DANGER! My new X6 will shut off while driving

[Glina]

Two weeks ago my friend, who owns 2011 X6 5.0; was telling me that he has a problem with his 6 months old car. He told me that once in a while his car will shut off on him while making a turn at slow speeds (for example while pulling into the gas station or making a turn at intersection.) He said that he took it few times to the BMW dealer and that they don\'t know if something is wrong with his car, they are saying that the car is OK. Same thing happened to me today. My car just shuts off on me in the middle of the street as I was pulling out of the parking lot while making left turn. My car is 2012 X6 3.5 with 2000 miles on it.

[UAxDEATH(NYC)]

maybe heat? my own car engine temp is 250f

[Northern X5M]

Maybe watch the oil pressure. This happened a few times in my Chevy, turned out that the oil pressure was dropping too low at idle under load and the 'puter would kill the engine.

[somonster]

Originally Posted by Glina

Two weeks ago my friend, who owns 2011 X6 5.0; was telling me that he has a problem with his 6 months old car. He told me that once in a while his car will shut off on him while making a turn at slow speeds (for example while pulling into the gas station or making a turn at intersection.) He said that he took it few times to the BMW dealer and that they don\'t know if something is wrong with his car, they are saying that the car is OK. Same thing happened to me today. My car just shuts off on me in the middle of the street as I was pulling out of the parking lot while making left turn. My car is 2012 X6 3.5 with 2000 miles on it.

scary.
glad to hear you both are OK.

i've had my engine surge a little at "parking space" crawl speeds to the point where the car lunges forward a few inches just as i'm slowing to a stop to make a 3-point turn).

never heard about this or experienced anything like this before, though.

please keep us updated.
but most of all, stay safe, man.

[Mike van D]

Not good, but as the others have said...good to hear you both were safe. I echo what Somonster asks, please let us know if cause is determined.

[Kians313]

Had the same thing happen twice to our x5 50. Dealer did not find out the cause. They recommended we bring it in ASAP if it happens again. But no recurrence since. Knock on wood. Car is about 3 months old now. So maybe a run-in issue?

[itsme123]

Possibility of a bad tank of gas?

[Hidavey]

I had a 2008 ML 350 and it did the samething. The MB service replace the gas tank because of a leak between gasket and the fuel line. Not sure if you have this problem but give it a shot. Glad that your all safe.

[UAxDEATH(NYC)]

Well i don't have such a problem in this heat, i`m running like crazy in NYC, engine works steady at 250F

[somonster]

Originally Posted by Glina

My car just shuts off on me in the middle of the street as I was pulling out of the parking lot while making left turn. My car is 2012 X6 3.5 with 2000 miles on it.

Glina, could you (and anyone else who's had this problem) provide a couple more details about the circumstances / context?
maybe it'll help pin down a pattern...

(eg recent cold start v. warm engine, accelerating from a full stop, approx vehicle speed, transmission mode, any other sounds / shudders, whether electronics / displays also shut off or if the motor just stalled, how hot a day, etc...)

sounds like it happens on both X5 and X6, both 35i and 50i models, 2011-2012.
i hope this isn't part of a pattern emerging, but this very much freaks me out.

as always, drive safe...

[Kians313]

Conditions noted are:
Just switched it off sports mode
Slow speed turn - mine happened as I made a 90deg right turn into the side street at approx 15mph
Engine stalls
Loss of power steering
Feels as if the shock absorbers started to sag
Managed to restart the car
Lots of clicking noises that seem to come from the axles/diffs
Continued driving home cautiously
Clicking noises gradually reduced to none
Has not happened since - about 2 months ago (2500miles)

[THSALK]

u should really get the car checked out on the warranty

[vcdx15]

I have a brand new 2012 X6 50i with 600 miles on it, and this issue happened to me today. I was exiting the highway, taking a U-turn exit off I35 in Austin, coasting at about 30miles per hour. The engine shut off and power steering locked up. Was pretty scary as this was a sharp turn coming off a highway. The engine light came on and the car went into neutral as this happened. I pulled over and was able to restart and drive home. I hope the dealer figures out the issue, this seems to be a systemic problem.

[GeraG]

Happened to my 2010 3.5 X6 something similar, the car stalls when making 90 degree turn from stand still. Took to the dealer, they say it is due to poor gas quality. Not sure this is the case...

Conditions noted are:
Just switched it off sports mode
Slow speed turn - mine happened as I made a 90deg right turn into the side street at approx 15mph
Engine stalls
Loss of power steering
Feels as if the shock absorbers started to sag
Managed to restart the car
Lots of clicking noises that seem to come from the axles/diffs
Continued driving home cautiously
Clicking noises gradually reduced to none
Has not happened since - about 2 months ago (2500miles)[/QUOTE]

[vcdx15]

Just brought the X6 to the shop, said they adjusted the engine idle per BMW instructions, and it should prevent this issue from occurring again...

[GeraG]

Originally Posted by vcdx15

Just brought the X6 to the shop, said they adjusted the engine idle per BMW instructions, and it should prevent this issue from occurring again...

Please let us know if it helped
Thanks

[longisland85]

same thing happend to me fighting wi na now

[Bmwig]

What ended up happening to your x6. my wife just got one and the same thing happened. She was making a left hand turn and the power went off. The car automatically went into neutral and steering wheel would move but the wheels straightened by themselves and would not move. Extremely dangerous unreal so did they resolve this issue

[Bmwig]

Originally Posted by vcdx15

Just brought the X6 to the shop, said they adjusted the engine idle per BMW instructions, and it should prevent this issue from occurring again...

Did this solve the problem

[richb811]

Sounds like a textbook case of a failed mass airflow sensor.

Have your BMW Dealer check the sensor and see if it is faulty. I had the exact same symptoms on my 2001 540i Touring and replacing the sensor resolved the issue.

[MadJay8]

The mass air flow sensor is some thing I didn't think about -- good point to check. Thanks! It happened to me 3 times the first when I just got it, I thought I hit something while driving but the other 2 times it is something to do with my driving style. I have the x6 50 and it seems when bring the engine from a high speed and to a low speed quickly it can't gear down quick enough so the idle drops to low and then while in the middle of a turn the idle drops and car shuts off.

[vicki3]

my engine on the x5 turns off when I am driving. It happened during the hot weather last week but also happened this morning in 85 temperature. My sister's X5 is having the same problem. We both took our cars in and they could not find anything wrong with either SUV X5. Anybody else experiencing similar issues? This happened to me 3 months ago and noone could find anything wrong with the car.