Owner-reported complaints naming the driver-assistance system, filed with NHTSA
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Reports naming forward-collision avoidance, lane keeping, back-over prevention, cruise control and related electronic driver-assistance systems. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2019 BMW X5 submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 15 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed
* Intelligent Braking system. * yes it is available for inspection * I was inches from colliding with the vehicle in front of me when my car finally stopped. * Yes local official BMW dealership inspected and diagnosed the IBS module is defective. * there was no prior warning.
The vehicle is at A&L Motors in Monroeville Pa. The vehicle has suffered a catastrophic, cascading electrical failure caused by a known manufacturing defect in the roof antenna seal. Rainwater entered the vehicle through the defective shark fin antenna seal and flooded the Telematics Control Unit(TCU). Because the TCU communicates directly with the main iDrive head unit via the vehicle's MOST/bus central data network, the water-damaged TCU short-circuited and flooded the network with corrupt electrical data, hard-bricking the iDrive system. A dealership engineer confirmed that water did not physically touch the head unit, eliminating user-error fluid spills. This cascading electrical failure has completely disabled vital safety systems, including the backup camera, forward collision driver-assist radar warnings, blind-spot monitoring alerts, and critical dashboard diagnostic notifications, creating an immediate highway safety hazard. Simultaneously, the active grille shutters (active air flaps) failed due to a defective internal actuator motor, creating a severe risk of sudden engine overheating and thermal shutdown. This component is under a 150K mile manufacturer warranty extension(SIB01 12 19 and later sib01 03 25). BMW of North America Claims Manager Joe 1-800-831-1117Ext1427 has issued an arbitrary final denial for these repairs based on a hearsay rock wedged/strike despite no apparent physical damage and zero photographic evidence. BMW is actively evading its extended warranty obligations for the air dam and a pending class-action settlement framework (Craft v. BMW NA) on the IDrive components. Additionally, this vehicle is actively subject to the critical BMW Starter Motor Overheating Fire Risk Recall NHTSA Campaign No.25V644/26V056. The dealership is unable to complete this urgent fire-safety remedy due to the same bricked Idrive unit. Grounding an owner in an un-safe car with a bricked safety display and an outstanding unremedied recall
I am reporting a recurring safety-related defect with the infotainment/iDrive head-unit in my 2019 BMW X5 xDrive40i. The central display repeatedly goes completely black or shows “No Signal” while the vehicle is otherwise drivable. When this happens, iDrive is unusable and I lose: 1. Rearview camera and visual parking aids 2. Parking sensor visuals 3. Navigation and key vehicle information 4. Access to settings that only exist in iDrive BMW service says this is due to the vehicle’s “age” and recommends a full head-unit (hardware) replacement at my expense, even though this is a software-driven system. A previous identical failure on this car resolved on its own with no hardware change, which strongly suggests a software/firmware defect, not a worn-out part. This problem is widespread, not just my car. Many BMW owners report the same black-screen/“No Signal” iDrive behavior on similar models and years, often after software updates and even after multiple head-unit replacements, with no lasting fix. One example thread: [XXX] As a long-time BMW owner, it is extremely frustrating that BMW has not given a convincing engineering explanation or solution and keeps falling back on expensive hardware swaps. 1. Driving risks when the display/iDrive fails include: 2. Reversing or parking without a rearview camera 3. Low-speed maneuvering without visual parking sensors 4. Driver distraction from a sudden blank screen 5. Loss of navigation and information needed for safe route choice and lane changes I respectfully request that NHTSA investigate whether there is a systemic defect in the infotainment/iDrive system and software on the 2019 BMW X5 xDrive40i (and related BMW models), and whether BMW’s remedies and owner guidance are adequate from a safety standpoint. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
The automatic emergency braking is activating when nothing is on the road. It has happened three times in six months. Once in a drive thru, once in the middle of a clear intersection while moving at 30pmh and today while traveling at 35mph on a city street. The car acts as if it's attempting to prevent a forward collision. The red car icon displays and blinks on the instrument panel, fast beeps sound, the car hard brakes. It nearly caused the car behind me to rear end me today.
