10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
63,546 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.

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problem #12

Jan 182023

530

  • 156,000 miles
The contact owns a 2006 BMW 530I. The contact received notification of the NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V119000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The local dealer was notified of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact stated that on multiple occasions while the vehicle was idling, the vehicle lunged forward with the check engine warning light intermittently illuminated. The contact stated that a certified mechanic inspected the vehicle and determined that an O2 sensor, coil, and other unknown failures were affected by the recall. Additionally, the contact stated that she had to add a quart of oil every 400 miles. The contact also noticed a burning odor throughout the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 156,000.

- Montgomery Village, MD, USA

problem #11

Dec 122022

530

  • miles
The contact owns a 2006 BMW 530I. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V119000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was made aware of the issue. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

- Seaford, DE, USA

problem #10

Jul 132022

530

  • miles
The contact owns a 2006 BMW 530XI. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V119000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer had not been made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

- Little Falls, NJ, USA

problem #9

Jul 082022

530

  • miles
The contact owns a 2006 BMW 530XI. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V119000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The dealer was made aware of the issue. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

- Sacramento, CA, USA

problem #8

Jan 012008

530

  • 43,000 miles
The contact owns a 2006 BMW 530i. The contact stated that while driving, the engine temperature was extremely hot. While the vehicle was parked inside the garage, the cooling fan continued to run. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the heat pump and thermostat were placed. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V119000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. VIN tool confirms parts not available. The failure mileage was approximately 43,000.

- Laguna Niguel, CA, USA

problem #7

Apr 272022

530

  • 100,000 miles
The contact owns a 2006 BMW 530i. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V273000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) and 22V119000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the parts to do the recall repairs were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repairs. The contact stated that air bag and seat belt warning lights were illuminated. the contact took the vehicle to the dealer and was informed that air bag and seat belt needed to be repaired. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage 100,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

- Bakersfield, CA, USA

problem #6

Dec 252021

530

  • 217,000 miles
The contact owns a 2006 BMW 530i. The contact stated upon coming to a complete stop, the vehicle would shudder significantly. Additionally, the contact stated that the engine was misfiring while driving. The transmission warning light and another unknown warning light illuminated. The contact stated that upon parking the vehicle in the driveway, he smelled a strong burning plastic odor. The contact turned off the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact later received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V119000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was not contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 217,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

- Charlotte, NC, USA

problem #5

Apr 282022

530

  • miles
The contact owns a 2006 BMW 530i. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 MPH, the vehicle was smoking and came to a complete stop. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the residence and then to a local dealer. The dealer diagnosed the vehicle with engine and transmission failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V119000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The failure mileage was unknown.

- Las Vegas, NV, USA

problem #4

Jul 112021

530

  • 150,000 miles
The contact owns a 2006 BMW 530i. The contact stated while driving at approximately 65 MPH, the contact observed an unspecified "yellow" warning light on the dash and heard a small explosion sound issue from the engine compartment. The contact stated that smoke began to come out from under the hood. The contact turned the vehicle off and set the transmission to "neutral" coasted off the roadway onto the left shoulder and stopped. The vehicle was on fire in the engine compartment. The contact extinguished the flames with a fire extinguisher. The contact had the vehicle towed to his residence. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a dealer or an independent mechanic. The contact received a recall letter and related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V119000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 150,000.

- Lorton, VA, USA

problem #3

Mar 282022

530

  • 8,000 miles
The contact owns a 2006 BMW 530i. The contact stated upon taking the vehicle to an independent mechanic to be serviced, he was informed that the VIN was included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V119000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact stated that the vehicle had experienced excessive oil consumption. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The low engine oil pressure warning light was illuminated. The failure mileage was approximately 8,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

- Winston Salem, NC, USA

problem #2

Jun 292011

530 6-cyl

  • 85,047 miles
I had a recent problem with our 525I. I was driving it and it lost power/died. When the vehicle died, I lost power steering and power brakes. The car would not restart and no error lights or messages were displayed on the idrive. I had the car towed home. After the initial check of the vehicle, it showed the crank sensor fault. I noticed a bunch of metal throw off in the oil filter and the vehicle did not have compression in cylinder 2 and 6. I was thinking catastrophic engine failure. Since I am very familiar with american/Japanese vehicles, I decided to look into the problem myself after getting no response from bmwna. The car is out of warranty with 85K miles. The metal throw off was due to the timing chain jumping off of the exhaust cam gear and grinding against the back of it. The cause of the problem was the two aluminum screws under the cam shaft gears. Both heads were broken off and one made its way up the chain getting caught in the chain and gear. These screws are aluminum. I don't know if this is a common problem but for the bolts to break it would be due over torqued/tighten bolts or extreme pressure from expanding/contracting of the magnesium vs aluminum. The other broken bolt head is still some where in the bottom of the oil pan. The exhaust cam gear was chewed up, but still serviceable. I re-timed the car and checked the compression. I got lucky and compression is good so no bent valves. I disassemble everything and now I patiently waiting for several parts. However, I'm still dealing with the broken head that is some where in the oil pan. This is a serious manufactures defect and I have retained all of the parts and including the oil.

- Stockton, CA, USA

problem #1

Nov 012005

530 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 3,500 miles
Since purchasing the vehicle (10/12/2005) the vehicle alerts us that the oil level is low - do not continue to operate vehicle. The car was serviced each time the problem occurred by South bay BMW. Reprogramming, sensors and oil consumption tests have been done; however, whatever repairs are done, the problem recurs.

- Torrance, CA, USA