2007 BMW X5
This year drew an ordinary 143 complaints for a BMW X5 — the model's median is 146. What they were about is the unusual part: 7% of them mention start car, against 0.8% across the other years of this generation.
First year of a new generation. The BMW X5 was redesigned for 2007. A first year carries problems nobody has found yet, and they are found by the people who buy it — which is worth knowing before you become one of them.
NHTSA opened a defect investigation into this model year.
| Complaints filed | 143 |
|---|---|
| Median for this model | 146 |
| Involving a crash | 6 |
| Involving a fire | 2 |
| Recalls | 8 |
| EPA combined | 17 mpg |
What the complaints were about
- start car — 7% of this year's complaints, against 0.8% across the other years of this generation (8.3×). Owners wrote it as: start car, 4x4, last week.
- service brakes — 7.7% of this year's complaints, against 1.3% across the other years of this generation (5.9×). Owners wrote it as: service brakes, distance, applying, mph brake.
- says — 7% of this year's complaints, against 2.2% across the other years of this generation (3.2×). Owners wrote it as: says, live.
Words owners used for the same problem are counted together, so a fault written four different ways is measured once. Grouped by which complaints they appear in, not by a list anyone wrote in advance.
What owners wrote
WHILE DRIVING AND APPLYING THE BRAKES, THE VEHICLE FAILED TO STOP IN A TIMELY MANNER CAUSING THE BRAKING DISTANCE TO BE EXTENDED 60-70 FEET. BMW OF NORTHWEST ARKANSAS (2500 SE MOBERLY LN, BENTONVILLE, AR 72712; (479) 286-3012) WAS CONTACTED AND INFORMED OF THE…
WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 40 MPH, THE BRAKE PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED AND TRAVELED TO THE FLOORBOARD. THE VEHICLE CAME TO A STOP AFTER APPLYING THE BRAKE PEDAL NUMEROUS TIMES. THE FAILURE RECURRED SEVERAL TIMES. THE VIN WAS NOT INCLUDED IN NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 1…
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint filings, with identifying details removed.
Recalls for this year
- 19V017000 AIR BAGS Fixed free of charge.
- 20V017000 AIR BAGS Fixed free of charge.
- 20V016000 AIR BAGS Fixed free of charge.
- 18V030000 AIR BAGS Fixed free of charge.
- 17V020000 AIR BAGS Fixed free of charge.
- 16V746000 FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE Fixed free of charge.
- 17V683000 ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING Fixed free of charge.
- 16V364000 AIR BAGS Fixed free of charge.
How this was worked out
Every year of the BMW X5 was compared against its own history rather than against other cars, which removes popularity and age from the answer — a common car draws more complaints at equal reliability, and an older one has had longer to accumulate them. A year is flagged when it drew at least 2.5× this model's median and at least 50 complaints.
This is a fault record, not a review. Nobody files a federal complaint to say the car was fine, so it shows what tends to go wrong — not whether owners liked it, and not whether it is a good car.
Source: NHTSA complaints, recalls and investigations, retrieved . Look this vehicle up directly on NHTSA's site to check anything here.
Own a 2007 BMW X5? What happened to yours?
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