Skip to content
Fuel systemPart report

2013 BMW X5 Fuel system Problems

Complaints
9about this part
Share
6%of 149 total for the year
Median mileage
50,000miles
Trend
Not enough dataFewer than 15 complaints, too few for a reliable trend.

NHTSA recorded 9 complaints about the fuel system of the 2013 BMW X5, 6% of the 149 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 50,000 miles. 1 a fire, according to the filers.

Fewer than 15 complaints name this part, so treat the figures as a rough indication only.

Example complaints

Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.

“Vehicle parked and turned off at my home. Many hours later vehicle was discovered by a one of my children on fire . Resulting fire destroyed the auto and ignited a major fire to my residence.”

NHTSA complaint #11182450, filed 2019-02, 50,000 miles

“My 2013 Bmw X5 35d was in motion on a city street, when it stalled, lost all power and ultimately would not restart. I was able to get it to the side, but not off the road and it was towed to the Bmw dealership where they discovered that there had been a still unidentified sourced, fuel leak into the electrical harness and finally pooling into the dde component, frying the dde component to failure. There was enough fuel in the dde component that it was drained into a drip pan and fuel covered the wiring connection points as well as had discolored the wiring. …”

NHTSA complaint #11194824, filed 2019-04, 78,000 miles

“Vehicle developed significantly reduced fuel mileage after the first 500 miles. In town range dropped by 40% to 7.8 mpg over the same route, independent of gasoline source or grade. Exhaust gases are very hot and exhibit a pronounced sulfuric, gunpowder like smell. Electrical fans constantly on during city driving attempting to cool the engine. Excessive carbon build up on exhaust components. Engine exhibiting rich running condition. …”

NHTSA complaint #10484970, filed 2012-11, 500 miles

“No accident, just a safety issue with acceleration delay. Total lack of acceleration at a stop to go. There is an inherent lag until the transmission kicks in and goes, about a half second delay. This is obviously not good when trying to get into busy traffic whether at a light or merging. I have talked to Bmw tampa and ran a diagnostic without success for a fix. They even admit there is an issue with this but Bmw germany guys they say won't change their thinking or fix the issue. In a nutshell it's as if the fuel doesn't get to the injectors until a .05 delay. This is not safe, point blank.”

NHTSA complaint #10694767, filed 2015-03, 26,900 miles

“Vehicle died while driving, luckily it happened when pulling in to a store versus on the busy highway that we had just been traveling on, would not restart. BMW Roanoke determined it to be a failed diesel injection pump. If this had occurred on the highway it could have been a very dangerous situation. I had found that previous and later models of this vehicle have been recalled for this issue, but not the 2013 model. Which seems odd since the 2013 uses the same or a very similar diesel injection pump. The repair cost is more the vehicle value.”

NHTSA complaint #11480503, filed 2022-08

Related service bulletins

Fuel system: other model years

YearComplaintsShare of year
202627%
202512%
202443%
202313%
202234%
202133%
202022%
201953%
20181825%
20172027%
20161216%
20155033%
20143232%
201396%
20122911%
20114316%
20102923%
20094230%
20084119%
20072839%
200653%
2005810%
200423%
200355%
200211%
200174%

Other parts of the 2013 BMW X5

Air bags
47 complaints
Engine
45 complaints
Transmission and drivetrain
36 complaints
Electrical system
21 complaints
Other or unknown
18 complaints
Brakes
7 complaints
Engine cooling
6 complaints
Seat belts
5 complaints
Body and structure
5 complaints
Seats
4 complaints
Steering
2 complaints
Suspension
2 complaints

← All problems reported for the 2013 BMW X5

About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 30, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.

To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology