BMW bulletin B511520
What it saysWIND NOISE FROM ENGINE BULKHEAD: A wind noise can be heard when driving at highway speeds from the area around the lower windshield. NHTSA’s full summary ↓
BMW filed this with NHTSA as a service bulletin dated Mar 21, 2024, received May 18, 2020, about the equipment — 2 documents under this number. It names 12 model years (2019–2024). A service bulletin is not a safety recall: it is the manufacturer telling its dealers how to diagnose or repair a condition, and whether the work is paid for depends on the warranty in force. Quoting the number at a service desk can save a diagnosis.
Get the next BMW bulletin for your model by email Weekly, only when something new is filed. Nothing else; one-click unsubscribe.
What the bulletin says
Source: NHTSA's summary of the manufacturer's communicationWIND NOISE FROM ENGINE BULKHEAD: A wind noise can be heard when driving at highway speeds from the area around the lower windshield. Improper sealing of the engine bulkhead trim.
Documents filed under this number
| Document | Kind | Dated | NHTSA id | At NHTSA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| B511520 | Service bulletin | Mar 21, 2024 | 10252016 | PDF, 93 KB |
| B511520 | Service bulletin | Apr 1, 2020 | 10175278 | not found |
The summary is NHTSA’s abstract of the document, as filed under 49 CFR 579.5. One communication is usually filed as several documents — the bulletin, a dealer notice, an owner letter — and the number on any of them finds this page. A PDF link is shown only once NHTSA’s own server has been seen to serve that document; the rest are checked over the following nights. Quote the number at a service desk; it is what the dealer’s system is keyed on.
Doing the repair yourself, or pricing it before the shop does? Search the part by fitment on eBay Motors — the listing and the price are the seller’s.
Find the owners/service/other manual for the 2024 X5 →Affiliate disclosure: some links on this page are affiliate links. If you request a quote or buy through them we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Nothing on this page changes because of it.
Model years it names
Source: as the manufacturer filed themA vehicle page’s bulletin list shows the newest few communications filed against that model year; the count there is every one.
Email me new BMW bulletins for one of these models
A weekly email, sent only in a week when BMW files something new with NHTSA for the model you pick — service bulletins, campaigns, warranty extensions, over-the-air notices, every model year. Nothing else is sent; one-click unsubscribe in every message. Separate from recall alerts.
What owners reported
Source: NHTSA complaint databaseOwners of the 12 model years this bulletin names have filed 951 complaints with NHTSA since 2015. 222 of them name Engine — the same broad component group this bulletin is filed under. NHTSA groups complaints coarsely, so that means the same area of the vehicle, not necessarily the same fault.
On the 2019 BMW X5, the 18 owners who gave an odometer reading for Engine reported it at a median of 67,000 miles. That figure is one model year’s, not the whole range this bulletin covers — medians from different model years are not averaged.
I am started to lease this car in August 2024. After 2 weeks, the car just halted, unable to move. Luckily this happened in my driveway. It took BMW more than 1 month to repair this. They had to change the combined charging unit with a different part number (upgraded part). At that time the car had roughly 200 miles on the odometer.
2024 BMW X5 · Engine · filed with NHTSA Apr 23, 2024 · ODI 11584824
The contact owns 2020 BMW X7. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH, the message "Oil Pump Leak Over - Get the Vehicle Towed to Local Service Dealer" was displayed. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who could not repair the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where an unknown diagnosis was made.
2020 BMW X7 · Engine · filed with NHTSA Aug 1, 2025 · ODI 11677774
The contact owns a 2021 BMW X5. The contact stated that as her husband was stopped at a stop light, the vehicle began to rev after he had taken his foot off the brake pedal without warning. Once her husband placed his foot back on the brake pedal, the revving stopped, and her husband was able to resume normal driving.
2021 BMW X5 · Engine · filed with NHTSA Feb 1, 2022 · ODI 11449735
In depth: 2019 BMW X5 engine problems →
A complaint is one owner’s account, not a defect finding, and a bulletin is not a recall. Nothing here says this bulletin was issued because of these complaints, or that the repair it describes fixed them. Complaint files on this site begin in 2015.
More bulletins about the equipment
Source: same model, same component group16 other manufacturer communications filed against these BMW models under the same component group (equipment), newest first. The eight newest are listed; the rest are on the BMW list.
| Number | Kind | Dated | NHTSA’s summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| B010122 | Service bulletin | Jan 21, 2026 | With the court's FINAL approval, BMW of North America, LLC (BMW NA) has entered into a nationwide settlement with the plaintiffs in the foll… |
| B011323 | Service bulletin | Mar 12, 2025 | BMW of North America, LLC (BMW NA) has a nationwide settlement with the plaintiffs in the following class action: Brightk Consulting, Inc.… |
| B650121 | Service bulletin | Jun 12, 2024 | SPORADIC FAILURE OR CRACKING NOISE IN BASS SPEAKERS: No Bass or a cracking noise can be heard from the bass speakers. |
| B610321 | Service bulletin | Feb 28, 2024 | SITUATION BMW AG is conducting a Voluntary Emissions Recall (effective April 23, 2021) on a certain Model Year 2020 - 2021 BMW vehicles th… |
| B660324 | Service bulletin | Feb 22, 2024 | A quality check showed that the Remote-Control Parking token was not activated in the current software for the vehicles affected. |
| B541319 | Service bulletin | Jan 5, 2024 | FRONT ROLLER SUNSHADE LOOSE. The roller sunshade (aka sun protection or sunblind) of the front panoramic sunroof is bunching up during opera… |
| B653523 | Service bulletin | Nov 21, 2023 | Customers may be experiencing one or more of these following issues with Bluetooth operation: Bluetooth cannot be switched on or off in the… |
| B652723 | Service bulletin | Nov 20, 2023 | Customers may be experiencing one or more of these 3 issues with Apple CarPlay® operation: No selections can be made in Apple CarPlay® usin… |
Quote the number at the service desk. It is what the dealer’s system is keyed on.
Every manufacturer communication NHTSA holds for BMW, by the number printed on the letter.
Common questions
Source: NHTSA, 49 CFR 579.5Is BMW B511520 a recall?
No. A service bulletin is a manufacturer communication filed with NHTSA under 49 CFR 579.5; a safety recall carries an NHTSA campaign number (two digits, a letter, six digits) and a federal duty to repair for free. Check the vehicle’s recalls by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls, or on its page here.
Is the B511520 repair free?
Not automatically. A service bulletin describes how to diagnose or repair a condition; who pays depends on the warranty in force, any extension, and the dealer. Quoting the number can save a diagnosis either way. Every BMW warranty extension on file lists the ones BMW has filed.
Which vehicles does B511520 cover?
The manufacturer filed it against 12 model years: 2024 BMW X5, 2023 BMW X5, 2022 BMW X5, 2021 BMW X5, 2020 BMW X5, 2019 BMW X5 and more. Whether one particular vehicle is affected is a matter of its VIN and its build, not its model year alone.