NHTSA complaint #11763444

Owner complaint summary

I am writing to formally document serious and recurring safety concerns with my Certified Pre-Owned 2024 BMW X5e, which I purchased from BMW of Sterling on XXX. On XXX I was merging onto [XXX] during morning rush hour when my vehicle suddenly lost power and shut down in the middle of traffic. The vehicle first displayed a yellow drivetrain warning indicating that I could continue driving at reduced power to the nearest service center. Almost immediately afterward, a red drivetrain warning appeared instructing me to seek service immediately. At that point, the vehicle would not restart and continued displaying the error message. Having a vehicle suddenly become disabled in the middle of a major interstate during rush-hour traffic was both frightening and extremely dangerous. I contacted BMW Assist but was transferred among several representatives without receiving meaningful assistance. VDOT ultimately responded, and the vehicle was towed at my expense to BMW of Sterling. Ultimately, I was informed that BMW of Sterling could not identify the cause of the failure or replicate the problem. I was told that BMW in Germany had been consulted and that the vehicle's electronics had been reset. When I picked up the vehicle, I specifically asked whether it had been tested in electric, hybrid, and sport modes and was told that it had. However, my BMW app indicated that the vehicle had not been charged since before I brought it in for service, which raised concerns for me about the extent of the testing that was performed. On XXX, I drove the vehicle to [XXX], for work. When I returned to the vehicle that afternoon and attempted to start it, I received the same drivetrain warning messages. After approximately 15 minutes, the vehicle eventually started normally, and I was able to drive home without further incident. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)