2012 BMW X5 Sav problems
NHTSA has received 29 complaints about the 2012 BMW X5 Sav, and 31% of them involve drivetrain & axles. Next are engine (21%) and air bags (10%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 29 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Drivetrain & axles 31% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 3 and 1
- Injuries and deaths
- 3 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 55,000 miles 23 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 4 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 1 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 9 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 5 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 1 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 3 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 0 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 0 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Of the 23 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 55,000 miles.
Safety-related details: 3 complaints mention a crash; 1 complaint mentions a fire; 3 injuries reported. Its complaints are more severe on average than those of 81% of model years in our database.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2012 ranks 2nd most-complained-about out of 7 model years of the BMW X5 Sav with enough data (24 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 4 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
Tried to complete a 3-point turn into a parking space when placing vehicle from reverse into drive, the vehicle unassisted it acceleration and would not brake nor steer; thus causing myself to crash head on into a concrete barrier.
Driveshaft failure. I was driving down the interstate on a straight and level section of the road. I heard a loud humming from the engine area so I slowed down and then I heard a loud pop and metal grinding and hitting under the car. My vehicle is out of warranty, so I had it towed to my independent mechanic that specializes in european vehicles. They said the driveshaft "fell apart" and as I was slowing down it was still spinning and banged around causing damage to my exhaust system and oil pan.
The agent of BMW of tenafly said there is serious safety issue need to fix, the problem they call it: faulty transfer case and emf unit faults for emf and transfer case connected battery charger. The system may stop working suddenly and cause the vehicle transfer power to wheels and roll over.