2012 BMW X5: loss of power steering

Filed May 1, 2026 · Engine, Steering · CA

Two nights ago I was at Domino’s Pizza. I put my car in reverse and the car died and the steering wheel locked up like the power steering was giving out I was able to start the car again, but still with no power steering assist and drove the car home about a mile away, but every time I slowed down or came to a stop sign or a stoplight, the car would die, and the battery light would flash on the dash and it would say charging malfunction once I got home we took a look at the engine and noticed that none of the belts were working at all and then I started to google what could possibly be the problem and a couple of different recalls came up recall number 12V550000 and that is engine and engine cooling engine diesel what the name of it is and the recall date is 1127 2012 and then the next one is 2012 BMW X5 diesel SUVs from the model year 2012 923 BMW X fives have been recalled because they have defective engine belt, tensioners and cracks that develop along the welds if the belt tensioner fails there could be a sudden loss of power steering assist that is sounds like exactly what happened to my car and then there’s another one recall number B121918 which is from September 2019 and it is called idler pulley bolt and come to find out that actually was a recall on my vehicle, but the previous owner is the one that had it repaired so I’m not sure if BMW is willing to repair it again but there’s not a lot of miles on this cards a 2012 I bought it with 95,000 miles on it and it currently only has 131,000 miles on it. I’m just hoping for some kind of resolution here this is the fifth Bmw that I bought in my lifetime and I for the most part I’ve had pretty good ultimate driving experience and good customer service and some good financing but I can’t see why just recall wouldn’t cover my vehicle. It’s currently in the shop. They’re doing a diagnostic on it and I will be getting that back later on today and I can report that back to you folks, hopefully it could be recalled. M

Filed Aug 25, 2022 · Engine · 139,000 miles · MA

Pulley bolts for power steering, water pump and I believe alternator broke and I lost power steering function which almost caused me to crash into another car and guard rail. I have seen many reports of this problem on social media with other X5 owners. Car has 139k in miles.

Filed Mar 13, 2019 · Fuel system · 74,000 miles · TX

I was driving my car at 35 miles per hour suddenly the car lost power steering wheel locked so it was hard to keep control of the vehicle. I tried restarting the car but with no results. A policeman had to stay behind me all the time for over an hour until a towing truck came to tow the car. Bmw diagnoste the car before with a fuel rail regulator. So I went and replaced that component still the car did not want to start!?. So I towed it to bmw after 4 days of diagnostics that they said the diagnostics itself is $1900! They came to a conclusion that the fuel high pressure pump failed and contaminated the fuel system and broke the injectors and messed up the whole fuel system. Their estimate to replace the whole is over $11000! And to just replace the failed and clean up the fuel system it will cost me over $4000. The car is only $75000 how would a major failure happen to that component. There was no misfueling, they checked the diesel and they said it is not gas and it does not have water either. I have read where other people complaining from the same issue fuel high pressure pump failure. If I were on a highway and since the car did not give any notice or message I think I would have been in an accident since the car just shut down with no warning or sign.

Filed Feb 23, 2019 · Engine · 95,300 miles · NY

I find it down right unconscienable that bmw is allowed to have an open recall that may cuse a crash unresolved months after notification. On thursday 2/22/19 while on my way to an event when the occurence materialized. I lost steering and engine function on a 2 plus mile winding commercial driveway. Through the grace of god I remained calm and forcibly and miraculously veer away from a ditch. Had I been on a highway which was a real possibility that day, a sudden slowing down would have been life ending. I am taking the time to make this complaint to hopefully prevent someone else that may not have the same outcome as I did. I was able to slowly make it to the parking lot while having roadside assistance summoned by my son, who I had surrendipitously diaed before I heard the "pop" under the car, which I initially thought was from running over a rock. Once the vehicle was at the dealership, ithe following day received a voicemail response to my inquiry that it was due to the july 2017 puley recall that does impact steering and may lead to a crash. Sad. Current remedy is an offer for a rental with rexpenses covered with no eta of the recalled part replacement. I must say I am extremely distrustful at this time of an adequate resolution, to the point of a trade in request. I have also asked for the manager to get back to me. Thanks.

Filed Dec 9, 2018 · Engine · 66,000 miles · WA

Recall campaign number 18v‑336 engine idler pulley bolt snapped while driving through twisting roads in the wet. Loss of power steering and loss of battery charge from the alternator also the belt runs the water pump so the engine started to over heat before I could get to a safe place to pull off the road.

Filed Nov 5, 2018 · Engine · 69,500 miles · TX

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 bmw x5. While the vehicle was stationary, the engine idler pulley bolt fractured. The contact stated that the red battery malfunction indicator illuminated and the message "charging malfunction, battery is not recharging" displayed. The contact also stated that there was a sudden loss of power steering assist. The contact manually applied significant force to the steering wheel and was able to drive to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the engine pulley bolt fractured and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. Furthermore, the contact received notification of the federal safety agency campaign number: 18v336000 (engine and engine cooling); however, the part to do the repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and stated that there was no remedy for the recall. The contact was referred to the dealer. The failure mileage was approximately 69,500. Vin tool confirms parts not available.

