2012 Bmw X5 M - Ratings, Complaints and Recalls

The 2012 BMW X5 M SUV AWD has not been given an overall safety rating by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). However, it received a 4-star rating for rollover possibility. This vehicle comes equipped with standard electronic stability control, which is essential for helping drivers maintain control during challenging road conditions. Unfortunately, it does not have forward collision warning or lane departure warning systems which could further enhance safety measures.

It is important to note that there have been 259 complaints reported for this vehicle, along with 10 recalls. This indicates that there have been some issues identified with the BMW X5 M that the manufacturer has had to address. It is recommended that potential buyers research these complaints and recalls further to make an informed decision about the safety and reliability of this vehicle.

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Top stats at a glance

Complaint Count

259

Recall Count

10

Investigation Count

1

Safety Rating

Not Rated

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Safety Features

2012 BMW X5 M SUV AWD Safety Features

Here are the safety features that come as standard on the 2012 BMW X5 M SUV AWD

Electronic Stability Control (ESC)

ESC is an advanced safety feature in vehicles designed to help drivers maintain control during challenging driving conditions. By continuously monitoring various factors such as steering angle, vehicle speed, and individual wheel speeds, ESC can detect and reduce the risk of skidding or loss of control. It achieves this by automatically applying brakes to specific wheels to stabilize the vehicle.

Standard
Forward Collision Warning (FCW)

Forward Collision Warning (FCW) is a safety feature in vehicles that helps prevent frontal collisions by alerting the driver of an imminent collision with a vehicle or obstacle ahead. Using sensors such as radar or cameras, FCW monitors the distance and speed of vehicles in front, and if it detects a potential collision, it provides visual and/or auditory warnings to prompt the driver to take evasive action.

No
Lane Departure Warning (LDW)

Lane Departure Warning (LDW) is a safety feature in vehicles that alerts drivers when their vehicle unintentionally drifts out of its lane without signaling. Utilizing cameras or sensors to monitor lane markings on the road, LDW detects when the vehicle crosses these lines and triggers visual, auditory, or haptic alerts to notify the driver of potential lane departure.

No

2012 BMW X5 M SUV AWD Safety Ratings

Here we have the crash and rollover ratings for the 2012 BMW X5 M SUV AWD Where possible we've included the ratings for the oldest and latest models of this car so you can compare how the safety ratings have changed over time.

Frontal Crash Ratings

Combines Driver and Passenger star ratings into a single frontal rating. The frontal barrier test simulates a head-on collision between two similar vehicles, each moving at 35 mph.

Test 2012 Score 2024 Score
Overall Front Crash Rating Not Rated Not Rated
Front Crash Driver Side Rating Not Rated Not Rated
Front Crash Passenger Side Rating Not Rated Not Rated

Side Crash Ratings

Combines Side Barrier and Side Pole Star Ratings into a single side rating.

Test 2012 Score 2024 Score
Overall Side Crash Rating Not Rated Not Rated
Side Crash Drivers Side Rating Not Rated Not Rated
Side Crash Passenger Side Rating Not Rated Not Rated
Combined Side Barrier Pole Rating - Front Not Rated Not Rated
Combined Side Barrier Pole Rating - Rear Not Rated Not Rated
Overall Side Barrier Rating Not Rated Not Rated

Rollover Ratings

The Rollover Resistance test measures the risk of rollover in a single-vehicle, loss-of-control scenario.

Test 2012 Score 2024 Score
Rollover Rating 4 Not Rated
Rollover Possibility % 0% 0%
Dynamic Tip Result No Tip
Side Pole Crash Rating Not Rated Not Rated

Complaints for the 2012 Bmw X5 M

This chart show the number of complaints for each car component. A Higher number of complaints could indicate that this car might have a common fault. Something to look out for when purchasing one.

Component Complaints

Choose a component to see what complaints people have made about them.

