2008 BMW X5 Complaints

I HAD THE LIGHT BULB SENSOR ILLUMINATE IN MY CAR. I BROUGHT THE CAR TO THE LOCAL BMW DEALER FOR LIGHT BULB REPLACEMENT. THE REAR PARKING BRAKE LENSES ARE FUSED TO THE PARKING BRAKE LIGHT BULBS. THE LIGHT BULB CAN NOT BE REMOVED. THERE IS A POSSIBILITY OF THIS LENS CATCHING ON FIRE THERE ARE MARKS ON THE LENS COVER THAT SHOWS THIS. I SPOKE TO BMW NORTH AMERICA AND THEY WOULD NOT REPLACE. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE IT COULD CATCH ON FIRE. I CAN NOT REPLACE THE BULB WITHOUT REPLACING BOTH LENSES. MY CAR WILL NOW NOT PASS INSPECTION IN MY STATE DUE TO THIS ISSUE.. *TR

ON A RECENT RIDE HOME FROM VACATION (SUMMER 2014), MY FAMILY AND I HAD TO ENDURE OUR 2008 BMW X5 STALLED OUT AND SLOWED TO ABOUT 30 MPH ON INTERSTATE 95. THERE WERE NO WARNINGS OF A POTENTIAL PROBLEM OR ANY UPCOMING MAINTENANCE NEEDED. THE INFORMATION SCREEN STATED CRUISE CONTROL/ENGINE MALFUNCTION. WE WERE EXTREMELY SURPRISED, OVERLY ALARMED AND FRIGHTENED AS THIS WAS A DANGEROUS AND UNSAFE EVENT. WE WERE NOT USING AND HAVE NEVER USED THE CRUISE CONTROL. MY FAMILY WAS SCARED OF THIS UNSAFE ORDEAL BUT THANK GOD, NO ONE WAS INJURED. AFTER RESEARCHING THESE CONDITIONS, WE FOUND THIS SIMILAR INCIDENT OCCUR TO MANY OTHER X5 BMW OWNERS AND DATE BACK AS FAR AS 2001. THIS THROTTLE BODY DEFECT IS A SAFETY ISSUE AND CAN CAUSE BODILY HARM OR DEATH. IF THIS CAR DECREASES IN POWER, ESPECIALLY ON AN INTERSTATE, SERIOUS AND DEADLY ACCIDENTS CAN OCCUR. QUITE INTERESTING IS THAT THIS SAME DIAGNOSIS WAS IDENTIFIED WITH PREVIOUS OWNERS WHO'VE ONLY OWNED THEIR VEHICLES LESS THAN A YEAR. RESEARCH SHOWS THIS CONDITION HAS BEEN AN ISSUE FOR THE PAST 10 YEARS AND BMW HAS NOT ACKNOWLEDGED, RECALLED AND CORRECTED THE PROBLEM. MY 2008 BMW X5 HAS ABOUT 52,000 AND RECEIVE REGULAR MAINTENANCE ON TIME AND AS REQUIRED. MORE IMPORTANT, THE DAY BEFORE THE INCIDENT WE CHECKED THE VEHICLE SYSTEM CHECK AND ALL SYSTEMS WERE "OK." AND TWO DAYS LATER, THE CAR SHUT DOWN WITH NO WARNING. MY CAR WAS TAKEN TO NORTHWEST BMW IN OWINGS MILLS WHO DIAGNOSED THE PROBLEM AS A THROTTLE BODY DEFECT. *TR

THE 2008 X5 3.0L STARTED TO SOUND LIKE A JET ENGINE WITH THE SUPER LOUD FAN NOISE. I THOUGHT THE CAR WAS GOING TO BLOW UP. TOOK THE CAR IN FOR REPAIR, AND LUCKILY THE ENGINE HADN'T OVERHEATED YET. THEY FOUND THAT THE WATER PUMP WAS FAULTY, WHICH CAUSED THE WIRING TO BURN OUT, AND OBSERVED OIL LEAKAGE NEAR ENGINE. IF I HAD DRIVEN THE CAR ANY MORE, IT WOULD HAVE CAUSED SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE TO THE ENGINE OF THE VEHICLE. BMW SERVICE CENTER TOLD ME THAT I HAVE TO REPLACE THE WATER PUMP, THERMOSTAT, AND OTHER PARTS INCLUDING GASKET SOMETHING. THANK YOU. *TR