Filed Dec 15, 2017 · Engine, Steering · 79,300 miles · NM

While out of town, vehicle in motion on road, hear a clunk in the engine bay and many warning lights go off. Go to pull over and steering is very difficult to operate. Manage to pull out of traffic safely. The reduced mobility of vehicle due to loss of power steering could have easily caused a life threatening situation. Call tow truck. Garage states loss of power steering is due to loss of serpentine belt due to broken idler pulley bolt, even though a recall for this part exists and has been performed. Recall 12v5500000 engine idler pulley may break, was performed in 2013. This same recall should apply but bmw service states they will not service again as it has already been completed. Parts are on back order, takes over a week for bolt to arrive. Many documented cases of original recall repair failing a second time in as little as 5 months to as many as 3.5 years after initial recall service. Bmw refuses reimbursement for the cost of repair, $1153.00. A new recall should be issued.

Filed Aug 8, 2017 · Electrical, Steering · 63,456 miles · NC

On july 31st 2017, the bolt securing idler pulley and alternator sheared. Battery charge malfunction light came on followed by loss of power steering. Looking at my service record, I see that this same bolt was subject to a recall in january 2013 when car was at 12332 miles. The car is now at 63456. Also noted on bmw owners web site that many other owners of this e70 series design have had the same repeat problem. Bmw dealer in ct performed the latest repair and offered no explanation, except that their work is guaranteed for 2 years. Original recall performed by dealer in raleigh nc where car was purchased new has advised me to post this report and call bmwna. I am waiting to hear back from them, but first discussion was not good. They claimed that they did not have a record of this as a continuing problem and would not be able to give me any assurances that it would not happen again. I note that the part number of the new bolt just installed is the same as the old bolt installed in 2013. We were very lucky not to be involved in a serious accident and without some clear assurances that bmw understand how to fix this continuing problem I am very worried about driving the car. At the time of the bolt failure we were driving at about 20mph through the center of the town of stratford ct and just managed to pull off the road into a train station parking lot.

Filed Dec 27, 2016 · Steering · 78,311 miles · DE

In 2012 a recall was issued for this car and the work was performed at the dealer. On 12/16/2016 the steering failed wile the car was in operation. It was returned to the dealership for repair on the same part as before. My investigation showed there were more than one steering failure in that time period concerning the same model, engine and everything but a 2011 model. I paid out of pocket to have the repairs completed because I need transportation, however bmw is claiming that once the work is completed and after time of warranty they are no longer responsible. I feel this is a serious safety concern and bmw will bill customers for the work even if they are replacing the equipment with faulty parts. I was fortunate that I wasn't driving fast and the weather was nice or I could have had a serious accident with no steering..

Filed Aug 15, 2014 · Engine, Fuel system · 6,600 miles · NY

While driving at around 35 MPH, engine started to stutter, shake violently, then completely shut off, leaving no power assist to steering or brakes. Vehicle remained dead in the middle of a heavily traveled two lane road. After attempting to restart several dozen times, vehicle finally stayed on enough to pull to side of road, then shut down again. Again after numerous attempts to restart, vehicle was able to turm the corner onto a residential street where it proceeded to shut down once again. Engine failure message appeared on vehicle information display as well as engine warning lights on dashboard. While waiting for tow truck, the vehicle sat for 15 minutes before I attempted to restart. After about a dozen attempts, vehicle restarted, but this time with no error messages or dashboard warning lights. After several additional stalls, vehicle restarted but this time with the vehicle information display indicating "engine malfunction" and additional wording stating "reduced power available" (limp home mode) and "safe to drive". Based on the message and the fact the car restarted, I attempted to drive home. On the highway (long island expressway) while approaching highway speeds (45 MPH) the engine again shook violently, stumbled, and shut off leaving no power steering or power brakes. Unfortunately, a tractor trailor was bearing down on my position from the rear and nearly struck my vehicle, due to the sudden power loss and catastrophic engine failure. Beyond the failure of the high pressure fuel pump (per bmw dealership), the vehicle information system is flawed as it did not remember the first catastrophic engine failure and instead reset itself. It advised although there was an engine malfunction, it was safe to drive with reduced power available. A catastrophic engine event like that should result in a warning and advisement not to drive the vehicle.

Filed Feb 22, 2012 · Engine, Steering · TX

The vehicle sporadically suffers from engine failure when executing a sharp turn. This has happened so far on three separate and distinct instances during its first 1,000 miles of service, under the operation of two different drivers, with several passenger witnesses on one occasion. When these failures happen, the vehicle engine stalls or otherwise shuts itself off, which leads to loss of power steering in mid-turn and loss of braking. The only way to recover control of the vehicle is to let it coast to a stop, then put the vehicle in park, then push the ignition button to re-start the car.