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The 2019 BMW X5 is a luxury SAV that’s meant to take over the market. The automaker even claims that the newest lineup stands for “confidence never detours,” but owners are wishing they had gone a different route. This vehicle suffers from a faulty electrical system, a defective powertrain, a poorly-built structure and dangerous wheels.
Click on other model year to view more problems: 2018 2019 2022
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NHTSA Complaints for the 2020 BMW X5
| Complaint Category | Number of Complaints |
|---|---|
| Electrical System | |
| Service Brakes | |
| Unknown Or Other | |
| Air Bags | |
| Back Over Prevention: Rearview System Braking | |
| Exterior Lighting | |
| Power Train | |
| Steering | |
| Engine | |
| Seat Belts |
Problems with the Electrical System
When trouble occurs within the electrical system of a vehicle, it can lead to many nuisances that customers don’t want to deal with.
That’s what is shown through this Edmunds review. “Had my 2020 X5 x40i for 3 months, been Pacific BMW 3 times to reprogram Wi-Fi and cell phone communication. After the 3rd visit they fixed it, now it’s out again, I will not fix it again, I realize the X5 technology is very faulty, so I’ll just drive it like an old car. Unfortunately I bought it instead of leasing so I’m stuck. I traded in a 2018 Audi Q5 with excellent technology, one of my biggest regrets.”
Beyond this, there are bigger problems to think about. NHTSA Campaign Number 19V684000 states that over 250,000 vehicles might have a faulty back-up camera system. Without a properly displaying image, drivers are more susceptible to an accident, making this a very expensive deathtrap. Maybe that detour will require only moving forward, so customers don’t need to look back.
Problems with the Air Conditioning
Most people don’t struggle with the air conditioning system in a new vehicle as the customers of the X5 are.
Here is one report from a customer on the NHTSA. “Air conditioning quit working on Day 2 of ownership. Dealer says the compressor needs to be replaced and there is a lead time between 2 weeks and 2 months. After purchasing a car that cost about $125,000 and driving it one time, it had to be sent to the shop. Since it is so hot where I live, driving the car is out of the question. BMW did give me a loaner car, but the value of the loaner is about 45% of the car I purchased.”
BMW wasn’t feeling very generous when giving this customer a loaner. Considering all of the defects, one would think the manufacturer would be more hospitable. There is even a steering-system related recall that is causing people to need a loaner vehicle. NHTSA Campaign Number 20V434000 says that some vehicles have a steering column shaft bearing plate that wasn’t attached correctly to the vehicle, ensuring that it will loosen over time. When this occurs, the handling goes downhill quickly and could lead to an accident. Sadly, the insurance premiums are already sky-high on this model, so totaling it is not something customers are getting excited about. They would do far better to purchase a cheap car instead – it’s what they get while the vehicle is in the shop anyway.
Problems with the Steering and Lighting
One last look takes a turn to the exterior lighting worries.
Here is yet one final NHTSA complaint. “My vehicle has not been involved in any accidents as a function of this design flaw. The following occurs when vehicle is in motion or stationary: During daytime driving, when headlights are not turned on, the digital instrument panel and digital control panel dim undesirably, making them difficult to read and creating unsafe driving conditions. This is undesirable behavior and is most prevalent on cloudy days and at sunrise and sunset. The dimming needs to be inactive if headlights are off. If headlights are on, it needs to be inactive if bright light is detected through windshield (sunrise, sunset) or if bright light is detected inside the cabin.”
While there are no important communications about the lighting issues, it only makes sense to look at one more unrelated recall. NHTSA Campaign Number 19V6310000 states that the steering rack pinion teeth could break when under a load. If this happens, the driver could lose complete control over the vehicle.
Your Lemon Law Legal Rights
Think you have a lemon? Sit back and let the experts work out your lemon case at no cost to you. The law makes BMW pay legal fees. You may be able to get your lemon out of your life. Every year, auto manufacturers buy back, replace or pay cash settlements to thousands of ‘lemon’ owners like you.
