2001 BMW X5 Complaints

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 BMW X5. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE IN PARK, THE FRONT PASSENGER'S SIDE AIR BAG DEPLOYED INADVERTENTLY. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER BUT WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE AND SENT TECHNICIANS TO INSPECT THE VEHICLE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 149,000.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 BMW X5. THE CONTACT STATED THAT BOTH BRAKE LIGHTS FAILED TO ILLUMINATE WHEN THE BRAKE PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHERE BOTH BRAKE LIGHT BULBS AND HOLDERS WERE REPLACED; HOWEVER, THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN BACK TO THE DEALER WHERE THE TECHNICIAN STATED THAT THERE WAS A SHORT WITHIN THE BRAKE LIGHT SYSTEM AND BOTH WIRING HARNESSES NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 40,000.

04/30/16 I BOUGHT THE SUV LAS MONTH AND HAVE EVERY THING ORIGINAL EVERY THING WAS FINE UNTIL TODAY IT CAUGHT ON FIRE ON THE PASENGER SIDE UNDER THE GLOVE COMPARTMENT A 30 MIN AFTER PARKING IT ON THE DRIVE WAY I HEAR THE ALARM AND SAW ALOT OF SMOG COMING FROM THE TRUCK AT SOON AS I OPEN THE DOOR.

AUXILIARY COOLING FAN BEGAN BEGAN SMOKING AND SMOLDERING AFTER ABOUT 15 MINUTES AFTER BEING PARKED AT HOME. VERY NEARLY A FIRE. PART WAS ON RECALL PREVIOUSLY AND EXCHANGED BUT THEN RECALLED AGAIN AS THE SAME DEFECTIVE PART WAS USED AS REPLACEMENT DURING INITAL RECALL. MY VEHICLE WASN'T PART OF INITIAL RECALL DUE TO PRODUCTION DATE, AS MINE WAS PRODUCED 8/2000, BUT WAS STATED IN THE SECOND RECALL TO BE INCLUDED IF IT HAD THE DEFECTIVE PART. WENT TO BMW AND THEY STATED THERE WASN'T AN OPEN RECALL AND COULDN'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT. I SHOWED THEM THE ACTUAL RECALL CAMPAIGNS DOWNLOADED FROM THE WEB AND THEY REFUSED TO INVESTIGATE FURTHER STATING THAT THE COMPUTER SYSTEM WAS THE ONLY FACTOR TO DETERMINE IF A RECALL WAS WARRANTED AND THERE WASN'T AN 'OPEN' RECALL. I STATED THAT THIS MAY BE DUE TO RECALLS REMAINING OPEN FOR 15 YEARS AND THIS HAPPENED IN 2001 AND THEY STATED IT WAS IRRELEVANT SINCE NO OPEN CAMPAIGNS EXISTED. THE PART ON MY VEHICLE IS 64 54 6908 124 (E53) WHICH IS CLEARLY THE DEFECTIVE PART STATED AS PART OF THE RECALL, IN BMW'S AFTERSALES AND PARTS BULLETIN AS WELL. BMW SERVICE CONTINUES TO REFUSE TO ACKNOWLEDGE OR REPAIR.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 BMW X5. WITHOUT WARNING, THE MOTOR ASSEMBLY FAN FAILED AND CAUSED EXTENSIVE RADIATOR AND ENGINE DAMAGE. THE RADIATOR WAS EXTREMELY HOT DUE TO THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER WHO DIAGNOSED THAT THE MOTOR ASSEMBLY FAN NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE CONTACT ALSO MENTIONED THAT THERE WAS INTERMITTENT BRAKE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHO MADE SEVERAL UNKNOWN REPAIRS, BUT THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE BRAKE PEDAL WAS NOT COMPLETELY STOPPING THE VEHICLE WHEN IT WAS DEPRESSED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT INCLUDED IN NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBERS: 03V001000 (SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC), 02V194000 (SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC), 01V197000 (SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC), 02V138000 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING), AND 01V206000 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING). THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURES AND PROVIDED NO REMEDY. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 181,060.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNED A 2001 BMW X5. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 45 MPH, SMOKE ENTERED INTO THE VEHICLE AND BOTH THE PASSENGER AND DRIVER SIDE AIR BAGS DEPLOYED. SHORTLY AFTER THE CONTACT EXITED THE VEHICLE, IT BECAME ENGULFED IN FLAMES. THE FIRE DEPARTMENT WAS ABLE TO EXTINGUISH THE FIRE. THE VEHICLE WAS DESTROYED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 118,000.

