10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 4
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
53,868 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.

Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2008 BMW X5:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #48

Dec 022017

X5 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 111,778 miles
The contact owns a 2008 BMW X5. While depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle stalled while going up a steep hill without warning. The vehicle was taken to rusnak BMW (3645 auto mall dr, thousand oaks, ca 91362, (805) 433-9576) where it was diagnosed with a failed valve in the engine. The contact was informed by the dealer that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired due to cost. The manufacturer was notified and a case was opened. No further assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 111,778.

- Camarillo, CA, USA

problem #47

Jan 142018

X5

  • 53,715 miles
Water pump problem of the 2008 BMW X5 engine overheated warning message illuminated when driving on high way with 65mph with a reduced power. The vehicle was towed to the dealer. The technician diagnosed that the water pump was defective and needed to be replaced. The failure mileage was 53K.

- Chapel Hill, NC, USA

problem #46

May 252016

X5

  • 0 miles
Takata recall. The contact owns a 2008 BMW X5. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign numbers: 16V364000 (air bags) and 17V683000 (engine and engine cooling) however, the parts to do the repairs were unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repairs. The dealer was contacted at: Deer automotive group located in randallstown, md, phone number: 410-922-0327, and confirmed that the parts were not available for the recall remedy. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and was not able to confirm when the parts were to become available. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available. Parts distribution disconnect.

- Winsor Mill, MD, USA

problem #45

Mar 312017

X5

  • 37,700 miles
Engine suddenly overheats due to defective water pump and shuts down quickly. Over heat warning came on a few seconds before engine immediately derated and went to idle. Very difficult to get out of harms way with no acceleration at all. Only 37,700 on vehicle. BMW owners reporting high frequency of premature water pump failures. Repairs cost $1,499 with additional towing charges of $285. The electric water pumps have poor quality plastic impellers. BMW should recall this costly repair due to safety concerns. My family and I were stranded for hours waiting on a tow during unsafe conditions.

- Rockville, MD, USA

problem #44

Mar 272017

X5

  • miles
Computer system does not function properly, causing vehicle to go into transmission error mode-vehicle abruptly loses power and speed while driving. This has happened on highway (saw our lives flash before our eyes as semis bore down on us and almost drove over us/other vehicles trying to avoid collisions and in town with several near-collisions involving ours' and other vehicles. Vehicle has had several recalls and computer system has been updated at our expense with problem not resolved and we are told we need new tranny. We do not believe this is so as when you turn off vehicle and turn it back on-code disappears and car drives fine until you go up a hill or let foot off accelerator/ accelerate, ect. Instead of addressing the problem with the computer system, dealerships make bank on replacing transmissions that soon fail again due to the computer issues.

- Pensacola, FL, USA

problem #43

Mar 162017

X5

  • 85,000 miles
While vehicle is running transmission malfunction code comes on and vehicle instantly loses power. Almost been rear ended on highway several times.spent 1000 recently on transmission parts. Researched and found out this is a soft ware issue and BMW has not acknowledged although thousands of reports have been filed-some by owners with only 1000 miles on them this has been an ongoing issue that BMW has ignored.

- Pensacola, FL, USA

problem #42

Mar 132017

X5

  • 10 miles
While driving on the highway, the dashboard give error that the transmission has failed. Car loses power and would not accelerate. Pulled over to the sign and turned off engine. Subsequently, engine will not start or crank as if battery power is list. Engine can be restarted with a jumper or if the car is left for about 30 minute to an hour, the engine will start without a jumper.

- Greenwich, CT, USA

problem #41

Oct 102016

X5 6-cyl

  • miles
While driving with the heat on, there's a burning smell that come through the vents. Continue driving with heat on long enough and despite the smell, the right side(passenger) began to smoke, so bad you cant see to drive... while driving and you press on the gas to accelerate, it's not a smooth transition, U cant beat a Honda... while driving every now and then U hear a loud screeching sound till you turn your car off... in stationary position with the car on, its makes loud engine running sounds... the car also pulls to the right...

- Los Angeles, CA, USA

problem #40

Dec 282015

X5

  • miles
My dashboard light flick engine, ABS, parking break will shut off vehicle less than 10min driving with caution.

- Wyandanch, NY, USA

problem #39

Aug 302015

X5

  • 69,000 miles
Overheating issue. I fixed the thermostat and the water hose but car immediately overheated once I got on the highway. This caused the car to immediately shut down on the freeway. This was a very dangerous situation.

- Paterson, NJ, USA

problem #38

Feb 262016

X5

  • 40,000 miles
Engine, acceleration shutdown (on interstate highway - 2/26/16); monitor display false message of "warning: Engine hot; overheating." Engine not hot or overheated; cool to touch. Coolant level full. Car disabled. Car gave 45 seconds at full acceleration before sounding high pitched fan noise, then displaying "warning message" on center monitor, then losing pedal acceleration power on extremely busy interstate 87 South highway at night, with intermittent emergency shoulder access. Dangerous to maintain maneuverability to safety with high velocity trucks and cars barreling alongside vehicle. Suspected part defect is "electronic temperature gauge" sensor, causing car to instantly disable when it isn't hot. Car is seldom driven and under 40,000 miles. Problem is suspect and reported on a variety of BMW series, including every model year X5 at: repairpal.com/cooling-system-component-failure-after-60000-miles-139 and www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?T=561024.

