2009 BMW X6 problems & reliability
19 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2009 BMW X6, alongside 10 safety recall campaigns. Last verified Aug 7, 2026. Complaints are unverified reports submitted by owners to the federal Office of Defects Investigation.
Each complaint is counted once (by NHTSA case number), even when it names several vehicles.
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 2009 BMW X6 vehicles were involved in 1 fatal crash with 0 occupant deaths. Involvement counts are not adjusted for how many are on the road and do not imply fault or a vehicle defect.
Most reported problems
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Engine | 8 | 42% |
| Air Bags | 3 | 16% |
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 2 | 11% |
| Fuel/propulsion System | 2 | 11% |
| Unknown OR Other | 2 | 11% |
| Electrical System | 1 | 5% |
| Exterior Lighting | 1 | 5% |
| Fuel System, Gasoline | 1 | 5% |
| Latches/locks/linkages | 1 | 5% |
| Service Brakes | 1 | 5% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
All 13 reported components →Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“I was driving home I lost power in my engine my radiator fan was extremely high the gate is going up and down when the car was cold and my obd got burn out”
Unknown OR Other · filed Jul 20, 2020
“I took my 2009 bmw x6 to the bmw dealer, advantage bmw midtown (houston, texas) for suspected oil leak and excessive white smoke coming from both exhaust pipes. I requested multi-point inspection including the engine. The complete multi-point inspection results along with findings and an estimate can be found in the…”
Engine · filed Jul 8, 2020
“The car would shake uncontrollably and won't accelerate . It stutters and reads reduce engine power. The car was in motion at the time on a city street. It almost stopped completely. *tr”
Engine · filed Jun 6, 2020
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Technical service bulletins
248 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 2009 BMW X6. The 10 most recent:
This bulletin outlines the Customer Care Package program that has been designed exclusively for BMWvehicles with the N63 engine. Vehicles with the N63 high performance engine are engineered with EfficientDynamics that…
B110614 · Service Campaign · issued Mar 27, 2025
The basic conditions for initializing the power windows are not met.
B510819 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jan 16, 2024
The electrical system of BMW vehicles has been subject to an ongoing development process over the last few years. This has led to increased demands being placed on the battery. This document covers important information…
B611305 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jan 11, 2024
When using the Key Reader to retrieve CBS information from the customer key, no current vehicle data is available, or the data does not match the maintenance schedule.
B612723 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Dec 8, 2023
Customers may state that the alarm system (DWA) is not active after locking their unoccupied vehicle. Depending on the vehicleâ  s equipment and settings, no acoustic or optical confirmation (folding the…
B653423 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Nov 22, 2023
When using the Key Reader to retrieve CBS information from the customer key, no current vehicle data is available, or the data does not match the maintenance schedule.
B612723 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Nov 13, 2023
Second seat row blocking access to third seat row, program seat modules. Visible stitching on first row sport seat. Third seat row backrest Bowden cable routing and length change.
B522319 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Oct 20, 2023
Various functions of the camera-based driver assistance systems (ADCAM system) can lead to customer complaints.
B660523 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Oct 19, 2023
This situation can result in two customer complaints: 1. Wind noise 2. Excess water entry
B540421 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Oct 18, 2023
Vehicle cannot be opened or closed using comfort access, engine start is not possible, and the vehicle may not start when placing the key against the steering column.
B662419 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 1, 2022
TSBs are repair guidance manufacturers send to dealers — they are not recalls and repairs are not automatically free. Full documents are available on NHTSA’s site.
Safety recalls
The 2009 BMW X6 has 10 NHTSA recall campaigns — recall repairs are free at franchised dealers regardless of the vehicle’s age.
Check whether your specific vehicle is affected
Recall campaigns often cover only certain VIN ranges. Enter your VIN on the official NHTSA site to confirm whether your vehicle is included and whether the repair is still open.
Check VIN on NHTSA →Buying a used 2009 BMW X6?
- · Decode the seller’s VIN with our free VIN decoder to confirm the exact year, engine and trim.
- · Check for unrepaired recalls by VIN on NHTSA’s official lookup — recall repairs are free.