10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 1 / 0
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 0 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 40,400 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.
On 11/10/21 I was advised by Long Beach BMW (Long Beach, CA) that my car needs a new engine. The car smells of gas (both when running and when sitting) and burns excessive amounts of oil. The car requires a quart of oil every 200 - 400 miles. The first engine was replaced after only 77,000 miles because the car was stalling unexpectedly. Now, the current engine needs to be replaced after only 51,000 miles because the car smells of gas (likely because the fuel injection system is not working properly) and because it is burning excessive amounts of oil. BMW expects me to cover the cost of a new engine even thought there is an obvious defect. I contacted BMW of North America and they offered to take the car back & give me $2000 toward a new car. There is currently a recall because of engines at risk of blowing up but for some reason, my car does not appear to be part of that recall. https://abcnews.go.com/amp/US/wireStory/bmw-recalls-vehicles-3rd-time-due-engine-fire-83338862 BMW has been notified of the defects with this car and has diagnosed the defective engine but refuses to replace the engine at their cost as part of the current recall. Instead, the car remains a hazard at risk of catching fire. BMW's negligence is placing me, my family & other travelers at risk of harm or death because they know of the problem & will not address it. This is the 2nd complaint that I've sent to the NHTSA (the first on 9/13/21) and now there is a recall & so the NHTSA is aware of the problem as well.
- Signal Hill, CA, USA
On Sunday 12/03 I suddenly heard a knocking noise while accelerating and immediately reached the dealership to have the car checked. The diagnosis I received is that there has been a fatal failure of bearing that cause the engine to get damaged and in need to be replaced. I looked up on the web and found out that in 2014 BMW had a worldwide recall of 2010 5 series models for a defect in the engine which would have generated the same failure I have experience, suddenly, on Sunday. My car was never recalled, but the failure mode and the year of the model are strikingly similar. The recall I am referencing is 14V-176 for the vanos. The affected 5 series models were produced between February 2010 ' August 2011. My 5 series was manufactured on October 2009, therefore not included in the recall. However the failure is identical to the one described by the recall and I feel that the recall should have been more inclusive. My 535 had 130 K miles, which do not warrant such a drastic failure, especially since has been diligently serviced by the dealership service. Last oil change had still 9000 miles to spare and when they replaced the filter nothing was noticed. Such a drastic and rapid failure it is not otherwise explainable.
- Livermore, CA, USA
Lost of power while driving, 2 incident: Bad vibrations while at a idle.
- Washington, DC, USA
From a very slow roll there is a delay in engine response of 1-2 seconds. There is also a delay in engine response in the 10-30 mph range of the same length of time. The slow roll event can cause confusion to other drivers who believe you are yielding the right away when you do not accelerate in a timely manner going forward or making a turning movement. There is the possibility of an accident if a pedestrian, bicyclist or another car takes the delay as a sign that they have the right of way. The delayed engine response in the 10-30 mph range is of great concern when attempting to merge onto a freeway from a short on-ramp in moderate traffic. The engine response delay is very pronounced under hard throttle and has caused heavy braking by cars unsure if I'm going to be at speed when merging.
- Santa Cruz, CA, USA
- Joliet , IL, USA