2021 BMW X5 problems
Owners have filed 155 complaints about the 2021 BMW X5 with NHTSA. Electrical system accounts for 20.6% of them — narrowly the most common, ahead of power train at 16.1%.
Complaints155
Crashes21
Fires7
Injuries15
Deaths0
What owners report breaking
Electrical system 20.6% · 32
Power train 16.1% · 25
Engine 14.8% · 23
Unknown or other 11.0% · 17
Back over prevention 5.2% · 8
Air bags 4.5% · 7
Engine and engine cooling 3.9% · 6
Forward collision avoidance 3.2% · 5
Severity
Of those complaints, 21 describe a crash, 7 describe a fire and 15 report an injury.
Reading the numbers
Across the 22 model years of the BMW X5 in this data, 2021 sits 12th by complaint volume. 2011 draws the most.
Filing volume has held steady, 80 in the last three years against 71 in the three before.
The median odometer reading at the time of complaint was 14,000 miles.
In owners' own words
While driving about 60 mph on a freeway, the vehicle rapidly flashed several "advanced driver system failure" messages, lost all power and came to a stop. It was not possible to prevent the vehicle from rapidly decelerating even by depressing the accelerator all the way to the floor. The vehicle rapidly decelerated, forcing other drivers behind to swerve to avoid a crash. Electrical system
The contact owns a 2021 BMW X5. The contact stated an unknown recall notice was received in regards to a recalled battery. The contact called the dealer and it was informed that the parts for the recall repair were not available. The manufacturer was not notified of the issue or contacted. The contact had not experienced a failure. No further information was available. Electrical system · reported at 17,500 miles
My X5 was parked in my garage and started by itself while I was outside of my house with garage doors closed. I was able to stop the engine by using the BMW connected app. I did not have any scheduled or programmed start events.I called BMW corporate and was told to take the X5 to a dealer for a diagnostic scan which could not be scheduled for two days from now. Electrical system · reported at 2,973 miles
Verbatim from NHTSA filings. Complaints are unverified owner reports.
Safety recalls
Checking NHTSA for open recalls…
Other BMW X5 years
2017 111 complaints · 15.3% electrical system 2019 266 complaints · 25.9% electrical system 2020 150 complaints · 25.3% electrical system 2022 111 complaints · 18.0% power train 2024 249 complaints · 22.5% electronic stability control (ESC) 2025 102 complaints · 17.6% electronic stability control (ESC)