2010 BMW X5 Recall

On certain vehicles, the tire and loading information label does not list that there is no spare tire in both official languages. The label reads as "NONE" when it should read as "NONE / AUCUN". Canadian regulations require the information to be listed on the label in both English and French.

This error does not affect vehicle safety.

This is not a recall. The company has corrected the tire and loading information label for all new vehicles.

On certain vehicles, the variable camshaft timing (VANOS) adjustment unit housing bolts could loosen or break. As a result, the camshaft could become incorrectly adjusted and cause the engine to enter a reduced power mode (limp mode) or to stall while driving.

A sudden loss of engine power could increase the risk of a crash.

BMW will notify owners by mail and advise you to take your vehicle to a dealership to replace the VANOS bolts.

On certain vehicles equipped with an N52 or N52K 6-cylinder engine, a manufacturing problem could cause the PCV valve heater (blow-by heater) to short circuit and overheat. Note: This replaces Transport Canada recalls 2017-470 and 2019-170. Only vehicles equipped with an N52 or N52K engine require this repair.

An overheated engine PCV valve heater could create the risk of a fire, even while the vehicle is parked and turned off.

BMW will notify owners by mail and instruct you to take your vehicle to a dealer to install a wire harness repair kit. BMW recommends that you should park your vehicle outdoors until the recall repairs have been completed.

This recall is for certain vehicles that had an airbag inflator replaced as a part of an earlier recall campaign. This recall provides a final repair. Long-term exposure to high absolute humidity and temperature, combined with high temperature cycling, may eventually degrade the propellant contained in the driver-front airbag. This could cause the airbag to deploy with more force than normal. If the airbag inflator ruptures, fragments could be propelled toward vehicle occupants or cause damage to the airbag assembly, preventing its proper function.

If the vehicle is involved in a crash requiring an airbag deployment, the airbag inflator could rupture and create a risk of injury.

Owners will be notified by mail and instructed to take their vehicle to a dealer to inspect the driver-front airbag inflator. The driver-front airbag module or inflator will be replaced as necessary. Note: The Canadian climate results in the propellant degrading slowly. This recall is being conducted as a precaution to address future risk. It is expected that all airbag inflators will be replaced before their function would be affected.

This recall is for certain vehicles that had an airbag inflator replaced as a part of an earlier recall campaign. This recall provides a final repair. Long-term exposure to high absolute humidity and temperature, combined with high temperature cycling, may eventually degrade the propellant contained in the passenger-front airbag. This could cause the airbag to deploy with more force than normal. If the airbag inflator ruptures, fragments could be propelled toward vehicle occupants or cause damage to the airbag assembly, preventing its proper function.

If the vehicle is involved in a crash requiring an airbag deployment, the airbag inflator could rupture and create a risk of injury.

Owners will be notified by mail and instructed to take their vehicle to a dealer to inspect the passenger-front airbag module. The passenger-front airbag module will be replaced as necessary. Note: The Canadian climate results in the propellant degrading slowly. This recall is being conducted as a precaution to address future risk. It is expected that all airbag inflators will be replaced before their function would be affected.

On certain vehicles, long-term exposure to high absolute humidity and temperature, combined with high temperature cycling, may eventually degrade the propellant contained in the passenger-front airbag. This could cause the airbag to deploy with more force than normal. If the airbag inflator ruptures, fragments could be propelled toward vehicle occupants or cause damage to the airbag assembly, preventing its proper function.

If the vehicle is involved in a crash requiring an airbag deployment, the airbag inflator could rupture and create a risk of injury.

Owners will be notified by mail and instructed to take their vehicle to a dealer to have the passenger-front airbag module replaced. Note: The Canadian climate results in the propellant degrading slowly. This recall is being conducted as a precaution to address future risk. It is expected that all airbag inflators will be replaced before their function would be affected.

