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2016 BMW X5

Plug-in hybridGasDiesel
Standard Sport Utility Vehicle 4WD
5 EPA-rated configurations
Data refreshed 2026-09-11
F
Safety Signal
39 / 100 from the NHTSA recall record
Recalls3 critical5
Complaintsowner reports to NHTSA72
Crash ratingNHTSA overall5★
Fuel economybest combined, EPA25 mpg
202720262025202420232022202120202019201820172016

The 2016 BMW X5 is sold in the U.S. as a plug-in hybrid, gas and diesel midsize or large SUV with 5 EPA-rated configurations. The most efficient version, the X5 xDrive35d, is EPA-rated at 25 mpg combined. NHTSA lists 5 recall campaigns for this model year, 3 rated critical, which gives it a Safety Signal grade of F. Owners have filed 72 complaints, most often about the electrical system. NHTSA crash-tested it at 5 stars overall.

Specs & fuel economy

Source: EPA fueleconomy.gov
ConfigurationPowertrainDriveEngine / motorCityHwyCombRangekWh/100miCharge (240V)Annual fuel*
X5 xDrive40ePlug-in hybridAWD2.0L 4-cyl turbo + 83 kW AC Induction232524 (29 MPGe blended)14 mi electric593 h$3,250
X5 sDrive35iGasRWD3.0L 6-cyl turbo182521———$3,700
X5 xDrive35iGasAWD3.0L 6-cyl turbo182420———$3,900
X5 xDrive50iGasAWD4.4L 8-cyl turbo152117———$4,550
X5 xDrive35dDieselAWD3.0L 6-cyl turbo232925———$3,600

*EPA estimate at 15,000 miles/year at EPA reference fuel and electricity prices. fueleconomy.gov record ids: 37068, 36770, 36772, 36773, 37261.

Factory warranty running out?

The 2016 BMW X5 is in the years where high-voltage electronics and module repairs land on the owner. Compare extended-coverage quotes in about two minutes.

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Recalls (5)

Source: NHTSA recall database
!critical

Engine And Engine Cooling

720,796 vehicles
ProblemBMW of North America, LLC. (BMW) is recalling certain 2012-2015 X1 sDrive28i, X1 xDrive28i, 2012-2016 Z4 sDrive28i, 528i, 528i xDrive, 328i, 328xi, 2016-2018 X5 xdrive 40e, 2014-2016 228i, 228xi, 428i, 428i xDrive, 328xi Gran Turismo, 2013-2017 X3 sDrive28i, X3 xDrive28i, 2015-2018 X4 xDrive28i, 2015-2016 428xi vehicles. An improperly sealed electrical connector on the water pump may be exposed to water and short circuit.RiskAn electrical short increases the risk of a fire.FixDealers will inspect and replace the water pump and plug connector as necessary, and install a protective shield, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on March 28, 2025. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.
NHTSA campaign 24V608000reported Aug 13, 2024BMW of North America, LLC
!critical

Fuel System, Diesel

50,404 vehicles
ProblemBMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2013-2018 328d, 328d xDrive, 2014-2018 328d Sports Wagon, 328d xDrive Sports Wagon, 2014-2016 535d, 535d xDrive, 2015 740Ld xDrive, 2015-2017 X3 xDrive28d SAV, and 2014-2017 X5 xDrive35d SAV diesel vehicles equipped with an Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) module with an integrated cooler. The EGR cooler may leak internally, causing coolant to mix with diesel engine soot, which could result in smoldering particles and a melting intake manifold.RiskA melting intake manifold increases the risk of a fire.FixDealers will replace the EGR cooler and inspect the intake manifold, replacing it as necessary, free of charge. This recall includes all vehicles previously recalled under 18V-755. Vehicles previously recalled under 18V-755 will need to have the new remedy performed for this recall. An interim owner notification letter was mailed on January 18, 2022. The remedy is expected to be available in June 2022. Owner notification letters were mailed on July 6, 2022. Owners may contact BMW customer
NHTSA campaign 21V907000reported Nov 19, 2021BMW of North America, LLC
▲high

Fuel System, Diesel

11,216 vehicles
ProblemBMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2014-2018 328d, 328d xDrive, X5 xDrive35d, 2014-2016 535d, 535d xDrive, 2015 740Ld xDrive, and 2015-2017 X3 xDrive28d vehicles. The high-pressure fuel pump may fail.RiskFuel pump failure can cause an engine stall while driving, increasing the risk of a crash.FixDealers will replace the high-pressure fuel pump, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on January 14, 2022. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.
NHTSA campaign 21V586000reported Jul 29, 2021BMW of North America, LLC
!critical

Engine And Engine Cooling

44,368 vehicles
ProblemBMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2013-2018 BMW 328d and 328d xDrive, 2014-2018 328d Sports Wagon and 328d xDrive Sports Wagon, 2014-2016 535d and 535d xDrive, 2015 740Ld xDrive, 2015-2017 X3 xDrive28d SAV and 2014-2017 X5 xDrive35d SAV vehicles equipped with an Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) module with an integrated cooler. If the EGR cooler leaks internally, the coolant can mix with diesel engine soot. The high EGR temperatures may result in these particles possibly smoldering and melting the intake manifold.RiskThe melting intake manifold can increase the risk of a fire.FixBMW will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and replace the EGR cooler as necessary. If a leak has already occurred, the engine intake manifold will also be replaced. These repairs will be made free of charge. The recall began May 13, 2019. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.
NHTSA campaign 18V755000reported Oct 25, 2018BMW of North America, LLC
▲high