Subject: Complaint Regarding Water Intrusion and Electrical Failures in 2019 BMW X5 To Whom It May Concern, I am writing to formally lodge a complaint regarding a recurring and potentially hazardous issue with my 2019 BMW X5. The issue involves water intrusion through the shark fin antenna, which has caused significant electrical malfunctions in my vehicle. Description of the Problem Water appears to be leaking into the vehicle through the shark fin antenna located on the roof. This has resulted in: 1.Failure of the infotainment system (screen not functioning). 2.Inability to start the car (starter not activating). 3.Turn signals operating without the typical cabin clicking sound. This issue has left the vehicle inoperable on multiple occasions and poses a safety risk, as critical systems such as the emergency call function and vehicle ignition are affected. Impact on Safety •A malfunctioning starter prevents the vehicle from being driven, potentially leaving me stranded in unsafe locations. •Turn signal failures reduce the audible warning, increasing the risk of accidents. •Water-damaged electrical components could lead to further issues, such as shorts or fires. Research and Observations After researching, I found that other BMW owners have reported similar issues involving water intrusion through the shark fin antenna, leading to widespread electrical problems. This suggests a potential design or manufacturing defect. Request for Action I respectfully request that the NHTSA investigate this issue to determine whether it constitutes a safety defect requiring a recall or service bulletin from BMW. Vehicle Information •Make/Model: BMW X5 •Year: 2019 •VIN: [XXX] •Mileage at Time of Failure: 72,000 •start Date of Incident(s): [XXX] Supporting Documentation I am happy to provide photos, repair bills, or any other supporting evidence upon request. Thank you for your attention to this matter. I look forward to INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Driver seat is ripped at the base interior The seat frame is not mounted to the base.
“shark fin” GPS antenna because unglued allowing water into the electrical system in the roof. This caused a malfunction that disabled the emergency call functions, GPS location service for emergency calls and GPS functions. The issue is the TCB component due to faulty waterproofing. It also makes hands free calling impossible which makes following hands free laws more difficult. Upon investigation and BMW’s admission, it is a very common problem for 2019 X5s unrelated to any driving conditions etc.
My backup camera is so dim at night I cannot see many obstacles. The dealer adjusted the camera to maximum brightness, but it's still so dim that I cannot see pedestrians wearing dark clothing and other obstacles behind me. Only the acoustic warning has prevented me from hitting an object or running into a person. I have talked to many other owners of this year BMW X5, and all of them have a similar complaint. The dealer adjusted the camera to its maximum night-time brightness but to no avail. The dealer then told me BMW designed the camera to be hard to see at night. I have normal night vision, as confirmed at my yearly vision exam by a licensed ophthalmologist, so I find it dubious that BMW would make their backup camera too dark to use at night. I found that shinning a bright light at the lower-left area of the instrument binacle causes the backup camera image to become much brighter and solves the visibility problem. Therefore, I think there is a BMW SW problem that dims the rearview camera too much when it believes it is night time.
Today, we experienced a some kind of sudden stop in a normal speed driving. Red alert car symbol flashed on our dashboard. It is without stepping on a break but it’s like our car is braking or like abrupt stopping. No car or any object that may hinder in front of us. It was scary coz there’s car behind us in a good speed. I don’t feel like it’s safe for what we had experienced today. Please try to look at it before anything like this scenario to happen again. I am and anyone else is into safety that’s why we choose this vehicle.
