2011 BMW X5: loss of power steering

Filed Sep 9, 2022 · Electrical, Engine · OK

I was driving to work one morning On the highway, when I suddenly heard a loud sharp noise from the engine bay that followed with the engine and battery lights turning blinking on my display with sudden loss of steering. I panicked but quickly put my vehicle into neutral with my hazard lights on and slowly hit my brakes till I came to a complete stop on the highway. I got my vehicle towed back and upon further inspection saw that the idler pulley bolt snapped completely off. I researched and saw that this bolt has been recalled twice already with the same issue. If this was during a heavy traffic situation it could have been far worse.

Filed Sep 3, 2016 · Engine · 62,504 miles · IN

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

Filed Apr 17, 2014 · Engine · 36,350 miles · PA

Vehicle lost all power (mechanical and electrical) without warning. This occurred while cruising at highway speed, under normal conditions. The vehicle lost power steering and braking became significantly more difficult. After drifting safely to the highway shoulder the vehicle remained disabled and could not started. The car exhibited no signs that it would start again. Instrumentation did not display information and towing was necessary. Several days after delivery to the bmw service center, technicians advised they had attempted to repair the problem. The stated cause was vanos bolts shearing off into the engine. However, on the test drive the vehicle suffered another complete failure, leaving it disabled. 56 days later a remanufactured engine had replaced the original due to failed repair attempts.

Filed Apr 6, 2014 · Engine · 39,000 miles · IL

Vanos intake and exhaust units need to be replaced, along with some other parts related to this. Car has been at the bmw center for almost 1 week. While I was driving down a busy road, the "engine malfunction, reduced power" error message came on. I also noticed, the car had turned off and I had not control over the power steering wheel or brakes. My main concern is this happening again, luckily I was not on the highway and had no one in front of me, otherwise it could have been much worse due to no power steering availability or brakes.

Filed Sep 11, 2013 · Steering, Transmission · 15,000 miles · FL · crash · 1 injury

Our 2011 bmw x5d (diesel) started having steering issues in jun of 2012. Multiple repair attempts have been unsuccessful. Later it was involved in a low speed crash, injuring the driver in dec 2012 due to a sudden loss of power steering. This was just months before issuing a recall for the identical problem although bmw identified problems before the initial problem was noticed. The vehicle still to this day has a problem with the sudden loss of power steering, difficult low speed maneuvers and unusual tire wear. We do have a recording of a bmw of north america master technician admitting to the problem that bmw refuses to correct. In fact bmw refuses to even perform work on our vehicle even though it's advertised as "no maintenance for 4years/50,000 miles" this is at any dealership we have gone to due to a note in the database from bmw of north america. Also vehicle service history has been fraudulently erased from their database and bmw refuses to further investigate the safety of this vehicle which was purchased new in 2010 and is still under full factory warranty. They insist the vehicle is safe to drive officially, while unofficially admitting that it is dangerous.