Problems · by component
2012 BMW X5 XDRIVE50I engine problems
92 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 2012 BMW X5 XDRIVE50I cite engine, 34% of all 271 complaints for this model year.
Complaints
92
34% of all complaints
Crashes
0
Reported by owners
Fires
4
Reported by owners
Injuries
0
Reported by owners
What owners say about the engine
Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“Two nights ago I was at Domino’s Pizza. I put my car in reverse and the car died and the steering wheel locked up like the power steering was giving out I was able to start the car again, but still with no power steering assist and drove the car home about a mile away, but every time I slowed down or came to a stop sign or a stoplight, the car would die, and the battery light would flash on the dash and it would say charging malfunction once I got home we took a look at the engine and noticed that none of the belts were working at all and then I started to google what could possibly be the problem and a couple of different recalls came up recall number 12V550000 and that is engine and engine cooling engine diesel what the name of it is and the recall date is 1127 2012 and then the next one is 2012 BMW X5 diesel SUVs from the model year 2012 923 BMW X fives have been recalled because they have defective engine belt, tensioners and cracks that develop along the welds if the belt tensioner fails there could be a sudden loss of power steering assist that is sounds like exactly what happened to my car and then there’s another one recall number B121918 which is from…”
“Water entering into the vehicle, causing vehicle to reduce power in traffic, due to traction control issues.. Not able to drive vehicle when it’s raining., along with other issues, pls see first report..”
“To my understanding BMW agreed to honor the N63 Customer Care Package voluntarily regardless of mileage or age of the engine as referred to BMW bulletins SIB[XXX], [XXX], and [XXX]. My local dealer did not know anything about the [XXX] and when I called BMW USA I was told that they not honor the package any more even though the bulletin says they will take care of it regardless of engine mileage or age. To my understanding that should have been a recall but BMW negotiated to call it Customer Care Package as an initiative to police itself instead of having a mandated action by a recall. My local BMW dealer is in Temple Texas. Please advice me on how to proceed to service my engine as promised for free based on these bulletins. Thank you.”
“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.”
“Pulley bolts for power steering, water pump and I believe alternator broke and I lost power steering function which almost caused me to crash into another car and guard rail. I have seen many reports of this problem on social media with other X5 owners. Car has 139k in miles.”
“EGR LEAKING I WENT TO DEALER IRVINE BMW CA , ALSO I WENT TO MIDAS TO CHECK MY CHECK ENGIN LIGHT MIDAS SAID REPAIR SHOULDE BE COVERD BY MANFATURE. SO I TAKE MY CAR TO IRVINE BMW , THEY SAID THERE IS NO RECAL BUT I CALLED DEALR THEY SAID DEAL HAVE TO COVEER ITS RECAL SO I WENT HERE SEE NO RECAL SO I NEED ANSWER, WHOS RIGHT OR WRONG ITS SAFTEY ISSUE ENGIN SUDDNEY GO DOWN SLOW WHEN SIGN COME FOR ENGIN MALFUNCTION. AND SUDENELY PICKUP POWER, DEFECT CODE 0011150300PLZ HELP JASWINDER KAUR”
Showing 6 of 92 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 10, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.