BMW 550XI · model year

2013 BMW 550XI

9 NHTSA complaints, and 1 active recall for this specific cohort.

NHTSA overall rating

Not crash-tested

New Car Assessment Program

The 2013BMW550XI carries 9 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 0 crashes, 0 fires, 0 injuries, and 0 fatalities. No NCAP 5-star crash-test rating is available for this model year in the federal database.

Component-level analysis is where model-year complaints become actionable: the top complaint category for the 2013 550XI is unknown or other with 2 filings, followed by fuel/propulsion system (2) and engine (2). Concentration in one or two component groups is the classic signature of a systemic defect; a flat distribution usually reflects normal aging, warranty complaints, or isolated build-plant variability. This model year has 1 active recall campaign, which means the manufacturer is obligated to remedy the covered defect at no charge for the life of the vehicle — the full NHTSA campaign numbers are listed below.

NHTSA currently has 34 investigation files overlapping the 2013 550XI. Owners comparing this cohort against neighboring years should pair the counters above with the complaint-by-year trend on the parent model page — a spike in a single year often tracks to a platform refresh, a new transmission supplier, or an updated ECU calibration. Use the related-complaint feed below to read raw owner narratives before deciding whether any pattern here affects your specific use case.

9
Complaints
0
Crashes
0
Fires
0
Injuries
0
Deaths

Total Complaints

9 filings

Crashes Reported

0 reports

Source

NHTSA ODI

Federal complaints database

Complaints vs. fleet median (215)

At or below the fleet median complaint volume.

Complaints by Component

ComponentCount
UNKNOWN OR OTHER2
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM2
ENGINE2
STRUCTURE:BODY1
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES1
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM1

Recalls (1)

15V18800031/03/2015

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain model year 2013 528i, 528i xDrive, 535i, 535i xDrive, 550i, 550i xDrive, and ActiveHybrid 5 vehicles. The rear reflex reflectors may not reflect enough light. As such, the vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Sa

Recent Complaints

20181101ENGINE

I WAS DRIVING MY BMW 550 XI ON THE HIGHWAY AT 70 MPH WHEN I HAD WHAT WAS TERMED BY THE BMW SERVICE TECHNICIAN AS A "CATASTROPHIC ENGINE FAILURE". AS I WAS DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY AT I SUDDENLY LOST ALL POWER TO THE DRIVE TRAIN. I IMMEDIATELY HAD TO TAKE EVASIVE ACTION TO AVOID AN ACCIDENT AS ON A BUSY HIGHWAY IN CHICAGO AND SUDDEN LOSS OF POWER IS DANGEROUS. I WAS ABLE TO GET STOPPED AT THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND WAS UNABLE TO RESTART THE ENGINE. I THEN HAD THE VEHICLE TOWED TO BMW OF ORLAND PARK WHERE THE SERVICE TECHNICIAN DISMANTLED MY ENGINE TO DETERMINE THE CAUSE OF THE ENGINE FAILURE. THE DETERMINATION WAS MADE THAT INDEED THE ENGINE HAD A "ROD BEARING FAILURE" WHICH CAUSED THE CATASTROPHIC FAILURE. AS I UNDERSTAND ENGINES VERY WELL IT IS NOT SURPRISING THAT AN ROD BEARING COULD FAIL. WHY I AM FILING THIS COMPLAINT IS THAT THIS VEHICLE ONLY HAD 67,500 MILES ON IT AND AS I HAVE NOW DISCOVERED, MANY OTHER OWNERS OF THIS YEAR MAKE AND MODEL OF VEHICLE ARE HAVING THE SAME "CAT

Mileage: 67,500

20180913LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 BMW 550XI. WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS STATIONARY, THE FRONT PASSENGER DOOR WOULD NOT UNLOCK WHEN PROMPTED. DURING THE FIRST OCCURRENCE OF THE FAILURE, THE VEHICLE REMOTE AUTOMATICALLY UNLOCKED THE FRONT PASSENGER DOOR. THE FAILURE RECURRED AND, OVER TIME, THE REMOTE BECAME COMPLETELY INOPERABLE AND WOULD NOT UNLOCK THE FRONT PASSENGER DOOR. CONSEQUENTLY, THE FRONT PASSENGER DOOR COULD NOT BE UNLOCKED AT ALL. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO WIDE WORLD OF CARS BMW (124 NY-59, SPRING VALLEY, NEW YORK 10977, (845) 425-2600). THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED, BUT THE TECHNICIAN STATED THAT IT WAS PROBABLE THAT THE ACTUATOR MAY BE FAULTY. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURES. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS UNKNOWN.

20180913ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 BMW 550XI. WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS STATIONARY, THE FRONT PASSENGER DOOR WOULD NOT UNLOCK WHEN PROMPTED. DURING THE FIRST OCCURRENCE OF THE FAILURE, THE VEHICLE REMOTE AUTOMATICALLY UNLOCKED THE FRONT PASSENGER DOOR. THE FAILURE RECURRED AND, OVER TIME, THE REMOTE BECAME COMPLETELY INOPERABLE AND WOULD NOT UNLOCK THE FRONT PASSENGER DOOR. CONSEQUENTLY, THE FRONT PASSENGER DOOR COULD NOT BE UNLOCKED AT ALL. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO WIDE WORLD OF CARS BMW (124 NY-59, SPRING VALLEY, NEW YORK 10977, (845) 425-2600). THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED, BUT THE TECHNICIAN STATED THAT IT WAS PROBABLE THAT THE ACTUATOR MAY BE FAULTY. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURES. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS UNKNOWN.

