2012 BMW X5 SAV Complaints

WHILE DRIVING IN A HIGHWAY APPROX 70 MPH, WARNING LIGHT CAME ON; "ENGINE TOO HOT. DRIVE MODERATELY". HAD TO BE TOWED. ELECTRIC AUXILIARY PUMP IS BAD. THE 6 CYLINDER MODEL SHOULD ALSO BE UNDER THE SAME RECALL/WARRANTY AS THE 8 CYLINDER X5. PLEASE INCLUDE IN RECALL! *TR

DRIVESHAFT FAILURE. I WAS DRIVING DOWN THE INTERSTATE ON A STRAIGHT AND LEVEL SECTION OF THE ROAD. I HEARD A LOUD HUMMING FROM THE ENGINE AREA SO I SLOWED DOWN AND THEN I HEARD A LOUD POP AND METAL GRINDING AND HITTING UNDER THE CAR. MY VEHICLE IS OUT OF WARRANTY, SO I HAD IT TOWED TO MY INDEPENDENT MECHANIC THAT SPECIALIZES IN EUROPEAN VEHICLES. THEY SAID THE DRIVESHAFT "FELL APART" AND AS I WAS SLOWING DOWN IT WAS STILL SPINNING AND BANGED AROUND CAUSING DAMAGE TO MY EXHAUST SYSTEM AND OIL PAN. I RESEARCHED AND FOUND THAT 2011 VEHICLES HAD BEEN RECALLED FOR A DEFECT THAT COULD CAUSE THE DRIVESHAFT TO FAIL, SO I CALLED BMW AND THEY TOLD ME THAT SINCE MY VEHICLE WAS NOT LISTED ON THE RECALL THAT THERE WAS NOTHING THEY COULD DO. I TRIED CALLING THEM AGAIN IN REGARDS TO THE PRIOR YEAR'S RECALL AND ASKED IF IT MAY INCLUDE 2012 MODEL VEHICLES AT A LATER DATE AND THEY COULD NOT GIVE ME AN ANSWER. IT SEEMS STRANGE THAT A VEHICLE MANUFACTURED 4 MONTHS AFTER A RECALL HAS THE SAME ISSUE BUT SOMEHOW IT IS NOT COVERED. I CALLED MY LOCAL BMW SERVICE CENTER AND THEY TOLD ME THAT THEY ADDED A 10 YEAR WARRANTY ONTO THE DRIVESHAFT PARTS, BUT I MUST NOT HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED. SO IF I WOULD HAVE TAKEN IT TO THEM, THEY WOULD HAVE FIXED IT FOR FREE, BUT SINCE I DIDN'T, THEY COULDN'T DO ANYTHING FOR ME. THE NHTSA CAMPAIGN # FOR THE 2011 X5 IS: 16V311000. *TR

PROBLEMS RELATING TO TRANSFER CASE. CAR VIBRATED ON TURNS IN STEERING COLUMN AND THE TURNING BOTH ON THE RIGHT SIDE AND THE LEFT SIDE IS VIBRATING A LOT.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 BMW X5 SAV. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 35 MPH, SMOKE APPEARED FROM THE TAIL PIPE AND THE ENGINE COOLANT WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. THE CONTACT DROVE THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE ENGINE MOUNT AND COOLANT EXPANSION TANK NEEDED REPLACEMENT ALONG WITH THE TURBO CHARGER WATER PUMP. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE ENGINE WAS REBUILT BY THE DEALER PRIOR TO THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 53,000.

THE UNIVERSAL JOINT ON THE FRONT DRIVE SHAFT SHEERED IN HALF WHILE DRIVING MY KIDS TO SCHOOL THIS MORNING. THERE WAS NO WARNING SIGNS OR NOTICEABLE VIBRATIONS BEFORE. TOWED VEHICLE TO SHOP & DISCOVERED THE PROBLEM. A QUICK GOOGLE SEARCH REVEALED THE FOLLOWING: BMW ISSUED A SERVICE BULLETIN TO "INSPECT" THE DRIVE SHAFT BACK IN MARCH OF 2015 NHTSA ID NUMBER: 10056722 / BMW SIB-26-01-14 AND IN AUGUST OF 2015 THEY ISSUED A VOLUNTARY WARRANTY EXTENSION, BMW SIB-01-15-15. I WILL SEND VEHICLE TO THE LOCAL BMW DEALERSHIP AND ASK FOR THE REPAIR TO HAPPEN UNDER THIS WARRANTY EXTENSION......UPDATED 06/23/16 * BF *CN

TRIED TO COMPLETE A 3-POINT TURN INTO A PARKING SPACE WHEN PLACING VEHICLE FROM REVERSE INTO DRIVE, THE VEHICLE UNASSISTED IT ACCELERATION AND WOULD NOT BRAKE NOR STEER; THUS CAUSING MYSELF TO CRASH HEAD ON INTO A CONCRETE BARRIER.

