Lost power while cruising at 60 m/hr. Other cars almost hit me when I was trying to move to the side for safety causing lots of traffic. Then went to the bmw dealer (patrict bmw) in schaumburg il for diagnostic and found out there was a problem in the fuel system electrically. The wiring harness were melted , blew fuse and relay and they said the motor also burned out. I will attached document from the bmw dealer for moe info.
BMW X5 SAV loss of power problems
14 of the 203 owner complaints about the BMW X5 SAV describe sudden loss of power, most of them for the 2011 model year.
- owner complaints
- 14
- worst model year
- 2011
- typical mileage
- 84,000
Is there a fix? There are 5 recalls for this area of the car. See below
By model year
- 20122
- 20116
- 20103
- 20091
- 20081
- 20061
Often reported together
What owners say
Lost power steering as car was driving approx 50 MPH on garden state parkway at top of bridge over the raritan river. Battery warning came on dash, car lost power and then stopped. No collision or injury. Car was towed and repaired by c&t towing and auto repair, rahway nj. Damage observed was partially melted idler pulley and shredded drive belt. Repair included replacement of drive belt, a.c. Stretch belt, idler pulley, drive belt tensioner and serpentine tensioner.
I would like to report a vanos issue the camshaft bolts loosen and break and it could be catastrophic. My bolts loosened and I caught it in time but if I didn't know any better I could've had a complete engine failure. My code originally came up as camshaft sticking. When the problem originated I was traveling on a main city road and my car went into reduced power mode.
Repairing the twin-turbo in my car again in less than a year. Last year the hoses were all replaced this year the dealer says one of the two turbo units in the vehicle needs to be replaced (smaller one). The car is doing the same thing it did last year losing power and making it dangerous to drive in traffic. If I am at a light, it takes about half a block for it to accelerate to normal speed. I ended up having the care towed to the bmw dealer because it was not safe to drive in traffic. After doing some research, the turbo has been an ongoing problem in the x5d. The car is just under 85,000 original miles and since I purchased two years ago, have logged less than 20,000 miles. .
X5 xdrive 35i sav; while driving under normal street and highway conditions, vehicle speed and engine RPM have become unstable. This causes the vehicle to increase and decrease it's speed intermittently and without warning. The vehicle is not trustworthy as you may lose power, or unintentionally accelerate while trying to execute a driving maneuver, causing a dangerous condition. Check engine warning light illuminates. Vehicle was brought to bmw dealership (zt motors) for diagnostics. Service personnel stated that the high pressure fuel pump indicated a low fuel pressure at the inlet. This would tell me that the low pressure fuel pump is not delivering the correct fuel flow/pressure to the high pressure fuel pump. Ref the federal safety agency campaign # 16v746000 et al. Diagnostics also indicated the valvetronic motor shows it short circuiting. Dealer recommended replacement of valvetronic motor, cam shaft and oil injectors. The replacement of the cam shaft and oil injectors are unnecessary maintenance items, only the valvetronic motor would need to be replaced, and fuel system reprogrammed. Ref the federal safety agency campaign # 14v176000 et al. Recommend recall replacement of both high pressure and low pressure fuel pumps, valvetronic motor, vanos cam shaft and oil injectors as well as reprogramming of fuel operating system. Also replace cam shaft mounting bolts.
Drive the vehicle on vacation and the engine would studder and stall on the highway and an error prompted on the vehicle dashboard that displayed "engine malfunction" reduced power. Occasionally the vehicle engine would cut off while on the road and needed to be towed to the dealership. The dealer diagnosed that it has a high pressure fuel pump malfunction that needed to be replaced and although the vehicle is not part of the recall it showed the same symptoms as some problematic models. This occurred while driving the vehicle on both local roads and the highway. In one occasion, I needed to restart the car to get it to a safe location.
My wife was driving my vehicle to get car wash. All of a sudden she lost power steering and the car battery warning came on. The idler pulley bolt snapped. Luckily my wife did not crash. She was driving 60mph and lost power steering. She is pregnant and had 2 kids in car. Now I've replaced this bolt again. I put purchased a new idler pulley bolt with loc tite. I replaced it and met every specification that the federal safety agency required. Basically it only require more torque and loc tite. This time it snapped in my drive way thank goodness. This is a serious traffic safety situation, I've read multiple forums where people have had work done at dealership and the bolt is snapping 3 days later. Obviously bmw did not fix the problem.