On certain BMW X5 xDrive35d (diesel) vehicles, the engine belt idler pulley bolt could loosen and/or break. This may cause the belt to detach, resulting in a sudden loss of power steering assist. A vehicle experiencing a loss of power steering assist would revert to a manual steering mode which would require greater driver effort, especially at low vehicle speeds. This could ultimately result in a crash causing property damage and/or personal injury. Correction: Dealers will replace the idler pulley bolt. Note: This recall supersedes and expands upon recall 2012-396.

A failure of this component (steering) may increase the risk of a crash or injury.

Authorized dealerships will inspect the vehicle and complete all necessary repairs free of charge (parts and labor).

On certain vehicles, the auxiliary water pump (which cools the turbocharger after the engine is turned OFF) can overheat and fail. This could result in a vehicle fire causing injury and/or damage to property. Correction: Dealers will replace the auxiliary water pump. Note: Owners are advised to park the vehicle outdoors until the remedy is applied. Additional note: This is an expansion of recalls 2011-376 and 2012-008.

A failure of this component (electrical) may increase the risk of a crash or injury.

Authorized dealerships will inspect the vehicle and complete all necessary repairs free of charge (parts and labor).

On certain vehicles equipped with the N52 6-cylinder engine, an electrical short could occur in the PCV valve heater due to manufacturing irregularities. If this occurs, the surrounding plastics could overheat, melt and potentially cause a fire, which could increase the risk of injury and/or damage to property. Correction: Dealers will replace the PCV valve heater.

A failure of this component (engine) may increase the risk of a crash or injury.

Authorized dealerships will inspect the vehicle and complete all necessary repairs free of charge (parts and labor).

On certain vehicles, the wires going to the in-tank fuel pump may not have been crimped correctly. An incorrect crimp could increase the resistance of the circuit which could cause the contact pin to heat and melt the surrounding plastic. This could potentially cause the fuel pump to stop working causing the vehicle to stall without warning, increasing the risk of a crash causing injury and/or damage to property. Also, in a very rare case, a fuel leak combined with an external ignition source, could increase the risk of fire causing injury and/or damage to property. Correction: Dealers will replace the fuel delivery module.

A failure of this component (fuel system) may increase the risk of a crash or injury.

Authorized dealerships will inspect the vehicle and complete all necessary repairs free of charge (parts and labor).

On certain vehicles, the driver frontal airbag inflator could produce excessive internal pressure during airbag deployment. Increased pressure may cause the inflator to rupture, which could allow fragments to be propelled toward vehicle occupants, increasing the risk of injury. This could also damage the airbag module, which could prevent proper deployment. Failure of the airbag to fully deploy during a crash (where deployment is warranted) could increase the risk of personal injury to the seat occupant. Correction: Dealers will replace the front driver air bag inflator or air bag module, depending on the vehicle model.

A failure of this component (airbag) may increase the risk of a crash or injury.

Authorized dealerships will inspect the vehicle and complete all necessary repairs free of charge (parts and labor).

On certain vehicles, housing bolts for the variable camshaft timing system could break, allowing camshaft timing to deviate. If this occurs, the engine would revert to "limp home mode", limiting available engine power. In rare instances the engine could stall, increasing the risk of a collision causing injury and/or damage to property. Correction: Dealers will replace housing bolts that break and perform associated repairs for 10 years/unlimited mileage from the vehicle's in-service date. Note: This applies only to vehicles not covered by recall 2014-127.

A failure of this component (engine) may increase the risk of a crash or injury.

Authorized dealerships will inspect the vehicle and complete all necessary repairs free of charge (parts and labor).

On certain vehicles, housing bolts for the variable camshaft timing system could break, allowing camshaft timing to deviate. If this occurs, the engine would revert to "limp home mode", limiting available engine power. This could increase the risk of a collision causing injury and/or damage to property. Correction: Dealers will replace affected bolts.

A failure of this component (engine) may increase the risk of a crash or injury.

