2017 BMW X5
This year drew an ordinary 146 complaints for a BMW X5 — the model's median is 143. What they were about is the unusual part: 15.1% of them mention belt, against 5.2% 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 | 146 |
|---|---|
| Median for this model | 143 |
| Involving a crash | 6 |
| Recalls | 6 |
| NHTSA crash rating | 5/5 |
| EPA combined | 21 mpg |
What the complaints were about
- belt — 15.1% of this year's complaints, against 5.2% across the other years of this generation (2.9×). Owners wrote it as: belt, buckle, seat belt, belt buckle.
- tank — 6.8% of this year's complaints, against 0.5% across the other years of this generation (13.4×).
- writing — 8.2% of this year's complaints, against 2.2% across the other years of this generation (3.7×). Owners wrote it as: writing, fully, guidance.
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
When the vehicle is exposed to heat, the seat belt does not buckle. The release button stays jammed and the seat belt does not fully secure. The light goes off but the seat belt will release with some tension. It only happens when the car is hot. It could seri…
THE DRIVER SEAT BELT ON A BRAND NEW, BMW 2017 X5 XDRIVE 35I HAD A SEAT BELT BUCKLE THAT WOULD RATTLE AND SHAKE WHEN THE DRIVER WAS SEATED. THE BUCKLE WOULD CONTINUE TO RATTLE AS THE DRIVER DROVE DOWN THE ROAD. THE BUCKLE WOULD RATTLE WHEN THE VEHICLE WAS STATI…
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.
- 17V189000 AIR BAGS Fixed free of charge.
- 17V327000 EQUIPMENT 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 2017 BMW X5? What happened to yours?
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