On saturday may 6th 2017. I was driving when I heard this noise to my untrained ear it seemed as if the noise was coming from my front tires? I pulled over got out to check my front tires/wheel's and there was nothing, I get back into my vehicle and start driving again after a few minutes the same noise could be heard again so once again I pulled over got out and checked my tires/wheels and undercarriage. As I am looking there is nothing hanging or loose, I get back into the vehicle and started to head towards my house I was only about 6 blocks away from home so I call my fiance and asked he to come outside (I wanted her to drive the vehicle just a little so that I could see if my wheels were doing anything strange, this would help me to better explain what I through was happing to my vehicles wheels/tires) as soon as I hang the phone up I slowed down to go over a speed hump at the time I did not notice but I had lost power in the vehicle as I tried to use my breaks the vehicle did nothing and I do mean nothing so now I am rolling straight and go through two stop signs hoping and praying that one hits me, due to the vehicle having no power. A message shows up on the screen saying 'transmission malfunction' the malfunction maybe resolved by restarting. Contract nearest bmw center if necessary. Use emerg. Release to disengage park detention prior to towing or pushing vehicle. Now mine you this message only showed after the vehicle lost all power. As I am going through the second stop sign there is a slightl/small hill that I went up and the vehicle lost enough speed that I was able to smash the brakes real hard to stop the vehicle from moving. A car all most hit me in the rest because of this action, and now I am sitting on this slight hill holding my foot on the break. Once the vehicle was towed to a bmw dealership I was told about the driveshaft recall.
My fuel pump has been failing to create the correct amount of pressure in the fuel line, on and off, for several months, resulting in the vehicle suddenly operating at "reduced power" when driving. This then causes me a safety issue as I can no longer maintain proper speeds, especially when on the highway. It also causes me to have to restart the vehicle several times in a row as the vehicle often stalls out several times before finally achieving the proper pressure. My vehicle is model year 2012, which bmw states is outside of the current recall. It appears that my vehicle is having the issues outlined in the recall 16v‑746. My request here is to have the recall amended to include my make model and year of vehicle.
The vehicle experienced a high pressure fuel pump failure. Upon merging on to a highway the following symptoms occurred: backfiring, loss of power, misfires, and reduced engine performance. The vehicle was unable to maintain nominal fuel pressure in the fuel rail. The high pressure fuel pump was replaced as per bmw service documentation which required the replacement of the throttle body gasket, and 2 aluminum bolts securing wiring harness to the engine block. There were numerous fault codes present. All were consequential except for "002c01 high pressure fuel, plausibility pressure too low".
Related recalls
Engine and engine cooling: exhaust system: emission control: crankcase (PCV)
- What is wrong
- BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2008-2013 1 Series Coupe (128i); 2007-2013 3 Series Coupe (328i, 328xi, 328i xDrive); 2007-2010 X3 SAV (X3 3.0si, X3 xDrive30i); 2008-2013 1 Series Convertible (128i); 2006-2011 3 Series Sedan (325i, 325xi, 328i, 328xi, 328i xDrive, 330i, 330xi); 2006-2012 3 Series Wagon (328i, 328i xDrive); 2007-2013 3 Series Convertible (328i); 2006-2010 5 Series Sedan (525i, 525xi, 528i, 528xi, 530i, 530xi); 2006-2007 5 Series Wagon (530xi); 2007-2010 X5 SAV (X5 3.0si, X5 xDrive30i); 2006-2008 Z4 Coupe (Z4 3.0si); and 2006-2011 Z4 Roadster (Z4 3.0i, Z4 3.0si, Z4 sDrive30i) vehicles. The heater for the positive crankcase ventilation (PCV) valve may short circuit.
- Risk
- An electrical short can cause the PCV valve heater to overheat, increasing the risk of a fire while driving or, soon after driving when parked.
