2002 BMW X5 problems
NHTSA has received 136 complaints about the 2002 BMW X5, and 21% of them involve engine. Next are air bags (15%) and electrical system (12%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 136 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Engine 21% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 3 and 15
- Injuries and deaths
- 3 and 1
- Typical mileage
- 89,000 miles 107 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 | 11 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 3 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 8 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 15 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 23 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 9 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 4 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 21 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 8 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 2 |
| 200k+ miles | 3 |
What the data shows
Of the 107 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 89,000 miles. For engine specifically, the median reported mileage is about 86,000 miles (25 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 3 complaints mention a crash; 15 complaints mention a fire; 3 injuries reported; 1 death reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2002 ranks 20th most-complained-about out of 27 model years of the BMW X5 with enough data (41 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 3 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.
The vehicle had a very dangerous blind spot, as a result a 2 year old child was killed. Consumer felt there should have been some type of sensor or camera in the rear of the vehicle.
Over the years after purchasing my 2002 BMW x5, I have reported to the service department of weatherford BMW that the transmission would not shift gears properly and that the engine would all of a sudden start revving up. As this is happening, the engine would surge and buck at the same time. Even though, I and my wife have been aware of these issues, the service department was not been able to duplicate the scenario or experienced these problems while servicing my vehicle.
On 2/11/08 cold day vehicle failed to start showing same signs as recalls on 2004 and 2007 models that are recalls. Vehicle sent to shop returned 2 days later while traveling on major expressway vehicle stalls out with out any advance warning as in 2004 and 2007 models sent back to shop vehicles oil and coolant mixing causing total engine failure. Bmw's response not a recall for this year but aware of problem.
BMW x5 2002. Car sitting in driveway overnight activated 5 of 6 airbags. Windshield broke and dashboard show fire damage.
The dashboard went dark, only gauge that worked was the tachometer which I couldnt see because I had no dashboard lights. Stopped vehicle and took the keys out couldnt turn my lights off had no turn signals,the 3rd brake light was on all night long killing the battery I tried every fuse. Also my headlights wouldnt turn off the lighting controls were useless, and just kept smelling an electronic burning smell. I managed to disconnect all the lights except the 3rd brake light.