Complaint Data
| Category | Electrical System |
| Date | Feb 08, 2023 |
| State | CA |
| Description | The contact owns a 2020 bmw x5. The contact stated that the push to start button was inoperable. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed with needing the control sensor for the start button to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 40,800. |
| Category | Air Bags |
| Date | Jan 16, 2023 |
| State | CA |
| Description | I have received two malfunction alerts two months apart for both driver and passenger airbags. The first dealership reset the fault codes and the second different dealership found 4 faults and reset it as well. I learned from the second dealership that the airbag sensors sit below the cup holders, secured by a screw in each cup on the bottom base of the housing. They removed the rubber bottom portion of the cup holder and noticed there was liquid reside and the screw appeared rusted. They believe the water may have leaked through the screw and ruined the airbag sensors. If this was true, they mentioned the airbags would not work properly and I would be responsible to pay for the work performed to correct the issue since they consider this a outside influence and not covered by my warranty. I mentioned that this a a huge safety concern, a terrible design flaw, and no where in the owners manual does it warn owners of the potential safety concerns of using cup holders that seat above the airbag sensors. I contacted bmw public relations, filed a complaint, and they have heard of this complaint before and advised different safety teams would see my compliant and wait for a callback. |
| Category | Air Bags |
| Date | Dec 08, 2022 |
| State | GA |
| Description | Bmw front cup holders have hole in bottom and it allows condensation/liquid to migrate through bottom to air bag sensor located directly underneath cup holders. Consumers are at risk of air bags going off unintentionally and/or not going off at all. Sensor should not be directly under a cup holder and/or the cup holder should not have a hole directly above safety sensor. Bmw design defect. Consumers are having to pay out of pocket for sensor to be replaced as it is not covered under warranty. Additionally, there is a pending class action lawsuit that has been filed and documentation of this being a problem over several bmw models is well documented in forums, etc. On the internet. |
| Category | Power Train, Service Brakes, Unknown Or Other |
| Date | Nov 08, 2022 |
| State | NY |
| Description | While parking the vehicle in a head-on parking spot, the car suddenly accelerated without warning and hit a wall. The car then went into reverse and sped up rapidly until it hit a concrete patio on the other side of the parking lot. The brake pedal was depressed with substantial force the entire time the vehicle was moving but the vehicle would not stop moving. The brakes did not engage. I do not recall how the car went from drive to reverse. Fortunately, there were no people or cars in the parking lot at the time of the incident. The auto body shop that currently has possession of the vehicle could not find anything wrong with the computer/electrical systems in the vehicle nor were they able to recreate the incident. I do not know how thorough they looked for problems. Bmw has been notified and hopefully they will send a crew to investigate. The car is currently at the auto body shop but my insurance gompany, geico, will have the car towed to one of their facilities in a couple of days. The car has been deemed a total loss due to all of the damage. I have been having electronics issues with the car since purchase in june 2020, however, they have been related to the entertainment and communication systems. In hindsight, I realize that I had two other instances in the past with sudden acceleration with this car. I thought nothing of it at the time but they may be related to this latest incident. |
| Category | Steering, Unknown Or Other |
| Date | Aug 31, 2022 |
| State | TX |
| Description | Squeaking and grinding in steering column, overheated steering column to the touch. Took to local bmw and was informed it was an issue with steering rack (after two visits there) and part has to be ordered and replaced. |
| Category | Service Brakes |
| Date | May 06, 2022 |
| State | CA |
| Description | Bmw states the x5 is equipped brake pad sensor and will notice driver when is needed to be replace. It doesn't work and become a safety concern. We have this x5 for about 2 years and start to hear noise when apply the brake. When the situation happens, we have never seem any alert from the car. Which our previous 2017 x5 and 440 gc provides such function. We found an opportunity to sent the vehicle to server center and asked to check what's wrong. Then, we are told that the front left brake pad against the rotor surface and has been metal to metal. We are told, if this is getting worse, the vehicle may not be able to stop safely. This is a safety issue of the 2020 x5. If I didn't ask my wife to go check the car, she might be in a car accident since she can't stop the car. Money thing is details. I provides this in order to match the file I uploaded later. We are provided detailed inspection report and asked to pay 00+ to fix the issue (x5 quo. Pdf) service center provides detailed report for the status of the car. (report. Pdf) in the end, we were able to negotiate to buy an extension warranty(0) to cover the cost. (payment. Pdf) |
| Category | Electrical System, Engine |
| Date | Mar 13, 2022 |
| State | GA |
| Description | Grievance/complaint for 2020 x5 bmw firer december 9, 2021 (49 days owner) I was on my way to work, and I stopped at the local bank of america drive through. While on my way, I received two (2) malfunction message saying the same thing, “ scam likely 1-470-781-9727; (check control) vehicle key missing, close message; vehicle key not available or malfunctioning. Drive-ready mode cannot be started. See driver's manual for further information.†(this was the message/malfunction.) I took a picture and call my salesperson, mr. Preston at bmw of gwinnett place and informed him that the key was in the cup, so I tried to place it on the dashboard. I did not understand why I received a malfunction message the key missing because the car would not go anywhere without a key, however, he asked me to send the picture to him and I did. As I was getting out my x5, I began to have anxiety and became traumatized (praying, crying, yelling etc.) at this point, thinking my x5 is going to catch a fire and blow up the bank. I went into the bank to alert them of the x5 smoking so that they can evacuate if needed. I went back to my x5 to gather as much as I could of my christmas gifts and other items quickly. At that time another lady was standing on the side walk and asked if she could help me removed the items from my x5. I was hysterical, and my hand was bleeding from grabbing items out the x5. My safety and others was at risk. The x5 could have been in my garage on firer and my house and family could have died and lost everything; the seat belt could have locked with me in it and I could have died. The bank atm drive through could have blown up and all the customers could have been injured. Bmw of north america insisted that I fill on my insurance because the the engineers did an observation investigation and did not see any fault of manufacture or electrical issue. The vehicle is now under the investigation of my insurance and I have not been notified of the cause at this time. |
