2021 BMW X5 SUV AWD
Safety Ratings.
NHTSA’s 5-Star Safety Ratings help consumers compare vehicle safety when searching for a car. More stars mean safer cars.
Combines Side Barrier and Side Pole Star Ratings into a single side rating.
Combines Side Barrier and Side Pole Star Ratings into a single side rating.
The Rollover Resistance test measures the risk of rollover in a single-vehicle, loss-of-control scenario.
Rollover Risk: 15.9%
23 Complaints
The contact owns a 2021 BMW X5. The contact stated that as her husband was stopped at a stop light, the vehicle began to rev after he had taken his foot off the brake pedal without warning. Once her husband placed his foot back on the brake pedal, the revving stopped, and her husband was able to resume normal driving. On a separate occasion, her husband was waiting for a vehicle to move out of a parking spot; the same failure occurred as her husband took his foot off the brake pedal. Her husband was forced to slam on the brakes as the engine continued to rev and the vehicle lurched forward. The contact who was seated in the passenger’s seat, shut off the vehicle to avoid hitting the vehicle in front. Her husband restarted the vehicle and drove it home; he then had the vehicle towed to the dealer the next day. The dealer inspected the vehicle but could not duplicate the failure. The service tech was not satisfied with the results and decided to call the manufacturer to approve more testing of the vehicle. The vehicle had yet to be repaired and remained in the possession of the dealer. The failure mileage was approximately 14,000. The VIN was not available.
The contact owns a 2021 BMW X5. The contact stated while his wife was reversing the vehicle into the main road when shifting gears into drive, the vehicle began to reverse independently while still depressing on the brake pedal. The contact stated the vehicle ran into two different trees and slashed the front driver's side tire. The contact stated the Park Distance Control (PDC) malfunction warning light was illuminated. No air bags were deployed. The driver did not have any injuries or seek medical attention. A police report was not filed. The contact was able to park the vehicle back into his residence. The contact towed the vehicle to a local dealer, who called the manufacturer. The manufacturer sent their engineers to diagnose the failure. The manufacturer called the contact and was informed it was a human error. The failure mileage was approximately 8,000.
After stopping for a red light for a right turn vehicle does not accelerate in hybrid mode when commanded to do so. No alarms are present. Car is shown to be in Drive. After numerous attempts to switch transmission gears and restart the engine, switched to gas (sport) mode and was able to accelerate the car. Occurred on at least 3 occasions. A dangerous event because drivers behind the car could accelerate thus causing an accident. The incident could also cause driver rage from drivers behind my car attempting to make the left turn.
UNKNOWN CAR STARTED SHAKING ON THE HIGHWAY AND SUDDENLY LOST POWER. SHOWN ERROR 'POWER TRAIN MAILFUNCTION'
The low beam headlights do not illuminate the road sufficiently when there are dips in the road or going up hill. The dealer says the lights are fine but relative to the other cars, there is clearly a problem with low beams on undulating roads. On undulating roads or going up hills, the low beams often only illuminate about 20 ft in front of the car. The problem appears to be BMW has drastically limited the upward lighting from the lights for safety of other drivers. However, they have gone too far and created a safety issue with too little upward illumination to be safe on uneven roads. The low beams are great on a perfectly flat surface, but even with a small up hill grade, the low beams are not set to provide enough lighting of the road. I have taken to driving with high beams on for undulating roads because of the lighting provided by the low beams is so bad. This means inadvertently blinding oncoming drivers because I don't turn the high beam headlights down soon enough. I often need to use high beams to read the names of side street signs. The turn signal does a better job illuminating these side street signs than the low beams. By trying to enhance safety for on coming drivers from low beams, they forgot to account for real world driving condition of undulating roads and have created a worse safety issue by forcing more frequent use of high beams that absolutely blind on coming divers.
