2013 BMW X5: fire, smoke or burning smell

Filed Mar 10, 2026 · MD · fire

My family and I were traveling from Maryland to Florida, with a planned stop in Atlanta. We were driving our 2013 BMW X5 x Drive 35i and were traveling southbound on [XXX] through Greenville, South Carolina when the incident occurred. While driving at highway speed, my husband suddenly noticed multiple error messages appearing on the vehicle’s display screen - air bag malfunction, 4x4 malfunction, stabilization, etc. He immediately began pulling the vehicle over. Within moments, he observed smoke and visible flames coming from the rear driver’s-side area of the vehicle. He urgently shouted for me and our daughter to get out of the car. What followed happened extremely fast, within approximately 15 seconds. I yelled for my daughter to unbuckle and run. In a state of panic, I grabbed our dog, and as we tried to exit the vehicle, the fire spread rapidly and aggressively. Thick, black smoke engulfed the area and we fled on foot, coughing and struggling to breathe from the smoke. By the time we reached a safe distance, the vehicle was fully engulfed in flames. Thankfully, we were able to escape without physical injury, but the incident was terrifying and could very easily have resulted in serious injury or loss of life. The vehicle was completely destroyed, along with all of our personal belongings - cell phones, laptops, clothing, luggage, etc. We have since checked for recalls associated with the vehicle’s VIN and were told none were listed. However, a vehicle should not spontaneously catch fire while being operated normally on a highway. The sudden onset, rapid spread of the fire, and lack of warning raise serious concerns about a potential defect, whether electrical, fuel-related, or otherwise. We believe this incident was preventable and that there may have been a failure in design, manufacturing, or warning. We had the insurance company and BMW inspect the vehicle, but the fire destroyed the car entirely, and a cause "could not be determined." INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION AC

Filed Sep 3, 2024 · Engine, Transmission · NY · fire

After driving for an hour I noticed smoke coming from under the hood of the car, I opened the hood to and noticed the smoke coming from under the plastic cover which covers the turbo and catalytic converter In That area. After removing the cover I saw a bright flame coming from under the hood.

Filed Aug 20, 2024 · Electrical, Engine · VA

2013 X5 Xdrive35i overheating temperature icon appears drive moderately to red hot temperature icon but doesn’t overflow. Possible water pump and electrical issues. Smell something burning.

Filed Apr 4, 2023 · Engine · 65,000 miles · IN

The contact owns a 2013 BMW X5. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, there was smoke coming from the engine compartment. The odor of smoke was present inside the cabin of the vehicle. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer was contacted regarding the failure. The manufacturer was not yet contacted. The failure mileage was 65,000.

Filed Jan 20, 2023 · Engine · 105,000 miles · IL

The contact owns a 2013 BMW X5. The contact stated that while pulling into his garage, he smelled an abnormal odor. Additionally, he noticed smoke coming from the tail pipes. The contact referenced the failure to the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 22V119000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 105,000.

Filed Mar 12, 2021 · Engine · 91,400 miles · CA · fire

After dropping off my bmw x5m for service at a bmw dealership on 01/27/2021, (they had the vehicle for two days), bmw called us, to inform us that the vehicle was ready to be picked up. My wife drove the car directly home, without stopping, (20 miles), parked the vehicle in our garage, turned the car off, and ten minutes later, the engine caught on fire and burned throughout and also burning half our garage. The vehicle was stationary and not in motion and completely turned off.

Filed Mar 2, 2020 · Engine, Transmission · 68,000 miles · MS

My x-5 started producing smoke from under the hood while driving and while stopped at a traffic light. When I reached home, I didn't see the smoke anymore, but it smelled like something was burning. A few days later, the oil at minimal level warning light came on. I took my truck into the galleria bmw dealership and was told that my valve gasket cover was broken and that oil was leaking out, causingthe burning smell. My last oil change service was less than 6 months prior to having this issue, at the same dealership. The service rep, stated this has been an ongoing issue with other older model bmws and my truck being a 2013 was old and also susceptible to having this same problem. I think this is an extreme safety issue with bmws, and it needs to be addressed asap!

Filed Apr 17, 2019 · Electrical, Visibility · 61,000 miles · NC · fire

While driving one rainy afternoon on a city road, I noticed smoke coming from under the hood. The smoke turned into flames. I pulled over and called 911. An off duty police officer stopped and had a fire extinguisher. He was able to put out most of the fire until the fire department showed up and finished the job. The firemen thought that the fire started in the air bag control module. The bmw dealer said that the fire started in the wiper motor. The car was at the dealer the previous week for the air bag recall.

Filed Apr 8, 2019 · Electrical, Engine · 78,000 miles · CO

My 2013 bmw x5 35d was in motion on a city street, when it stalled, lost all power and ultimately would not restart. I was able to get it to the side, but not off the road and it was towed to the bmw dealership where they discovered that there had been a still unidentified sourced, fuel leak into the electrical harness and finally pooling into the dde component, frying the dde component to failure. There was enough fuel in the dde component that it was drained into a drip pan and fuel covered the wiring connection points as well as had discolored the wiring. I was informed that had this been a gas engine and not diesel, it would have probably caught on fire as fuel was able to access and travel across the electrical wiring in the car. Bmw has refused to help in anyway to investigating the reasoning for this happening and or any repairs that would be involved as they "do not have a financial responsibility because the car is no longer under warranty" I feel that this is an opportunity for them to discover the reasoning without the destruction of evidence that a fire would have caused and they are choosing not to do so as to claim ignorance to the safety issues that this happening represents.

Filed Apr 1, 2019 · Engine · 83,500 miles · MS

I was traveling down the highway at 76 MPH when a message came up telling me "engine hot drive moderately." I continued to drive another 3 miles when the light mysteriously shut off. I took it to the shop when I reached columbia. They determined the water pump has failed and must be replaced. The vehicle has 83,xxx miles. Had I not taken the vehicle in to the shop today and drove it after the light went off the engine could have been ruined or possibly the x5 caught on fire if the light didn't come back on.

Filed Feb 25, 2019 · Engine, Fuel system · 50,000 miles · CT · fire · 4 injuries

Vehicle parked and turned off at my home. Many hours later vehicle was discovered by a one of my children on fire . Resulting fire destroyed the auto and ignited a major fire to my residence.

Filed May 11, 2017 · Airbags, Body · PA · fire

On 4/6/2017 I parked my 2013 bmw x5 at 7:30pm, around 3am I heard a popping sound and the alarm going off . I looked out the window and fire was coming from under the hood. On 3/20/2017 I took it in for service because it did something crazy and the engine malfunction light came on, also there was a short in the fog lights. Bmw said they they changed the coil in the engine and fixed the lights they also told us we need to upgrade the sos button or take a $300 refund and not fix the sos system . They completed that repair on 3/28/17 . 8 days later my truck caught fire