What 149 owners told NHTSA about the 2015 BMW X5 Xdrive35i

I was making a left turn in stopped traffic. Lanes 1 and 2 yielded die to bumper to bumper traffic...as I crossed into lane 3 at 5 to 10 mph...struck by a vehicle going 55 mph plus in opposite direction. My vehicle spun into 3rd vehicle. I hit my head 2 times on driver windows. No airbags deployed. I suffered a traumatic brain injury.

NHTSA ODI 11660268

The contact owns a 2015 BMW X5. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 40 MPH, the contact observed smoke emanating from the rear of the vehicle. The vehicle was steered to the side of the road where he observed fire emanating from the engine compartment. The fire was extinguished by hand and the contact sustained hand injuries. Medical attention was not needed. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed that an EGR failure where coolant leaked and combined with diesel soot causing a fire. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 103,000.

NHTSA ODI 11629910

There was a recall on my 2013 BMW in January 2022. In the recall letter it was mentioned that the they would notify me when the recall repairs were available. I called my local BMW service center in July 2022 to ask if the part was available. It was stated that the part was not available. The representative stated what was in the recall letter, which was. "this time. We will notify you with a follow-up letter as soon as we are able to perform this safety recall. What could happen? The engine’s Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) Cooler could develop an internal leak. Cooling fluid could mix with typical diesel engine soot deposits. With high temperatures normally present in the EGR module, this might result in smoldering particles. In some cases, these particles could contact the engine intake manifold and create small holes due to melting. If this occurs, it would increase the risk of a fire. Your vehicle may be experiencing this issue if one or more of the following occurs; a reduction in engine power, a warning symbol indicating a loss of engine coolant, an unpleasant odor (e.g., exhaust) and/or an unusual noise from the engine. If this occurs, carefully move away from traffic and pull over to a safe location as soon as possible. All occupants should carefully exit the vehicle and move to a safe location away from traffic. Do not continue to drive the vehicle. SAMPLE If you are not the only driver of this vehicle, please advise all other drivers and passengers of this important information." My daughter was driving the car an almost home when she started to smell burning and minutes later saw smoke and flames. She got out of the call and called 911. The care was a total loss, due to this recall and BMW is taking no responsibility for the loss. She is still recovering from the incident and I would like to take action against BMW. I have the police and fire department report from the town of MIlton.

NHTSA ODI 11551195

Rod bearing failure causing engine to be damaged. The car has 79k miles, fully maintained at a BMW dealership. My wife and toddler were driving on the highway when the car shut off with no warning. We towed the car to the same BMW dealer where we’ve had the car serviced since 34,673 miles.. The dealer documented metal flakes in the oil filter. The dealer confirmed a rod bearing spun causing a catastrophic failure to the engine requiring replacement. Initial quote exceeding price of car at $74k. BMW Corporate contacted me and offered a discount on a new engjne. I declined the offer because the repair work was $32,843. This rod bearing issue is a known problem among 2015-2018 BMW X5M owners. This problem in fact existed on a previous generation engine which is referred to as the S65 motor. BMW has released a bulletin to this group of owners guaranteeing replacement based on the amount of miles on a customers engine. In some cases, a free engine was provided by BMW at no cost to the customer. The car only had 79k miles and without BMW NA involved the dealer wanted $74,332 to replace and repair vehicle. The BMW supervisor on this case is Lindsay and she can be reached at (800) 831-1117 ext. 115. She disregarded this was a safety matter and thought other owners shouldn’t be compensated or warned about this complete loss of power while driving this particular model (2015-2018 BMW X5M). This is an unacceptable outcome for a car with a MSRP is over $100,000. I’ve talked to half a dozen other 2015-2018 BMW X5M owners who also had total engine failure due to this same rod bearing issue. All of the cases the engine exceeded the cost or current market value of car.

NHTSA ODI 11510237

Drove car after it sat for a few days. Got about a mile from my home and thought I smelled some smoke. Rolled down windows to make sure it was not outside (was in rural area). It was not. Went another mile and pulled over. Seemed to be a small amount of smoke coming out near vent and near seatbelt uprights near door. Looked under hood and under car and saw nothing. Opened sunroof to determine if there was more smoke and to clear the air. It looked like there was a small amount of smoke coming out where the sunroof opened. NOTE: It was hot out and I had put A/C on max. I let car sit a few minutes (was running) and seemed like issue might be gone. Decided best course of action was to drive it the few miles back home and maybe get it towed. Started back toward home and now there was definitely noticeable smoke. Also started to get odd messages on the dash and operator interface. Pulled over immediately and turned off. Smoke seemingly coming from the body of the car (like in the doors, in gaps in the sunroof, through the seatbelt holders, etc.) Definitely seemed as though a blower motor, window motor or some other device overheated. There was the smell of plastic/rubber burning. Went behind the car and opened the tail. I lifted the mat in the back and it seemed hot. Then could see red/yellow through a gap. Not sure if flames or something hot. Decided to grab important items and call 911. Car was in flames with seconds. Car was a complete loss. No doubt in my mind that it was electrical. Was not engine, transmission or exhaust related.

NHTSA ODI 11423712

WHILE DRIVING ON CITY STREET THE ENGINE STOPPED, WOULD NOT RESTART, THEN CAUGHT FIRE

NHTSA ODI 11405507

THE VEHICLE SHIFTED TO NEUTRAL WHEN IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN IN PARK, AND/OR SHOULD HAVE SHIFTED TO PARK WHEN IN NEUTRAL AND ENGINE WAS SHUT OFF.

