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What 161 owners told NHTSA about the 2013 BMW X5 Xdrive35d

These are the actual owner complaints behind this car’s reliability verdict, filed with the federal government, unedited. They’re unverified reports, not confirmed defects: read them as leads for your pre-purchase inspection, not a diagnosis.

All (161)Crash / fire / injury (12)Airbags (52)Engine (48)Transmission & drivetrain (37)Electrical system (21)Fuel system (9)Brakes (8)Body & structure (6)Engine & cooling (6)Seat belts (5)Seats (4)

2 of 161 complaints match · Airbags · crash/fire/injury only · clear filters

May 11, 2017AirbagsBody & structureBrakesFire

ON 4/6/2017 I PARKED MY 2013 BMW X5 AT 7:30PM, AROUND 3AM I HEARD A POPPING SOUND AND THE ALARM GOING OFF . I LOOKED OUT THE WINDOW AND FIRE WAS COMING FROM UNDER THE HOOD. ON 3/20/2017 I TOOK IT IN FOR SERVICE BECAUSE IT DID SOMETHING CRAZY AND THE ENGINE MALFUNCTION LIGHT CAME ON, ALSO THERE WAS A SHORT IN THE FOG LIGHTS. BMW SAID THEY THEY CHANGED THE COIL IN THE ENGINE AND FIXED THE LIGHTS THEY ALSO TOLD US WE NEED TO UPGRADE THE SOS BUTTON OR TAKE A $300 REFUND AND NOT FIX THE SOS SYSTEM . THEY COMPLETED THAT REPAIR ON 3/28/17 . 8 DAYS LATER MY TRUCK CAUGHT FIRE

NHTSA ODI 10985023

Oct 5, 2016AirbagsBrakesCrash1 injury

DURING FRONTAL IMPACT AT 34+MPH, AIRBAG DID NOT DEPLOY; DRIVER HIT STEERING WHEEL AND PASSED OUT; BRAKES DID NOT FUNCTION PROPERLY EITHER (WAS SERVICED BY BMW DEALERSHIP LESS THAN 2 MONTHS AGO); VEHICLE SLID STRAIGHT INTO CAR IN FRONT OF IT AND BRAKES DID NOT ENGAGE PROPERLY WITH DRIVER PRESSING BRAKE PETAL

NHTSA ODI 10913921

Working with the data? Download all 161 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 28, 2026

How to use these: a complaint is one owner’s report, filed voluntarily and published unverified. Patterns matter more than any single story. If several owners describe the same failure at similar mileage, put that system at the top of your pre-purchase inspection list. Back to the full 2013 BMW X5 Xdrive35d verdict →