WHILE IDLING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT, A ROARING NOISE ALL OF A SUDDEN STARTED UNDERNEATH THE CAR. AS I STARTED MOVING, THE NOISE SEEMED TO FOLLOW THE ENGINE ACCELERATION AND GOT LOUDER. THE STEERING WHEEL STARTED GETTING HARDER TO MANIPULATE AND THE NOISE GOT LOUDER AT EACH STEER. I WAS IN A DIFFERENT STATE, ABOUT 40 MILES FROM MY HOUSE. BY THE TIME I GOT TO MY HOUSE, THE STEERING WHEEL WAS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO MANEUVER. I PARKED THE CAR TO TAKE IT TO THE DEALER THE NEXT MORNING. THAT MORNING, WHEN I STARTED THE CAR FOR THE DEALER, THE NOISE WAS LIKE A CRACKING NOISE AND THE STEERING WHEEL WAS STUCK. I CALLED ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE TO TOW THE CAR TO THE BMW OF MANHATTAN DEALER. AMONG OTHER THINGS, THEY FOUND: POWER STEERING RESERVOIR EMPTY, CONNECTIONS ON PRESSURE RETURN LINES LEAKING, GASKETS SEALS LEAKING. AFTER THEY FIXED THE CAR, I STARTED HAVING STEERING ISSUES. THE STEERING WHEEL NOW HAS AN EXTREMELY WIDE PLAY, THE CAR IS ROCKING AT THE SLIGHTEST BUMP, PULLING LEFT OR RIGHT WHEN BRAKING. MOREOVER, WHEN ON A HIGHWAY AT ABOUT 55MPH, ANY ROUGH OR PATH HOLE WOULD THROW THE CAR ON A ZIG ZAG AND I HAVE TO FIGHT WITH THE STEERING WHEEL TO KEEP THE CAR FROM VEERING ONTO OTHER CARS RUNNING BY. I RETURNED THE CAR 3 TIMES TO THE SAME DEALER, 10/07 AND 10/23 AND AFTER KEEPING THE CAR FOR DAYS, THEY SAY CANNOT REPLICATE MY COMPLAINT. IN THE MEANTIME, I SENT THEM COUNTLESS OF EXPLICATIVE EMAILS AND COPIED BMW CUSTOMER SERVICE TO NO AVAIL. I HAD TO GO TO OPEN ROAD BMW OF EDISON NJ ON 12/0314, 2/13/15 AND AT THE 3RD TIME ON 3/31/15 AND AT 34,500 MILES, THEY FOUND OUT THIS: EXCESSIVE PLAY INSIDE STEERING RACK, DROPPED SUBFRAME, BLED THE SYSTEM, REPLACED STEERING RACK. ON 4/3/- 4/5/15, I AM STILL HAVING SUDDEN PULLS ON BRAKING AND UNEVEN ROADS I LEARNED BMW RECALLED 2009- 2012 X5D SAV VEHICLES FOR STEERING WHEELS ISSUES. MY CAR IS JAN 2012. IT HAS NEVER BEEN RECALLED. *TR

