10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 2
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
19,371 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

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problem #14

Jan 282019

X5

  • 55,000 miles
Sunroof motor shorted and killed battery at 45,000 miles. Caused drivetrain malfunction. Door molding on rear drivers side door separating. Fuel injectors failed (cylinder 4 and 6) causing drive train malfunction at 55,000.miles

- Charlotte, NC, USA

problem #13

Jun 082018

X5

  • 45,000 miles
Vehicle has comfort access soft close doors. While driving, 2 separate times, the passenger doors became unlatched, or opened by themselves. It happened on both front and rear doors.

- Brooklyn Park, MN, USA

problem #12

Mar 022018

X5

  • 41,000 miles
I have the soft-close door option and on three occasions my drivers rear door has unlatched while driving. It did not open but, rather, became unlatched resulting in a warning.

- Mooresburg, TN, USA

problem #11

Mar 192018

X5

  • 28,000 miles
BMW soft close doors came open I was driving on the freeway yesterday 3/19/2018 and the passenger door on my vehicle came ajar. My vehicle is equipped with comfort access as well as soft close doors and this is a very dangerous situation as there were passengers in the car. I am uncertain as to why the door did this, I was traveling around ~60 mph, there was a ~20 mph headwind, however this is extremely unnerving.

- Oklahoma City, OK, USA

problem #10

May 122017

X5

  • 48,500 miles
At 48,500 miles I had a passenger door not closed light come on. I have the optional soft closed doors. I made an appointment but was not able to get in right away due to scheduling issues as the nearest dealer is 60+ miles away. By the time I got the car to the dealer it had 50,015 miles. I was told by the dealer that BMW was very strict about the mileage warranty and would not fix it despite the fact I called to make the appointment the week prior "while still below 50,000 miles". I was told I should have flat-bedded it in and I would have stayed below 50000 miles and it would have been covered. This seemed a ridiclous to me. The estimated cost with diagnosis was $1,100 aprox. For what appeared to be a door latch sensor malfunction. At 52, 500 miles the driver door is now having the same problem and is at the dealership. I know BMW has had other issues with their soft close doors and want to add my issues. My vehicle is a 2014 X5 35I xdrive. Order of events, 5-17 48,500 aprx. First issue with passenger door (intermittent then continous) scheduled appt 6-6-17 vehicle had 50015 miles. 8-17 driver side door light (intermittent at first then continuous) in dealer 9 -10-17 for repair. I did contact BMW about issue and they are looking into offering me "goodwill" service!!

- Horseheads, NY, USA

problem #9

Sep 152015

X5

  • 16,000 miles
The contact owns a 2014 BMW X5. While driving 25 mph, the contact smelled a burning odor. The contact stated that after the vehicle was parked in the driveway, the interior caught fire. The vehicle was towed to an unknown location. No further details were available for the fire. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 16,000.

- Alamo, TX, USA

problem #8

Sep 152015

X5

  • 16,000 miles
The contact owns a 2014 BMW X5. While driving 25 mph, the contact smelled a burning odor. Once the vehicle was parked in the driveway, a fire occurred and burned the inside of the vehicle. The vehicle was towed. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was 16,000.

- Alamo, TX, USA

problem #7

Feb 262015

X5

  • 10,200 miles
The first time the front passenger door opened on it's own to the safety catch while merging onto a freeway. The result was a dashboard alarm stating a door was open. This vehicle is equipped with soft close doors option. The second time the left-read door opened to the safety catch while traveling approximately 20mph in a residential neighborhood. In both instances, the vehicle was only occupied by the driver. The vehicle was at a dealer who replaced several components within the doors.

- Mountain View, CA, USA

problem #6

Oct 032014

X5

  • 500 miles
Doors opened (on multiple occasions) by themselves, while the vehicle was in motion. The vehicle has soft close automatic doors; yet driver's door as well as rear passenger doors opened while driving. The dealer - BMW North scottsdale- claimed to have repaired it (based on BMW service bulletin), yet it occurred again within a few days. Eventually BMW North America bought the vehicle back, but did not respond to my letter regarding the defect.

