Problems · by component
2012 BMW X5 XDRIVE35D air bags problems
83 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 2012 BMW X5 XDRIVE35D cite air bags, 31% of all 271 complaints for this model year.
Complaints
83
31% of all complaints
Crashes
3
Reported by owners
Fires
0
Reported by owners
Injuries
1
Reported by owners
What owners say about the air bags
Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“I received a message of Restraint system malfunction and when I called the local dealer I was told the part is not availabel anywhere in the USA. What am I supposed to do with this. I was told the air bags and seatbelts may malfunction. The vehicle only has 85k miles. its a 2012. At this point who will take the car as a trade? It's not safe and they don't have an answer except to say I'm [XXX] and i guess you need to get a new vehicle!! Can you believe this? I have to get a whole new vehicle because they don't have a part! You can't make this stuff up. I spoke with BMW USA and was told they only honor 4yr and 50k miles and after 10years they are not responsible for parts to be made. The I was told to get it further diagnosed to the tune of 250.00 so they can "MAYBE" have the parts manufactured. What the heck! this company is saying our cars are garbage after 10yrs!”
“The contact owns a 2012 BMW X5. The contact stated that the air bag restraint malfunction message was displayed, and the air bag warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic but was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The approximate failure mileage was 85,000.”
“Vehical randomly shuts off, it all safety systems warning lamps come on l, like ABS, Airbag, and traction control. Found wiring harness laying in a pool of water in the rear right cargo compartment. Rain water leaking from sunroof collected in compartment. The harness contains wires for the the vehicles CAN buss systems the water causes corrosion in the harness, which causes all sorts of problems that could happen at any time like the vehicle shutting off or the airbag or abs warning light coming on.”
“We hit a deer while driving at 55 MPH. We were wearing seatbelts and not injured, it was a major frontal impact, the car is probably totalled. When we stopped we noticed multiple warning messages on the display: * restraint system failure * passenger airbag failure * pre-tensioner failure It appears that the car detected the collision and tried to activate the restraint systems, but nothing activated. No air bags deployed, and we did not feel the pre-tensioners activate.”
“The contact owns a 2012 BMW X5. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the message "Passenger Restraint System Malfunction" was displayed. The contact stated that the failure had been recurring while driving. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who informed the contact that the passenger restraint system had failed, and an unknown repair needed to be completed. The contact was charged a repair cost. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to TSB Number: 10056703-9690. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 65,000.”
“THE SENSOR (TO DETECT IF SOMEONE IS SITTING IN THE SEAT) UNDER THE FRONT PASSENGER SEAT IS NOT WORKING PROPERLY AND REQUIRES THE SEAT BELT TO BE ACTIVATED TO SILENCE THE WARNING BEEPS, EVEN WHEN THE PASSENGER SEAT IS NOT OCCUPIED, SO IT'S CLEARLY NOT FUNCTIONING AS INTENDED. LEADS ME TO QUESTION WHETHER THE AIRBAG WILL DEPLOY IN THE EVENT OF AN ACCIDENT. THE SAME ISSUE HAPPENED FOR SEVERAL YEARS WITH OUR 2007 BMW 530 AND THAT WAS FINALLY ACKNOWLEDGED BY BMW AND WE WERE OFFERED A FREE REPAIR FOR THIS ITEM. KEEP WAITING ON THEM TO INCLUDE OUR X5. IT'S BEEN SEVERAL YEARS.”
Showing 6 of 83 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 11, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.