I purchased car 2011-sole owner dealer state replaces engine pulley bolt 2012? Driving in dark and rain in mountains nc 1/24/17. All of a sudden lost ability to steer without a lot of force. Then got dash errors "charging malfunction", "engine overheating" transmission failure "no ABS" "drive cautiously ""turn off engine". I could not turn steering wheel hard enough to get off road. Pulled barely to side and turned engine off. Completely stranded and scared to death. Same broken bolt to be replaced. This is lethal situation and I am stuck with a killer car. Cannot afford to dump it. This car has required towing several times for engine failure that was "repaired". But I don't know what was done. In prior separate incident I was driving along engine light came on car sputtered and stopped-required towing. And takata recall also still waiting for airbags shoot shards. Bmw will not replace. They think it is not hot in nc. I call 104 degrees hot.
2011 BMW X5 engine complaints
Page 4 of 5: complaints 71 to 100 of 119, newest first, as owners wrote them.
The vehicle cut power output from the engine and when restarted would shut off. The dealership declared that the car had incurred water intrusion into the engine compartment without being flooded or submerged in water causing total engine damage that is the equivalent of salvage. The diagnosis as a result of this water intrusion effects diagnosis and recommended fix : diagnostic - check engine light: vtc eccentric shaft, valvetronic servomotor, oil spray nozzle, 6 injectors, and all associated gaskets and hardware. Technician note: diagnosed check engine light, caused by valvetronic servomotor faults, found needing replacement of vtc eccentric shaft, valvetronic servomotor, oil spray nozzle, and 6 injectors. Labor time includes time for programming and diag. (note: one time faults for fuel pressure plausibility, may be consequential of valvetronic malfunction or secondary issue.) [other]: cylinder head, with replacement gasket, intake and exhaust manifold gaskets, 3 center bolts, and all associated hardware. With new partition, valvetronic servomotor, six injectors, and all hardware for engine removal. Technician note: during injector inspection found injectors 5-6 couplers corroded into head. New injectors will not seat properly and replacement head is required. Note: new head comes with eccentric shaft and rollers. This inflicts financial damage to the consumers since the cost of remedying this is more than the value of the car.
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 bmw x5. The contact stated that the engine failed and smoke emitted under the hood while driving. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic for inspection where it was diagnosed that the fuel diesel heather failed, causing the vehicle to overheat. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer stated that the vehicle was not included in the federal safety agency campaign number: 13v339000 (fuel system, diesel). The failure mileage was 100,000.
Engine cooling system coolant pump speed outside the tolerance recall (code: 3792) my car was over heating, so I turned off the engine on the highway 202. After that I let me car cool down, but when I tried to start it again, the engine still overheated.
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 bmw x5. While driving 60 MPH, the accelerator pedal was depressed, but the vehicle failed to accelerate and lost power. The engine temperature warning indicator illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for routine service and the technician stated that there was a failure with the engine fan. The vehicle was diagnosed and produced diagnostic code 3792. The contact was unsure about what parts needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact was aware of the federal safety agency campaign number: 11v521000 (engine and engine cooling), but the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 62,000. Updated 01/04/17*lj updated 7/5/18*jb
On 21 oct 16 at approximately 3:10 pm, while driving on route 30 in hampstead, md and approaching a roundabout at 30 miles per hour, the vehicle stalled without any warning lights on the dashboard. Lights were operable, but the vehicle would not restart or disengage out of park to move the vehicle from oncoming traffic. The vehicle was towed to the bmw dealership. If this had happened just 30 minutes before, we would have been on an interstate 795 traveling at 60 MPH. There was not collision. At the bmw dealership, the service department stated it was the starter. The starter was replaced but the vehicle still would not start. The service manager stated that the 'engine has seized up' and the cost would be $17,000 to take out the engine and replace the engine. The vehicle was less than two months out of an extended warranty. We are contacting bmw as the vehicle was traded because of the prohibited cost of repairs. The symptoms displayed match the part 573 safety recall report 16v‑746.
