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.
The vehicle's engine caught fire approximately 13 1/2 hours after last having been driven. I parked it in my driveway at 9pm on April 15, 2022. I was alerted to a fire in the engine by my neighbor at 10:30am on April 16, 2022. The entire engine was engulfed in flames, melting all of the plastic components. It burned through my hood and affected every part of the engine. We were able to get the fire out with a garden hose before it spread to the house and my parents' two other vehicles parked next to it. No one was burned while putting out the fire, but several neighbors and family members did breathe in the toxic smoke. 911 was called and the fire department confirmed the fire was out. The driveway under the vehicle has burn damage, but we haven't moved the vehicle yet to see the extent of it. The check engine light had been on since purchase. The vehicle had been maintained by a mechanic specializing in import motors. He was unable to determine the cause of the check engine alert, and said it was a problem that BMW has with several of their models of this era. The vehicle was only covered under liability insurance, so our insurance company has not required an inspection. It has not yet been inspected by a mechanic or any other entity. The vehicle is available for inspection if requested.
The contact owns a 2008 BMW 535I. The contact stated while driving at 30 mph, when warning message of "engine hot and drive moderately" was illuminated on the instructional panel. The contact was able to park on the side of the road and then saw smoke exiting the front passenger side of the hood. The contact was able to extinguish the fire with a bottle of water she had in hand. No fire or police report was filed. The contact was currently waiting to have the vehicle towed to her residence. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired as of yet. A dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer had not been informed of failure. The failure mileage was 138,000.
The contact owns a 2008 BMW 535xi. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the engine misfired the vehicle was taken to the local dealer BMW of columbia located at (1900 I70 dr. Sw, columbia mo) who diagnosed that the engine cylinder number 4 misfire was due to defective fuel injectors. The fuel injectors were replaced and the failure was remedied. The manufacturer was also notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 93,450.
I was driving home stopped at a red light, then turned green went to accelerate car took off and lost all power would not move pressing accelerator and 2 semi trucks coming real fast from cross traffic almost killed me light turned red for me and green for semi trailers with no time to exit car.
The contact owns a 2008 BMW 5351. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle shuddered without warning. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for diagnostic testing. The contact was informed of a misfire cylinder # 2. the vehicle was not repaired. An unknown dealer was contacted and stated the vehicle was not subjected to a recall. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 200,000.
- Sherwood, AR, USA
Search CarComplaints.com for these popular complaint phrases...
For over the past year, the (small) engine light has been repeatedly & constantly going on/off. I've had sensors, spark plugs, tubes & everything under the sun replaced and have taken (or towed in most cases) the car to many different auto repair shops for multiple quotes & repairs. The latest problem is the small engine light came on & the car was stuck in park and would not engage in drive or reverse. It wouldn't shift. After turning the car off and then on again, the engine light was completely gone & the car was fine to drive/reverse. After driving the car a few blocks, the engine malfunction/reduce speed light came on, the power was drastically reduced & I almost got hit by a dump truck. In 2008, I bought my BMW brand new because I wanted no car issues because I am not a mechanic. Every since I bought this car I have had nothing but repeated & different issues that no mechanic can identify. And it all started with the high-pressure fuel pump which was replaced three times (hpfp). After the third hpfp was replaced, and the car was in the shop literally for three months straight, I got a lawyer involved and BMW Corp apologized & said I could have a choice of: 1/ getting a different car that they picked out (a 535I not the xi I bought because of snow and ice conditions) 2/ they cut me a check for a few thousand and told me to shut up and I could never speak of what happened or be part of future lawsuits or class actions. I've never felt safe driving my 2008 BMW (116K miles on it over 12.5 years) every BMW owner that bought a BMW between the range of years knows exactly what I am talking about re: The constant and never-ending issues that all start with the hpfp & escalate from there. Repair shops can't fix the issues & BMW covers up. NHTSA hasn't done anything about this massive BMW issue affecting the vast majority of owners. Just google it!
Driving if freeway 65 mph, all the sudden car stalled lost power I drove it off the freeway the steering wheel was very hard to turn, try to startup the car did not start called aaa for tow truck after 15 min I start the car, start fined and no problem, to BMW usa made appointment with BMW dealer 4 days later was available for service, the day before my appointment, after dropped my daughter the car stalled in middle of the street cause bad traffic called tow truck again waited after 15 min started everything was fined but I tow it to BMW dealer to check it. Idrive should fuel pump once flashed. This is very dangerous.
