Emergency stopping system alerted me seconds before it shut the car down. Traveling on the highway at approximately 60 miles an hour car went into emergency stopping. Unassisted brakes were applied car pulled to the right and when it reached the brake down lane, it stopped. Hazard lights were engaged and phone call was initiated to BMW roadside assistance. All without driver assistance. Yes it was a dangerous situation as the car slowed down on its own on a busy highway. Do not know what component failed and has not been seen by BMW in order to assess the situation. This is the second time the car has initiated an unassisted stop. First unassisted stop gave no warning, second unassisted stop flashed a message stating that car was going to “emergency shutdown”. Car has experienced two emergency shut downs with no apparent emergency.
BMW X5 pulling problems
11 of the 3,181 owner complaints about the BMW X5 describe pulls to one side, most of them for the 2018 model year.
- owner complaints
- 11
- worst model year
- 2018
- typical mileage
- 22,100
By model year
- 20261
- 20192
- 20182
- 20131
- 20111
- 20081
- 20051
- 20041
- 20011
Often reported together
What owners say
I purchased a used Pirelli Scorpion Strada 255/55R18 109V tire (DOT code 1UN L4W990 4221) for my SUV. When I returned home from the installation, the tire appeared normal. However, the next morning—within 24 hours of installation—I began driving for work when my car suddenly started shaking violently and pulling hard to the right while on the freeway around 3 AM. I was able to safely exit the freeway and pull over. Upon inspection, I discovered that the tire had been shredded by the road—the sidewall had catastrophically failed, and the inner structure had separated. The tire had good tread and showed no signs of damage before the incident. This was a sudden and dangerous failure that placed me at serious risk of losing control of the vehicle. It occurred under normal driving conditions at moderate freeway speed. There were no prior warning signs, dashboard messages, or visible damage. The tire was manufactured in October 2021 at Pirelli’s Rome, Georgia plant. The failure appears consistent with belt separation or internal delamination. The damaged tire has been preserved and is available for inspection. I believe this tire may be part of a defective batch and am reporting this for safety investigation. There are similar complaints online regarding Pirelli tires made in this timeframe.
I am experiencing an issue very similar to the steering issue as reported in the federal safety agency id# 11196600. The steering very suddenly developed very noticeable play in steering. At speeds above 50 MPH or so, because of the steering play, the vehicle has a tendency to wander sometimes to the left and sometimes the right at which point the steering takes hold which is felt as a twitch in the steering wheel. This is most noticeable when the front end becomes light as in cases when driving over an overpass or on roads that undulate some. I took the vehicle to the bmw dealer in lafayette, in on 23-dec-19 to have them look into it. They reported back that they didn't find anything mechanically wrong, but upon road testing the vehicle they confirmed that there is something wrong with the way that the vehicle handles and drives - thought to perhaps be a problem with the eps. They are looking into it further with next steps to be reported back to me.
When driving the vehicle under 30 degrees f, the steering will pull left or right on its own, causing the vehicle to slide in slippery conditions. Speed does not matter and it will pull/twitch the steering right consistently or sometimes left. Very unsettling and extremely dangerous with no fix available. Car will do this from speeds of 1-65 MPH.
Whiling driving the vehicle over 40 plus miles the steering wheel gets erratic and twitchy. It tries to makes micro turns sometimes to left and sometimes right making you feel as if its windy outside which is making the vehicle pull to one side or other. It becomes a challenge to keep the vehicle in lane.
When temperatures are <10 degrees, steering wheel twitches and pulls left and right, the colder the temperatures, especially in sub zero temps, problem worsens greatly!! Very dangerous and scary to drive car. Took the car to bmw service, they couldnt find anything wrong, did software update which made absolutely no difference. According to bmw blog, many many compliant about this issue for people living in cold climates in winter. Appears bmw is aware of the issue but so far has not done anything to correct the issue, again, this is extremely dangerous and needs to be corrected asap. This happens at all speeds. Once the outside temperatures are above 15 degrees, problem goes away.
Universal joint and drive shaft broke. Per technician at bmw dealership exactly the same as following recall although my VIN is not covered under the recall: recall number 17v138000 recall date 03/02/2017 component power train:driveline:driveshaft driving on a city street when load bang, followed by increasing load noise. Pulled right over. Driveshaft slammed into oil pan causing loss of all oil and hydraulic steering fluid
While driving with the heat on, there's a burning smell that come through the vents. Continue driving with heat on long enough and despite the smell, the right side(passenger) began to smoke, so bad you cant see to drive... While driving and you press on the gas to accelerate, it's not a smooth transition, u cant beat a honda... While driving every now and then u hear a loud screeching sound till you turn your car off... In stationary position with the car on, its makes loud engine running sounds... The car also pulls to the right...
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
2004 bmw x5 steering vibrates and pulls slightly to the left, cigarette lighter came apart,center console opens on its own. *ts ***no answer required*** when the consumer looked under the vehicle, he noticed one side of the vehicle was lower than the other, which may have been the cause of the vehicle pulling to right and the horrendous vibration. The seat frame was loud because it moved back and fourth and did not fully lay flat. The sunroof leaked. The lights flashed on and off at regular intervals, the left rear window was inoperative, the right rear door never opened, the horn starting blaring on and off for no reason. The audio controls on the steering wheel did not work. The key sometimes did not unlock or lock the doors.
