2019 BMW X5 Complaints

SERVICE BRAKES — Filed 08/25/2024

My 2019 BMW X5 suffered an identical failure to the 2023-2025 recalls to replace the entire integrated brake system unit at only 31,117 miles. The part # was 34-51-5-A7C-589. The repair work was performed by BMW of Ocala at a cost of $4,134.37 on 8/3/2024. Because this component matches the technical architecture of the widespread 2024 integrated Brake Module recalls, I believe BMW should reimburse the total cost of this repair.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER — Filed 08/28/2026

The emergency call system malfunctioned and the navigation system quit working due to a leak in the shark fin. This would be a major safety concern in the case of an emergency. The Dealer will replace the shark fin at their cost, but will not provide a loaner vehicle or rental car why we are waiting on the replacement shark fin. The part has been on backorder for a month and was supposed to arrive on XXX. On XXX I was told that the backordered part was now expected on XXX. The dealer told me I could not drive the car in the rain as rain would damage the headliner and if that happened the repair would be my responsibility not BMW's. I live in [XXX] and during this time of the year we have popup thunder storms and it rains almost every day so it makes the car effectively useless. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

POWER TRAIN — Filed 08/01/2026

My transfer case is in bad condition. Initially I was getting really bad jerking in my car when turning. I was recommended by BMW of [XXX] to do a fluid flush. I have spent money to do this flush. Starting of August my mechanic as well as other mechanics that my transfer case is in really bad condition and is making really bad noises. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

UNKNOWN OR OTHER — Filed 08/07/2026

I purchased my car in December 2025. In the early summer, I noticed my air conditioning system not working. I took it to my dealership and they did a recharge. I took my car back to the shop and found that after further investigation is an evaporator leak. I had to pay over 6000 in repairs.

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING — Filed 08/10/2026

The contact owns a 2019 BMW X5. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the "Emergency SOS Malfunction" message was displayed. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, where it was diagnosed, and the contact was advised that the engine oil pump and TCB module were faulty and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 84,000.

ENGINE — Filed 09/16/2026

Engine oil pump failure. The housing for the oil pump is made out of plastic and know to fail due to the part turning brittle in the engine surrounded by oil and heat. The oil pump housing has cracked causing a failure at the pump housing. The results are catastrophic engine failure as well as not being able to read engine oil levels on bmw idrive system.

LANE DEPARTURE — Filed 09/12/2026

Dear Sir/Madam, I am experiencing an issue with my BMW vehicle whereby, approximately 5 to 10 minutes after beginning to drive, the Driver Assistance System becomes disabled. As a result, both the Blind Spot Detection and Lane Departure Warning functions are deactivated, and a warning message indicating that driver assistance support is restricted appears on the display. I understand that BMW has previously issued Service Action B66 20 19, which recommends replacement of the KAFAS (Camera-Based Driver Assistance System) under certain conditions. Based on my research, the symptoms affecting my vehicle appear to be consistent with those described in that service action. However, when I checked my vehicle information, I was unable to find any open recall or service campaign associated with this issue. While driver assistance technologies are intended to supplement, rather than replace, attentive driving, these systems are nonetheless important safety features that contribute significantly to vehicle safety. A malfunction that causes these features to become unavailable during operation may increase safety risks for drivers and other road users. I would appreciate your guidance regarding the most appropriate course of action to resolve this issue. Specifically, I would like to know whether my vehicle may qualify for repair under the referenced service action or whether BMW can provide additional diagnostic or corrective measures. Thank you for your time and assistance. I look forward to your response.

