2001 BMW X5 locks problems

Filed Aug 17, 2008 · Body, Locks · 83,000 miles · MA

Front doors are freezing up in cold weather. Once the temperature rises the doors will open. Happens early in the morning/ late night when I need to leave for work. Sometimes you can force the handle to open but then the door will not close and have to drive holding the door shut. There must be a recall on this,there have been so many complaints about this issue. This has happened to me dozens of times. Went to dealer many times, replaced bowden cable/actuators. Cost me $600.00 to fix, will see if it works next winter.

Filed Jan 3, 2008 · Engine, Locks · 88,000 miles · WI

My 2001 bmw x5 has serios issues with its design that bmw corp refuses to acknowledge or fix. 1st there is a faulty design on the pvc causing the valve to freeze and drain the oil into the engine. This almost caused a fire in my car. And cost me about $1200 to fix. 2nd there is a design flaw with the front doors whereby the either freeze shut or refuse to lock in temperatures below 17f. This is a hazard waiting to happen. Please help us ( consumers) since bmw apparently has no interest in adressing these issues.

Filed Jan 31, 2006 · Locks · 67,000 miles · CT

Dt*: the contact stated in freezing conditions, the driver side door latch freezes shut. The dealership determined the latch needs to be replaced. The contact is unaware if this is a problem with the other doors, since they are not used. Updated 03/09/06

Filed Jan 16, 2006 · Locks · 5,000 miles · MA

The driver and front passenger door mechanism freezes (frequently) in cold weather such that the door will open but will not latch when closed. The result is that a driver must drive holding the door closed or not drive the car at all, which is difficult if you need to get home.

Filed Sep 1, 2005 · Locks · OH

My 2001 bmw x5 door locks get stuck when it is very cold, usually below 15 degrees fahrenheit. The key remote does not work & if I can get the key to manually unlock the door, and get into the vehicle, when I go to shut the door the latch is stuck "open" and will not close, therefore making the car un-drivable because the door will not latch close. I have discussed this w/ bmw on 8/16/05 & they reviewed it. A bmw district representative said that they have noticed that the current "latching/locking" system can allow moisture to get into the locks & make them unusable. They offered to replace all 4 locking mechanisms but I would have to pay 1/2 part & labor, cost to me $450.00 out of pocket. This sounds like an engineering problem that bmw should recall. I would like to have this investigated.

Filed Sep 1, 2005 · Body, Electrical · 63,200 miles · ID

1. Had car serviced at 60,000 miles, only 3 weeks later the green dashes started appearing again and staying on, as if I needed to have car serviced. Called dealer and they said not to worry, this has been know to happen, just ignore it. 2. Very loud noise from sun roof (closed) while traveling on freeway and leaks during car washes? Dealer said they can replace the seal and this should fix the problem. 3. Brake light indicator on dash comes on and off, as if bulb is out, but just replaced bulb, then replaced again, sometimes this brake light works and sometimes it doesn't. 4. Window on front passenger window would not go back up after opened, then a day later, the door would not open or close. Dealer replaced the window mechanism that controls both the door handle and the window at my cost mind you the rear window and door had been done only a year before. The dealer told me that this happens on all german cars, doesn't matter the age of car or make. How frustrating - spend $45,000 and know windows will eventually quit working?? 5. Front right headlamp gets moisture in it and it takes 3-5 days to clear up. 6. Driver cup holders, what is up with that - can only put one cup in it, when try to put 2 in, they overlap, very frustrating when driving. 7. Storage in front minimal and a hassle, you have to reach back and sort of behind you to get into compartment - dangerous while driving. 8. Leather seats are very hard, need a plushier leather. 9. Wheels, brake "dust" gets all over the wheels much much more than any other luxury car I have ever had. 10. Cargo cover in rear needs work, check out the one lexus uses in rx30. 11. Need more cargo space - compared to rx330 and the volvo x90, space is extremely small. 12. Disappointed in my car - want to sell it, will not buy another bmw.

Filed Aug 18, 2005 · Locks · 42,000 miles · FL

Electronic door locks fail, no entry in to the vehicle. Was repaired and then failed again.

Filed Feb 10, 2005 · Locks · 33,000 miles · NY

I have a 2001 bmw x5 which has problems with freezing front doors (bmw has acknowledged the design defect, reference # 200503100195, si 510204, and s.I. 51 51 02 dated march 2002.) that pose a significant safety hazard, and have not received an adequate response in dealing with the matter. I have filed a complaint with the federal safety agency. I am an active duty army officer stationed in garmisch, germany. The car was with us in california and kansas from 2001 to 2004. The car did not have the door freezing problems while under warranty; we kept it in a garage and the bowden cables did not get wet during cold weather. We have no garage here, and any time the weather gets a few degrees below freezing, the front doors cease to operate. One must run the car between 15 minutes to 1.5 hours before the doors operate normally. When the car cools down, the doors freeze again. The problem with the doors here in germany is severe and poses a significant safety risk; does bmw really want to risk litigation for someone trapped in the car in the event of an accident? I do not understand why the car was not recalled for such a serious and acknowledged safety design defect. Our local dealership in garmisch is unable to locate the below si in his database. He does not know how to fix the problem. I am also disturbed that I will have to pay upwards of $1000 to fix the problem---this would have been covered under warranty and should have been fixed when the car went under services in late winter of 2004 (and also had other si work done, such as a faulty radiator fan that could have caused the car to burn----heck of a combination if the freezing doors had been acting up at the same time!).

Filed Jan 27, 2005 · Locks · 96,000 miles · MA

I have 2001 bmw x5 3.0. After last week's snow storm and cold weather in boston area, my 2001 x5 doors are frozen. Actually, I opened them from outside yesterday morning (feels like door handle got frozen). But then I could not get them closed. So, I had to push down door lock (little knob) by window and pull hard to get them closed. Now, I could not open them at all. I am climbing in and out of the trunk door to get inside. Fortuately, there is no accident. But, I think this is a serious safety issue when an accident does occur (hard to escape). Bmw north america is aware of this problem (si 51 51 02), however there is no proper action from them.

Filed Jan 21, 2005 · Locks · VA

2001 bmw x5. In cold weather the doors freeze up not allowing access in or out of the vehicle. I have had to crawl through the hatch or rear doors to get out of the vehicle. This has happened numerous times and creates a real hazard as you cannot egress the vehicle quickly. Also the latch freezes and will not allow the door to close so the door can fly open while driving. I am an active member on a bmw owners message board and this is a recurring problem for many drivers.