20180726ENGINE

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 BMW 550XI. WHILE DRIVING AT ANY SPEED, THE VEHICLE EMITTED SMOKE FROM THE EXHAUST PIPE WITHOUT WARNING. THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE BMW OF ROANOKE DEALER (2824 FRANKLIN RD SW, ROANOKE, VA 24014, 540-274-2475) WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE VALVE STEM SEAL IN THE ENGINE NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE TECHNICIAN ALSO STATED THAT THE OCCURRENCE WAS A KNOWN FAILURE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE AND STATED THAT THE WARRANTY WAS EXPIRED. THE FAILURE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 115,000. THE VIN WAS NOT PROVIDED.

Mileage: 115,000

20180224FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM

I WOULD BE DRIVING THE VEHICLE AND AT A RANDOM TIME IT WOULD JERK VIOLENTLY AND THEN SLOW WHILE IN TRAFFIC ON THE FREEWAY. THE CAR WOULD GO INTO 'LIMP MODE" AND GIVE A 'DRIVETRAIN MALFUNCTION' ERROR. I RESEARCHED THIS ERROR ONLINE AND IT SEEMED IT COULD BE ANY NUMBER OF THINGS. THE FIRST COUPLE TIMES IT HAPPENED IT WENT AWAY UPON THE CAR BEING OFF. IT HAPPENED A COUPLE MORE TIMES BEFORE THE 'CHECK ENGINE' LIGHT CAME ON WITH THE 'DRIVETRAIN MALFUNCTION' ERROR ON THE CAR'S INFO CENTER. EACH TIME IT INVOLVED A VIOLENT JERKING OF THE CAR AND IMMEDIATE SLOWING DOWN OF THE CAR IN TRAFFIC. I DROVE IT TO NELSON'S AUTOMOTIVE CENTER IN PEWAUKEE, WI AFTER A FEW TIMES OF THIS HAPPENING. THEY DIAGNOSED THIS AS A FUEL PUMP FAILURE AND REPLACED THE FUEL PUMP. BASED ON MY RESEARCH THIS HAS BEEN AN ONGOING ISSUE FOR BMW FOR YEARS. FUEL PUMPS HAVE BEEN RECALLED ON THESE CARS UP TO THE YEAR OF MY CAR WHICH IS DISAPPOINTING.

Mileage: 76,050

20170918FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM

HIGH PRESSURE FUEL PUMP THE CAR STARTED SHAKING WHILE DRIVING LOST POWER CAR WENT INTO LIMP MODE AND KEPT SHAKING. THE CAR WOULD NOT EXCEED 10 MPH AND CREATED A SAFETY ISSUE

Mileage: 64,000

20170816UNKNOWN OR OTHER

SUNROOF EXPLODED. SHATTERED WITH GLASS PIECES EVERYWHERE. NO STONE OR EXTERNAL OBJECT HIT THE SUNROOF.

Mileage: 35,000

20170105STRUCTURE:BODY

BMW 550 XI WAS TRAVELING ON PA TURNPIKE WHEN THE SUNROOF EXPLODED INTO TINY SHARDS OF GLASS. THE CAR WAS GOING THE SPEED LIMIT, OUTSIDE TEMP WAS 24 DEGREES, THE SHADE WAS OPEN WHEN THE SUNROOF EXPLODED. THERE WERE NO ROCKS OR DEBRIS THAT HIT THE SUNROOF. THERE WERE NO CARS IN FRONT OF ME. I WAS NOT TRAVELING UNDER AN OVERPASS.

Mileage: 30,000

20170105UNKNOWN OR OTHER

BMW 550 XI WAS TRAVELING ON PA TURNPIKE WHEN THE SUNROOF EXPLODED INTO TINY SHARDS OF GLASS. THE CAR WAS GOING THE SPEED LIMIT, OUTSIDE TEMP WAS 24 DEGREES, THE SHADE WAS OPEN WHEN THE SUNROOF EXPLODED. THERE WERE NO ROCKS OR DEBRIS THAT HIT THE SUNROOF. THERE WERE NO CARS IN FRONT OF ME. I WAS NOT TRAVELING UNDER AN OVERPASS.

Mileage: 30,000

Compare 2013BMW550XI to Similar Vehicles

NHTSA Investigations

View all investigations

Frequently Asked Questions

How many complaints does the 2013 BMW 550XI have?
The 2013 BMW 550XI has 9 NHTSA complaints, 0 crashes, 0 fires, 0 injuries, and 0 deaths reported.
Are there any recalls for the 2013 BMW 550XI?
Yes, the 2013 BMW 550XI has 1 recall(s). The most common affected component is EXTERIOR LIGHTING. Recalls are issued by NHTSA and manufacturers must provide a free remedy.
What are the most common problems with the 2013 BMW 550XI?
The most-complained component for the 2013 BMW 550XI is UNKNOWN OR OTHER with 2 complaints. Other frequently reported areas include FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM and ENGINE.
Is the 2013 BMW 550XI safe to buy?
Review the complaint history, crash and fire reports, safety ratings, and recall status on this page to make an informed decision. No NHTSA crash test rating is available for this model year. Compare with other model years using the links above.
Where does this data come from?
All complaint, recall, and safety rating data is sourced from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Complaints are filed by vehicle owners through NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation.

Vehicle Safety Guides

Data as of 2025. Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) complaints database, NHTSA recall campaign API, NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings, and NHTSA FARS for fatality cross-reference.