THIS VEHICLE HAS THE 4.4 LITER V8 ENGINE. DRIVING ON A COLD MORNING (ABOUT 15 F) THE CCV (CRANK CASE VENTILATION) SYSTEM APPEARS TO HAVE FROZEN IN A MANNER THAT LEAD TO THE INTAKE SUCKING ENGINE OIL DIRECTLY INTO THE INTAKE AND TRYING TO COMBUST IT. THE ENGINE IMMEDIATELY LOST POWER AND BEGAN TO BILLOW SMOKE. I WAS ABLE TO LEAVE TRAFFIC AND SHUT THE ENGINE DOWN BEFORE THE ENGINE WAS DESTROYED. TOTAL REPAIRS (PARTS AND LABOR) COST ABOUT $1000. THIS FAILURE SEEMS TO HAPPEN FREQUENTLY TO X5 ENGINES AND THE LOCAL MECHANICS ALREADY SEEM TO KNOW THAT AN X5 BILLOWING SMOKE IS PROBABLY THE CCV FREEZE-UP PROBLEM. THE MECHANIC I CALLED FROM THE SIDE OF THE ROAD ACCURATELY DIAGNOSED THIS OVER THE PHONE. THE OWNER GROUPS ARE FULL OF REPORTS AND COMPLAINTS ABOUT CCV FREEZE-UP. BMW SEEMS TO BE AWARE OF THE PROBLEM AS THERE ARE REPORTS OF OWNERS WITH NEWER MODELS BEING GIVEN DISCOUNTED REPAIRS. FOR SOME 6-CYLINDER MODEL ENGINES AN INSULATED "COLD WEATHER" VERSION OF THE AFFECTED PARTS IS AVAILABLE AND IS SUGGESTED FOR THOSE THAT COMPLAIN ABOUT THE FAILURE AND FOR SOME V8 ENGINES AN EVEN HARDER TO FIND "HOSE HEATER" KIT IS AVAILABLE, BUT NOT WELL KNOWN EVEN TO THE DEALERS (I FOUND THE PART NUMBERS ONLINE AFTER BEING TURNED AWAY BY TWO DEALERS WHO SAID SUCH PARTS DON'T EXIST). THE SUDDEN LOSS OF POWER AND BILLOWING SMOKE SEEMS TO BE A SIGNIFICANT SAFETY ISSUE. DRAWING SUBSTANTIAL QUANTITIES OF ENGINE OIL INTO THE INTAKE AND COMBUSTION PATH SEEMS TO DEFEAT THE PURPOSE OF THE EMISSION CONTROL SYSTEM OVERALL. *TR

THE AIRBAG WARNING LIGHT ON THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER TURNED ON WHEN I HAD A PASSENGER IN THE FRONT PASSENGER SEAT OF THE VEHICLE. IT WOULD GO OFF AFTER A FEW START CYCLES WITH NO PASSENGERS, BUT THEN COME BACK ON THE NEXT TIME A PASSENGER WAS IN THE FRONT PASSENGER SEAT. I WAS ABLE TO READ THE CODES WHICH INDIRECTLY INDICATED A FAULT IN THE OCCUPANCY SENSOR MAT IN THE FRONT PASSENGER SEAT. I REPLACED THE SENSOR MAT AND RELATED WIRING INTERFACE AND THE WARNING LIGHT AND ERRORS HAVE NOT RETURNED. THERE ARE MANY OWNERS GROUPS THAT DISCUSS THE APPARENT HIGH FAILURE RATE OF THESE OCCUPANCY SENSOR MATS AND WE HAVE NOTED THAT MORE RECENT X5 MODELS WERE RECALLED, BUT THAT EARLIER MODELS WERE NOT. I SUSPECT THAT THE EARLIER MODELS HAVE THE SAME - OR A RELATED - PROBLEM. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 BMW X5. THE CONTACT STATED THAT UPON STARTING THE IGNITION, THERE WAS A DELAYED RESPONSE BEFORE THE VEHICLE WOULD ACCELERATE. A CHIME SOUNDED PRIOR TO THE FAILURE AND THE 'TRANSMISSION FAIL-SAFE PROG. WARNING MESSAGE DISPLAYED ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL. IN ADDITION, THE TRANSMISSION WOULD EXHIBIT HESITATION WHEN THE CONTACT WAS ACCELERATING FROM A COMPLETE STOP. THE FAILURE RECURRED WHENEVER THE ENGINE WAS IN OPERATION. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC FOR DIAGNOSIS. A TROUBLE CODE DETECTED A MALFUNCTION WITH THE TRANSMISSION. THERE WAS A RECALL UNDER NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER 01V196000 (POWER TRAIN), HOWEVER THE VIN WAS NOT INCLUDED. THE VEHICLE HAD NOT BEEN REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE DEFECT. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 130,000.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 BMW X5. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE BRAKE LIGHT FAILED TO SHUT OFF AND THE ABS WARNING LAMP ILLUMINATED. THE CONTACT MENTIONED THAT AFTER PARKING THE VEHICLE, BLACK SMOKE STARTED TO EMIT FROM THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT. AFTER INSPECTING THE VEHICLE, HE NOTICED THAT THE MASTER CYLINDER WAS COMPLETELY MELTED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO THE DEALER. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 157,000. *TR