Complaint:
"we hit a deer while driving at 55 mph. we were wearing seatbelts and not injured, it was a major frontal impact, the car is probably totalled. when we stopped we noticed multiple warning messages on the display: * restraint system failure * passenger airbag failure * pre-tensioner failure it appears that the car detected the collision and tried to activate the restraint systems, but nothing activated. no air bags deployed, and we did not feel the pre-tensioners activate."
Components Involved: AIR BAGS
Date of incident: 2025-05-11
Complaint:
"the contact owns a 2012 bmw x5. the contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the message "passenger restraint system malfunction" was displayed. the contact stated that the failure had been recurring while driving. the vehicle was taken to the dealer, who informed the contact that the passenger restraint system had failed, and an unknown repair needed to be completed. the contact was charged a repair cost. the vehicle was not repaired. the contact related the failure to tsb number: 10056703-9690. the manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. the failure mileage was approximately 65,000."
Components Involved: AIR BAGS
Date of incident: 2025-06-08
Complaint:
"the sensor (to detect if someone is sitting in the seat) under the front passenger seat is not working properly and requires the seat belt to be activated to silence the warning beeps, even when the passenger seat is not occupied, so it's clearly not functioning as intended. leads me to question whether the airbag will deploy in the event of an accident. the same issue happened for several years with our 2007 bmw 530 and that was finally acknowledged by bmw and we were offered a free repair for this item. keep waiting on them to include our x5. it's been several years."
Components Involved: AIR BAGS
Date of incident: 2017-01-10
Complaint:
"i have contacted the dealership multiple times over the last 9 months and continue to be told i will be contacted once the parts (airbags) are available. the airbags heve still not been replaced along with two othe recalls that are on the vehicle."
Components Involved: AIR BAGS
Date of incident: 2019-04-08
Complaint:
"tl* takata recall. the contact owns a 2012 bmw x5. the contact received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 17v020000 (air bags). the parts to do the repair were unavailable. the contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. the contact called lauderdale bmw of pembroke pines at (954) 620-5050 (14800 sheridan st, pembroke pines, fl 33028) where it was confirmed that the parts were not available for the recall remedy. the manufacturer was notified of the issue and was not able to confirm when the parts were to become available. the contact had not experienced a failure. parts distribution disconnect."
Components Involved: AIR BAGS
Date of incident: 2017-10-02
Complaint:
"takata recall nhtsa recall 16v071 has status that remedy parts are available. despite of this, my local bmw dealer (peter pan bmw in san mateo, california) says parts are not available and that it still will take several months due to parts being shipped from europe. i don't find it acceptable that bmw is delaying such repairs and would expect bmw to use expedited shipping solutions to complete this critical fix. *cn"
Components Involved: AIR BAGS
Date of incident: 2017-02-11
Complaint:
"takata recall (this is more of a concern and request for help rather than an incident. i was directed to this website by the recall notice. no other instructions other than the url were given) i live on galveston island in texas, south of houston. it is one of the hottest, most humid places in the us. my passenger side airbag was recalled in march of 2017. despite repeated requests to bmw, they still will not replace the recalled airbag. i am concerned because in april 2016, not far from where i live, a 17 year old girl was killed by shrapnel from her airbag in a crash that she otherwise would have walked away from."
Components Involved: AIR BAGS
Date of incident: 2019-04-10
Complaint:
"tl* takata recall. the contact owns a 2012 bmw x5. the contact received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 17v020000 (air bags); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. the contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. ray catena bmw of westchester (543 tarrytown rd, white plains, ny 10607, (914) 761-5555) was contacted and confirmed that the parts were not available. the manufacturer was not contacted. the contact had not experienced a failure. vin tool confirms parts not available."
Components Involved: AIR BAGS
Date of incident: 2016-01-06
Complaint:
"takata recall i still own my car and it is a group 7 repair that was supposed to receive a final remedy letter on or before january 2017. we have not received any such notification at this time. this needs to be fixed and bmw is not complying with the federal order! what can we do to get this repair completed?"
Components Involved: AIR BAGS
Date of incident: 2017-01-01
Complaint:
"tl* takata recall. the contact owns a 2012 bmw x5. the contact received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 16v071000 (air bags) and 17v020000 (air bags) however, the parts needed for the repairs were not available. the contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. the vehicle was taken to mckenna bmw dealer, located on 10900 firestone blvd, norwalk, ca 90650, phone number: (562) 219-4570, where it was rejected to be serviced due to the remedy parts were not available for the repairs. the manufacturer was contacted and informed the contact the part was not available. the contact had not experience a failure. part distribution disconnect and vin tool confirms part not available."
Components Involved: AIR BAGS
Date of incident: 2017-03-05

Recalls for the 2012 Bmw X5 M

Component Recalls

Choose a component to see what recalls people have made about them.

