2008 BMW X5 problems
NHTSA has received 319 complaints about the 2008 BMW X5, and 26% of them involve engine. Next are air bags (21%) and fuel system (13%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 319 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Engine 26% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 4 and 19
- Injuries and deaths
- 0 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 76,000 miles 184 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 | 23 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 11 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 33 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 40 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 22 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 30 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 13 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 9 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 3 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Of the 184 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 76,000 miles. For engine specifically, the median reported mileage is about 70,000 miles (62 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 4 complaints mention a crash; 19 complaints mention a fire.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2008 ranks 12th most-complained-about out of 27 model years of the BMW X5 with enough data (77 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 10 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.
I was driving under heavy rain on april 20, 2012 in houston, tx. I first saw engine overheating warning sign on the dash and then misty smoke came out under the hood. I had to get off the highway and drove to a nearby repair shop. It was determined that the failure was due to a faulty water pump. I had a friend who has a 2008 BMW x5 and recently had the same issue. We believe that recall #11v521000 that concerns only 2010-2011 BMW x5 needs to be expanded to x5s of earlier years. Thank you for your consideration.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 BMW x5. The contact stated that the rear driver's side brake light malfunctioned. The bulb holder had turned black and was slightly melted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer but was not inspected. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The approximate failure mileage was 52,200.
My 2008 BMW x5 is reporting high battery drain and it's only 13 months old with 5,000 miles. The dealer states the issue is because the vehicle is not driven at least 25 miles a day. If this is a requirement to owning the vehicle it was never mentioned when I purchased the vehicle. My own research on the internet indicates this is a well known problem by BMW. Yet the only solution offered is to replace the battery prematurely as it fails or hook the battery up to a trickle charger every night.
Started the car and got "parking brake malfunction" message. The parking brake could not be disengaged and car couldn't move. Followed instruction to release the parking brake so the car can be moved. The car is movable after that, but the parking brake no longer worked.