There are 12 owner-reported air bags & restraints complaints for the 2019 BMW X5in NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
Frequent Passenger Restraint System Issue
Passenger seatbelt restraint
Driver Restraint Malfunction warning light turned on while driving and stated dangerous driving conditions and to see a Dealer immediately. The Dealer diagnosis was a faulty airbag wire harness due to rubbing against the metal which caused the airbag light to malfunction. Car had 47500 miles but BMW did not cover this faulty wiring under warranty. Should be a recall on faulty wiring.
This vehicle has only 36,000 miles, and there is a known issue with the knee airbags. See attached notice. My driver's side knee airbag warning light recently went on, but BMW refuses to remedy the problem. They should be required to recall and cover the cost of the repair.
Vehicle is out of warranty. Car only has 36K miles and passengers restraint system malfunction appeared. It basically says that the passenger airbag won't deploy due to this malfunction. Union diagnosis ilthe culprit is a defective seat occupancy mat sensor module and the seat mat. Both parts should be recalled as this failure occured without outside influence. This is a extremely important component that can fail at any moment in the 2019 X5 Xdrive50i.
A portion on the Airbag system was/is disabled due to an issue, known to BMW, with the wiring harness connected to the passenger seat. It is available for inspection if requested. Normal movement of the electric seat in turn pulls a wiring harness that failed by being "chaffed". This flaw results in a "Restraint System Error", passenger side - a significant problem since this harness controls an integral safety system of the vehicle and ultimately disables part of the airbag system until repaired. During inspection at the dealer's service center, the car was connected to a fault reader that reported a wiring harness/module failure due to "chaffing". This chaffing caused a short that triggered the warning light and deactivated a key air bag safety feature. I was told that normal movement of the passenger seat moves the wires and causes the system failure. After consulting with my Service Advisor, the repair was explained as "installation of a new, modified (longer) wiring harness that allows for rerouting of the wires so that the condition is corrected" What alarmed me as a consumer was when I asked if they were sure this would fix the problem, the dealer told me they see it quite often and 99% of the time it is a problem with the original design and routing of the harness. From my perspective, this indicates BMW acknowledges this is a known problem impacting the safe operation of the vehicle. The repair requires removal of the entire center console and replacing and rerouting a newly designed wiring harness. The estimate for repair to the consumer is almost $1300 - making it likely that many consumers would delay this important repair. In my opinion, this engineering flaw should be the subject of a voluntary recall at the least.
passenger restraint system failed message states bring to dealer ASAP dealer states there will be a charge seems to be a common problem recall???
Passenger Restraint warning light kept coming on. Dealer was able to reset twice and now they are telling me I need a new pad sensor under the seat and estimate is $1800.00 Reading BMW blogs this is an ongoing problem that BMW is aware of but will not recall.
I received notification that my passenger restraint system has a malfunction. The car threw up a code, I received a phone call and text message from the dealer. I thought this was important so I took the car to the dealer. They said the detection mat needs replace and the cost would be $1811.00. The dealer asked me if something spilled on it? The answer was no. I believe this is a safety defect an a recall should be initiated!
About a year ago, coffee began leaking from below from a paper cup in the plastic cupholder of my x5. I immediately noticed it and cleaned it up. Approximately 1-2 ounces of liquid leaked into the plastic cupholder. On May 11, 2022, the Passenger Restraint System faulted and the light came on. The vehicle was inspected by BMW of Austin and stated that liquid seeped onto the Airbag Control Module and some of the pins were corroded. This would not be covered by the Warranty as it was deemed an "external" factor that caused the failure. The estimate to fix this issue and get the airbag functioning again is $2,005.00. BMW placed the Airbag Control Module right under the plastic cupholder, and does not seal the plastic cupholder or the important Airbag Control Module right under the plastic cupholder. Luckily, the airbag system did not automatically stop the vehicle as has been the case with other vehicles- X7 and X5. This is a design failure that BMW is aware of that leaves its customers at risk of injury due to the airbag system faulting. This issue is ongoing and affects all X5 and X7 models. BMW needs to provide a remedy to this design and safety flaw. Owners should not have to pay $2,000 to remedy. There is a class action lawsuit filed in December 2021 for this exact issue.
I recently acquired a 2019 BMW X5. When I requested seat belt extenders as your web site suggests, "If you need a roomier belt, contact your vehicle manufacturer to obtain seat belt extenders." my dealer told me that they "cannot get them." I contacted BMW corporate customer services and while the gentleman I have been dealing with is trying and is very courteous, he can't seem to find any information. I regularly transport two people who cannot use the seatbelt and I am concerned for their safety.
Driving my vehicle and on my screen popped up driver seat restraint malfunction, also rear seat restraint malfunction please go to closest dealership. I bring my vehicle to BMW dealership in my town and rep calls me and advise that the cup holders sit above the srs wiring and that liquid gets thru the cup holders and dripped on to the wires causing them to no longer work. This is a design flaw i have never spilled a drink in my cup holder and even if someone did on accident why is the AIRBAG wires not covered in plastic if going below cup holders that leak any type of liquid. I am unable to afford, I do have warranty however BMW stating that this is an outside interferance and will not be covered under warranty, so I am having to drive with no airbags. I researched and many others are having same issue with this same year and make different models. This is something that definatly needs to be recalled as it is a design flaw and a safety hazard.
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.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 26, 2026