Recall:
"bmw of north america, llc (bmw) is recalling certain 2011-2012 bmw 550i, 550i xdrive, 550i gran turismo, 550i gran turismo xdrive, 750i, 750li, 750i xdrive, 750li xdrive, 760li, x5 xdrive50i, x5 m, x6 xdrive50i, x6 m, activehybrid7, mini cooper s convertible, john cooper works (jcw) convertible, cooper s countryman, cooper s countryman all4, cooper s, jcw, cooper s clubman, jcw clubman, cooper s roadster, jcw roadster, cooper s coupe, jcw coupe and rolls-royce ghost, 2011 bmw x6 hybrid and 2012 bmw 650i coupe, 650i xdrive coupe, 650i convertible and 650i xdrive convertible vehicles. the electric auxiliary water pump may fail and cause the circuit board to overheat."
Consequence:
If the circuit board were to overheat, it can increase the risk of a fire.
Remedy:

BMW will notify owners, and dealers will replace the electric auxiliary water pump, free of charge. Depending on the model, there are currently limited parts available, however not all parts are available at this time. Owners will be notified of the recall beginning June 11, 2018, and will receive a second notification when remedy parts become available. Owners may contact BMW customer service at BMW 1-800-525-7417, MINI at 1-866-825-1525, or Rolls-Royce at 1-877-877-3735. Note: BMW recommends that owners park their vehicle outdoors until the recall remedy has been performed.

Component(s) Involved: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING > ENGINE > GASOLINE > TURBO/SUPERCHARGER
Date of incident: 2018-04-18

BMW Overall Complaint Ranking

This table shows the ranking of car manufacturers when it comes to most complaints and recalls. The manufacturer with the most complaints is at the top. However this doesn't necassarily mean they should be avoided. Some manufacturers might just have more popular or affordable cars which a lot of people have bought. Which means there's more scope for a complaint to be made. Use the ranking table below as a part your wider research into buying a car.

BMW ranks 12 out of 44 in the complaints ranking table.

Manufacturer Complaint Count Recall Count Ranking
FORD 208,358 3,259 1
CHEVROLET 111,306 2,082 2
TOYOTA 81,019 1,852 3
HONDA 61,937 1,268 4
NISSAN 56,226 930 5
DODGE 45,756 827 6
HYUNDAI 44,150 649 7
GMC 34,441 1,410 8
KIA 29,832 501 9
CHRYSLER 27,698 254 10
TESLA 26,230 730 11
BMW 24,890 1,877 12
VOLKSWAGEN 23,125 829 13
MERCEDES-BENZ 19,066 2,925 14
SUBARU 18,513 703 15
MAZDA 10,599 364 16
PONTIAC 10,430 138 17
CADILLAC 9,434 444 18
AUDI 7,865 1,093 19
BUICK 7,851 279 20
SATURN 7,672 84 21
MERCURY 7,374 135 22
LEXUS 6,373 408 23
LINCOLN 5,897 423 24
ACURA 5,722 382 25
MINI 5,585 366 26
INFINITI 4,000 187 27
MITSUBISHI 3,912 397 28
VOLVO 3,875 727 29
PORSCHE 2,646 1,231 30
SUZUKI 2,272 123 31
FIAT 2,205 80 32
SAAB 1,536 76 33
JAGUAR 1,195 198 34
SMART 528 17 35
GENESIS 436 42 36
ISUZU 249 37 37
ALFA ROMEO 161 37 38
MASERATI 76 46 39
BENTLEY 46 159 40
POLESTAR 42 2 41
LUCID 14 6 42
CODA 4 2 43
MAYBACH 0 0 44

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