2016 BMW X5
This year drew an ordinary 70 complaints for a BMW X5 — the model's median is 146. What they were about is the unusual part: 42.9% of them mention sunroof, against 16.3% across the other years of this generation.
Generation 2 of the BMW X5, which began in 2014 and ran to 2018. Everything below compares this year against the others in that generation, not against a different car wearing the same name.
NHTSA opened a defect investigation into this model year.
| Complaints filed | 70 |
|---|---|
| Median for this model | 146 |
| Involving a crash | 3 |
| Recalls | 5 |
| NHTSA crash rating | 5/5 |
| EPA combined | 21 mpg |
What the complaints were about
- sunroof — 42.9% of this year's complaints, against 16.3% across the other years of this generation (2.6×). Owners wrote it as: sunroof, glass, exploded, most.
- customers — 15.7% of this year's complaints, against 3.1% across the other years of this generation (5×). Owners wrote it as: customers, car bmw, signal, beyond.
- following — 7.1% of this year's complaints, against 2.4% across the other years of this generation (3×). Owners wrote it as: following, electronic power.
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
I WAS DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY GOING ABOUT 70 MPH ON A CLEAR DAY AND THERE WAS A LOUD EXPLOSION SOUND FROM THE ROOF. I THEN HEARD AIR AND GLASS. AT THAT TIME I FIGURED OUT THE SUNROOF BROKE. WHEN I WAS ABLE TO STOP I FOUND A HUGE HOLE IN THE SUNROOF.
BMW NA is aware of this problem with the sunroof leaking water on the dashboard and damaging the electrical of the car. BMW NA is colluding with the dealers to inform customers they are clogged to charge them money for a clog that is non existent. The sun roof…
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint filings, with identifying details removed.
Recalls for this year
- 18V755000 ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING Fixed free of charge.
- 21V907000 FUEL SYSTEM, DIESEL Fixed free of charge.
- 21V586000 FUEL SYSTEM, DIESEL Fixed free of charge.
- 16V919000 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM Fixed free of charge.
- 24V608000 ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 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 2016 BMW X5? What happened to yours?
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