| Category | Seat Belts |
| Date | Dec 09, 2021 |
| State | VA |
| Description | Purchased the car feb 2020. Over 6 months ago, back seat belts (middle and left side) stopped working. Seat belt will not click. Brand new car with nonfunctioning seat belts. Been trying to get hold of the dealer to fix and did not get anywhere. After months of hassle, they ordered the seat belts to be replaced. After dropping off the car, I get an email asking me to approve the fix for a cost of |
| Category | Back Over Prevention: Rearview System Braking, Electrical System |
| Date | Sep 23, 2021 |
| State | CA |
| Description | My 2020 x5 is equipped with rear cross traffic warning however it does not warn when traffic is crossing. The car will be in reverse, I can be very close to either a car or a person and there are no audible or visual warnings until the object stops moving or is within inches of the vehicle. I have taken it to my dealership several times however they are stating its in full working function even though it does not do what bmw advertises how that system should work. This is both very dangerous and false advertising by bmw! I have videos to prove this claim however the upload section doesn't allow videos. |
| Category | Back Over Prevention: Rearview System Braking |
| Date | Jul 25, 2021 |
| State | CA |
| Description | Backing out of my garage to a street with a 25 mph speed limit, the vehicle is supposed to alert the driver with a warning sound and or brake if a vehicle is crossing behind the vehicle. This feature has never worked and the dealer can't find any problem. This condition has been report on several internet websites with no resolution. |
| Category | Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking, Service Brakes |
| Date | May 24, 2021 |
| State | TN |
| Description | Automatic braking system. Traveling about 50 mph the automatic brake activated, there was nothing even close to my vehicle, my passenger's head was jerked forward. I had the vehicle in for computer problems about two weeks ago, concerning the radio and dash board displays, not knowing about the automatic braking problem at that time, ( this is the second incident involving the automatic brake, first time I didn't think too much about it since I had just purchased the vehicle I thought maybe a new car bug ). I was told that there was no fix for the problems I took it in for , and that germany was notified and they had no solution, when a fix was found I would be notified. Now I'm now realizing more is affected by the faulty computer system then I first thought. My main concern is getting rear ended on the highway which I travel quite often. This incident occurred saturday evening, today I'm contacting the dealership, we will see what happens with a more serious problem. |
| Category | Exterior Lighting |
| Date | Oct 28, 2020 |
| State | CO |
| Description | The auto-dimming feature of the digital instrument panel on 2020 bmw x5 models is poorly implemented, and under variable lighting conditions (cloudy, snowy, sunrise, sunset), it dims at inappropriate times, such as when driving toward the sun at sunrise or sunset. This makes the display extremely difficult to read and unsafe. The auto-dimming feature for the instrument panel is only appropriate under night-driving conditions. |
| Category | Electrical System |
| Date | Aug 16, 2020 |
| State | FL |
| Description | My samsung galaxy s9 phone seems incompatible with my x5. About every 30 minutes the nav display and half the instrument panel black out for about 10 seconds then restarts. This occurs on the highway and in the city. |
| Category | Unknown Or Other |
| Date | Jun 17, 2020 |
| State | MO |
| Description | Air conditioning quit working on day 2 of ownership. Dealer says the compressor needs to be replaced and there is a lead time between 2 weeks and 2 months. After purchasing a car that cost about 5,000 and driving it one time, it had to be sent to the shop. Since it is so hot where I live, driving the car is out of the question. Bmw did give me a loaner car, but the value of the loaner is about 45% of the car I purchased. *tr |
| Category | Electrical System |
| Date | May 14, 2020 |
| State | FL |
| Description | Navigation display and right side of instrument panel go blank intermittently and then reset and come back on after about 10 seconds. Display goes off during periods of driving and or stationary with vehicle engine running. Occurs during times at highway speeds and city driving. *tr |
| Category | Exterior Lighting |
| Date | Apr 21, 2020 |
| State | CO |
| Description | My vehicle has not been involved in any accidents as a function of this design flaw. The following occurs when vehicle is in motion or stationary: during daytime driving, when headlights are not turned on, the digital instrument panel and digital control panel dim undesirably, making them difficult to read and creating unsafe driving conditions. This is undesirable behavior is most prevalent on cloudy days and at sunrise and sunset. The dimming needs to be inactive if headlights are off. If headlights are on, it needs to be inactive if bright light is detected through windshield (sunrise, sunset) -or- if bright light is detected inside the cabin. |
Who are we? We are Lemberg Law, a Consumer Law Firm
Lemberg Law is a consumer law firm helping victims of bad manufacturing and run-arounds from auto companies. We are ranked A+ by the BBB. Call our Helpline today! There is no charge unless we win.
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About the Author:
Brian Jones spent more than 20 years working as an ASE Certified Master Tech and Parts Specialist at multiple dealerships. Brian has become an authority in the industry, traveling across the country to consult for car dealerships and contributing his expertise as a writer for several major automotive publications. In his spare time, Brian enjoys working on pickup trucks, muscle cars, Jeeps and anything related to motorsports.
See more posts from Brian Jones
Bluetooth never stays connected – super unreliable, cars that are $18 k brand new have much better Bluetooth connectivity.
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