2016 BMW X5 reliability

Is it reliable?

NHTSA's file on the 2016 BMW X5 holds 74 complaints after 11 years, a rate of 4 per year. That is fewer complaints per year than most X5 years here — under the median of the other years, which is 6. NHTSA has 5 recalls on file, including Pump, Diesel fuel system, and Fuel pump.

2012 BMW X5 — Photo by Alexander Migl, resized from the original. Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 4.0

Complaints

Per year

Recalls

Years on the road

What owners report

The complaints owners file most often name Electrical system (23 of 74), then Engine (14) and Powertrain (13). Those filings include 3 that report a crash and 1 that reports an injury.

Next to 2015 and 2017

The 2015 X5 has 0 complaints, 0 per year, and the 2017 has 74 complaints, 7 per year. The 2016 has more complaints per year than the 2015. The 2016 has fewer complaints per year than the 2017.

The complaint rate is complaints filed in this year’s first 3 years on the road, divided by however many of those years have passed. Recalls are a separate count. The numbers are for the US-market 2016 BMW X5. How we count. Data as of 2026-10-16.

Recalls (5)

Recall engine and cooling, cooling system, pump 2024-08-13 · NHTSA campaign 24V608000

Summary BMW 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.

Remedy Dealers 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.

Recall diesel fuel system 2021-11-19 · NHTSA campaign 21V907000

Summary BMW 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.

Remedy Dealers 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 service at 1-800-525-7417.

Recall diesel fuel system, delivery, fuel pump 2021-07-29 · NHTSA campaign 21V586000

Summary BMW 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.

Remedy Dealers 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.

Recall engine and cooling, exhaust system, emission control, EGR valve 2018-10-25 · NHTSA campaign 18V755000

Summary BMW 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.

Remedy BMW 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.

Recall electrical system, wiring 2016-12-21 · NHTSA campaign 16V919000

Summary BMW 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.

Remedy BMW 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.

Complaints by component (74 total)

Electrical system

Engine

Powertrain

Fuel and propulsion system

Engine and engine cooling

Air bags

Structure

Suspension

Diesel fuel system

Speed control

Steering

Visibility and wipers

Service brakes

Visibility

Back-over prevention

Electronic stability control (ESC)

Exterior lighting

Forward collision avoidance

Tires

Show 11 more Show less

Crash-flagged

Fire-flagged

Injury reports

Death reports

Complaints filed per year

Excerpts from recent NHTSA complaint filings

"Vehicle: 2016 BMW X5 xDrive35d VIN: [XXX] My 2016 BMW X5 xDrive35d experienced a failure of the high-pressure fuel pump. The vehicle was inspected and I received a written diagnosis stating: “High pressure fuel pump…"
Fuel and propulsion system · filed 2026-09-24
"I am reporting a suspected high-pressure fuel pump safety defect involving my 2016 BMW X5 xDrive35d, VIN [XXX], with approximately 103,186 miles. The check engine light illuminated and BMW Fort Walton diagnosed failed…"
Engine, Fuel and propulsion system · filed 2026-09-10
"The High-Pressure Fuel Pump (HPFP) on my vehicle has experienced a catastrophic premature failure for the second time, presenting a severe and immediate safety hazard. This vehicle was previously serviced under NHTSA…"
Fuel and propulsion system · filed 2026-09-02
"2016 BMW X5 xDrive40e. Experiencing intermittent/sudden drivetrain malfunction warnings. Vehicle loses power or enters limp mode while driving. Max eDrive / electric drive becomes disabled even with battery charged.…"
Powertrain · filed 2026-08-16
"The contact owns a 2016 BMW X5 PHEV. The vehicle was serviced under NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V608000 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM), but the failure persisted. The contact stated that a month after the…"
Engine and engine cooling, Electrical system · filed 2026-05-05

NHTSA crash ratings

Version	Overall	Front	Side	Rollover
2016 BMW X5 SUV AWD	5 stars	5 stars	5 stars	4 stars
2016 BMW X5 SUV RWD	5 stars	5 stars	5 stars	4 stars

Stars are how this vehicle did in NHTSA crash tests. They are a safety result, separate from the complaint record. Not rated means that test was not run for this version.

Fuel economy

Trim	Engine	Transmission	Drive	City	Hwy	Combined	Annual fuel cost
X5 M	4.4L, 8-cyl	Automatic (8-speed)	All-wheel drive	14	19	16 MPG	$5000
X5 sDrive35i	3L, 6-cyl	Automatic (8-speed)	Rear-wheel drive	18	25	21 MPG	$3800
X5 xDrive35d	3L, 6-cyl	Automatic (8-speed)	All-wheel drive	23	29	25 MPG	$3750
X5 xDrive35i	3L, 6-cyl	Automatic (8-speed)	All-wheel drive	18	24	20 MPG	$4000
X5 xDrive40e	2L, 4-cyl	Automatic (8-speed)	All-wheel drive	23	25	24 MPG / 540 mi range	$3300
X5 xDrive50i	4.4L, 8-cyl	Automatic (8-speed)	All-wheel drive	15	21	17 MPG	$4700

Specs and fitment

F15 generation, 2014–2018

Body styles SUV

Oil 5W-30 full synthetic (gasoline); diesel may differ , 6.5 qt capacity

Tire size 255/55R18 to 285/35R21 (trim-dependent)

Known issues for this generation

Recall 24V608000 covers certain 2016-2018 X5 xDrive40e models (among about 720,796 vehicles across many BMW N20/N26 applications) where an improperly sealed water-pump electrical connector may short circuit and increase fire risk; dealers inspect and replace the pump and connector as needed and install a protective shield. Diesel X5 xDrive35d units in this era are also named in multi-model campaigns such as 21V586000 (high-pressure fuel pump) and 21V907000 (EGR cooler / intake manifold fire risk on diesel models).

Compare

Previous year 2015 BMW X5 Next year 2017 BMW X5 See every BMW X5 model year →

Frequently asked questions

Is the 2016 BMW X5 reliable?

What are common problems with a 2016 BMW X5?

The complaints owners file most often name Electrical system (23 of 74), then Engine (14) and Powertrain (13). Those filings include 3 that report a crash and 1 that reports an injury.

Is the 2016 BMW X5 more reliable than the years next to it?

The 2015 X5 has 0 complaints, 0 per year, and the 2017 has 74 complaints, 7 per year. The 2016 has more complaints per year than the 2015. The 2016 has fewer complaints per year than the 2017.

Has the 2016 BMW X5 been recalled?

The 2016 BMW X5 has 5 recalls on file with NHTSA. See the recalls table on this page for dates, components, and remedies.

How many complaints have owners filed about the 2016 BMW X5?

Owners have filed 74 complaints about the 2016 BMW X5 with NHTSA.

What mpg does a 2016 BMW X5 get?

EPA-rated combined fuel economy for the 2016 BMW X5 is 20.5 MPG. See the fuel economy table on this page for city and highway figures by engine and transmission.

What generation is the 2020 BMW X5?

G05 generation (2019-on).

What oil does a recent BMW X5 take?

G05 US gasoline fills commonly use 0W-20 full synthetic; earlier F15/E70 notes often list 5W-30.

What tire sizes does a BMW X5 use?

Sizes span a wide trim range; G05 examples run about 265/50R19 to 315/35R21.