On sunday 08/16/2016, my 2011 bmw x5 lost steering power, and I got a bunch of errors on the dashboard including engine not charging. When I looked under the hood, I was able to see that the engine belt is off its track, and idle pulley has broken off. This is the same failure for which bmw created a recall: (recall number -the federal safety agency campaign id-: 12v5500, recall date: 11/27/2012, component: steering: hydraulic powers assist system). On monday 08/15/2016, I called bmw of north america llc and informed of the failure and requested that they pay assistance since the issue was a known design flaw under the recall above. Repairs were made to this car (bmw of rockville, 12/21/2012), but failure appears to continue to repeat. Bmw instructed me to tow the car to the bmw dealer and once an estimate from the dealer was given they will make a decision. The estimate was available monday, and when I called them back tuesday morning, they informed me that a decision will be made within 24-48 hours. I called every day after the period for three days, but was never transferred to the case manager (sam), instead, I was asked to supply my information over and over. On monday 08/22, I called and requested to talk to a supervisor. The supervisor sounded irritated by my call, and proceeded to tell me that a decision will be made within 5 business days. Two days later, sam called me and informed me that he got the paperwork, and will be working on my case. On tuesday 08/30, I called bmw back since I haven't heard back from them, I requested to talk to sam, but the phone assistant informed me that he is not available, but based on the notes available to her, I am being denied because of the high mileage on the car (62k miles). After two weeks of stringing me along, bmw didn't even bother to call me with the bad news. This is a design flaw that bmw should own and pay for
As I was driving a check battery light came on, I drove for approx 2 more mins as I tried to park an engine malfunction light came on. Then the steering wheel froze and I could not change gears. I blocked city street traffic for over 2 hrs before a tow truck could get me. At the time of the malfunction I was driving 15-20 MPH. Thankfully, I was not on a freeway or this would have been a major accident. I was told by bmw that the drive belt fell apart, (while I was driving) it went into the engine and destroyed the timing chain and cam system. The engine is damaged beyond repair. I feel this is a design flaw that the drive belt would destroy the engine in a matter of 2 mins and/or it is defective drive belt. The car has approx 42k miles. Bmw offered for me to pay $2800 for them to take the engine apart and investigate the engine malfunction. This car has had numerous problems since I purchased it. Attached are my service records.
Driving my wife and kids on a busy city street traveling 30 MPH. Suddenly without warning engine overheat needs to cool down warning appeared. I turned on the hazard lights. Vehicle began to slow down and we were almost hit twice. Was able to pull over and proceeded down a side street. Engine overheat shut down engine warning which appeared in red came up so I stopped the vehicle and turned off the engine for an hour. My family sat for an hour hoping the engine would cool off but to no avail. We were left stranded @ 1:30am in baltimore city which is known for senseless random acts of violence.
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 bmw x5. While driving at an unknown speed, the engine overheated warning message illuminated and the vehicle failed to accelerate. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The technician diagnosed that the water pump was defective and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 60,000.
Drive shaft failure... On highway driving 70 MPH and the car became uncontrollable. Pulled off the side of the road and stopped the vehicle. Car then would not go into drive only neutral. Car towed to performance bmw . I had previously complained about how loud the cabin was with engine noise and a slight vibration when stopping. Now the drive shaft is ruined as well as leah in oil housing, pan etc
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 bmw x5. While driving 55 MPH, a warning message on the instrument panel indicated that the vehicle was overheating. The contact pulled over to the roadside and observed the engine, but there was no indication that it overheated. The failure recurred intermittently. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the water pump failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not included in the federal safety agency campaign number: 12v161000 (engine and engine cooling). The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 100,100.
Previous vanos recall campain / fix has not worked and has caused catastrophic engine failure. After one year from recall work the turbo failed resulting in loss of engine power. Upon replacing turbo dealer noticed metal shavings in oil. Less than one year later and multiple engine issues there is loud engine knocking. Dealer claims again there is metal shavings in then oil and the engine and turbo need to be replaced. Bmw na is refusing to cover work even though the vanos bolt issue is a well known and documented problem. These vanos bolts shear and drop into the timing chain causing metal shaving contamination to engine oil. Engine will eventuality loose power and shut down as metal works its way throughout the engine resulting in complete failure and necsitating replacement. Bmw na knows this is a problem and they are refusing to do anything about this serious safety issue.
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 bmw x5. The contact stated that while parked, the engine was running however, a large amount of coolant leaked onto the ground and the engine compartment. The oil reservoir melted onto the engine. There was no flame visible. In addition, the vehicle failed to shift out of the park position. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the water pump would need to be replaced. The VIN was not included in the federal safety agency campaign number: 11v521000 (engine and engine cooling). The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 61,400.
Previous vanos recall campaing fix is not working. After one years replacement bolts are loose and loud engine knocking is back. If continue driving bolts will be sheared and break timing chain causing engine to suddenly loose power and shut down with no previous warning. When engine RPM reaches the 2000 mark engine starts to loose power and hesitates due to the bad vanos bolts. Bmw is refusing to repair the vanos unit and replace the bolts under warranty.
Margining onto freeway accelerated car suddenly lost power went into neutral and brakes went hard engine malfunction lights on the dash build date dec 2010 falls into vanos repair fixed once already and has made the vehicle inoperable bmw corporate is claiming not at fault when hundreds of cases have been reported online every vehicle made from feb 2010-dec 2010 is a ticking bomb
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 bmw x5. The contact stated that while driving, the vehicle was overheating causing smoke coming from the engine. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the water pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the engine cooling pressure needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The VIN was not included in the federal safety agency campaign number: 11v521000 (engine, engine cooling). The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 69,716.
Engine malfunction reduced power output. Driving on a highway my bmw x5 suddenly started misfiring and heard noise from the engine. After couple of misfires it have eninge malfunction reduced power output warning. Had a vanos bolt replaced as part of recall but this is happening more often. I think there is serious issue with bmw eninge. Can anyone help.