Electrical System

8 vehicles
ProblemBMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain model year 2016 X5 xDrive40e vehicles manufactured July 29, 2015, to September 9, 2015. The affected vehicles have a Digital Motor Electronic (DME) control unit that may have a loose electrical ground cable, possibly causing an under-voltage condition which would result in the transmission shifting to neutral.RiskIf the vehicle unexpectedly shifts to neutral, there would be an increased risk of a crash.FixBMW will notify owners, and dealers will tighten the ground cable, free of charge. The recall began February 6, 2017. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.
NHTSA campaign 16V919000reported Dec 21, 2016BMW of North America, LLC

NHTSA defect investigations

Fuel System, Diesel:Delivery:Fuel Pump — High pressure fuel pump failure open

The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE21-021 on October 14, 2021, to investigate incidents alleging a stall/loss of motive power as a result of high-pressure fuel pump failures in certain model year (MY) 2019-2020 Ram 2500, 3500, 4500, and 5500 heavy duty trucks equipped with 6.7L Cummins turbodiesel engines. During the investigation, ODI sought to determine if the related defect allegation was limited in scope to the recalled population. After review of information request response materials from both FCA and BMW, NHTSA determined that sufficient information to identify a comprehensive recall population could not be produced by FCA and BMW.During the investigation FCA filed rec

Opened Mar 17, 2023 · action EA23001

Electrical System:Propulsion System — Pedestrian alert sounds closed

NHTSA received a petition on or about July 18, 2022, requesting that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the United States. The petition can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under ODI Number 11486072. FMVSS 141 establishes performance requirements for pedestrian alert sounds for motor vehicles. The standard applies to hybrid and electric vehicles that have a gross vehicle weight rating of 4,536 KG or less or are defined as low-speed vehicles. The standard became fully applicable to all such vehicles manufactured on or after March 1, 2021.On January 27, 2023, NHTSA opened Defect Petition (DP) 22-005 to evaluate the subject matt

Opened Jan 27, 2023 · closed Aug 7, 2023 · action DP22005

Air Bags:Frontal:Passenger Side:Inflator Module — Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture open

From 2000 through 2017, Takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("PSAN") propellant -- propellant 2004 and propellant 2004L. After prolonged exposure to high temperature cycles and humidity, inflators using propellant 2004 can degrade, causing the propellant to burn too quickly when ignited. The rapid burning can cause the inflator to rupture during deployment, potentially causing serious or even fatal injury to vehicle occupants. See 2016 Blomquist Report at www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.gov/files/documents/expert_report-hrblomquist.pdf.Consequently, all frontal inflators using propellant 2004 that do not contain a "desiccant" (a substa

Opened Sep 17, 2021 · action EA21002

Owner complaints

Source: NHTSA complaint database
72complaints filed

3 involved a crash · 0 a fire · 2 injuries · 0 deaths reported

Filed per year: 2016: 1 · 2017: 8 · 2018: 2 · 2019: 5 · 2020: 5 · 2021: 5 · 2022: 13 · 2023: 7 · 2024: 10 · 2025: 10 · 2026: 6

Most-cited components

Electrical System23
Unspecified14
Engine13
Power Train13
Fuel/Propulsion System7
Engine And Engine Cooling7

What owners describe

“Hello, I took this vehicle in for a service at 100,000 miles. Part of that service was to change the transmission fluid. While the BMW dealership replaced the fluid, they found that the level was higher than it should have been. They voluntarily removed the transmission, and found that the electric drive buffer spring …”Mar 21, 2024 · Power Train · NHTSA owner report
“The engine light came on while I was 250 miles from home and on a Saturday. Was able to contact my dealer's service department who said to drive home and just monitor for any issues and hopefully it will be ok. I brought the vehicle in for diagnostic check following week. Faults were for the diesel particulate filter s…”Oct 18, 2023 · Fuel/Propulsion System · NHTSA owner report
“The electronic A/C compressor destroys itself internally on BMW hybrid and electric vehicles and should be considered defective. The A/C compressor is used to cool the cabin as well as the high voltage battery packs, and is considered an emissions component warranties for 7 years or 70,000 miles. Without a functioning …”Sep 13, 2023 · Electrical System · NHTSA owner report

Complaint counts are raw owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects, and scale with how many were sold. Use them to spot patterns, not to rank.

Crash ratings

Source: NHTSA NCAP
ConfigurationOverallFrontalSideRolloverRollover risk
SUV AWD★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★☆19%
SUV RWD★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★☆19%

NHTSA New Car Assessment Program.

Other X5 model years

A

2027 BMW X5

0 recalls · 0 complaints

C

2026 BMW X5

2 recalls · 21 complaints

D

2025 BMW X5

5 recalls · 61 complaints

F

2024 BMW X5

8 recalls · 144 complaints

D

2023 BMW X5

4 recalls · 31 complaints

A

2022 BMW X5

1 recalls · 69 complaints

F

2021 BMW X5

12 recalls · 104 complaints

F

2020 BMW X5

11 recalls · 107 complaints

F

2019 BMW X5

13 recalls · 184 complaints

F

2018 BMW X5

5 recalls · 71 complaints

F

2017 BMW X5

6 recalls · 73 complaints

Sources & method

Safety Signal starts every model-year at 100 and subtracts points per open NHTSA recall campaign by severity: critical 15 (fire risk, park-outside or do-not-drive advisories), high 8 (brakes, steering, airbags, loss of drive power, structure, battery), moderate 6, minor 3 (software, labels, lighting fixed by an update). Floor 35. A ≥ 90, B ≥ 80, C ≥ 70, D ≥ 60, otherwise F. Complaint counts and NHTSA crash ratings are shown separately and are not blended into the grade.

EPA figures come from fueleconomy.gov vehicle records. Recalls, complaints, investigations and crash ratings come from NHTSA's public flat files, refreshed weekly.

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