The electric water pump failed. The system did not show any visible warning on the dashboard at time of failure even though the ECU registered a failure code internally when it detected that the pump had stopped working (as compared to mileage/timestamps from diagnostic codes at the time of failure). Some time later suddenly the system displayed an engine overheat warning and lost power in the middle of the road. Driving at about 35-40mph on a local highway.
Currently having issues with a wastegate rattle on turbos. Rough engine idle. Having multiple misfires, and stuck open fuel injectors. Causing tailpipes to excessively smoke (white color) while going into limp mode could not go past 20mph and surging. Issues happen when stationary and while driving. Had to get vehicle towed home. 'fuel injector recall 16E-A01 'hpfp recall- could not find number 'turbo recall- could not find number
BMW clearly states that this vehicle had a recall on the fuel injectors and related components and when the recall was completed it states that a emblem to mark completed is placed under the hood. Although, this is not on my vehicle nor does it show being completed on any type of information. BMW is very secretive about all issues on the vehicles that they manufacturer. In fact, most all BMW dealerships service departments do their very best too make you pay for non issues and will not repair what is really found to be the issue. If needed, I can give you at least two that I am very familiar with about this matter.
While driving, the car stopped accelerating and a transmission malfunction warning came up on. The fan on the engine also came on very loud and there was lots of exhausted coming out. I drove slowly to a shop. Once at the shop they stated they could not get the car to shift into gear. They did diagnostics on it and said it was a shift module that needed replaced, I had it replaced and it did not fix the problem. They then said it needed a reset that could only be done at the BMW dealership. BMW performed the reset and that did not fix the problem. BMW diagnosed that the transmission pump was out and a $9K transmission needed to be replaced. The car continues to not be drivable, not stay in gear. It has also started spitting out milky substance from the exhaust like the coolant is leaking into engine. In addition the paint on the hood and roof of the car has become dull for no apparent reason, like it has reacted to a high amount of heat from the engine. A car with only 132,000 miles on it should not need a transmission replaced and the paint should not be wearing like it is. There was coolant recall on all models except the 535I, this coolant problem could have been what caused the transmission to go out very prematurely. The car is now not drivable, will not stay in gear. I believe there is something wrong with the car that is due to a failure or malfunction of the car itself and not wear.
Engine malfunction-driving with reduced power notice. Have previously been told that "service engine" light and shaking and stalling during acceleration was due to ignition coils. I have had those replaced and after replacing those the water pump failed and left me stranded on interstate....vehicle shut down while driving 70 mph. Was able to coast to safety. Now engine malfunction. From looking at recall information it appears that I should have been notified to issues with water pump and replacement but was never contacted. BMW should be held accountable to customer who paid for service that was obviously not the real issue.
My car is stalling while I'm driving. " engine malfunction reduce power " the code is ( P 3090 ).. it's very unsafe. I don't have power to move it to the side of the road safely.. I drive mainly interstates I 75 and I475 to macon Georgia.
The contact owns a 2008 BMW 535xi. While driving approximately 60 mph, the vehicle overheating warning indicator illuminated. The vehicle stalled without warning. The contact pulled over and the vehicle was restarted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the electric water pump failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 135,000.
The contact owns a 2008 BMW 535xi. While driving 50 mph, the vehicle lost power and overheated. In addition "please shut engine off due to overheating " was displayed across the message board. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the fuel pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 60,000.
The contact owns a 2008 BMW model 535I. While driving 50 mph, an unknown warning light illuminated and indicated that the vehicle was overheating. In addition, the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 11V521000 (engine and engine cooling). The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 101,000.
The vehicle overheated due to water pump failure. The vehicle was towed to a BMW dealership and the water pump and thermostat were replaced. Some BMW 5-series water pumps have been recalled.
While driving at 45 mph, yellow warning light indicating the car was overheating came on. A few seconds later the light turned red and indicated to stop the vehicle and shut the engine off. Vehicle lost all power and I came to a stop. It was towed to the shop and I was informed that the water pump and thermostat needed to be replaced adding that it was a common failure in the BMW. Vehicle had recently been serviced at BMW dealer.
Car over heated and I called a mechanic and he told me the electric water pumps go out on them at around 100,000 miles. He told me how to trouble shoot the issue and it is the pump. Wonder if there is a recall for this...
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Stanwood, WA, USA