- New York, NY, USA

problem #37

Aug 302012

X5

  • 55,000 miles
I purchased a 2008 BMW X-5 with 50,000 miles on the odometer. I was shown proof from the used car dealership that the vehicle had only one prior owner, a female in her mid 50's. although the vehicle was immaculate and looked brand new, it needed a new right rear air suspension bag 3 months after the purchase and started leaking oil. Since purchasing the vehicle in 2012 I have continued to take the vehicle back to the same dealership at which time they clean the oil underneath, remove gaskets and bolts and reassemble everything to include using generous amounts of silicone. I recently took the vehicle back to the dealership and the owner did his usual "patch job" but he said this isn't working anymore and that the oil leak is actually coming from a failed gasket that is not accessible without removing the motor to the tune of $6,000 or more. The owner of the dealership further mentioned that the left rear air suspension bag has failed and needs to be replaced, as the car sits off camber while parked. The most important thing is that my vehicle had one owner, a middle aged female, my wife drives the car to the supermarket and kids school, not the race track so the failed gasket is clearly not the result of abusive driving, rather a manufacturers defect. According to the owner of the dealership, the 4.8 liter V-8 in my 2008 X-5 has been recalled for the same problem in the BMW 5,6 and 7 series. I am wondering if and when their might be a recall on the X-5's, as I do not have the money to replace the vehicle, yet I cannot afford to pay $6,000 + to fix the problem. I have talked with a lot of people both in and out of the car industry and the consensus is growing stronger and stronger that BMW uses faulty gaskets on purpose to make their money on the service end. BMW, the ultimate "servicing machine." My 2003 Ford Explorer, 218,000 miles has never had an issue?

- Paradise, CA, USA

problem #36

Sep 292014

X5

  • 37,000 miles
My 2008 X5 3.0si started just out of the blue to have this super loud fan noise while driving in town to pick up my kids. It was not even hot outside so I was wondering what's wrong with it. Also got the water overheating warning. Brought the car to the dealer and it was determined that the water pump was faulty. Cost me almost $1400 and the car had only 37000 miles on the clock. Why is there no recall for the 2008 6cylinder engine?

- Naperville, IL, USA

problem #35

Nov 282015

X5

  • 126,000 miles
Engine stalled at traffic light. Unable to restart car. Everything completely locked down. Car had to be towed.

- Charleston, SC, USA

problem #34

Aug 222015

X5

  • 57,000 miles
Car stalled and the message appeared on the dash board "engine too hot. Pull over and contact BMW representative". the issue is the water pump going bad causing engine to become hot. The dealer is saying that a new water pump is required.

- Carmel, IN, USA

problem #33

May 252015

X5

  • 47,000 miles
The contact owns a 2008 BMW X5. While driving approximately 35 mph, the vehicle suddenly stalled without warning. After restarting the vehicle, a rumbling noise was heard coming from the engine. The cause of the failure was not diagnosed. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 47,000.

- Norfork, VA, USA

problem #32

Mar 302015

X5 6-cyl

  • 91,848 miles
I noted that the vehicle was not running properly so I took the SUV into an authorized BMW service center to be inspected and repaired. I was notified that the vehicle had experienced a burned up wiring harness from a short circuit to the disa valve on the engine. I was also notified that cylinders 1, 3 and 5 had failed ignition coils, which was the reason for the poor operating performance. I was also informed that the vanos valves were sticking and may need replacing. Prior to the poor running performance, last year we experienced the car filling with smoke and had to evacuate the children and adults from the car when driving the car. The car was inspected and no problems were discovered and the smoke did not return, no codes were found. A few months later, November 2014, the car suffered a "major drive failure" warning message and would not shift into gear from an engine idle condition. Car was towed to a BMW mechanic and inspected. It was discovered that a fuse had blown and was replaced without further incident. From an engineering and design perspective, no wire on a car should melt and burn, since fuses are required to protect the circuits to prevent that very event. BMW of turnersville, NJ completed the inspection under invoice #[xxx]. I fell BMW should replace the failed wiring harness and disa valve, since it caused the fire by its failure. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Middletown, DE, USA

problem #31

Sep 162014

X5 6-cyl

  • 36,000 miles
My wife was driving to pick up my son from school and she noticed a loud humming noise after about 15 minutes into the drive. The radiator fan kicked in because the engine coolant got above a certain temperature. After 10 minutes the warning label popped up to stop as soon as possible due to coolant temperature high. Also no hot air was coming from the heater. My suspicion that the electric water pump was failed was also confirmed by my dealer billjacobs of naperville which did the repair on the 31.March 2015.

- Naperville, IL, USA

problem #30

Feb 012015

X5 6-cyl

  • 76,000 miles
Warning came engine overheating stop and call dealer.cooling fan blowing at full speed as if plane has started. Took to local mechanic who diagnosed water pump failure and told after 5 years majority of these cars having this problem and he has repaired many of them.

- Edmond, OK, USA

problem #29

Jan 012014

X5 6-cyl

  • 80,000 miles
The vehicle shakes, runs rough and turns itself off when braking/stopped at red lights. I have taken the car to BMW naples and another repair shop. They requested I have a tune up and replace two sensors which I have done. Thousand of dollars later and the problem was not fixed. No one can tell me what the problem is. I have researched it online and found other people are having the same problem with their BMW X5.

- Naples, FL, USA

Read the next 20 complaints »