Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2013 BMW X5 owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The componet that failed is the cars electric system in the rear. Battery gets so hot its melted a 2nd orange box on top of the battery. Burned a hole right through. Attempted to start the vehicle, now it's throwing big sparks in the rear battery compartment. ABS warnings, brake warnings, it leaks. It will not start again! We have no transportation. Noone seems to be very concerned about the matter. Atleast 7 open, very dangerous recalls on this vehicle. How come someone has to die from the companies failure to fix what they know is wrong? This vehicle is paid for, owned by a Middle/lower class hard working single mom. I've seen to many cases of people who aren't financially threatening get delt a ball full of crap. All walks of life pay really good money for bmws cars. How about bmw returns the favor and keeps their word. My car is a death trap according to bmw. …
My vehicle has suffered catastrophic electrical failure due to water intrusion directly into the rear cargo compartment. This water ingress has destroyed vital electronic control modules that were designed and placed in low-lying, unsealed body cavities-an engineering layout heavily documented as a design vulnerability in the E70 chassis. My safety was put at risk as this happened on the highway and threw my SUV into limp mode. I could not drive the speed limit on the highway and had to drive home with my hazard lights on while cars drove around me and almost collided with me on the highway. BMW has previously acknowledged the severe liabilities of placing sensitive electronics near drainage paths, as seen in the Catalano v. BMW of North America litigation. …
When the engine cooling system fails (which is common) the vehicle shuts down wherever it is....the occupants of the vehicle are in high traffic areas and are subject to being injured and/or killed as a result of the vehicle being undrivable at the time. It is VITAL that BMW be held responsible for the cooling system(s) optimal operation regardless of the age or mileage of the vehicle due to the safety of occupants when there is a major or catastrophic failure. If this agency does it's due diligence, it will find a mulitude of such failures
During the past raining season, car battery compartment flooded creating a fire/electrical hazard during operation and addition total malfunction of instruments, lighting, warning systems in general, airbags, rendering the vehicle useless. The issue is well documented online by various owners, BMW stop assisting owners of vehicles that have the same issue of flooding. Please assist with any possible help to resolve the problem(s) of the vehicle 2013 BMW X5
I'm currently experiencing two issues. I've done the necessary repairs on one of the issues. The first concern is related to the idle when starting up the vehicle. The combination meter one of them hesitant to continue going up on its own while the accelerator is not being touched. And the driver side actuator is having issues as if it's stuck..
I had been getting battery discharge warnings off and on. I went to fill my car up with gas yesterday, and after I filled it up, the car wouldn't start. After having it towed to my house, my husband and I were looking at it this morning. We discovered that the battery charge distribution box had melted and even burned a hole in the cover.
I have been trying to have my car repaired last year. I have expressed to BMW USA that none of their certified dealers want to touch a diesel and/or work on one that another dealership had done poor work on. They have asked me to continue reaching out to this dealership even though I have mentioned I do not feel comfortable about it as I have slipped thru the cracks multiple times with them which they wont admit to. They are understaffed and have employees that are broken from being overworked, are constantly rude, careless, forgetting things and will never admit to error even when you show them mistakes that have even been documented in writing that are a liability. Their mechanics do rushed inspections and the last 2 times I have brought my car in to be scanned they completely disregard all concerns brought up prior. …
While driving one rainy afternoon on a city road, I noticed smoke coming from under the hood. The smoke turned into flames. I pulled over and called 911. An off duty police officer stopped and had a fire extinguisher. He was able to put out most of the fire until the fire department showed up and finished the job. The firemen thought that the fire started in the air bag control module. The BMW dealer said that the fire started in the wiper motor. The car was at the dealer the previous week for the air bag recall.
My 2013 BMW X5 35d was in motion on a city street, when it stalled, lost all power and ultimately would not restart. I was able to get it to the side, but not off the road and it was towed to the BMW dealership where they discovered that there had been a still unidentified sourced, fuel leak into the electrical harness and finally pooling into the dde component, frying the dde component to failure. There was enough fuel in the dde component that it was drained into a drip pan and fuel covered the wiring connection points as well as had discolored the wiring. I was informed that had this been a gas engine and not diesel, it would have probably caught on fire as fuel was able to access and travel across the electrical wiring in the car. …
Vehicle was parked in a parking lot. Wife unlocked doors using left/rear door handle (vehicle has comfort access locking system) and placed baby and diaper bag with key fob into the back seat. She closed the rear door and the door locks immediately locked with no input from my wife. The car would not unlock. Police were called and broke out the rear window. They were unable to open the door using the interior handle. They had to retrieve the key fob from the bag, bring it outside the vehicle, and after numerous attempts were able to unlock the vehicle. After driving the vehicle home, I was able to record video of the locks randomly locking without user input. Vehicle was taken to braman BMW back in August, 2017 for a similar issue and the left/front door handle was replaced. …
Electrical complaints in other X5 years
Frequently asked questions
How common are electrical problems on the 2013 BMW X5?
NHTSA has 22 complaints about the electrical system of the 2013 BMW X5, 14% of the model year's 162 complaints.
Is there a recall for 2013 BMW X5 electrical problems?
No. NHTSA lists no electrical system recall for the 2013 BMW X5, though it has 7 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2013 BMW X5 electrical problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 64,000 miles, and 8% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 0 crashes, 1 fire and 1 injury to electrical system problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.