- Vehicles
- 14,300
- Built between
- Sep 1999 – Feb 2001
- Models
- 1
- Recall type
- Vehicle
- Initiated by
- Manufacturer
- Owners notified
- 14 August 2001
- Repaired
- Not reported
- Unrepaired
- Not reported
Does this affect my vehicle?
This recall covers vehicles built between September 1999 and February 2001. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.
- 2000-2001 BMW X5Built September 1999 to February 2001
What the defect is
Vehicle description: 4.4I sport utility vehicles. Over an extended period of time, abrasion particles could deposit on the electrical contacts within the switch, causing a disruption of the electric current through the contacts. If the disruption occurs when the vehicle is stationary with the transmission in the neutral or park positions, the transmission will switch automatically into the emergency program, which is displayed in the instrument cluster via a warning lamp and a message, "trans. Fail-safe prog." in this case, the vehicle can be driven in lower gears only with limited engine output.
What could happen
If this problem occurs, the ability to maintain speed in traffic and/or accelerate could be greatly diminished, possibly leading to a crash.
What gets fixed
DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE TRANSMISSION GEAR POSITION INDICATOR SWITCH. OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN AUGUST 14, 2001.
Timeline
- Vehicles builtSeptember 1999 to February 2001
- Recall reported to NHTSA14 June 2001
- Owners notified14 August 2001
Your rights
A safety recall repair is free. Under US federal law the manufacturer must fix a safety defect at no cost to you — no charge for parts, labor or diagnosis — whether or not you are the original owner. A dealer cannot charge you for recall work, and cannot require you to have bought the vehicle from them.
That entitlement is not unlimited. It applies where the vehicle was first sold less than 15 years before the recall was announced — 5 years for tires. Past that a manufacturer may still do the repair free of charge, and many do, but they are no longer obliged to. This recall was reported on 14 June 2001.
To arrange the repair, contact any franchised dealer for the brand. If a dealer refuses the work or tries to charge for it, you can report that to NHTSA at nhtsa.gov/recalls or on 1-888-327-4236.
Manufacturer contact
Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact BMW at 1-800-831-1117.
Official source
- Recalling manufacturer
- BAYERISCHE MOTOREN WERKE
- Recall initiated by
- MFR
Everything on this page — the models listed, the build dates and the repair figures — comes from the manufacturer's filing to NHTSA and describes the vehicle line as a whole, not any individual car. Only the manufacturer can confirm whether a specific vehicle is affected, and whether its recall work has already been carried out. Check yours by VIN and read the official notice at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Additional notes
Also contact the national highway traffic safety administration's auto safety hotline at 1-888-DASH-2-DOT (1-888-327-4236).
Check your own vehicle
This page describes the recall, not any one car. To see which recalls cover a specific vehicle, search by make, model and year.
A VIN lookup here identifies your vehicle and shows recalls issued for that make, model and year. It cannot tell you what is still open on your individual car - only the manufacturer knows that. Search by VIN instead, or check your VIN at nhtsa.gov for whether a recall is still open on your individual car.