I GET THE SEAT BELT ON LIGHT AND SOMETHING SIMILAR TO THAT BUT WITH THE AIRBAG LIGHT ON. THIS IS ONLY ON THE FRONT PASSENGER SIDE. NO PASSENGER BUT LIGHT IS ON WITH THE CHIME AS WELL. *TR

MY BMW OCCASIONALLY STALLS AT A LOW SPEED AFTER A BRAKE OR IN A TURN. THE ENGINE IS QUIETLY OFF AND THE ENGINE LIGHT IS ON. WHEN I RESTART THE ENGINE, THE ENGINE LIGHT IS OFF AND IT DRIVES NORMAL. IT LOOKS LIKE A MINOR PROBLEM, BUT CAN BE HAZARDOUS. AT ONE TIME, MY CAR STALLED AFTER I MADE A BRAKE AND STARTED TO TURN. SUDDENLY I FEEL THE STEER WHEEL IS LOCKED AND I LOST SOME BRAKE FORCE. I ALMOST CRASHED INTO THE BRICK FENCE AT THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. IT WAS REALLY SCARY. I THINK IT COULD BE EVEN MORE DANGEROUS IF IT HAPPEN IN CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES, FOR EXAMPLE, BRAKE BEFORE ENTERING A HIGHWAY, SLOW TURNING ON A BRIDGE. I'VE SENT MY CAR TO THE DEALER AND THEY TRACED NO ERROR AND PROBLEMS, AND ASK ME TO DRIVE UNTIL THE PROBLEM BECOME MORE OBVIOUS. I WOULDN'T DO THIS BECAUSE WITH THIS PROBLEM THE CAR MAY BECOME A KILLING MACHINE FOR MYSELF AND OTHER PEOPLE ON THE ROAD. I DO HOPE YOU CAN HELP ME TO CONTACT BMW TO FIND A SOLUTION. *TR

TRAVELING ON EXPRESSWAY AT APPROX 60 MPH COLLIDED WITH A VEHICLE HITTING HIM ON REAR. I SUSTAINED INJURY TO MY CHEST AS A RESULT OF IMPACT AGAINST THE STEERING WHEEL BECAUSE THE AIRBAG DIDN'T DEPLOY. I LEARNED THAT BMW HAS RECALLED AIRBAGS ON SEVERAL MODELS AND BELIEVE THE 2008 X5S SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN THE RECALL. MY VEHICLE IS AT A COLLISION CENTER BUT I CAN MAKE IT AVAILABLE IN CASE NHTSA EXPERTS WOULD LIKE TO INVESTIGATE IF AIRBAG SENSORS ARE WORKING PROPERLY ON THIS MODEL. IF INDEED THE AIRBAGS ON THE 2008 BMW X 5S ARE NOT WORKING PROPERLY, I'D LIKE FOR THE MANUFACTURER TO CREATE PUBLIC AWARENESS TO PREVENT ANY SERIOUS INJURIES AND/OR FATALITIES FROM HAPPENING. *TR

WHEN I WAS DRIVING AROUND 30 MPH AND ABOUT TO MERGE ONTO THE HIGHWAY, AN ORANGE WARNING SIGN CAME UP THAT THE ENGINE WAS OVERHEATING AND THEN IMMEDIATELY AFTERWARD A RED SIGN CAME UP STATING THAT THE ENGINE WAS OVERHEATED AND I COULD HEAR THE LOUD NOISE FROM THE FAN. IMMEDIATELY AFTER THAT THE VEHICLE STALLED AND I HAD TO PULL OVER TO THE SHOULDER. I WAITED FOR ABOUT 15 MIN. AND WHEN I RESTARTED THE VEHICLE, THE FAN WAS STILL LOUD AND THE RED ENGINE OVERHEATED SIGN CAME UP AGAIN. I THEN HAD THE VEHICLE TOWED TO A REPAIR FACILITY. THEY DIAGNOSED THE ISSUE AS A DEFECTIVE ELECTRIC WATER PUMP AND SAID THAT THE WATER PUMP AND THERMOSTAT NEED TO BE REPLACED. THE ESTIMATE FOR REPAIR INCLUDING PARTS AND LABOR IS AROUND $1700.00. THE VEHICLE IS BEYOND THE 4 YEAR, 50000 MILES WARRANTY AND APPARENTLY THERE ARE NO RECALLS FOR THIS ISSUE. SEARCHING THE INTERNET, I AM SEEING NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS FROM 2008 BMW X5 OWNERS WHO EXPERIENCED THIS EXACT SAME ISSUE AND HAD THE SAME DIAGNOSIS. THIS IS A VERY SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE - WHEN DRIVING ON A BUSY HIGHWAY AND SUDDENLY LOSING ALL POWER IN THE VEHICLE, VERY FEW DRIVERS WOULD BE LUCKY ENOUGH TO PULL OVER SAFELY AND AVOID A SERIOUS ACCIDENT. I REQUEST THAT THE NHTSA CONSIDER THIS SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE FROM A RECALL PERSPECTIVE DUE TO THE POTENTIAL HARM IT CAN DO TO THE LIVES OF MOTORISTS WHO MAY NOT BE LUCKY ENOUGH TO AVOID A SERIOUS CRASH. I BELIEVE THE MANUFACTURER SHOULD BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR THE BASIC SAFETY OF THE VEHICLE. THEY SHOULD THE NEEDFUL TO HELP OWNERS FIX THE ISSUE PROACTIVELY, BEFORE IT CAUSES HARM TO MORE MOTORISTS. *TR

