and that it needed to cool down. The timer for the cooldown period kept on increasing up to 180 seconds and consequent attempts to start the vehicle after the cooldown period didn’t help.

BMW issued a recall in October 2024 regarding the engine coolant pump electrical connector on my 2018 BMW X5 xdrive40e, warning of electrical shorts and fire risks. It's now late March 2025—approximately six later—and BMW dealerships still state explicitly they have no available remedy and no timeline for repair. Recently, my vehicle showed a drivetrain warning message, which I suspect is recall-related. I called BMW corporate recall hotline and my local BMW dealership (BMW of tenafly) today (March 24, 2025). The dealership explicitly stated that they can only perform diagnostics, and even if their diagnostics confirm my drivetrain issue is recall-related, they 'cannot do anything' due to BMW's lack of available recall remedy. When I expressed concern to BMW of tenafly representative that this recall involves serious safety risks (electrical shorts and potential fire), the dealership representative dismissed my concern by simply saying, 'every recall is urgent. ' this response underscores my concern that BMW and its dealerships are not treating this recall issue with adequate seriousness or urgency, leaving consumers like myself at ongoing safety risk. They also mentioned charging $150/day storage if I leave my vehicle at their facility beyond diagnostics, which discourages vehicle owners from having their recall-related safety issues adequately addressed. I’m escalating to NHTSA now because BMW has not provided a recall remedy within a reasonable period, and I'm concerned about ongoing safety issue.

Starter stopped working. Vehicles body style : 2019-2020 BMW X5 (x5 sdrive40i, X5 xdrive40i) SUV descriptive information : power train : gas production dates : approximately 68,105 vehicles have been manufactured with an engine starter of a certain production configuration. Basis for recall population determination: vehicle assembly information and supplier production records were used to determine the specific dates of potentially affected vehicles. Recall component difference to non-recall component: potentially affected vehicles have an engine starter with a certain production configuration. Aug 01, 2018 - may 31, 2020 VIN range 1 : begin : nr end : nr not sequential.

Emergency call malfunction light came on. System is an important vehicle safety features. Vehicle taken to dealership for inspection. No visual damage present on vehicle however water ingress from roof shark fin is causing damage to electrical components, tcb and emergency call function. Shark fin antenna cover determined to be causing water ingress after inspection by BMW dealership. Per their recommendation, further water ingress could damage additional electrical components, some critical and therefore immediate need to replace tcb, aerial antenna, and emergency battery. Vehicle warranty not covering this type of issue. Cost of repair estimated at $2500.