Related recalls
Steering: column
- What is wrong
- BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2021 X5 sDrive40i, X5 xDrive40i, X5M, X5 xDrive45e, X6 sDrive40i, X6 xDrive40i, X7 xDrive40i, X7 M50i vehicles. The steering column shaft's universal joint connection may not have been tightened to specifications, and can become loose.
- Risk
- A loose steering column shaft universal joint connection can affect vehicle handling and control, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- BMW will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and, depending upon the inspection, either the bolt will be replaced and tightened to specifications, or the steering column shaft, universal joint, and bolt will be replaced and tightened to specifications, free of charge. The recall began March 30, 2021. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1‑800‑525‑7417.
Recall number 21V031000 · Recall details
Steering
- What is wrong
- BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2019-2020 X5 sDrive40i, X5 xDrive40i and X5 xDrive50i vehicles and 2020 X6M vehicles. The steering column shaft bearing plate may not have been properly attached to the vehicle, allowing it to loosen.
- Risk
- A loose bearing plate can affect the vehicle's handling and control, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- BMW will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the steering column shaft bearing plate and properly attach or replace it, as necessary, free of charge. BMW telephoned owners and all of the vehicles have been remedied. No owner notification letter is necessary. Please contact BMW customer service at 1‑800‑525‑7417.
Recall number 20V434000 · Recall details
Steering: rack and pinion: rack
- What is wrong
- BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2020 X5 sDrive40i, X5 xDrive40i, X5 M50i, X7 xDrive40i and X7 M50i vehicles. The steering rack pinion teeth may break under load, resulting in a loss of steering control.
- Risk
- A loss of steering control increases risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- BMW will notify owners, and dealers will replace the steering rack, free of charge. The recall began August 21, 2019. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1‑800‑525‑7417.
Recall number 19V631000 · Recall details
Steering
- What is wrong
- Bmw is recalling certain model year 2012 x5 vehicles equipped with a diesel engine and 2013 x5 and x6 vehicles. Due to a machining error of the steering gear surface, power steering fluid may leak.
- Risk
- Leaking power steering fluid can spray onto hot exhaust parts, increasing the risk of an engine compartment fire.
- Remedy
- Bmw will notify owners, and dealers will inspect, and if necessary, replace the steering gear free of charge. The safety recall began on july 20, 2012. Owners may contact bmw customer relations and services at 1‑800‑525‑7417.
Recall number 12V267000 · Recall details
Steering: hydraulic power assist: pump
- What is wrong
- Vehicle description: passenger vehicles. Due to an assembly error during vehicle production, any of the three bolts that secure the pulley to the pump may have been inadequately tightened.
- Risk
- In such a case, the bolts could ultimately loosen causing the pulley to throw off the drive belt. This would result in the loss of certain engine auxiliary functions, I.e., power steering assist, water pump, or alternator. Steering effort would then be increased.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect the power steering pump pulley to see if it is loose. If the pulley is not loose on the pump, the retaining bolts will be torqued to specification. If the pulley is loose, the pump, pulley, attaching bolts, and drive belt will be replaced. Owner notification began august 17, 2001. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact bmw at 1‑800‑831‑1117.
Recall number 01V173000 · Recall details
Steering: linkages: knuckle: spindle: arm
- What is wrong
- Vehicle description: passenger vehicles. During assembly of these vehicles, the lower end of the spindle may not have been inserted completely into the coupling. In such a case, the fastening bolt used to secure the connection may not completely engage the spindle within the coupling. During driving, it would be possible for the spindle to disconnect.
- Risk
- This could result in a loss of steering capability and increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect the spindle to ensure proper insertion in the coupling, and, if necessary, the spindle will be fully inserted and the fastening bolt replaced. Owner notification began february 6, 2001. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact bmw at 1‑800‑831‑1117.
Recall number 01V030000 · Recall details
Steering: linkages: rod: relay: connecting
- What is wrong
- Vehicle description: sport utility vehicles. The nut that secures the axial joint of the left steering tie rod to the steering gear box may have not have been tightened securely. This could lead to loosening of the nut and, initially to steering wheel play and/or misalignment, as well as noise from the steering linkage. If vehicle operation continues, the tie rod could disconnect from the steering gear box.
- Risk
- If this were to occur, loss of steering control could result.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect and re-torque the nut securing the axial joint of the left steering tie rod. If the torque of the nut is found to be loose, the right nut will also be checked and corrected if necessary, and a front wheel alignment will be performed.
Recall number 00V341000 · Recall details
Steering: steering wheel/handle bar
- What is wrong
- Vehicle description: sport utility vehicles. The lower steering shaft coupling includes a plastic collar which fits over the lower steering rack input shaft. This collar is pushed down onto the steering rack and tightened during assembly. On some of the affected vehicles, the collar may not have been pushed down fully onto the rack at the assembly plant.
- Risk
- Operation of the vehicle, especially in rough road conditions, can cause the clearance between the collar and the steering rack to increase to the point where the input shaft can separate from the rack, resulting in a loss of steering capability.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect the steering rack input shaft collar for proper positioning, and reposition is necessary.
Recall number 00V010000 · Recall details
Questions about the BMW X5 pulling
Which BMW X5 years have pulls to one side problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2018 (2 complaints), 2019 (2 complaints) and 2001 (1 complaints).
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