29 complaints reported

2016 BMW X1 Power Train

Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.

Reports
29
Crashes
0
Fires
0
Injuries
0

Complaint Timeline

Chronological view of owner reports

Apr 2025

Every time I get in or out of my car, the secure vehicle against rolling indicator light comes on.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 BMW X1, Manufacturer: BMW of North America, LLC
Incident: Apr 2025
Jan 2025

The car is indicating the I need to press the parking brake to secure the car from rolling after I have placed it in park and pressed the electronic parking brake.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 BMW X1, Manufacturer: BMW of North America, LLC
Incident: Jan 2025
Oct 2024

The contact owns a 2016 BMW X1. The contact stated that after arriving to the destination and shifting the vehicle into park(P), the message "Secure Vehicle against Rolling Malfunction" was displayed. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the transmission shifter lever control cable. The contact was informed that the transmission shifter lever control cable was abnormally stretched. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 46,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 BMW X1, Manufacturer: BMW of North America, LLC
Incident: Oct 2024
Oct 2024

Secure vehicle against rolling error displayed despite the fact the car is securely in Park. Issue is a broke $1 spring inside the gearshifter that requires $4000 to fix at dealership. This is a poor quality issue driving a cash cow at the dealership ls with many people complaining online about this issue. It should be a recall

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 BMW X1, Manufacturer: BMW of North America, LLC
Incident: Oct 2024
Jul 2024

Secure vehicle from rolling error. Secure vehicle with parking brake Spring pin broke in side gear shifter.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 BMW X1, Manufacturer: BMW of North America, LLC
Incident: Jul 2024
Jun 2024

Keep getting the following warning "Transmission - secure vehicle with parking brake". It seems this is a known issue relating to a simple spring in the gear shifter that causes the computer to not recognize that the vehicle is in park. It's not only a very expensive repair for such a simple part failure, but also a safety concern in not knowing if the vehicle is secure to park.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 BMW X1, Manufacturer: BMW of North America, LLC
Incident: Jun 2024
Apr 2024

The transmission lock sensor is defective in this car design- the spring in the gearshift assembly that contacts the transmission lock sensor has a faulty design and is prone to breaking. This leads to a warning in the car that the transmission lock has not occurred when the car is in park (although it is actually functioning). This creates a "false alarm" situation that then does not allow the user to know if the transmission is truly locked in park This defect has occurred in my car as diagnosed by both dealer and independent mechanic. This is a common and known defect amongst X1 owners (as well as the mechanical sibling Mini Cooper). It is also well known amongst the BMW dealer service; It should be consider a recall defect

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 BMW X1, Manufacturer: BMW of North America, LLC
Incident: Apr 2024
Jan 2024

Please note that this is NOT the result of an accident. The car is a 2016 BMW X1 model which we have purchased in July 2020 as a BMW certified vehicle from a BMW dealer. Starting in December 2023 the car dashboard shows a warning light saying Secure Vehicle from Rolling. I have read that is it due to a broken pin in the transmission and it seems a common problem in 2016-17 BMWs X1 . BMW should have issued a recall . Again, there was NO accident.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 BMW X1, Manufacturer: BMW of North America, LLC
Incident: Dec 2023
Dec 2023

Many X1 owners have reported the "Secure Vehicle Against Rolling Error" online in forums once the vehicle hits 100K miles. BMW is charging customers over $3K to fix a worn out spring that costs less than $10 on eBay. This should be under recall!

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 BMW X1, Manufacturer: BMW of North America, LLC
Incident: Jan 2023
Dec 2023

When parked, the transmission warning light is on saying "Secure vehicle with parking break when stopped. Consult service center" This appears to be a very common issue in X1, but the BMW dealership does not recognize the common safety issue as a recall.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 BMW X1, Manufacturer: BMW of North America, LLC
Incident: Oct 2023
Oct 2023

During the parking of my vehicles (gearbox shifter in P position) and after turning off the engine, the iDrive system shows the following messages: "Transmission: Secure vehicle with parking brake when stopped. Consult service center." This happens each and every time and also when the vehicle is parked on level ground the error will remain even if the parking brake is applied. After turning on the engine again and putting the shifter either in R or D position, the error goes away. I have ever come to dealer for help, but they charge 300$ for any diagnosis. So I went to a local BMW body shop, and they are able to reproduce it and couldn't fix it completely. After studying this issue on one of the biggest BMW global forums - [XXX] , I came to the opinion that the problem most likely is either in weak design of the gearbox shifter unit or in the gearbox mechatronic unit and unfortunately is a common problem for BMW models. I'm concerned that BMW hasn’t announced any recall procedure, despite the fact that both of the units mentioned are quite expensive and definitely shouldn’t appear after such low odometer readings that are displayed. Other than me, many BMW X1 owners are experiencing the same issue: [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 BMW X1, Manufacturer: BMW of North America, LLC
Incident: Oct 2023
Oct 2023

On 6/27/23 the car dealership confirmed that the emergency brake sensor has broken and the car now misinforms the driver of whether the emergency brake has been activated. This had been an Issue for a few months. The display screen informs the driver that the brake is not activated, even if it has been activated. The result of this is that a driver may start to ignore the incorrect warning and may cause a driver to get confused regarding whether the brake is activated. A failure to properly activate an emergency brake could result in life threatening injuries. The car was taken to the dealer who confirmed the above problem with the sensor. I explored online blogs and found that many other X1 BMW owners have experienced similar issues. It looks as if this is a failing of the sensor system in this model car.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 BMW X1, Manufacturer: BMW of North America, LLC
Incident: Jun 2023
Sep 2023

per internet, very common problem. Gear box problem that prevents car from automatically going into Park when rolling, doors open, etc....there is a message warning driver to secure car by parkiing brake to prevent from rolling. Thousands of dollars to repair per internet ( i understand the problems with internet info) but multiple discussions on line. BMW x1 2016, 35k miles. Multiple mechanics on line state that it results from a broken spring, but 3000.00 labor to open and remove gear box to repair the spring. Any recourse? thanks for any info.....

