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2018 BMW X6

Gas Midsize / large SUV

202720262025202420232022202120202019201820172016
Specs & fuel economyRecallsComplaintsCrash ratings
D
Safety Signal
68 / 100
DSafety Signal · 68 / 100
4Recalls · NHTSA campaigns
4Complaints · owner reports
—Crash rating · NHTSA overall
21 mpgFuel economy · best combined

The 2018 BMW X6 is sold in the U.S. as a gas midsize or large SUV with 4 EPA-rated configurations. The most efficient version, the X6 sDrive35i, is EPA-rated at 21 mpg combined. NHTSA lists 4 recall campaigns for this model year, which gives it a Safety Signal grade of D. Owners have filed 4 complaints, most often about service brakes.

Specs & fuel economy (EPA)

ConfigurationPowertrainDriveEngine / motorCityHwyCombAnnual fuel*
X6 sDrive35iGasRWD3.0L 6-cyl turbo182521$3,700
X6 xDrive35iGasAWD3.0L 6-cyl turbo182420$3,900
X6 xDrive50iGasAWD4.4L 8-cyl turbo152117$4,550
X6 MGasAWD4.4L 8-cyl turbo141916$4,850

*EPA estimate at 15,000 miles/year and EPA reference fuel/electricity prices. Source: fueleconomy.gov vehicle records.

Out of factory warranty soon?

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Recalls (4)

Child Seat

high
32,760 vehicles

Problem: BMW of North America, LLC. (BMW) is recalling certain 2015-2019 X6 sDrive35i, X6 xDrive35i, X6 xDrive50i, and X6M vehicles equipped with rear seat lower anchor bars used in securing child restraint seats. The lower anchor bars may become damaged over time when used with an ISOFIX-type, rigid-style connector, child restraint system.

Risk: Damaged lower anchor bars may increase the child's risk of injury in the event of a crash.

Fix: BMW will notify owners, and dealers will weld a reinforcing bracket to the lower anchor bars and the vehicle body, free of charge. Owner notification began January 17, 2020. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.

NHTSA campaign 19V823000 · reported Nov 18, 2019 · BMW of North America, LLC

Wheels

high
33 vehicles

Problem: BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2018-2019 BMW X6 sDrive35i, X6 xDrive35i, X6 xDrive50i, and X6M vehicles. The wheel bolts on these vehicles may not have been properly tightened.

Risk: The improperly tightened wheel bolts may loosen and break, affecting vehicle handling and control and increasing the risk of a crash.

Fix: BMW will notify owners, and dealers will replace and tighten all of the wheel bolts, free of charge. The recall began November 1, 2018. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.

NHTSA campaign 18V614000 · reported Sep 12, 2018 · BMW of North America, LLC

Suspension

high
43 vehicles

Problem: BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2018 BMW X5 xDrive35i, X5 xDrive50i, X5 xDrive35d, and X6 sDrive35i vehicles. The pivot bolt on the front lower-left control arm may not have been properly hardened, which may cause the control arm to break.

Risk: If the lower control arm breaks, vehicle handling and control can be affected, increasing the risk of a crash.

Fix: BMW will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the lower-left control arms and replace if necessary, free of charge. The recall began July 11, 2018. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.

NHTSA campaign 18V439000 · reported Jun 28, 2018 · BMW of North America, LLC

Suspension

high
33 vehicles

Problem: BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2018 BMW X5 SAV, X5 M SAV, X6 SAV, and X6 M SAV vehicles. Bolts that secure the front suspension may not have been properly tightened.

Risk: Loose bolts can affect the performance of the suspension, thereby increasing the risk of a crash.

Fix: BMW will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and tighten the wishbone suspension bolts, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin January 8, 2018. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.

NHTSA campaign 17V727000 · reported Nov 17, 2017 · BMW of North America, LLC

NHTSA investigations

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

4 complaints filed

0 involved a crash, 1 a fire, 0 injuries, 0 deaths reported by owners.

Filed by year — 2019: 1 · 2020: 1 · 2021: 1 · 2022: 1

Most-cited components

  • Service Brakes — 1
  • Steering — 1
  • Suspension — 1
  • Unknown Or Other — 1
  • Tires — 1
“During operation in DRIVE, the vehicle would shift to PARK, without the control lever being operated. This occurred intermittently, but with greater frequency over time. The safety concern is that it occurred while in traffic and even occurred on an Interstate highway, while at momentary stop. When reported to BMW, the…”Jan 13, 2022 · Power Train · NHTSA owner report
“The contact owns a 2018 BMW X6 equipped with Pirelli Scorpion Verde All Season tires, Tire Size: 255/50/R19, DOT number: UN64P9784417. While his wife was driving 70 MPH, the passenger’s side rear tire delaminated two tread belts and began whipping inside of the wheel well. Due to the failure, a friction fire ignited …”Jul 28, 2021 · Tires · NHTSA owner report
“WE RECEIVED A RECALL LETTER. THERE WAS APPARENTLY NO FIX AVAILABLE YET, RENDERING THE VEHICLE UNSAFE TO TRANSPORT A CHILD. I WAS ADVISED BY A BMW DEALERSHIP THEY COULD GET THE PARTS. HAVE BEEN WAITING ALMOST A WEEK WITH NO REMEDY AND WAS TOLD TODAY THAT THEY WERE STILL TRYING. CALLED BMW CORPORATE AND THEY SAID THE PAR…”Feb 27, 2020 · Unknown Or Other · 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

NHTSA has not published 5-Star crash ratings for this model year.

Other X6 model years

A

2027 X6

0 recalls · 1 complaints

C

2026 X6

2 recalls · 3 complaints

D

2025 X6

4 recalls · 1 complaints

D

2024 X6

5 recalls · 9 complaints

A

2023 X6

1 recalls · 1 complaints

A

2022 X6

1 recalls · 5 complaints

F

2021 X6

7 recalls · 7 complaints

F

2020 X6

11 recalls · 9 complaints

C

2019 X6

4 recalls · 5 complaints

B

2017 X6

2 recalls · 3 complaints

A

2016 X6

1 recalls · 9 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 (ids 39475, 39480, 39522, 39481). Recalls, complaints, investigations and crash ratings come from NHTSA's public flat files, refreshed weekly.

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