Authorized dealerships will inspect the vehicle and complete all necessary repairs free of charge (parts and labor).

On certain vehicles equipped with a diesel engine, the fuel filter heater (used for warming diesel fuel during vehicle operation at low ambient air temperature) could malfunction. This could allow permanent activation of the fuel filter heater, including activation on a parked vehicle with the ignition in the OFF position, which could drain the battery. A discharged battery would prevent engine start-up. In certain cases the heater unit could overheat, which could result in a vehicle fire causing property damage and/or personal injury. Correction: Dealers will replace the fuel filter heater assembly. Note: This is an expansion of recall 2011-310.

A failure of this component (fuel system) may increase the risk of a crash or injury.

Authorized dealerships will inspect the vehicle and complete all necessary repairs free of charge (parts and labor).

On certain vehicles, a check valve in the brake vacuum pump may leak a small amount of lubricating oil. Over time, this could result in contamination of the brake booster. Loss of brake power assist could occur which, in conjunction with traffic, road conditions, and driver's reactions, could increase the risk of a crash causing property damage and/or personal injury. Correction: Dealers will inspect and, if necessary, replace the brake booster and master cylinder. Additionally, the brake vacuum line (including the check valve) will be replaced to eliminate the possibility of oil reaching the brake booster.

A failure of this component (brakes) may increase the risk of a crash or injury.

Authorized dealerships will inspect the vehicle and complete all necessary repairs free of charge (parts and labor).

On certain BMW X5 xDrive35d (diesel) vehicles, the engine belt idler pulley bolt could loosen and/or break. As such, the belt may become detached, resulting in a sudden loss of steering power assist. A vehicle experiencing a loss of steering power assist would revert to a manual steering mode which would require greater driver effort, especially at low vehicle speeds. This could ultimately result in a crash causing property damage and/or personal injury. Correction: Dealers will replace the idler pulley bolt and tighten with a revised torque procedure. A thread locking compound will be applied to the replacement bolt.

A failure of this component (steering) may increase the risk of a crash or injury.

Authorized dealerships will inspect the vehicle and complete all necessary repairs free of charge (parts and labor).

Certain vehicles fail to conform to Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. Specifically, the compliance label does not indicate the wheel rim size, as required by the Standard. Correction: Due to the inconsequential nature of this non-compliance, no action will be taken.

A failure of this component (label) may increase the risk of a crash or injury.

Authorized dealerships will inspect the vehicle and complete all necessary repairs free of charge (parts and labor).

On certain vehicles, the auxiliary water pump (which cools the turbocharger after the engine is turned OFF) can overheat and fail. This could result in a vehicle fire causing property damage and/or personal injury. Correction: Dealers will replace the auxiliary water pump. Note: Owners are advised to park the vehicle outdoors until the remedy is applied.

A failure of this component (electrical) may increase the risk of a crash or injury.

Authorized dealerships will inspect the vehicle and complete all necessary repairs free of charge (parts and labor).

On certain X5 M vehicles, the front side marker lamps are not illuminated as required by the Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 108 - Lighting System and Retroreflective Devices. These vehicles were equipped with front side marker lamps, but not with the power supply cables leading to the lamps. As a result, the front side marker lamps do not illuminate. Reduced visibility increases the risk of crash causing property damage, personal injury or death. Correction: Dealers will install power supply cables for the front side marker lamps.

A failure of this component (lights and instruments) may increase the risk of a crash or injury.

Authorized dealerships will inspect the vehicle and complete all necessary repairs free of charge (parts and labor).

On certain vehicles, windshield bonding may be insufficient and, in case of a vehicle rollover, this could adversely affect the rigidity of the vehicle bodyshell structure, which could result in personal injury or death. Correction: Dealers will remove and refit the windshield.

A failure of this component (visual system) may increase the risk of a crash or injury.

Authorized dealerships will inspect the vehicle and complete all necessary repairs free of charge (parts and labor).