ENGINE — Filed 06/06/2026

The BMW B58 Technical Update (B58TU) engine utilizes a variable-displacement oil pump incorporating internal components manufactured from thermoplastic rather than traditional metal. These plastic internal parts are prone to severe thermal degradation and brittleness over time. Under normal operating conditions—and particularly during cold-starts in low ambient temperatures—the plastic elements suffer structural fatigue and catastrophically fracture, destroying the pump's ability to maintain oil pressure. A primary indicator of failure is the vehicle's inability to complete an electronic oil level measurement, quickly followed by a critical "Low Oil Pressure: Stop Engine" warning. This defect poses an immediate and severe hazard to motor vehicle safety. A sudden loss of engine oil pressure while traveling at highway speeds results in immediate oil starvation and catastrophic engine seizure. This causes a sudden loss of motive power and can lead to a loss of power-assisted steering and braking. Operating a vehicle that suddenly stalls or seizes in fast-moving traffic creates an extreme risk of high-speed rear-end collisions and leaves occupants stranded in highly hazardous highway conditions. Because BMW quietly transitioned back to a ruggedized metal oil pump design in later production runs without issuing a safety recall or notice for earlier models, thousands of vehicles remain on the road with an inherently defective, safety-critical engine component. I request that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) open a formal safety defect investigation into this component to mandate a safety recall and protect the public.

POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,LANE DEPARTURE — Filed 04/11/2026

COMPONENT / FAULT CATEGORY: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM / POWER TRAIN / BLIND SPOT WARNING SUMMARY OF THE DEFECT: On April 11, 2026, my 2019 BMW X5 suffered a sudden electronic system shutdown at highway speeds near the 210 exit, stranding the car on the roadway and requiring AAA towing. BMW of Ontario falsely blamed "liquid damage" in the GSW shifter and texted an inflated quote of $6,616.05, later reduced to $3,616.05 on Invoice #BFCS684959 before waiving fees for oil changing and so on due to communication errors. NO liquid spill occurred. The GSW module near cup holders suffers from an unsealed design defect where ambient condensation causes total drive power loss. DETAILED INCIDENT NARRATIVE: The center console in the BMW X5 (G05) lacks basic liquid/moisture isolation. Condensation or ambient humidity short-circuits critical shifting electronics, causing immediate loss of drive power on public roadways and creating an extreme crash risk. This incident is part of a clear pattern of systemic electrical vulnerabilities on this specific vehicle: 1. STARTER SAFETY RECALL & HIGHWAY SHUTDOWN: Last year, this vehicle suffered a sudden highway shutdown caused by a faulty starter. BMW failed to send a recall notice beforehand. After I was forced to pay out-of-pocket for emergency repairs at Coast BMW, BMW later recognized the recall and issued a full reimbursement this year. 2. BLIND SPOT WARNING SYSTEM FAILURE: The vehicle also suffered an unexplained, premature failure of the Blind Spot Warning system (quoted at over $3,000 to repair and left unaddressed), proving broader electronic/sensor vulnerabilities. Furthermore, dealership handling involved deceptive, erratic quotes ($6,616.05 texted initially vs. $3,616.05 on the invoice) to shift financial liability for a latent design defect onto the consumer.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER — Filed 08/04/2026

My sunroof exploded. No signs of anything dropping on it or falling from another vehicle. Shade roof was open. Covered me and my passenger in glass.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM — Filed 07/20/2026

The contact’s wife who owns a 2019 BMW X5. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, there was an abnormal sound and the vehicle intermittently stalled. No warning lights were illuminated. The failure had occurred on several occasions. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed and determined that the starter needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired and was taken back to the residence. The contact stated that the vehicle stalled again and failed to return to normal operation. A dealer was contacted; however, the vehicle was not yet diagnosed or repaired. The contact researched and was made aware of an unknown recall; however, the VIN was not under recall. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 79,000.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER,VISIBILITY/WIPER — Filed 07/29/2026

Around June 10th, I was on vacation when I noticed my AC was not very cold in this vehicle, which I had purchased used about a month earlier. I took it to get recharged while on my vacation, and it blew nice and cold until a few days ago. After doing a little digging, it appears that the 2019 and 2020 model year of the BMW X5 G05 have an evaporator core made of aluminum, and the refrigerant used (R1234yf) is known to be corrosive to aluminum, causing leaks in the core. While this is widely talked about in online forums amongst those who have experienced this issue, it appears no safety recalls have been made about this issue. The problems, as I see it, are two fold: 1> Without a working AC system, the vehicle cannot safely defrost the windows when conditions are favorable for frost or fogginess. 2> The health hazards of inhaling leaked refrigerant, along with it's by-products (like trifluoroacetic acid) do not need to be explained. Refrigerants are known to be dangerous both to human health as well as to the environment, so this is not an acceptable environment to be exposed to. While I have not had an accident caused by this, I believe preventative steps should be taken to prevent them from occuring, given this is a fairly common problem with the 2019/2020 model year of this vehicle.

