BMW iX Problems — All Years, Common Issues & Reliability

BMW iX driver-assistance safety malfunction. In approx. April 2025 vehicle displayed “driver assistance permanently disabled.” Dealer contacted BMW and cleared codes; foreman reported ongoing code/concern. After return, ACC/lane keep/forward collision behavior became unreliable without dashboard error: lane centering intermittently fails; lane visualization inaccurate; following distance control intermittently fails; FCW/AEB/“too close” alerts/intervention do not occur even when enabled and set to early/far. On May 31, 2025 near Philadelphia, PA, traffic conditions changed/suddenly slowed and vehicle provided no warning/intervention, requiring emergency braking and resulting in front grille damage. Vehicle has returned to dealer multiple times for programming/calibration issues; problem persists; dealer wants paid diagnosis again. New clicking/clunking from steering column/steering rack area during turning, or driving at any speed.

The car in front of me did not put brakes on or slow down and hit a car that was slowed to a stop in front of her. I was behind her and hit by brakes and tried to avoid the collision. My brake assist did not work; my car did not alert me and did not try to help me stop. I was told when i bought the car that it did indeed have these safety features which failed me. I was not sited in the accident even though i did end up hitting the car in front of me which was now attached to two cars in front of her. She was at fault and the car she hit had video footage to prove her fault.

The contact owns a 2024 BMW iX. The contact stated that while his wife pulled into the driveway and came to a stop, there was a sudden acceleration that prompted the vehicle to drive through the garage door. The contact stated in separate occasion she has felt something similar while driving without stepping on the accelerator pedal. In addition, the Collision Avoidance, Automatic Braking System, and the Camera Recording failed to activate during the incident. No warning lights or chimes activated before or after the failure. There was property damage to a garage door. The vehicle pushed the garage door through, causing damage to the front end of the vehicle. No air bags deployed. There were no injuries to the driver nor the front passenger seated, who was the contact. The contact referenced NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V409000 (VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL) to be similar to this failure, however the vehicle was not included in the recall. The vehicle was driven back to the residence. The dealer was notified of the failure however, they stopped responding to the contacts' voicemails and phone calls. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 49,000.

Driver was in parking space/nearly fully parked (her foot was on the brake coming to a full stop and about to place the car in park), when the car’s self drive function or cruise control engaged on its own. It then rolled up the hill, and into the trees. Thankfully no one was hurt (3 people in the car - 2 adults and 1 child) and the car stopped while leaning on a tree, otherwise it would have rolled over. She never uses cruise control, nor any of the self drive functions on the car at all. In her words, the car was “unstoppable”. The speed of the car at that time was a near crawl into the space, ready for a full stop. When the self drive/cruise control engaged, the car jumped over the curve in front of the parking space on its own. No button was pressed by the driver, nor should any self drive feature of the car engage while the car was nearly parked. Additionally, while manually parking, the 360 degree parking camera was on, yet the car still engaged in self drive. Luckily, no other person nor vehicle was in front of the car when this happened. There was a post collision warning light (note, the airbags did not deploy), but we have asked the certified collision center to review the alerts to confirm what may have triggered. The BMW app never showed that the car was in a collision, and to-date still does not. The car is now with the collision center for an estimate (via insurance company), and the process has already started with BMW Consumer Affairs regarding safety issues with this automobile. We have also formally requested that BMW downloads all information regarding the collision from the Event Data Recorder (EDR). The police was not involved in the incident, since no one was injured. NHTSA indicates there have been similar incidents/recalls reported for the BMW IX from 2022 -2024 models, but no recall for the 2025 model - although the incidents are also reported for this model. We are concerned over the the safety of this car moving forward.

My 2025 BMW iX xDrive50 has experienced three separate random shutdown events while driving in active traffic. These shutdowns occurred without warning and caused sudden loss of vehicle functionality. One of these shutdowns resulted in a rear-end collision. The vehicle has been brought to BMW of Carlsbad three separate times. Each time, the dealership stated no defect could be found and blamed the driver for “user settings.” A BMW of Carlsbad service advisor later sent written messages stating that BMW software can crash and shut off the vehicle and that normal phone contact data (such as emojis in phone contacts) can cause the system to crash and shut the vehicle off. Customers were instructed to change normal phone usage and re-pair phones to avoid shutdowns. Despite software updates, the vehicle continues to generate shutdown warnings. A vehicle that can randomly shut down while driving constitutes a serious safety defect.

Continually get a power loss error while driving and accelerating. Took to BMW dealership and not able to clear error after having the car for a over month.

