This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
My serpentine belt broke causing my car to shut down. Apparently only BMW-??s have a terrible design that the belt gets sucked into the engine and then the engine is gone. No other cars have this design. There are thousands of this model vehicle that are dead cars being sold online. This seems to be a problem
The contact owns a 2006 BMW 530i. The contact stated while driving approximately 15 MPH, the vehicle started smoking from the engine and steering wheel. There was no fire in the vehicle. The check engine light illuminated on the instrument panel. The contact pulled over safely to the side of the road. The vehicle was cooled down and then was driven to an independent mechanic who was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the failure persisted. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 2,000.
My airbag light came on for no reason one day and will not go off I initially got a recall paper for it but was unable to take it to the shop I van no longer find the paper but the transmission is trash
The contact owns a 2006 BMW 5 series. The contact stated that the vehicle leaked oil and the brakes failed while driving at low speeds. The brakes worked normally when applied at high speeds. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that a new power brake booster and vacuum pump needed to be installed. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and did not assist. The dealer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 104,932.
"takata recall" the car overheat, the dashboard show safety belt malfunction, when push the gas pedal sometimes jump, the car smell gasoline all he time, all the time show low limits of oil but the level of oil is correct.
The passenger seat airbag malfunctioned casing the seat to have to be removed and sensor replaced. There was a recall on this but my car, and 2 of my friends cars were not included on the recall, my friends were charged by the dealership. My engine leaks oil onto the exhaust manifold causing smoke in the cab and potential fire hazard. On every bm I have ever owned the radiator leaks fluid which is environmentally hazardous and should have been recalled.
My car has been leaking engine oil for about three months. After I had it checked, I was told that one bolt on the engine was broken. I found that the same problem happened common. I think BMW should solve this problem through recall, because this problem is a manufacture defect.
During a BMW sponsored vehicle inspection I was informed that one of my valve cover bolts was broken and oil was leading on the engine (fire hazard). The BMW mechanic stated this was a common problem with the 530 series as the manufactured used aluminum bolts to reduce weight on the vehicle. The aluminum bolts snap/break due to heat. This is a possible fire hazard and the aluminum valve cover bolts should be recalled and replaced by BMW.
Head bolts to the engine are made of aluminum. These bolt the upper portion of the head gasket. This is a known problem. At least 1 aluminum cylinder head bolt is broken and there may be 3 more broken in my car. It is a known issue with this E61 touring vehicle. BMW has designed an aluminum head bolt that is known to break at the tensions they specify in their manuals when they created the car. Currently, unless the broken bolt pieces are recovered the engine may have complete failure while driving and cause an accident. In order to replace the broken bolt, the dealer must check the 3 additional bolts and recover the broken bolt piece somewhere in the engine and this requires a minimum of 7 hours of labor plus there needs to be a new head gasket because the valve cover must be removed to retrieve/view the head bolts. $3800 at an independent dealer for a known defect by BMW.
The 2006 BMW 5 series used aluminum head and valve cover bolts which were over-torqued during assembly and break after approximately 80K. BMW admits this problem exists but refuses to issue a recall. BMW's repair cost is ~$6000. These bolts are non serviceable and should never be removed, when broken they cause massive oil leaks and possibly fire. I contacted BMW, they requested to review the car. BMW agreed that the bolts were broken then refused to fix the problem claiming the car has too many miles. BMW knew the mileage when they requested to review the problem... why waste my time if they knew they were going to do nothing? my vehicle now losses approximately 1-2 quarts of oil per 100 miles. I am chagrined that BMW will not admit their manufacturing defect. I have maintained this car with care and other than the oil leak from the broken bolts the car is in perfect condition - but is no longer drivable.
I have a 2006 BMW 530I that has been leaking oil for 3 years. I have had work done on the car from an authorized BMW shop and the leak was not fixed. I have had excessive oil consumption to where I have had to either put oil in the car myself because it was at the minimum level, or take it in to the dealership (if I'm in the area) for them to top it off. I have taken my car back to the dealership 4 different times and they have told me that they could not find an oil leak. Recently I took my car in for an oil change and they told me I had a leak in 3 different places. Since I have been told different scenarios, I escalated the issue to higher management and asked for an answer as to why two different mechanics at a dealership that specialize in the "ultimate driving machine" gave me three different diagnostics. They then told me that my car has a broken bolt which is common for this model, but refuse to rectify the situation and the vehicle is under extended warranty and neither will pay the cost.
I bought the car it had an oil leak, radiator leak, developed an air bag malfunction, the engine stopped running, tar is accumulating on top of the sunroof every time I open it, the heater fan makes noise, the transmission makes noise after four attempts it is still leaking oil. All of my friends who own BMW's have also had air bag malfunctions. None were part of the recall, all paid $1,300 to have it fixed. BMW should have recalled all of them. The purpose of recalling some is to avoid a total recall. They are building their cars with inferior parts so that they do not last for more than 60,0000 before major problems occur. One of my friends has spent over $10,000 on repairs to his 2004 X3.
The aluminum head bolt near the oil filter has sheared off causing a substantial oil leak in the same area as the sheared off bolt. I have contacted the BMW dealership about the issue and they admitted that this is a common issue with the N52 engines. This is the second time in 3 years that the aluminum bolts have failed. The first time resulted in a new valve cover and gaskets. The recent china BMW bolt defect recall (www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-04-02/BMW-to-recall-232-098-vehicles-in-china-for-bolt-defect.html) seems to have the same bolt defect as the N52 engines. I expect there shall be a recall for this defect.
I bought a used BMW from long island auto find. Before picking it up I told nick certain things needed to be done there was a drafty sound coming from the moon roof the center rims were corroded, bolts were missing from the valve cover. I was called three days in a row by nick who claimed everything was done and the car was ready to be picked up. When I got the re not only was the battery dead, nothing on my list was done! I have since had the car 5 month and I has been in the shop 5 weeks so far. Passenger side air bag malfunctioned and needed to be replaced. There was an oil leak that caused my eyes to water and leaves a funny taste in my mouth. This took three different attempts to fix. The car moves from side to side at 65 mph. The car just died while taking my wife to work. I brought it to the shop it did it on the mechanic but he could not determine the cause. He said it was safe to take to Florida which is the reason I bought it. It stalled in Florida while entering an intersection then again in Delaware at 3:30 in the morning and 13 degrees! and again on the bqe as three lanes of traffic merged into one.I have 2 friends with the same car they were charged $1300 to fix the "air bag malfunction"everyone should be reimbursed. I am told the gaskets become brittle and leak. All of these issue's should be part of a recall.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Costa Mesa, CA, USA