Our X1 has a lot of "slip" in the transmission. It's most apparent when you back up and then switch to drive. In our X1, the car keeps rolling backward like it's in neutral. Drive doesn't engage until after a long delay.

Source: NHTSA complaint ODI #11709771 · view all complaints for this vehicle at nhtsa.gov

We have owned the car for nearly 2 years and the rear cross traffic alert has never worked, even when cars and pedestrians are walking behind the vehicle. BMW says nothing is wrong. Many other drivers report the exact same issue with their BMW.

Source: NHTSA complaint ODI #11738793 · view all complaints for this vehicle at nhtsa.gov

On 2/25/26, in rush hour traffic we were driving on a NJ highway. We happened to be in the left-most of 3 lanes with a concrete divider (no shoulder – there was about 3 ft between the concrete divider and the left side of the left lane). We were about 4 car lengths behind the next car when traffic was slowing for a red light. The car indicated “Everything OK”. When I hit my brakes, they did not engage; they locked. The car skidded; it felt like we were on ice, but the road was clear. We were upon the car in front of us and had no place to go. I held the steering tight and tried pumping the brakes to disengage the lock. To no avail. I was planning on scraping the divider on my side to slow the car down. I steered the car into the tight space next to the divider thinking it would cause less injuries as opposed to plowing into the back of the stopped car in front of me. We slid at least 4 car lengths before traveling past 3 stopped cars in succession, I just barely missed hitting the concrete divider and/or the cars in the lane in front/beside me. On the left side, I could see that my mirror was over the divider and on right side we were within an inch or two of a hit. Realizing that I miraculously missed hitting anything, I tested the brakes going only a couple of inches and the brakes did engage. I slowly moved across the lanes to get to the right shoulder. Through all of this, the car indicated “Everything OK”. On 2/26 the car was towed to the dealership. The dealership technician and BMW representative easily replicated the brake failure. Through their testing they determined that the Integrated Brake Module, the same part that had be replaced in Nov 2025 for a recall, had failed again. Before, during, and after the incident, the car indicated “Everything OK”. After repeated requests, neither the dealership or BMW rep gave us any information about why the car failed to warn us of the problem or assurance us of its safety.

Source: NHTSA complaint ODI #11727462 · view all complaints for this vehicle at nhtsa.gov

2024 BMW X1 xDrive, 8000 miles, original tires. Front right tire wear to 2.7mm, front left tire wear to 4mm, and rear tires wear to 5mm. AWD vehicle where fronts should not be significantly outpacing rear wear. Left-right asymmetry on front axle suggests alignment issue. Dealer and BWM North America refused in investigation and call it normal. Requesting NHTSA agent review and case escalation.

Source: NHTSA complaint ODI #11739328 · view all complaints for this vehicle at nhtsa.gov

While visiting BMW of Alexandria, an approved BMW dealership, I was told that BMW vehicles have an issue where running it through a safe, approved inside car wash when it's below 40 degrees Fahrenheit outside is dangerous. Parts break, glass shatters, it's just dangerous. Not believing that, I sent the question to BMW of USA customer care. They had a case manger, Jake, call me today. He stated that is theoretically possible for a BMW. When I said it's scary that my kids, my wife, could be in the vehicle when parts shattered or exploded, his only comments were about warranty coverage. I even directly asked if that's possible and is there any history in BMW of that happening. He said he did not do research and refused to do it... only saying it's theoretically possible and warranty coverage would depend on the cause. That implies BMW absolutely KNOWS that it's possible and likely implies it's happened before. Can DoT ask the question and get a more direct answer?

Source: NHTSA complaint ODI #11704220 · view all complaints for this vehicle at nhtsa.gov