NHTSA vehicle safety data

2012 BMW X5 M Recalls, Ratings & Complaints

The 2012 BMW X5 M has 1 NHTSA recall campaign and 3 owner complaints on file as of November 3, 2026. Recall repairs are usually free at an authorized BMW dealer.

NHTSA recall and complaint data for the 2012 BMW X5 M, plus NCAP crash-test ratings. Recall data is refreshed daily from NHTSA.

2012 BMW X5 M owner complaints

Owners have filed 3 complaints with NHTSA about the 2012 BMW X5 M, describing incidents dated June 6, 2018 to May 8, 2019.

Most-cited components

Engine 2 complaints
Electrical System 1 complaint

Newest complaints

ODI #11207647 · Filed May 15, 2019
CAR HAS 62000KMS, FULLY SERVICED AT DEALER ONLY! ENGINE RUMBLED TO A HALT WHILE I WAS ON THE HIGHWAY. SEVERAL PEOPLE REPORTING SAME ISSUE. DEALER CLAIMS SEIZED ENGINE/TIMING CHAIN. THESE SAME MODEL CARS WITH THE N63 ENGINES HAVE A RECALL, THIS MODEL HAS A TURBO ATTACHED FROM FACTORY AND WASNT…
ODI #11130534 · Filed September 21, 2018
"ELECTRIC AUXILIARY WATER PUMP FOR TURBOCHARGER RECALL" AFTER I'VE SHUT THE ENGINE OFF THERE IS A LOUD GURGLING, BUBBLING NOISE UNDER THE HOOD. OVER THE PAST 7 WEEKS THE NOISE HAS PROGRESSIVELY GOTTEN WORSE. A LOCAL BMW MECHANIC EXPLAINED IT IS AN AUXILIARY WATER PUMP FOR THE TURBOS. I WENT TO MY…
ODI #11101463 · Filed June 12, 2018
I WAS DRIVING MY 2012 X5 WHEN AN ENGINE MALFUNCTION- REDUCED POWER CAME UP, SINCE THE VEHICLE STARTED OVERHEATING I IMMEDIATELY STOP AND CALL A TOW TRUCK TO TAKE MY CAR TO THE BEARS BMW, AFTER THE DEALER MADE ME CHANGE THE IVM AND THE DME IT CAME BACK TO A WATER PUMP MALFUNCTION THAT WAS CREATING…

Read all 3 complaints

Electric Auxiliary Water Pump Failure

NHTSA #18V248000 · Engine and Engine Cooling — Engine — Gasoline — Turbo/Supercharger · NHTSA notice

Reported April 18, 2018 · BMW of North America, LLC

Potentially affected: 47,806 vehicles

Repair completion: 67.07% (latest rate the manufacturer reported to NHTSA; dataset updated November 3, 2026)

Owners notified June 15, 2018 · Vehicles built July 3, 2009 – November 19, 2011 (per NHTSA)

Defect description

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.

Safety consequence

If the circuit board were to overheat, it can increase the risk of a fire.

Manufacturer 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.

Notes

Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.

2012 BMW X5 M SUV AWD

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out of 5

Overall Safety Rating

Not Rated

Frontal Crash

Not Rated

Driver: Not Rated, Passenger: Not Rated

Side Crash

Not Rated

Driver: Not Rated, Passenger: Not Rated

Side Pole

Not Rated

Rollover

17% rollover risk

Safety Technology

Electronic Stability Control

1 investigation

3 owner complaints have been filed with NHTSA for the 2012 BMW X5 M.