1.Cross traffic warning will warn me so late or sometimes not at all.No sound the most of the time.Can’t trust the safety of this future if it’s not alerting right on time. 2.forward Collision warning doesn’t work
WHILE I WAS DRIVING THE CAR ALONE AROUND 7:30PM 5/13/2021 ON THE WAY TO A RESTAURANT, AFTER I PUSHED THE GAS PEDAL TO PASS ANOTHER CAR (ACCELERATED TO ABOUT 50MILE-55MILE/HR), THE CAR ALL OF A SUDDEN ACCELERATED ON ITSELF. I NOTICED RIGHT AWAY AFTER MY RIGHT FOOT MOVED AWAY FROM THE GAS PEDAL (FROM 50 TO 55 THEN UP TO 65MILE/HR, I STOPPED MY OBSERVATION SINCE IT WAS GETTING TOO FAST). I HAVE TO CONSTANTLY HIT THE BRAKE PEDAL TO REDUCE THE SPEED FOR ABOUT A MILE OR TWO. AFTER I REACHED THE NEXT TRAFFIC LIGHT, I HAD TO PUSH THE BRAKE PEDAL VERY HARD TO MAKE THE CAR FULLY STOP, SO I DECIDED TO SWITCH THE TRANSMISSION FROM D TO P TO SEE IF IT COULD GET OUT OF ACCELERATION PROBLEM. ONCE I SWITCHED TO PARK, I TRIED TO SWITCH IT BACK TO DRIVE MODE, HOWEVER THE CAR DID NOT RESPOND AND STAYED IN PARKING MODE. I THEN TRIED TO TURN OFF THE ENGINE AND TURNED IT BACK TWO TO THREE TIMES, IT JUST DIDN'T ALLOW ME TO CHANGE BACK TO DRIVE MODE. I ALSO NOTICED THAT THE CAR MADE A LOT OF NOISE SINCE IT ACCELERATED ON ITS OWN. I REALIZED IT WAS TOO DANGEROUS TO SIT IN THE CAR IN FRONT OF THE TRAFFIC LIGHT EVEN WITH THE EMERGENCY LIGHT ON. SO I DECIDED TO TURN IT OFF AND LEFT THE CAR. I SMELLED A VERY STRONG BURNING SMELL EVEN THOUGH I QUICKLY MOVED AWAY FROM THE CAR. I WAITED ON THE STREET SIDE FOR ABOUT 2-3 MINUTES AND WENT BACK TO THE CAR, I WAS FINALLY ABLE TO SWITCH TO D MODE AND DROVE AWAY SLOWLY. I HAD SIMILAR PROBLEM HAPPENED LAST YEAR AROUND OCTOBER FOR 3-4 TIMES (NOT AS BAD AS IT WAS TODAY, I CAN TURN ENGINE OFF AND TURN IT BACK ON, IT WILL RETURN TO NORMAL) AND I BROUGHT THE CAR BACK TO BMW DEALERSHIP (BMW AT GWINNETT PLACE IN DULUTH GA, WHERE I BOUGHT THE CAR IN NOV 2019) AND THEY WON'T BE ABLE TO CREATE THE PROBLEM. THE TECHNICIAN JUST TOLD ME TO DRIVE SLOWLY (25-35MILE/HR FOR THE FIRST 3-4 MIN) EVERYDAY AT THE BEGINNING. I RECORDED TWO VIDEOS AT THE TRAFFIC LIGHT.
VEHICLE HAS HAD THE MAIN DRIVER GAUGES/DASH CLUSTER RANDOMLY TURN OFF WITH NO WARNING WHILE DRIVING, MULTIPLE TIMES A DAY NOW FOR THE LAST SEVERAL MONTHS, WITH INSTANCES HAPPENING AT ALL SORTS OF SPEEDS AND ON LOCAL ROADS AND HIGHWAYS. THERE APPEARS TO BE NO WAY TO RECOVER THE ELECTRONIC DASH CLUSTER UNTIL THE VEHICLE IS LEFT TO FULLY SHUT OFF FOR A FEW MINUTES AND THEN RESTARTED. BMW SERVICE AS WELL AS BMWNA HAVE ATTEMPTED TO ASSIST IN 8+ SERVICE VISITS AND HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO RECTIFY WHAT'S A CLEAR SAFETY HAZARD, AS IT HAS LED TO MULTIPLE NEAR ACCIDENTS NOW. THIS STARTED IN JANUARY 2020, WHEN THE VEHICLE WAS RELATIVELY NEW (<2000 MILES) AND PERSISTS TO THIS DAY (12K MILES).
