What 149 owners told NHTSA about the 2015 BMW X5 Xdrive35i

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

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

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