Reliable Auto DB

2017 BMW X5 reliability

Is it reliable?

The 2017 BMW X5 has 74 complaints with NHTSA after 10 years, or 7 per year. That is more complaints per year than most X5 years here — over the median of the other years, which is 4. NHTSA has 6 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

74

Per year

7

Recalls

6

Years on the road

10

What owners report

The complaints owners file most often name Electrical system (17 of 74), then Fuel and propulsion system (15) and Engine (12). Those filings include 3 that report a crash, 3 that report an injury, and 1 that reports a death.

Next to 2016 and 2018

The 2016 X5 has 74 complaints, 4 per year, and the 2018 has 72 complaints, 3 per year. The 2017 has more complaints per year than the 2016. The 2017 has more complaints per year than the 2018.

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 2017 BMW X5. How we count. Data as of .

Recalls (6)

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 Labels 2017-05-18 · NHTSA campaign 17V327000
Summary BMW North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2017 BMW X5 M and BMW X6 M vehicles. The vehicles are equipped with 21-inch tires, however the Tire Information Label states that the vehicles are equipped with 20-inch tires. As such, these vehicles fail to conform to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 110, "Tire Selection and Rims."
Remedy BMW has notified the affected owners and is providing them with a corrected tire information placard, free of charge. The recall began June 15, 2017. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.
Recall air bags, frontal, passenger side, inflator 2017-03-17 · NHTSA campaign 17V189000
Summary BMW of North America, Inc. (BMW) is recalling certain 2017 X5 sDrive35i, X5 xDrive35i, X5 xDrive50i, X5 xDrive35d, and X5 xDrive40e vehicles. These vehicles are equipped with passenger frontal air bag modules using certain air bag inflators that may not vent properly in the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger frontal air bag.
Remedy BMW has notified owners, and dealers will replace the air bag modules, free of charge. The recall began on March 20, 2017. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.

Complaints by component (74 total)

Electrical system
17
Fuel and propulsion system
15
Engine
12
Powertrain
10
Service brakes
6
Air bags
5
Diesel fuel system
5
Seat belts
5
Structure
5
Engine and engine cooling
4
Suspension
4
Seats
3
Steering
3
Tires
3
Child seat
1
Forward collision avoidance
1
Hydraulic brakes
1
Lane departure
1
Parking brake
1
Speed control
1
Tether and lower anchor
1
Visibility
1
Show 14 more Show less
Crash-flagged

3

Fire-flagged

0

Injury reports

3

Death reports

1

Complaints filed per year

5201762018102019620208202112202292023620249202532026
Excerpts from recent NHTSA complaint filings
  • "The component experiencing the malfunction is the transfer case on my BMW X5. The transfer case has already been serviced in an attempt to correct the problem; however, the vehicle continues to experience issues related…"
    Powertrain · filed 2026-09-24
  • "While driving, the electronic parking brake (EPB) system malfunctioned. The vehicle was stopped in DRIVE with Auto Hold active. When the driver door was opened briefly, the vehicle attempted to transition from Auto Hold…"
    Electrical system, Service brakes · filed 2026-01-23
  • "The contact owns a Nuna car seat, Model Type: Rava, Model Number: CS05103CVR, Manufactured Date: July 14, 2022. The car seat was being used in a 2017 BMW X5. The contact stated that the left side harness on the safety…"
    child seat · filed 2026-01-09
  • "The contact owns a 2017 BMW X5. The contact stated that while driving or while the vehicle was parked and occupied, there was an abnormal smoke odor coming from the engine of the vehicle. An independent mechanic was…"
    Engine · filed 2025-10-08
  • "No remedy for recall and no plan"
    Electrical system, Engine, Fuel and propulsion system · filed 2025-07-28

NHTSA crash ratings

Version Overall Front Side Rollover
2017 BMW X5 M SUV AWD Not rated Not rated Not rated Not rated
2017 BMW X5 PHEV SUV AWD Not rated Not rated Not rated Not rated
2017 BMW X5 SUV AWD 5 stars 5 stars 5 stars 4 stars
2017 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 xDrive 35d 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 2016 BMW X5 Next year 2018 BMW X5 See every BMW X5 model year →

Frequently asked questions

Is the 2017 BMW X5 reliable?

The 2017 BMW X5 has 74 complaints with NHTSA after 10 years, or 7 per year. That is more complaints per year than most X5 years here — over the median of the other years, which is 4. NHTSA has 6 recalls on file, including Pump, Diesel fuel system, and Fuel pump.

What are common problems with a 2017 BMW X5?

The complaints owners file most often name Electrical system (17 of 74), then Fuel and propulsion system (15) and Engine (12). Those filings include 3 that report a crash, 3 that report an injury, and 1 that reports a death.

Is the 2017 BMW X5 more reliable than the years next to it?

The 2016 X5 has 74 complaints, 4 per year, and the 2018 has 72 complaints, 3 per year. The 2017 has more complaints per year than the 2016. The 2017 has more complaints per year than the 2018.

Has the 2017 BMW X5 been recalled?

The 2017 BMW X5 has 6 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 2017 BMW X5?

Owners have filed 74 complaints about the 2017 BMW X5 with NHTSA.

What mpg does a 2017 BMW X5 get?

EPA-rated combined fuel economy for the 2017 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.