NHTSA ODI 11337222

MAKING A LEFT TURN FROM CITY TRAFFIC TO COMMUNITY ROAD, DURING THE TURN, THE DRIVER SIDE AIRBAG DEPLOYED BEFORE THE COLLISION. AFTER THE DRIVER'S SIDE AIRBAG DEPLOYED, THE AIRBAG COVERED ALL THE DRIVER'S VISION, AND THEN, THE COLLISION HAPPENED. PASSENGER'S SIDE AIRBAG DEPLOYED AT THE COLLISION. THE INCIDENT HAPPENED IN BELLEVUE, WA, ON MAY 29TH, 2020. *TR

NHTSA ODI 11329546

I WAS DRIVING ON A HIGHWAY WHEN I SMELLED SMOKE AND WITHIN SECONDS THE BACK OF MY CAR WAS ENGULFED IN BLACK SMOKE. I WAS ABLE TO GET IN THE BREAKDOWN LANE AND OPEN THE TRUNK WHERE I SAW A FIRE IN THE TRUNK. I SHUT THE TRUNK AND RAN AND THE CAR BLEW UP TWO TIMES. 4 MONTHS PREVIOUS TO THIS THE LOCAL BMW DEALERSHIP CHANGED MY BATTERY WHICH IS IN THE BACK AND THE FIRE DEPARTMENT STATED IT WAS PROBABLY SOMETHING ELECTRICAL WITH THE BATTERY (IN THE TRUNK) THAT STARTED THE FIRE. IT APPEARS THERE HAVE BEEN RECALLS WITH THIS SORT OF ISSUE, NOT SO MUCH AS WHEN DRIVING, BUT I THINK MAYBE MY CAR SHOULD HAVE BEEN INCLUDED IN A RECALL. THERE WAS ALMOST NOTHING LEFT TO THE CAR, THAT IS HOW QUICK THE FIRE HAPPENED. *TR

NHTSA ODI 11328204

AS THE VEHICLE WAS APPROACHING A STOP SIGN, THE CAR ACCELERATED ON ITS OWN AND I WAS UNABLE TO STOP USING THE BRAKES. THE CAR WENT OFF THE ROAD AND HIT A TREE CAUSING SEVERE DAMAGE TO THE CAR. THE MALFUNCTION WAS REPORTED TO BMW AND WE HAVE INSISTED (ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS) A REPORT UPON THEIR INSPECTION OF THE CAR - HAVE NOT RECEIVED ANYTHING TO DATE. INSTEAD THEY OFFERED A NOMINAL SUM TO RELEASE THEM FROM ANY LIABILITY ASSOCIATED WITH THE INCIDENT. THE CAR WAS STILL UNDER FACTORY WARRANTY AT THE TIME OF THE MALFUNCTION.

NHTSA ODI 11204339

WHILE DRIVING ON THE I-15 SOUTH NEAR CAMINO DEL NORTE, MY CAR CAUGHT ON FIRE. THE FIRE CAME FROM THE INSIDE, BACK, DRIVERS SIDE FROM THE ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS! AS I ENTERED THE 15 A FEW MILES BEFORE, I NOTICED ALL OF THE PRESET STATIONS WEREN'T WORKING AND THEN THE CAR GAVE AN AIR BAG WARNING. AFTER THE AIRBAG WARNING, THERE WAS A PARKING BRAKE WARNING. THAT IS WHEN I PULLED OVER, GRABBED MY PURSE, AND NOTICED THE CAR WAS ON FIRE. I CALLED 9-1-1.THE FIRE DEPARTMENT CAME AND PUT THE FIRE OUT.

NHTSA ODI 11191544

MY HUSBAND WAS TRAVELING ON THE HIGHWAY AT NIGHT. HE STATED THAT THE CAR IN FROM OF HIS WAS STOPPED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE HIGHWAY. HE WAS UNABLE TO STOP IN TIME TO AVOID REAR ENDING THE OTHER VEHICLE. WE HAVE A NEW BMW X5 SUV AND HE HIT A LEXUS SUV- BOTH SUBSTANTIAL VEHICLES. BOTH CARS WERE NOT DRIVABLE FOLLOWING THE ACCIDENT. THERE IS MAJOR FRONT END DAMAGE- POSSIBLE THE CAR IS TOTALED. I'M NOT SURE YET. THE AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. THE IMPACT FRACTURED HIS STERNUM. HE DEVELOPED PNEUMONIA 2 DAYS LATER BECAUSE OF THE PAIN IN BREATHING- THE ACCIDENT WAS WED. NIGHT BUT THE FRACTURE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED. I TOOK HIM BACK TO THE ER FRI AFTERNOON, WHEN THE FRACTURE AND SUBSEQUENT PNEUMONIA WAS DIAGNOSED. HE WAS ADMITTED TO THE HOSPITAL AND IS STILL THERE. THE CAR WAS TOWED TO THE DEALERSHIP. THEY WANT TO TAKE IT APART TO SEE WHAT NEEDS TO BE REPAIRED OR IF IT IS TOTALED. I WANT TO UNDERSTAND WHY THE AIRBAGS DID NOT DEPLOY AND AM AFRAID IF THEY START TAKING THE CAR APART I WILL NEVER KNOW. I WAS TOLD THE NHTSA WOULD HELP ME WITH AN INVESTIGATION INTO THIS. PLEASE HELP ME AND LET ME KNOW WHAT I SHOULD DO NEXT. HUSBAND WON'T BE RELEASED FOR SEVERAL DAYS POSSIBLY.

NHTSA ODI 10723801