BMW AUTO START/STOP WILL TURN OFF ENGINE BEFORE THE CAR COMES TO A COMPLETE STOP CAUSING A LOSS OF STEERING. THIS CAN HAPPEN UP TO WHILE THE CAR IS STILL MOVING AS HIGH AS 5MPH, OFTEN OCCURS BETWEEN 3-1 MPH WHEN COMING TO A STOP. *TR
I AM WRITING TO ASK FOR YOUR ASSISTANCE IN MY MATTER OF MY 2019 BMW X5 I40 SUV, WHICH UNFORTUNATELY HAS BEEN REPAIRED 6 TIMES FOR NUMEROUS ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL, ELECTRICAL, AND SUSPENSION FAILURES SERVICED AT 3 DIFFERENT BMW COLORADO DEALERSHIPS. THE VEHICLE WAS PURCHASED NEW WITH LEASE JUNE 2019, AND CONTINUOUSLY REPORTED & EXPERIENCED FAILURES/ISSUES BY OWNER, NUMEROUS PASSENGERS, INCLUDING MULTIPLE BMW SERVICE MANAGERS: ENGINE BUTTONS NOT TURNING OFF THE ENGINE INTERMITTENTLY, OR NOT TURNING OFF THE VEHICLE ELECTRICAL POWER. AFTER HIGH ACCELERATION ON A INTERSTATE HIGHWAY COMING TO A COMPLETE STOP THE ENGINE WOULD TERMINATE AND THEREBY HAVING TO QUICKLY PLACE THE VEHICLE INTO PARK TO RESTART THE ENGINE, THIS HAD TO BE DONE RAPIDLY DUE TO HIGH SPEED TRAFFIC. VEHICLE WOULD REPEAT ISSUE ON RURAL ROADWAY STOPS, BUT NOT AS OFTEN ON INTERSTATE ABOVE 60MPH. GPS HAD SOFTWARE MALFUNCTIONS AFTER BEING REPAIRED 2X FOR ELECTRICAL STABILITY ISSUES THIS CONTINUED TO MALFUNCTION THEN CORRECTED AT AN ALTERNATIVE BMW DEALERSHIP. SIDE ASSIST ALERTS AND NOTIFICATIONS WERE CONTINUING TO FAIL AFTER 4-5 ATTEMPTS TO REMEDY. KEY FAB WOULD FAIL TO COMMUNICATE AND FAIL TO LOCK VEHICLE AFTER SEVERAL ATTEMPTS TO FIX BY BMW. VEHICLE SOFTWARE PROGRAMMING WOULD NOT MAINTAIN CONSISTENCY WITH VARIOUS COMPONENT RESPONSE FOR BACK DOORS, TRUNK/TAILGATE FAILURE TO RESPOND MOST IMPORTANTLY VEHICLE POWER OVERALL. FINALLY, THE VEHICLE HAS SUSPENSION ISSUES, STILL A CONCERN THIS COULD HAVE BEEN CAUSED BY THE NUMEROUS TIMES UNDER BMW REPAIR SHOPS BEING LIFTED BY PRESSURIZED COMPONENTS; OR WHEN IT WAS INITIALLY DELIVERED OFF THE TRUCK FROM MANUFACTURER TO DEALERSHIP? THE VEHICLE IS DEFECTIVE & HAS BEEN DEFECTIVE SINCE PURCHASED. THIS IS CONSIDERED A LEMON PER THE COLORADO LEMON LAWS, IN ADDITION PER THE NUMEROUS BMW SERVICE MANAGERS WHO HAVE REPAIRED THE DEFECTIVE VEHICLE.
WHILE I WAS DRIVING THE VEHICLE IT SUDDENLY FELT AS IF THE CAR DOWNSHIFTED AGGRESSIVELY AND AT THE SAME TIME I LOST POWER STEERING, POWER BRAKES, AND MY HUD FOR SPEEDOMETER, ETC. THE CAR DISPLAYED SEVERAL WARNINGS SIMULTANEOUSLY AS WELL.
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
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