- Scottsdale, AZ, USA

problem #5

Sep 062014

X5

  • 5,500 miles
Doors open by themselves, when locked, while driving the vehicle at various speeds. This has been happening for no apparent reason. (this vehicle has soft-close doors, comfort access option) first incident was on 6 Sept. 2014 at 6:35 am. I made a right turn and began to merge onto a dark highway and was startled when the lights turned on inside the cabin, a warning light/door open indicator illuminated in the dash and I heard air rushing through my driver's door. It had popped open and was ajar and the door lock was still down. I was driving about 35-40 mph beginning the acceleration to the speed limit of 55. (it was early morning, dark, and to suddenly have the lights come on and warning indicators illuminate was very scary) I wasn't able to safely pull over due to other cars around me and I couldn't pull the door completely closed by pulling on it. I had to hold the door with my hand until there were no other cars around. Then, while driving, I had to open the door quickly and slam it shut. I wasn't able to keep the vehicle completely steady in the lane when doing so. This could easily have caused a crash. I was positive the door was closed completely when I left the house, soft close doors always close completely, no door open indicators were lit, and my vehicle won't let you drive away if a door is open. I was on the road about 30-40 minutes or so when the incident occurred. The exact thing happened again, 2 weeks later, when I made a left turn into the driveway where I work, turned right and pulled into a parking space. While I was pulling in, the passenger front door popped open exactly like the first incident. We brought it into BMW on 7 Oct., there is tsb with the "fix", they had our car for 5 days. Replaced bowden cables and put in a modified part. On 2 November it happened again to the left rear door. I took pictures and a video. It's going back to BMW 4 Nov.

- Spring Hill, FL, USA

problem #4

Jul 262014

X5

  • 700 miles
The doors on my brand new X5 open slightly and become ajar while driving. When this happens, there is a 'thunk' sound and I can hear air noise due to the small gap. This happened on 7/26/14 to the rear passenger side door. BMW North America worked on the vehicle for several days replacing the rear door latch mechanisms and adjusting the two front door mechanisms. The problem was not corrected, on 8/23/14 the driver's door also became ajar while I was driving. When it happens it is somewhat startling due to the sudden 'thunk', particularly when it's the driver's door. On both occasions, when the incident happens, the dashboard lights up indicating that a door is not correctly closed. The doors are locked when this happens. The vehicle is equipped with soft-close doors. Noboby was touching the doors when the problem occurred...updated 10/01/14 updated 02/27/2015......updated 12/15/15 updated 06/16/2017

- Mountain View, CA, USA

problem #3

Jun 192014

X5

  • 1,000 miles
This happened to me while driving a brand new 2014 BMW X5 on 3 separate occasions (different days) the drivers door and the left rear passenger door both opened while driving. The door will open to the point that I can hear the wind coming through the door. I get a sign on the dash board that the door is open, interior lights goes on, however, without the audible sound to warn that a door is open. If I try to pull on the door to close it, it will not close unless I completely open the door and slam it shut. If I try to push the door to open it without pulling the handle it would not open either. I took my car to my local BMW local dealership after the second time it happened and they took it in to check: The electrical wiring on the doors, the locks and finally reprogrammed the car. Three days later the same issue happened on the driver passenger door while I was driving and as I was turning. I felt the door moving as it opened, got the visible display that the door opened however without the audible alarm again. The door locks I have the automatic suction door shutting system and the door locks automatically engage as soon as I drive off.

- Abu Dhabi, CO, USA

problem #2

Jun 162014

X5 6-cyl

  • 3,000 miles
My vehicle has soft-close doors, when I started driving from home, all the doors were closed, and the doors were locked. After about 2 miles, I suddenly heard loud noise/air coming through the front passenger door. The front passenger door popped open while driving, not fully open, only a little to hear the noise and for the open door indicator to light up on the dashboard. This happened when my kid was sitting in the back. I have to pull over safely within few yards and closed the door manually. This is dangerous as my kids sometime sit leaning onto the door or take a nap with support from the door. I stopped driving the vehicle and took it to the dealership at the next available appointment. The dealership checked and returned the vehicle back saying they are "unable to reproduce".

- Aurora, IL, USA

problem #1

Feb 112014

X5 6-cyl

  • 800 miles
My vehicle has soft-close doors, after closing the doors they popped open while driving, not fully open, only about a half-inch, enough to be ajar and for the open door indicator to light up on the dashboard. This happened 4 times in the first 5 weeks of owning the vehicle and BMW has not been able to fix it, giving it back to me each time with the claim that they are unable to reproduce the problem. On one occasion, and as requested by the dealership, I drove the car back with an ajar door without touching it or turning off the engine. The dealership took a photo and stated that this shouldn't have happened given that the car has soft-close doors and that it won't actually start driving if any door is still slightly open. I have a copy of the photo as proof, but the dealership upon instruction from BMW na was instructed to return the vehicle stating that it has no issue. The dealership did replace the locking mechanisms on the two doors (both front and rear passenger side doors) that became ajar, but it happened again, the fourth time.

- Mountain View, CA, USA