- Remedy
- This recall supersedes and expands previous the federal safety agency recalls 17V‑683 and 19V‑273. Dealers will install an electrical wiring harness with fuse protection for the PCV Valve heater in potentially affected vehicles, free of charge. This recall supersedes and expands previous the federal safety agency recalls 17V‑683 and 19V‑273. Vehicles previously repaired under the prior recalls will need to come back for the new recall remedy. The remedy is currently being developed. Interim owner notification letters informing owners of the safety risk were mailed on April 1, 2022. Owner notification letters were mailed on July 22, 2022. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1‑800‑525‑7417.
Recall number 22V119000 · Recall details
Engine and engine cooling: engine
- What is wrong
- BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain model year 2010-2011 128i Coupe, 128i Convertible, 328i Sedan, 328i xDrive Sedan, 328i Coupe, 328i Convertible, 328i Sports Wagon and Z4 sDrive 30i, 2011-2012 135i Coupe, 135i Convertible, 335i Sedan, X5 xDrive 35i, and X6 xDrive 35i, 2011 335i xDrive Sedan, 335i Coupe, 335i Convertible, 528i Sedan, 535i Sedan, 535i xDrive Sedan, X3 xDrive 28i, and X3 xDrive 35i, 2010 X3 xDrive 30i, and X5 xDrive 30i, 2012 640i Coupe, and 640i Convertible and 2010-2012 535i Gran Turismo vehicles. In the affected vehicles, the bolts that secure the housing for the variable camshaft timing adjustment (VANOS) unit can loosen over time and may possibly break.
- Risk
- If the bolts loosen or break the engine may have reduced power or stall. An engine stall increases the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- BMW will notify owners, and dealers will replace the four VANOS housing bolts for both VANOS units (intake and exhaust), free of charge. In addition, owners of approximately 170,172 model year 2010-2012 BMW vehicles equipped with inline 6 cylinder engines not covered by this recall, will receive an extended warranty to address this condition. The recall began on September 24, 2014. Owners may contact BMW at 1‑800‑525‑7417.
Recall number 14V176000 · Recall details
Engine and engine cooling: engine: diesel
- What is wrong
- BMW is recalling certain model year 2009-2012 X5 xDrive 35d SAV diesel vehicles manufactured September 1, 2008, through November 15, 2012. The engine belt idler pulley bolt could loosen and break over time.
- Risk
- If the engine belt idler pulley bolt breaks, the vehicle may unexpectedly lose power-assisted steering, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- BMW will notify owners, and dealers will replace and tighten the idler pulley bolt. The recall began on January 15, 2013. Owners may call BMW at 1‑800‑525‑7417 or email BMW at [email protected].
Recall number 12V550000 · Recall details
Engine and engine cooling: engine: other fuel types: turbo/supercharger
- What is wrong
- Bmw is recalling certain model year 2011 5-series, 5-series gran turismo, model year 2012 6-series convertible, 7-series, x5 sav, and x6 sav vehicles equipped with 8- or 12-cylinder, turbocharged, engines because the circuit board for the electric auxiliary water pump can overheat.
- Risk
- This could lead to a smoldering of the pump or an engine compartment or vehicle fire.
- Remedy
- Bmw will notify owners, and dealers will replace the auxiliary water pump free of charge. The safety recall began on april 30, 2012. Owners may contact bmw customer relations and services at 1‑800‑525‑7417.
Recall number 12V161000 · Recall details
Engine and engine cooling
- What is wrong
- On certain vehicles equipped with v8 engines, in conditions of below freezing temperatures combined with low humidity, it is possible for electrostatic discharge to occur at the fuel rails. If this were to occur, the engine electronic control unit (ecu) could be affected so that engine stalling could result.
- Risk
- If stalling were to occur, the driver may not be able to maintain vehicle speed or accelerate and the power steering could fail increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will attach two ground cables in the engine compartment free of charge. The recall began on october 29, 2007. Owners may contact bmw at 1‑800‑831‑1117.
Recall number 07V479000 · Recall details
Questions about the BMW X5 SAV loss of power
Which BMW X5 SAV years have sudden loss of power problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2011 (6 complaints), 2010 (3 complaints) and 2012 (2 complaints).
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