Drive train warning displayed then power loss and stalling occurred on highway
Previously reported that the BMW X5e, Plug in hybrid, shuts itself off once the driver's door is opened leaving anybody in the car at risk of serious health problems or even death! A menu selection option should disable this unsafe practice but it does not work. As if there is a software glitch. Other models, the X3e stays on when the driver's door is opened. I've previously reported this item but now my father has injured himself recently. After a medical appointment and retrieving his medications my father was in the car in unsafe and deadly heat and attempted to exit the vehicle due to the car shutting itself off and he fell and hurt himself. The manufacturer has been contacted several times and at times they say this should not be happening but the dealers are saying that is how the vehicle is designed. I also have videos of the other models not shutting off for review. PLEASE FIX THIS ITEM!
When reversing out of driveway/parking space, the rear cross traffic warning alert doesn't give any warning until my vehicle is inches from another vehicle. The system isn't sensitive enough.
System fails to notify me of pedestrians/cross traffic when backing out of driveway, parking lots, etc. Multiple near misses. Orange/red shadows on screen do not appear. Ditto for beeps.
SRS (airbag system) unit that is located underneath center console cupholder can be damaged by a small amount of liquid. Once SRS is damaged, a restraint system failure notification is alerted and the vehicle becomes immobile. Similar recall was issued in the past : Recall Number 96V107000 Manufacturer stated that neither the cupholder nor SRS unit is not watersealed. As the SRS unit seats directly underneath the non-watersealed cupholder it is not surprising to say that this may cause liquid damage while vehicle is in motion. Incident : Vehicle was purchased June 2021, a week later a restraint system failure notification was displayed. Towed the vehicle back to the deaelarship and found out that the SRS unit was damaged due to liquid. Dealer explains that liquid may leak through the cupholder and disable SRS unit. SRS unit was replaced with new, but no other prevention was made.
Lower tailgate failed and caused me to dump a load of groceries on a busy highway. Vehicle was inspected and it was determined that a spindle connected to a motor had failed. The tailgate must be opened and closed manually now. There were no messages of failure or warning that the rear tailgate was unlocked when this grocery incident occurred. I am a member of a Facebook forum related to this vehicle and many other owners whose vehicles were made in the same time frame have experienced this failure. The part has been on back order for a month.
My BMX X5 45e SUV shuts itself off once the driver's door is opened turning off the car and all systems, including the Air Conditioning. There is an option in the menu to NOT allow the vehicle to shut off when the driver's door is opened. That has no affect on the operation at all. As if there is a software glitch ignoring this menu selection. I've contacted the BMW Genius line 2 times and they advised this should not be happening. The dealer advised, after inspection, this is how the car is designed. On several occasions I've had people in the car, to include my disabled parents and had to run errands... That leaves them in the vehicle without any air. There is a "pre condition" feature you can activate Only if there is battery power left on the vehicle. My disabled father was found trying to stand outside in 96 degree weather a couple weeks ago while I was attempting to get his prescriptions after a medical appointment. The system had shut itself off with him in the car and the inside of the vehicle was well over 115 degrees. The problem occurs all the time. I currently have a loaner X3e and that SUV DOES stay on when in sport mode (using combustion engine). I have 2 separate videos of the X3e where the vehicle does Not turn itself off after I open the drivers door and get out. I feel the design of my X5e is a huge safety issue putting people's lives at risk! I'd be happy to speak to someone about this issue if needed and am willing to have the vehicle inspected as well. There are no warning lights or indicators that go off and the vehicle has been inspected by the dealership twice since being purchased on 5/14/21, last inspection was yesterday 7/29/21. Again, I don't understand why BMW is giving different answers and why another vehicle does not have the same potential life safety issue.
Vehicle was being driven and showed power supply issue and then flashed a drive train warning and lost propulsion power. The vehicle started hopping / jerking. The A/C stopped working and the center console became intensely hot to the touch; so much so it was uncomfortable to keep you hand on the center console. The vehicle is currently at the dealership stating they believe a software update was needed. The issues mirror those that occurred when the car failed as a result of a previous EV battery recall. Issue concerns me as the intense heat created makes me concern about of potential electrical fire or failure when driving at higher speeds. Occurred on July 10, 2021.