ENGINE — Filed 07/23/2026

The oil pump failed on my X5. The factory installed oil pump has a plastic housing that cracks and leads to oil pump failure. BMW replaced the part with a newer model that has a metal housing.

ENGINE — Filed 07/16/2026

I was shocked by the failure of the oil pump on my 2019 BMW X5. Furthermore, through my research and discussions within the BMW community, it is evident that this specific oil pump associated with 2019 engine component has a documented history of premature failure and known defects (plastic). Given that this is a known vulnerability rather than standard wear-and-tear, I do not believe that I should bear the full burden of such an exorbitant repair cost of $6890. Why is issue has not been recalled by BMW??

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE — Filed 06/27/2026

I always service and baby my vehicle. Had recently got starter recall & fresh oil change done 2 months at my local BMW Atlantic City NJ dealership. On June 27th, as I was driving the vehicle normally a message popped on the dash stating engine oil is at a minimum level, add 1 liter of engine oil, refill oil immediately. So I went to my earliest autozone bought quart of mobile 1 oil and refilled it. After that the warning message went away and came felt fine. Unfortunately the next day same message popped up, so drove over to BMW service to get diagnosed. Due to the computer system in the vehicle not being able to read the oil level measurement. It would go from 0-18% oil level reading then message would pop up saying unable to read to try again or make sure vehicle is on ground level which I made sure it was. So next day I dropped it off at BMW dealership for diagnosing. After 1 day and half they came to the conclusion that it is a bad oil pump and wants to charge $6,362.31 for repairs. Advisor stated its due to older gen bmw b58 engines using plastic oil pumps inside which causes to break and cause leaks. So they are aware its an common issue but won’t do an recall or service bulletin to fix issue which is very dangerous because the engine could seize up and stall anytime I’m driving around due to not knowing the oil level measurements. It is super risky and unfair for consumers to pay for such a big bill repair. I hope there is recalls or something to help remedy this cause for current & future BMW affected vehicles. BMW is aware of this issue but won’t resolve it.

SERVICE BRAKES,BACK OVER PREVENTION,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE — Filed 06/20/2026

* 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.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,BACK OVER PREVENTION — Filed 06/26/2026

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

ENGINE — Filed 06/10/2026

Oil pump with plastic parts failing

ENGINE — Filed 05/15/2025

The engine oil pump failed internally. The vehicle is equipped with a factory-installed variable-displacement oil pump that utilizes an internal thermoplastic adjusting ring. Due to heat cycles and mechanical stress, this plastic component degrades, becomes brittle, and catastrophically shatters or cracks.The first symptom appeared when the vehicle became entirely unable to complete an electronic engine oil level measurement via the iDrive system, consistently freezing and aborting the test at approximately 15% to 20%. This defect directly compromises road safety. A sudden drop in oil pressure causes severe internal engine friction, leading to immediate engine seizure or a total loss of motive power without adequate warning. Experiencing a sudden engine stall while driving at highway speeds places the driver, passengers, and surrounding motorists at extreme risk of a high-speed rear-end collision. Furthermore, a total engine shutdown disables power-assist steering and braking, making the vehicle incredibly difficult to control and maneuver to safety. Catastrophic mechanical failure from oil starvation also presents a severe under-hood fire hazard if oil leaks onto hot exhaust components.The problem has been officially reproduced and confirmed. The vehicle was brought to Bavarian Werkstatte, where certified technicians diagnosed the issue as an internal structural failure of the variable-displacement oil pump's plastic adjusting ring. The component is currently available for inspection upon request. BMW is fully aware of this defective design. They updated this exact component in mid-2020 to an all-metal oil pump to prevent plastic fragmentation. Despite knowing that the 2019 thermoplastic rings degrade, become brittle, and shatter under normal operating heat cycles, the manufacturer has failed to issue a safety recall in the United States, leaving drivers exposed to dangerous sudden engine failure.

ENGINE — Filed 05/30/2026

I am writing regarding my BMW X5 xDrive40i, model year 2019, engine code B58TU. The vehicle has been serviced at authorized BMW dealerships. For this engine type B58TU especially years 2018-2021, repeated oil pump failures have been reported due to a known design issue: an internal plastic component can develop cracks, potentially leading to a complete oil pump failure. BMW silently replaced the oil pump with the updated version by keeping the same part number but featuring metal internals. Once there is a fail on the oil pumps with plastic components, engine loses access to get the oil an immediate stop is needed. This creates a huge safety concern cause: 1) If you are on a highway at highway speeds it might not be possible to move to the shoulder safely with no engine power or even worse: with a locked engine. 2) If there is a maintenance on the road with no shoulder access or if this is a bridge where there is no shoulder, it creates a huge risk to safely move the vehicle. An unavoidable sudden stop can create a huge accident risk for everybody. Of course any car can get a engine problem on those occasions but this is a very known and very common problem for BMW cars equipped with B58TU engine especially years 2018-2021. BMW is also definitely aware of that and this safety concern cause they updated the design silently. But, when contacted with BMW NA, they refused to help, refused to admit there is a design problem. They also refused to change the oil pump with the updated oil pump even with my proposal of goodwill pricing.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM — Filed 03/01/2024

The contact owns a 2019 BMW X5. The contact stated that when attempting to start the vehicle, it failed to start and a burning odor was present. The starter had begun smoking. The smoke had settled itself. The fire department was not at the scene. No police report was filed. There were no injuries reported. The vehicle had been towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the starter failed causing the starter to catch fire internally and needed to be replaced. The starter was replaced. After having the vehicle repaired the contact did some research and discovered that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V576000 (Electrical System, Engine and Engine Cooling). The dealer was then contacted a second time and confirmed that the VIN was not included in the recall. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 50,000.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES — Filed 05/14/2023

I was turning left on a residential street when the steering wheel locked, the brakes would not work to stop the car from going straight and the engine would not turn off when I attempted to stop the engine once realizing that everything was failing. The electrical panel went black and I collided with a residential home. Airbags deployed, EMS, fire and Police were called to the scene and the Tow truck driver noted that all systems had failed and the car basically shut off all functionality. They had to manually push the vehicle onto the flatbed tow truck. I am concerned as this issue was a safety concern while I was driving the car and it seemed all systems failed.

SERVICE BRAKES — Filed 08/23/2021

Traveling west on I-70 at the Eagle Colorado exit the brakes failed as we pulled off the highway the brakes failed. Went up the ramp at 50-60 MPH. Missed the cars waiting to enter the round-a-bout and went over a decorative divider about 3 feet high. Went in the air and was then traveling on the wrong side of street. Saw a fireplug and hit it at 20-30 MPH and that stopped us. No airbags deployed at either hit. Four in the car and no serious medical issues, just soreness. Had police and fire test the brakes to show they didn't work. Obviously the air bags Hadn't deployed. Filed police report with Eagle City, 2021-000417 and AIG insurance report 80255229. Car was declared totaled.

POWER TRAIN,SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE — Filed 02/23/2021

MY BRAND NEW BMW X 5 COULD NOT BE STOPPED ON THE TRAFFICS TIME IN AM THIS HAPPENED TWO TIMES BMW DOESN'T WANT TO HELP ME THIS CAR NOT SAFE AND DANGEROUS TO DRIVE MAKES A LOTS OF MOUNDED FROM THE ENGINE AND CANNOT STOP THE CAR

POWER TRAIN,SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE — Filed 02/23/2021

I WAS DRIVING ON 10 FREEWAY WEST 750 AM ON 2/23 THERE WAS TRAFFICS EVERYBODY WAS BEHAVING I WAS KEEPING DISTANCE OF AT LEAST 2-3 CAR DISTANCE ALL OF SUDDEN MY CAR ACCELERATED MAKING A LOUD NOISE FROM THE HOOD MY FOOT WAS ON THE BRAKES BUT I COULD NOT STOP THE CAR I HIT FROM CAR MY FOOT WAS ALTHE WAY ON THE BRAKES I LET IT GO AFTER THE IMPACT BMW DOESN'T NOT WANT TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY I HAVE A POLICE REPORT FROM ME AND FROM DRIVER THAT WE HAD A GOOD DISTANCE BETWEEN TWO CARS IT WAS AT THE BALDWIN PARK CITY ON 10 FREEWAY