There are 1 stored owner reports matching the visibility & wipers leading-label group for the 2003 BMW X5 in our NHTSA-sourced dataset. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
This group counts stored reports whose component label starts with one of this site's matching prefixes, ignoring case. Each matching report counts once within the group. Components mentioned later in the label or only in the narrative are not searched. How component counts work
Loaded 1 of 1 matching reports.
Open the full vehicle complaint log (all categories)I WAS DRIVING TO WORK WHEN I GOT A FOUL BURNING SMELL IN THE CAR. I HAD THE HEAT AND DEFOGGERS CRANKING SO I LOWERED THE FAN SPEED THINKING IT WAS COMING IN FROM OUTSIDE WHEN I NOTICED SMOKE FORMING ON THE FLOOR OF BY THE PASSENGER SEAT. AT THAT TIME I CAME TO A STOP LIGHT AND THE CAR SHUT OFF. I WAS ON A BUSY ROAD AND IT WAS VERY COLD OUT. I TRIED TO CRANK IT AND NOTHING. THE SECOND ATTEMPT SOUNDED AS IF SOMEONE THREW SOMETHING INTO A FAN. I WAS TOWED AND ADVISED BY THE MECHANIC THAT THE OIL SEPARATOR WENT CAUSING THE SPARK PLUGS TO FILL WITH OIL CAUSING THE MOTOR TO SHUT DOWN. BMW ADVISED THE MECHANIC THAT THIS IS A RECURRING PROBLEM AND THEY HAVE A KIT TO UPGRADE THE WHOLE MECHANISM. I WAS READING EDMUND BLOGS AND A NUMBER OF PEOPLE HAVE HAD THIS PROBLEM COSTING ANYWHERE FROM $1300 - $6000 DEPENDING ON THE DAMAGE. I HAD MISSED WORK THE DAY BEFORE DUE TO A SNOW STORM. I COULD HAVE BEEN IN A SERIOUS ACCIDENT IF I HAD BEEN CAUGHT IN BAD WEATHER OR ON THE HIGHWAY WHICH I TAKE TO WORK. THIS IS GOING TO BE AN EXPENSIVE FIX AND BMW IS AWARE OF THE PROBLEM. WHY ISN'T IT A RECALL? WHAT HAS TO HAPPEN BEFORE IT IS? WHAT ARE MY OPTIONS IN TRYING TO RECOVER MY EXPENSES. THE CAR HAS ALL OF 51000 MILES ON IT. *TR
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
NHTSA source checks for this vehicle year
Checks are recorded separately for each dataset, not for the whole page. Dates use UTC. A missing check date does not mean no records exist.
Vehicle import recorded: Apr 28, 2026. This is the stored import date, not confirmation that every source was successfully refreshed.