It appears some E70, E71, and E72 BMW X5s and X6s will be making trips to dealerships in the near future. BMW of North America has issued a recall for 121,737 Sports Activity Vehicles and Coupes to prevent problems in the front driveshaft area.
According to the notice, in some cases, universal joints supplied to BMW Manufacturing for use in the front driveshafts of certain X vehicles may not have been produced to specifications. In rare cases, contaminants such as water and dirt could, over time, lead to corrosion that might further lead to noise, vibration, and possibly failure of the parts.
If power to the front driveshaft was lost, the vehicle most likely could continue being driven by the rear driveshaft alone; however, continued driving might damage additional components to the point where the vehicle could not continue operating.
The fix is straightforward. BMW dealers will replace front driveshafts at no charge. Dealer replacement of front driveshafts is scheduled to begin on April 24, 2017.
The specific vehicles affected include 2011–2013 X5 xDrive35i, X5 xDrive50i, X5 M, and X5 xDrive35d vehicles; 2011–2014 X6 xDrive35i, X6 xDrive50i, and X6M vehicles; and 2011 X6 ActiveHybrid vehicles.
This recall is in addition to a smaller recall in 2016 for the same problem identified in only certain 2011 X5s and X6s.
Vehicle owners with questions may contact BMW Customer Relations and Services at CustomerRelations@bmwusa.com, or by calling 1-800-525-7417. As always, BMW owners may check if their vehicles are affected by recalls by entering their vehicle identification numbers at http://www.bmwusa.com/standard/content/owner/safetyrecalls.aspx or the NHTSA web site at https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls.—Scott Blazey
[Photograph courtesy of Scott Blazey.]