I am reporting an incident involving unintended vehicle movement/acceleration in my 2023 BMW iX xDrive50. BMW of North America inspected the vehicle and claims no defect was found; however, they refuse to provide the Event Data Recorder (EDR) data or diagnostic logs used to reach that conclusion. The incident occurred around September 1, 2025. The vehicle exhibited behavior inconsistent with normal operation. BMW’s response relies on undisclosed internal data and post-incident testing that does not recreate the event conditions. I am requesting NHTSA review this matter, including BMW’s refusal to disclose vehicle data relevant to potential safety defects involving throttle, braking, Auto-Hold, or software-controlled torque systems.

While operating the vehicle, the steering system suddenly developed a fault with no prior warning. A "Changed Steering Effort" warning appeared on the dashboard, immediately followed by significant resistance in the steering wheel and violent mechanical shuddering/oscillation. This resulted in a sudden, dangerous difficulty in maneuvering the vehicle. Despite the 2024 BMW iX and related models (5/7 Series) having known internal steering gear manufacturing defects (referencing SIB 32 01 24 and Recall 24V-714), the dealership is attempting to deny warranty coverage. They are attributing the failure to a tear in the rack boot, despite no evidence of impact to the surrounding undercarriage. The sudden electronic onset of the failure suggests an internal safety defect consistent with widespread reports on this model year, rather than environmental damage. There is significant online anecdotal evidence of this same issue occurring with 2023 and 2024 iX models, despite the above SIB only covering certain 2021 and 2022 models.

On 11/11 I was driving my vehicle and for the first time ever I received a error message in the vehicle of reduced driver steering. It said driving was still possible but take the vehicle to a dealer for evaluation when possible. This message popped up and went away the rest of the day and first half of the following day. I researched the message and apparently my make year and model have a known issue with the steering rack design that causes it to fail prematurely. There were many reports online of people getting this message and upon taking it to their local BMW they were told it was a known issue and the part would be replaced. So I scheduled an appointment at my local dealership for early December which was their first available. The following afternoon I went to drive a quick errand and go a new message saying steering greatly reduced. The power steering was completely gone. The car was nearly impossible to turn the wheel it took all the strength I could muster to do so as turning was nearly impossible. I drove it to the dealer as it was no longer safe to drive. The dealer told me that there was no recall on the part and because I'm 3 months and change out of warranty the replacement would not be covered. I am extremely upset. This is a known issue with this part, they have a new redesigned part that addresses the premature failure. I should absolutely not be responsible for having to pay for a part that was knowingly faulty.

On October 17, 2025 at approximately 3:15 PM in the parking lot of a shopping mall at 2040 Lomita Blvd, Lomita, CA, our 2025 BMW iX M60 suddenly accelerated forward unintentionally while the driver was attempting to park. The vehicle made a loud “whirring” sound as if the motor engaged on its own, and it lurched forward rapidly without any acceleration input from the driver. The car traveled only about 2 feet before crashing into a wall in front of the parking space. All front and side airbags deployed. The driver (my father) suffered a chest fracture and hand laceration, and the passenger (my minor son) sustained severe bruises to the chest and shoulder from seat belt impact. The Driver (my father) was hospitalized for four days. The vehicle was towed to a body shop and is currently under insurance inspection for total loss. This appears to be a case of Sudden Unintended Acceleration (SUA) possibly related to the vehicle’s electronic drive control system. We request that NHTSA and BMW investigate this incident to determine if there is a safety defect in the 2025 BMW iX EV platform.

Vehicle has displayed drivetrain and high-voltage-battery fault warnings on three separate occasions — December 2024, July 2025 (after replacement of a high-voltage-battery cell), and September 2025. Despite multiple service visits and nearly 90 days out of service, the same safety-related warnings have recurred. BMW NA and the servicing dealer (Chapman BMW Chandler, AZ) ultimately returned the vehicle to me in October 2025 without further repair, stating only a “courtesy recheck” was performed. I remain concerned that the vehicle’s high-voltage-battery system may have an unresolved defect that could affect safety or reliability. Please investigate whether similar cases exist for 2024 BMW iX vehicles exhibiting repeated drivetrain/HV-battery warnings.

Incident Date: August 20, 2025
Vehicle: BMW iX (2023 BMW iX XDrive 50 VIN - [XXX] ) On August 20, 2025, I was driving my BMW iX during heavy rain when the vehicle suddenly lost control and hydroplaned. Despite my efforts to steer and brake carefully, the vehicle skidded and hit the divider three times. Shockingly, none of the airbags deployed during the impact. I have experienced repeated traction and stability issues with this vehicle during rainy conditions, even while driving at low speeds. Both my husband and I have noticed that the car tends to hydroplane and lose grip on wet roads much more easily than other vehicles we have driven. I am very concerned that the BMW iX may have a serious design or safety flaw affecting its handling and stability in wet weather, as well as a potential defect with the airbag deployment system. I strongly urge BMW and the NHTSA to investigate this issue to prevent future accidents and ensure consumer safety. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)