On 6/8/2021, when pulling out of my driveway approximately 9:00 am, I experienced the car switching from Hybrid mode to Sport mode without me engaging the Sport mode control. The following day (6/9/2021), after a day of primarily interstate driving (over 200 miles), while stopping at a red light, I felt the brake pedal fall to the floor faster than I was applying pressure and I came to a sudden stop. The brakes had seized and the car was towed to Thompson BMW. The tow driver was able to release the brakes by pulling up the brake pedal. Thompson BMW could not recreate the brake failure but their diagnostics indicated brake failure. BMW NA was called as my car was less than 6 months old with 9724 miles. The service advisor told me that they were instructed to replace the Master Cylinder but could not tell me why brakes failed. Knowing that this was a significant safety concern, I opened a safety complaint with BMW. BMW could not tell me the root cause of the brake failure and as a result, I had no confidence that the problem was “fixed”. Master cylinders rarely fail. They also refused to provide me the diagnostics report. They said I was only entitled to the maintenance invoice. Linda Vitale was assigned my complaint and in a voicemail, told me I lost power to the DSCI module. She said the DSCI “has a fail-safe mode and if no power was present the conventional brakes” would work. They replaced the DSCI module and “it should be fine.” Based on her email, and then conversation, BMW engineering said I had an electrical issue. So why did the conventional brakes fail? I am very concerned that BMW has not identified the real problem and I can experience this brake failure again. If this failure had occurred while braking on an interstate highway, I could have been killed or vehicle could have caused fatal accident. I am extremely concerned about the safety of this vehicle, especially since over 60% of my driving in on highways and interstates.
The contact owns a 2021 BMW X5. The contact stated while reversing out of their driveway and making a right turn, the display screen on the center console went red. The contact depressed the brake pedal and the pedal went all the way to the floor. The contact took their foot off the brake pedal and depress on the accelerator pedal, when the contact noticed the display screen showed the vehicle went from hybrid mode to sports mode on it's own. The driver had to press the hybrid button to get the vehicle back to normal. However, the next day the contact was driving at an undisclosed speed and approaching a red light when they depressed the brake pedal the vehicle jerked to a stop. The contact then depressed the accelerator pedal but the vehicle would not move. The contact waited a few moments and depressed the accelerator pedal again this time the vehicle was slowly moving forward. The contact was able to pull over to the side of the road. The vehicle was towed to a local dealer who inspected the vehicle but was not able to duplicate the failure. However, they stated that the failure was related to the brake system and replaced the master cylinder. Although, the vehicle was repaired the contact was concerned that the dealer could not provide the reason the failure occurred on the vehicle. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 9,700.
The cars hybrid batteries caught fire while sitting in garage being charged. After car was removed from garage and fire department had things "under control" which took about 2 hours they left saying it would be towed in the morning. About 30 minutes later the car exploded setting fire to the house. The house was saved the car is nothing more than a burnt shell, a total loss. Thank God no one was hurt but I see where BMW had a ton of recalls on the 2020 version on the exact version of this vehicle for the same thing. Obviously nothing was fixed.
DROVE AT THE SPEED OF 75 MPH IN THE HIGHWAY ALL IN A SUDDEN THE CAR LOST POWER UNTIL ITS SPEED DROPPED TO 62 MPH. IT IS A HYBRID. DASH BOARD SHOWED SOME RESERVED BATTERY POWER AND HALF TANK OF GASOLINE. IT IS A BIG SAFETY ISSUE. NEED TO FIND THE CAUSE OF IT.
THIS IS A NEW BMW X5 2 MONTHS OLD WITH 2000 MILES. THE VEHICLE WAS PARKED NOT RUNNING WITH NO POWER IN MY GARAGE. ON SATURDAY MORNING IT SPONTANEOUSLY COMBUSTED INTO FLAMES. I HAPPENED TO BE NEAR THE GARAGE AND SPOTTED THE FLAMES 4-5 FEET TALL SHOOTING OUT FROM HOOD. I IMMEDIATELY RAN INSIDE TO ENSURE MY FAMILY WAS EXITING THE HOUSE AND WE CALLED 911. I ATTEMPTED TO EXTINGUISH THE FLAMES WITH A HOSE WHILE WAITING ON THE FIRE DEPT. THEY ARRIVED AND EXTINGUISHED AND CUT ALL ELECTRICAL POWER TO THE VEHICLE AND WINCHED IT OUT OF MY GARAGE. VERY UPSETTING AND DISTURBING THAT THE NEW VEHICLE RANDOMLY BURST INTO FLAMES WHILE SITTING IN GARAGE.