Engine

ODI #11207647

Incident: May 8, 2019 · Filed: May 15, 2019

CAR HAS 62000KMS, FULLY SERVICED AT DEALER ONLY! ENGINE RUMBLED TO A HALT WHILE I WAS ON THE HIGHWAY. SEVERAL PEOPLE REPORTING SAME ISSUE. DEALER CLAIMS SEIZED ENGINE/TIMING CHAIN. THESE SAME MODEL CARS WITH THE N63 ENGINES HAVE A RECALL, THIS MODEL HAS A TURBO ATTACHED FROM FACTORY AND WASNT INCLUDED IN RECALL BUT HAS EXACT SAME ISSUE AS THE N63 ENGINES

Engine

ODI #11130534

Incident: July 24, 2018 · Filed: September 21, 2018

"ELECTRIC AUXILIARY WATER PUMP FOR TURBOCHARGER RECALL" AFTER I'VE SHUT THE ENGINE OFF THERE IS A LOUD GURGLING, BUBBLING NOISE UNDER THE HOOD. OVER THE PAST 7 WEEKS THE NOISE HAS PROGRESSIVELY GOTTEN WORSE. A LOCAL BMW MECHANIC EXPLAINED IT IS AN AUXILIARY WATER PUMP FOR THE TURBOS. I WENT TO MY LOCAL BMW DEALERSHIP AND WAS TOLD RECALLS ARE VINN# SPECIFIC AND I WOULD HAVE TO GET THIS FIXED ON MY OWN. I LOOKED UP RECALLS FOR 2012 X5M AND SOME CARS DO HAVE THIS SAFETY RECALL LISTED. HOW CAN TWO SIMILAR VINN# NOT HAVE THE SAME RELATED SAFETY ISSUES? [XXX] (MY CAR) NO RECALL [XXX] (SIMILAR CAR) RECALL NUMBER 18V248000 HAS ELECTRIC AUXILIARY WATER PUMP FOR TURBOCHARGER RECALL HTTPS://WWW.BMWUSA.COM/SAFETY-AND-EMISSION-RECALLS.HTML#LK27310 HTTPS://WWW.BMWUSA.COM/SAFETY-AND-EMISSION-RECALLS.HTML#LK27761 THIS IS A HUGE SAFETY ISSUE AND GREATLY APPRECIATE YOUR HELP IN THIS MATTER. ?CONSEQUENCE: IF THE CIRCUIT BOARD WERE TO OVERHEAT, IT CAN INCREASE THE RISK OF A FIRE. WHAT OWNERS SHOULD DO: NOTE: BMW RECOMMENDS THAT OWNERS PARK THEIR VEHICLE OUTDOORS UNTIL THE RECALL REMEDY HAS BEEN PERFORMED? HTTPS://WWW.CARS.COM/RECALLS/BMW-X5_M-2012/ THANK YOU AGAIN FOR YOUR TIME [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

Electrical System

ODI #11101463

Incident: June 6, 2018 · Filed: June 12, 2018

I WAS DRIVING MY 2012 X5 WHEN AN ENGINE MALFUNCTION- REDUCED POWER CAME UP, SINCE THE VEHICLE STARTED OVERHEATING I IMMEDIATELY STOP AND CALL A TOW TRUCK TO TAKE MY CAR TO THE BEARS BMW, AFTER THE DEALER MADE ME CHANGE THE IVM AND THE DME IT CAME BACK TO A WATER PUMP MALFUNCTION THAT WAS CREATING THE CAR TO NOT WORK PROPERLY. AS SOON AS I CHANGE THE WATER PUMP, THE VEHICLE STARTED WORKING PERFECTLY, HOWEVER, I JUST NOTICED THERE'S A RECALL FOR THE WATER PUMP ON THE 2012 BMW X5. I PAID OVER $3,000 ON REPLACING PARTS THAT WE'RE NOT DAMAGED AND THE WATER PUMP WAS A RECALL. WHO WOULD REIMBURSE THE CHARGES OF MY REPAIR WHEN THIS WAS A RECALL AND I JUST GOT IT FIXED LESS THAN A WEEK AGO. SINCERELY, [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

Other BMW X5 M model years

Check your 2012 BMW X5 M VIN

Not every recall applies to every VIN in a given year. Enter the 17-character VIN from your BMW X5 M at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see whether your specific vehicle has an unrepaired recall.

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