RIGHT REAR SUNROOF DRAIN DID NOT DRAIN PROPERLY CAUSING ELECTRICAL MALFUNCTION INCLUDING FAILURE OF ALL SAFETY AND DASH GAUGES - (INCLUDING SPEEDOMETER, GAS GAUGE) ON INTERSTATE AT FREEWAY SPEED. REPAIRS EXCEED $1,500.00. *TR

WHEN A PEOPLE SEAT ON THE PASSENGER SEAT, THE LIGHT "AIRBAG OF THE PASSENGER SEAT IS OFF" IS ON. AND THE LED PANEL SHOWS "RESTRAIN SYSTEM MALFUNCTION". I GET MY CAR CHECKED AT THE DEALERSHIP, THEY SAID THIS IS DUE TO THE FAULT OF THE SENSOR IN THE SEAT AND WILL MAKE THE AIRBAG NOT DEPLOY IN AN ACCIDENT. ACTUALLY, THIS PROBLEM HAS BEEN THERE FOR A WHILE BUT ONLY HAPPEN OCCASIONALLY (ONE TIME A MONTH), AND CAN BE SOLVED BY CHANGE SITTING POSITION A LITTLE BIT. WHEN I CHECKED IN THE SERVICE, NOTHING WRONG WAS FOUND. HE SAID THE SAME PROBLEM EXISTS IN OLDER MODELS (E.G. 2005, 2006), WHICH ARE IN THE RECALL LIST OF BMW. BUT MINE IS NOT IN AND I NEED TO PAY $1400 TO GET IT REPAIRED. I THINK THIS IS A REALLY IMPORTANT ISSUE SINCE IT DISABLES THE AIRBAG, WHICH IS THE MOST IMPORTANT SAFETY EQUIPMENT. MY CAR IS IN A VERY GOOD CONDITION AND SERVICED REGULARLY. THERE IS NO REASON IT FAULTS IN SUCH A LOW MILEAGE AND AGE. MANY USERS IN THE BMW FORUM HAS THE SAME ISSUE, BUT IS UNDER RISK OR GOT TO PAY FOR THE REPAIR. I HOPE BMW CAN TAKE CARE OF THIS ISSUE TO RECALL THE CARS THAT ARE POTENTIALLY IN RISK. *TR

I WAS DRIVING HOME FROM STORE WHEN THE COOLANT FAN CAME ON AND WOULD NOT GO OFF. DISPLAY STATED THAT THE ENGINE WAS OVER HEATING AND IF IT CONTINUES TAKE IT IN FOR SERVICE. THE NEXT MORNING I TURNED ON THE CAR AND THE SAME THING HAPPENED AND WAS TOLD NOT TO DRIVE THE CAR BECAUSE COULD DAMAGE THE ENGINE. HAD THE CAR TOWED AND WAS TOLD THAT IT WAS THE RADIATOR. WAS TOLD THAT BMW RESIGNED THE RADIATOR THERE FOR THE HOSES HAD TO BE DONE OVER. THERE WAS NEVER ANY OTHER INDICATION PRIOR TO THIS. WAS ON MY WAY DRIVING OUT OF TOWN. LOOKED ONLINE AND IT APPEARS THAT THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM. THIS SHOULD NOT BE HAPPENING WITH ONLY 46,000 MILES ON THE CAR. I HAVE BEEN THE ORIGINAL OWNER. *TR