MY X5 WAS PARKED IN MY GARAGE AND STARTED BY ITSELF WHILE I WAS OUTSIDE OF MY HOUSE WITH GARAGE DOORS CLOSED. I WAS ABLE TO STOP THE ENGINE BY USING THE BMW CONNECTED APP. I DID NOT HAVE ANY SCHEDULED OR PROGRAMMED START EVENTS.I CALLED BMW CORPORATE AND WAS TOLD TO TAKE THE X5 TO A DEALER FOR A DIAGNOSTIC SCAN WHICH COULD NOT BE SCHEDULED FOR TWO DAYS FROM NOW.
2021 BMW X-5. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO EXTENDED BATTERY RANGE SAFETY RECALL. *LD THE CONSUMER STATED THE VEHICLE WAS BEING SOLD WITH A FAULTY BATTERY. *JS
SEAT BELT TENSIONER WOULD NOT RELEASE AND CONTINUED TO TIGHTEN AROUND CHILD'S WAIST. COULD NOT EXTRACT THE CHILD AND HAD TO CUT SEAT BELT LOOSE.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 BMW X5. THE CONTACT RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 20V601000 (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM) HOWEVER, THE PART TO DO THE RECALL REPAIR WAS UNAVAILABLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE MANUFACTURER EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME FOR THE RECALL REPAIR. AN UNKNOWN DEALER WAS CONTACTED AND CONFIRMED THAT PARTS WERE NOT YET AVAILABLE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE ISSUE. THE CONTACT HAD NOT EXPERIENCED A FAILURE. VIN TOOL CONFIRMS PARTS NOT AVAILABLE.
CAR HAD 2 ALERTS 2.5 HRS INTO JOURNEY, HAVING GONE I-675 TO 16: 1. DRIVETRAIN MALFUNCTION 2. POWER SUPPLY. I HAD STOPPED FOR FOOD. I GOT BACK IN, TURNED ON THE ENGINE, AND THESE ALERTS CAME ON IMMEDIATELY. I CALLED BMW, THEY SAID CAR SHOULD NOT BE DRIVEN. HAD IT TOWED TO HILTON HEAD BMW. THEY'VE HAD IT TWO DAYS AND SAY THIS IS RELATED TO THE RECALLED BATTERY AND THEY HAVE NO IDEA AS OF TODAY HOW TO FIX IT. THEY SAID THIS PROBLEM IS HAPPENING ALL OVER. I ALSO GOT A THIRD MESSAGE ABOUT DRIVING ASSISTANCE SUPPORT LAST WEEK THAT I WAS TOLD TO IGNORE.
11 Recalls
BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2021 X6 (sDrive40i, xDrive40i and M50i) and X5 (sDrive40i, xDrive40i and M50i) vehicles equipped with certain Pirelli tires. The tires may have a damaged inner layer, possibly resulting in a rapid loss of pressure while the vehicle is moving.
Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.
BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2021 330e and X5 xDrive45e, 2020-2021 X3 xDrive30e, and 2020 MINI Countryman SE ALL4 vehicles. Loose welding beads may form a conductive path between the hybrid battery cells which could lead to a short-circuit.
Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.
BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2020-2021 X5 sDrive40i, xDrive40i, xDrive50i, X5 M50i, X5M, X6 sDrive40i, xDrive40i, X6 M50i, X6M, X7 M50i and 2021 X5 xDrive45e vehicles. The headlamps may allow a blue light to illuminate. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 108, "Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment."
Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.
BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2020-2021 530e, 530e xDrive, 530e iPerformance and X3 xDrive30e and MINI Cooper Countryman All4 SE, 2020 BMW i8, and 2021 330e, 330e xDrive, 745Le xDrive and X5 xDrive45e vehicles. Debris may have entered one or more of the hybrid battery cells during their production.
Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.
BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2020 X5 sDrive40i, xDrive40i, X5 M50i, X5M, X7 xDrive40i, X7 M50i, X6 xDrive40i, X6 M50i and X6M vehicles and 2021 X5 xDrive45e vehicles. The weld between the front axle support and the right front control arm bearing bracket may separate.
Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.
BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2021 M340i xDrive, M440i xDrive Coupe, 530i, 530i xDrive, 540i, 540i xDrive, 740Li, 740Li xDrive, 840i Gran Coupe, 840i xDrive Gran Coupe, X5 sDrive40i, X5 xDrive40i, X6 sDrive40i, X6 xDrive40i, and X7 xDrive40i vehicles. The connection between the 48-Volt battery and the starter-generator may not have been assembled properly, which can cause increased electrical resistance at the connections.
Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.
BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2021 X5 sDrive40i, X5 xDrive40i, X5M, X5 xDrive45e, X6 sDrive40i, X6 xDrive40i, X7 xDrive40i, X7 M50i vehicles. The steering column shaft's universal joint connection may not have been tightened to specifications, and can become loose.
Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.
BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2020-2021 8 Series Coupe, Grand Coupe and convertible 840i, 840i xDrive, M850i xDrive, M8 and 740 Li, 740 Li xDrive, 750 Li xDrive, M760 Li xDrive, X6 sDrive40i, X6 xDrive40i, X6 xdrive50i, X6 M50i, X6M, and 2019-2021 X5 sDrive40i, X5 xDrive40i, X5 xDrive50i, X5 M50i, X5M, X7 xDrive40i, X7 xDrive50i, X7 M50i, and 2021 M3, M3 Competition, M4 Coupe, M4 Competition Coupe, X5 xDrive45e, 745 Le xDrive. The rotor and shaft within the integrated brake system may not have been welded properly and could separate during a hard braking event, possibly resulting in a loss of the Antilock Brake System (ABS) and braking assistance.
Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.
BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2021 X5 sDrive40i and X5 xDrive40i vehicles. The right front brake disc may have been assembled with incorrect fasteners, which over time, could result in the front brake disc becoming loose.
Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.
BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2019-2021 X3 sDrive30i, X3 xDrive30i, X3 M40i, X3M, X4 xDrive30i, X4 M40i, M550i, X4M, X5 sDrive40i, X5 xDrive40i, X5 xDrive50i, X5M, X5 M50i, X7 xDrive40i, X7 xDrive50i, X7 M50i, Alpina XB7, 330i, 330i xDrive, M340i, M340i xDrive, and 8 Series Coupe, Convertible and Grand Coupe, 840i, 840i xDrive, M850i xDrive, M8, 2020-2021 530e, 530e xDrive, 330e, 330e xDrive, 745Le, 745Le xDrive, X5 xDrive45e, X3 xDrive30e, X6 sDrive40i, X6 xDrive40i, X6 xDrive50i, X6 M50i, X6M, 530i, 530i xDrive, 540i, 540i xDrive, M550i xDrive, M5, 740i, 740Li, 740Li xDrive, M760i Drive, M760Li xDrive, 750Li xDrive Alpina, Alpina B7 xDrive, and 2021 4 Series Coupe 430i, 430i xDrive, M440i xDrive vehicles. When shifting into Reverse, a small portion of the rearview image may be obscured, or the screen may not illuminate. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 111, "Rear Visibility."
Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.
BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2021 X5 sDrive40i, X5 xDrive50i, X5 M50i, X5 xDrive45e, 2021 X7 xDrive40i, X7 M50i, and XB7 vehicles. The head restraints on the second-row outer seats may be the incorrect type for the vehicle.
Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.
Get started for free
Get a free preview of the report
Combines Driver and Passenger star ratings into a single frontal rating. The frontal barrier test simulates a head-on collision between two similar vehicles, each moving at 35 mph.