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 BMW X1, Manufacturer: BMW of North America, LLC
Incident: Sep 2023
Sep 2023

The gear selector spring is defective. An error message comes up on the screen each time the car is turned on with an error related to the transmission. I have had BMW inspect the vehicle and determine there is a sensor issue broken, but the vehicle works. The gear selector spring causes this error and the error pops up and overrides safety features such as the camera when backing up.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 BMW X1, Manufacturer: BMW of North America, LLC
Incident: Dec 2022
Aug 2023

I am receiving a ,Secure vehicle against rolling Secure vehicle with parking brake when stationary. Have the problem checked by Service. The following message displays every time I turn vehicle off “Transmission: Secure vehicle with parking brake when stopped.” The error message remains even when parked on level ground or when the parking brake is engaged.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 BMW X1, Manufacturer: BMW of North America, LLC
Incident: Jan 2023
Jul 2023

Every time I put the car in park It warns me “secure the vehicle against rolling”. I have done extensive research that this is a simple spring located in the gear box. This is something that all X1 have issues with. It should be covered as a RECALL.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 BMW X1, Manufacturer: BMW of North America, LLC
Incident: Jun 2023
Jun 2023

When parking or starting the car a warning message is issued indicate that I should secure the vehicle against rolling and the transmission is flagged as the problem. I did some research online and found out this is a very common problem with the BMW X1. A small spring breaks in the shifter linkage. https://f48.bimmerpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1840937. BMW is charging upwards of $3000 to make the repair even though it is a known common defect in the car. This should be covered by a safety recall.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 BMW X1, Manufacturer: BMW of North America, LLC
Incident: May 2023
Apr 2023

The contact owns a 2016 BMW X1. The contact stated while shifting into park (P), the contact became aware of a message to “Secure Vehicle with Parking Brake" displayed. The contact stated that she manually set the parking brake. The contact had taken the vehicle to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed and determined that the shifter assembly needed to be replaced. The contact was advised by the mechanic that the code for the failure was: 420106 (Selector lever locked in park). The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 140,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 BMW X1, Manufacturer: BMW of North America, LLC
Incident: Aug 2023
Mar 2023

Error code - Transmission: Secure vehicle with parking brake when stopped. Consult Service Center. I believe this should be a recall taken care of by BMW as it is extremely common among 2016 BMW X1 models.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 BMW X1, Manufacturer: BMW of North America, LLC
Incident: Mar 2023
Jan 2023

The contact owns a 2016 BMW X1. The contact stated that while parking the vehicle, a secure vehicle brake warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who informed the contact that the shift lock solenoid needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 67,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 BMW X1, Manufacturer: BMW of North America, LLC
Incident: Dec 2022
Oct 2022

transmission error - faulty gear selector

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 BMW X1, Manufacturer: BMW of North America, LLC
Incident: Oct 2022
Aug 2022

"Secure vehicle against rolling" light came on after parking. Will not turn off despite engaged parking brake.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 BMW X1, Manufacturer: BMW of North America, LLC
Incident: Aug 2022
Jul 2022

Transmission: Secure vehicle from rolling I just began getting this warning chime without an error code. However, when I search online there are hundreds of BMW X1 owners (2016) reporting the same issue. In addition, owners of Mini Coopers (Minis) which are built on the same chasis, with the same components as the BMW X1 also report this same issue. NTSA should issue a recall if this issue is as serious as BMW service says it is - that the car may not stay in PARK after the gear shift is put into park. However, BMW only covers this clearly design defect for up to 50,000 miles warranty. This should be a safety recall before someone's car that is not securely in PARK because of the defect accidentally rolls into a person or pedestrian.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 BMW X1, Manufacturer: BMW of North America, LLC
Incident: Jun 2022
Jun 2022

2016 BMW x1 has a key component (SHIFTER LINKAGE SPRING) and system failure per my local BMW dealer in Atlanta, Georgia -- it states: "Secure vehicle against rolling" when placing the vehicle in park -- even though the Parking Brake shows being engaged. The dealership agreed it is a common linkage spring issue that creates this safety issue however, they want to charge my family for a gear selector replacement. Everything still shifts completely fine in the car, the parking brake supposedly engages, and the car shifts into park fine however, know one at a dealership is able to validate that parking brake actually is engaged? That said, I live in a house that is on a hill and I park on the street each night....how in the world is this not addressed as a safety issue?

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 BMW X1, Manufacturer: BMW of North America, LLC
Incident: Jun 2022
Feb 2022

Vehicle reports to the driver, erroneously, that the vehicle is not in park and is in danger of rolling, when it is in fact in park. Many drivers are reporting this problem which stems from a defective part deep in the shifter assembly.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 BMW X1, Manufacturer: BMW of North America, LLC
Incident: Dec 2021

Trend Over Time

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Quick Summary

The 2016 BMW X1 has 29 Power Train complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.