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 bmw x5. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 40 MPH, the steering wheel became difficult to turn after the engine and battery warning indicators illuminated. The contact restarted the vehicle however the failure persisted. The vehicle was towed to the contacts residence and was examined by an independent mechanic, who diagnosed that the idler pulley bolt had fractured and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The contact referenced the federal safety agency campaign number: 12v550000 (engine and engine cooling , steering) however, the VIN was not included. The approximate failure mileage was 60,000.
Electric water pump failed at only 40k-50k miles. Engine overheated and risky for safe driving. I checked online for any related recall and find the following, which is the same problem for my vehicle. But it was not covered by the recall. This recall should cover more vehicles. Electric auxiliary water pump report receipt date: oct 20, 2011 the federal safety agency campaign number: 11v521000 component(s): engine and engine cooling
I received a noise from the engine and started an alert on dashboard engine malfunction reduced power drive safely to the bmw dealer. Bmw dealer looked at the vehicle and suggested to change engine oil, solenoids, belt tensioner and deflection pully, however the engine sound did not go off. Now they asking me to change the engine and turbo. The only service did earlier was the vanos gear bolt recall. Dealer and bmw na says it's because of aftermarket oil filter. I think aftermarket oil filter damaging the engine is irrelevant. I think there is a serious problem is getting hidden by bmw. Can anyone please help.
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 bmw x5. While driving at approximately 40 MPH, an abnormal loud noise was heard from the vehicle and an unknown warning indicator illuminated. In addition, the brake warning light illuminated. The failure recurred intermittently. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 65,000.
Driving from highway speed to exit then around 20mph, engine just stopped, went into neutral, steering locked, check engine lights. Depressed brake and was able to restart car. It happened 2 more times within the next 2 hours. Will be getting to dealer or bmw shop.
I was driving at the hallway at 65 MPH and the power to the car shut off. I almost crashed into other cars, when the engine reduce power light came on. I pulled over and waited 10 minutes to start the car. I went back home and it happened again .....updated 09/28/15 *bf the went to the shop four times, and no one was able to diagnose the problem. Updated 10/08/15
My wife and a toddler were driving home getting off the bridge and about to get on the on ramp to highway in nyc (bqe). All the sudden the car overheated and went into limp mode. Luckily there were no car behind her otherwise would be rear ended. She was able to pull to the right from the left lane and got onto local street to wait for it to cool down. This car had many close calls for serious or fatal accident. This car only has a little ok 40k miles. This is too early for a water pump to fail. This car is out of warranty and the cost of fix will be over $1000. The worst is my wife uses this car for work and drive the kid to school. Can bmwna be contacted and put this failure into recall. Thanks
I was on my way out of town on interstate 94w, when without warning my vehicle started to slow down and I could not accelerate. A sensor displayed stating the vehicle was overheating and to drive moderately. I was in the fast lane and had to get over at a moment's notice even with the vehicle slowing down. The second occurrence was on a busy street with a speed limit of 45 MPH, and the car overheated, and stated "engine hot" and it proceeded to shut down. I could not accelerate and was almost hit from behind but the car switched to another lane at the last minute. This car put my life into danger 2 times to many. Something needs to happen before someone dies.
Tl*the contact owns a 2011 bmw x5. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the water pump fractured. The contact heard the fan running extremely high. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, who diagnosed that the water pump, the cooling system and the thermostat needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not included in the federal safety agency campaign id number: 12v161000 (engine and engine cooling). The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 48,000.
Bmw x5 35i 2011 awd , I was on major deegan highway exiting at 230 st when the my bmw x5 35i 2011 awd sudden stopped and my heart when too my feet . The panel read "engine malfunction " I was in a daze not knowing what happen to the bmw x5 35i 2011 awd and why did it stop all of sudden !!! I started again at a very slow pace less than 10 MPH and trying to get out of the way of traffic on the exit on 230 street , I made it too the veterans affairs hospital at 8:30 or 9:00 am in the morning . I called aaa to tow to a shop than I was found out this bmw x5 35i 2011 awd had a recall so I got it tow too portchester bmw where the vehicle is at now and don't when I will get back . If this is the problem with this bmw x5 35i 2011 awd this bmw x5 35i 2011 awd should never be on any us road at all its an accident ready to happen very dangerous ,very dangerous for a bmw x5 35i 2011 awd to have a sudden stop " engine malfunction " some one is going too die in this bmw x5 35i 2011 its too dangerous to drive and risk my life a us marine veteran . Take this bmw x5 35i 2011 off the roads of the united states before some want gets killed !!!!!!!
While driving on the highway suddenly car registered a fault saying "engine problems - reduced power" causing me to swerve and nearly causing an accident ... The car drastically reduced power and I was able to limp home with reduced speed.
While driving on highway 121 suddenly the lights came on and I was warned that if I don't pull over and reduce my speed my engine will suffer damage. This caused me to swerve and try to take the first exit, which luckily was coming up. There was a liquid discharge under the car. Water pump failed and thermostat burned out ... Damages over 1000 usd. This seems to be a theme with 3.0i vehicles of that year. Bmw would not repair even though higher cylinder engines are covered under recall.
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