PURCHASED NEW 2012 X 5 IN AUGUST 2011. IN JULY 2014 CAR VIBRATED ON TURNS IN STEERING COLUMN AND THOUGHT IS WAS THE NEW TIRES, THEY SAID IT WAS THE CIRCUMFERENCE ON ONE OF THE TIRES, INSTALLED NEW SET. STILL THE VIBRATION OCCURRED....TURNS OUT IS TRANSFER CASE AND $6200.00. THEY COVERED ALL BUT 1300.00 OF MINE AT THE DEALER LEVEL. FRIEND BOUGHT SAME VEHICLE IN OCTOBER 2011 SAME DEALER AND I EXPLAINED PROBLEM TO HER AND SHE HAD THE SAME SYMPTOMS AND ALMOST IDENTICAL MILEAGE. HER TRANSFER CASE ALSO BAD THE SAME MONTH MINE WAS. SHE HAD TO FIGHT WITH BMW BECAUSE SHE HAD OVER 75,000. AT FIRST HER ASSISTANCE ON THE REPLACEMENT WAS DENIED, THEN AFTER CALLS SHE ACTUALLY HAD ALL BUT 500.00ISH PAID. DEALER SAID THEY RARELY HAD TO REPLACE A TRANSFER CASE AND IT WAS A FLUKE- WE DIDN'T THINK SO. FAST FORWARD, BOTH CARS NOW 10,000 MILES LATER EACH ( NOVEMBER 2014)"SMOKE" UPON STARTING IF THEY SIT FOR A FEW DAYS (THE "STEAM" CLOUD IS HUGE). WE BOTH HAD TO ADD OIL WHICH THEY SAY IS NORMAL AFTER AN OIL CHANGE LESS THAN 7000 MILES AGO. DEALER SAYS IT IS NORMAL ON THE OIL ADDITION AND NORMAL SMOKE- CONDENSATION- THIS TIME WE TOOK THEM IN THE SAME DAY AND HAD THEM SIT OVER THE WEEKEND. PEOPLE JUMP BACK FROM MINE BECAUSE THEY ARE SCARED! NOW A WEEK LATER, BOTH SMELL OF ANTIFREEZE WHEN LEFT RUNNING A FEW MINUTES PARKED WITH THE HEAT ON. TOO MANY COINCIDENCES. THIS IS MY THIRD BMW- BUT FIRST TIME WITH PROBLEMS. JUST READ ONLINE ABOUT OTHER TRANSFER CASE ISSUES WITH THAT MODEL YEAR. WE BELIEVE AS THESE MODELS AGE, AND PEOPLE HAVE MORE MILES ( WE ARE BOTH REALTORS SO WE HAVE VERY HIGH MILEAGE) THIS TRANSFER CASE WILL FAIL. I BELIEVE IT IS A FAULTY PART AND NEEDS TO BE RECALLED. AT THE RATE WE DRIVE WE WILL NEED ANOTHER TRANSFER CASE IN 2 YRS. *TR

I AM A CERTIFIED FIRE INVESTIGATOR WITH VIRGINIA FARM BUREAU, I RECEIVED THIS LOSS 08/14/14. INSURED STATED THAT ON 08/13/14 HE WAS IN HIS HOUSE AND HEARD THE CAR ALARM TO THIS BMW (DIESEL) SAV X5 GOING OFF. HE LOOKED OUTSIDE AND SAW THE LIGHTS FLASHING AND THE WINDSHIELD WIPERS GOING. NO ONE WAS IN THE VEHICLE. HE WENT OUTSIDE AND SAW SMOKE AND FIRE IN THE DASH AREA, PASSENGER SIDE. HE CALLED 911 AND THE FIRE WAS QUICKLY EXTINGUISHED, BUT CAUSED MAJOR FIRE DAMAGE TO THE DASH AREA. BMW REPRESENTATIVE AND AN ENGINEER HIRED BY OUR COMPANY (FORCON INTERNATIONAL) CONDUCTED A JOINT INSPECTION. THE FIRE DAMAGE WAS AGAIN LOCALIZED TO THE PASSENGER SIDE DASH AREA. IT WAS DETERMINED THE FIRE WAS THE CAUSE OF SOME TYPE OF ELECTRICAL ISSUE. BMW DENIED IT WAS THEIR FAULT STATING THERE WAS TOO MUCH DAMAGE FOR THEM TO ACCEPT LIABILITY. THE VEHICLE HAS BEEN SHRINK WRAPPED FOR FUTURE INSPECTION AND IS CURRENTLY BEING STORED IN A LOCKED FACILITY IN RICHMOND, VA. THE VEHICLE IS STILL UNDER WARRANTY, THERE WAS NOTHING ADDED ON TO THE VEHICLE BY THE OWNER, IT WAS ALL FACTORY INSTALLED. PICTURES ARE AVAILABLE AND THE OWNER WOULD BE MORE THAN WILLING TO SPEAK TO SOMEONE WITH NHTSA IF NECESSARY. *TR

AFTER REPLACEMENT OF BRAKES ON MY 2012 BMW X5, UPON RETURN, I STARTED TO FEEL A VIBRATION WHILE TURNING IN THE PARKING LOT. AFTER TWO VISITS TO THE DEALERSHIP, I WAS INFORMED THAT THE TRANSFER CASE BOX (ASSOCIATED WITH THE TRANSMISSION) HAS FAILED. THIS OCCURS 5000MILES AFTER THE WARRANTY ON THE TRANSMISSION AND ENGINE EXPIRE. I HAVE DONE A GOOGLE SEARCH ON THIS PART ON X5 MODELS, AND OTHERS HAVE REPORTED SIMILAR EXPERIENCES. THIS INCLUDES REPORTS OF FAULTY PARTS INSTALLED AT THE MANUFACTURE. BMW HAS AGREED TO COVER 60% OF THE REPAIR BILL. THIS SENDS A RED FLAG THAT PERHAPS THE MANUFACTURE IS AWARE OF THE PROBLEM AND SHOULD BE REPAIRING AT THE PROBLEM AT NO COST TO THE CLIENT. *TR