There are 14 owner-reported engine complaints for the 2004 BMW 5 Seriesin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
SMELL BURNING OR EXHAUSTE FUME IN THE CABIN DURING THE FIRST TWO MILES OF DRIVING THE CAR!
VALVE COVER GASKET LEAK, TIMING CHAIN COVER GASKET LEAK, VALVE STEM LEAK.
I CAME BACK FROM MY SUMMER HOLIDAY, AND RESTARTED MY CAR. A LOT OF WARNINGS APPEARS ON THE ODOMETER. ABOUT ENGINE, AIRBAGS, STEERING, TIRE PRESSURE, AND SEAT BELT. (I HAVE CHECKED THE TIRE PRESSURE, IT IS NORMAL. AND I ALWAYS LOCK THE SEAT BELT BEFORE DRIVING). IN ADDITION, THE NAVIGATION SCREEN AND RADIO DIED. FURTHERMORE, THE CAR LOSE ELECTRICITY AFTER IT SHUTS DOWN. AFTER MORE THAN 3 HOURS OF SHUT DOWN, IT WON'T HAVE ENOUGH POWER TO RE-IGNITE. I CHECK ON NHTSA WEBSITE THAT THERE ARE THREE RECALL ISSUES THAT MY CAR WAS INCLUDED, AND RELATED TO THE ISSUES I AM REPORTING RIGHT NOW. ABOUT AIR BAGS (08V384000), ENGINE (12E029000), AND ELECTRICAL SYSTEM (12V126000). BUT I CANNOT FIND OUT ANY INFORMATION BY MY VIN NUMBER ON NHTSA. IT IS A USED CAR, I AM NOT SURE WHETHER THE FORMER USER RESPONDED THE RECALL BEFORE. EVEN IF THIS CAR WAS RECALLED BEFORE, I DON'T KNOW WHETHER IT WAS FIXED PROPERLY, AND THE SIMILAR ISSUES WOULD NOT HAPPEN AGAIN.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 BMW 545I. WHILE DRIVING 65 MPH, THE VEHICLE OVERHEATED. THE CONTACT STATED STATED THAT THE PUMP COOL PIPE WAS MAKING THE VEHICLE OVERHEAT. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS DIAGNOSED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 140,000.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 BMW 545I. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE AT A COMPLETE STOP, HE ATTEMPTED TO ACCELERATE AND A LARGE CLOUD OF SMOKE EMITTED FROM THE EXHAUST. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHERE IT WAS FOUND THAT THE VALVE STEM SEALS HAD FAILED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED ABOUT THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 94,000.
DEALER IS TELLING ME A NEW TRANSMISSION IS NEEDED.
SINCE 2012, THE NIGHTMARES BEGIN WITH TRYING TO GET MY 525I SMOGGED, FROM WEBER BMW FRESNO UNDER A WHOOPING $500.00. EVERY TIME THE SMOG IS DUE WHICH IS EVER 2-YRS THE SERVICE ENGINE LIGHT COMES ON.... AND BMW GIVES YOU THE CODE YOU REPLACE WHAT THE CODE SAYS AND THEN GUESS WHAT THE LIGHT COMES BACK ON THEY KEEP CHARGING YOU A DIAGNOSTICS CHARGE OF $130.00 EACH TIME AND WHEN YOU GET TO $500.00 THEY NOW KNOW WHAT THE PROBLEM IS WHICH WILL COST YOU AROUND $1000.00 OR SO. BMW GAVE HIM A CODE FOR $130.00, HE MADE THE REPAIR BASED ON THEIR INFORMATION AND GUESS WHAT IT DIDN'T PASS SMOG. SO, MY MECHANIC TOOK IT BACK, SERVICE ADVISER NOT IN WHO HANDLED THE CAR THE FIRST TIME SO THEIR IS ANOTHER DIAGNOSTICS FEE OF $130.00, MY MECHANIC TELLS THEM FINE JUST SMOG IT. WELL IT'S BEEN TWO WEEKS WITH THE BMW SERVICE CENTER, THEY CLAIM TO NOT KNOW WHAT THE PROBLEM IS BUT THEY NEED AUTHORIZATION NOW FOR ADDITIONAL DIAGNOSTICS WHICH WOULD BRING THE TOTAL TO $520.00, AND YOU GUESSED IT THE CAR STILL HASN'T PASSED SMOG. I CALLED TO SPEAK TO THE SERVICE MANGER ON 2/11, FOR ASSISTANCE AND OF COURSE HE IS GOING TO LOOK INTO IT AND CALL ME BACK. MY MECHANIC SAYS HE WAS LAST INFORMED THIS SAME THING BY THE SERVICE MANAGER BUT THE SERVICE ADVISER SAID HE WOULD NEED AUTHORIZATION TO PROCEED WITH THE CHARGE OF $520.00 IN ORDER TO DO ANOTHER DIAGNOSTICS?? ...WHEN IN FACT ALL THEY DO IS RAKE UP FALSE CHARGES AND CODES BASED ON THE MILEAGE OF YOUR VEHICLE, YOU CAN FORGET THE FACT THAT YOU KEEP UP THE MAINTENANCE ON YOUR VEHICLE, IT WON'T MATTER WHEN THE TIME COMES TO GET YOUR VEHICLE SMOG BE PREPARED TO BE SCAMMED BY WEBER BMW IN FRESNO.
IN JULY MY CAR WAS SHORT OF OIL AND THE FOLLOWING PARTS WERE REPLACED CYCLONE SEPLERATOR WITH UPDATED KIT AND REPLACED SEPARATOR WITH UPDATED PARTS INCLUDING DIPSTICK TUBE. HAD OIL CHANGED ON 9/16/11, ON ROAD AT 2:00 A.M. IN THE MORNING AND THE OIL LEVEL LOW LIGHT CAME ON AGAIN. HAD TO PULL OFF THE ROAD FOR FEAR OF PERM. DAMAGE TO ENGINE. IN TOWN WHERE THERE WERE NO STORES OPEN TO BUY OIL,I THOUGH THE OIL LEAKAGE SITUATION WAS TAKEN CARE OF. ADDED 1.5 QUARTS OF OIL, RETURNED HOME TO TAKE IT BACK TO DEALER WITH THE MILEAGE 69731 AND IT WAS A QUART SHORT. THEY STATED THERE WERE NO LEAKS AND I WAS INFORMED PER SIB 110584 1 QUART OF OIL IS ALLOWED TO BE CONSUMED PER 750 MILES. I INFORMED THE DEALER THIS CAR NEVER CONSUMED OIL BEFORE. HAD I KNOWN THAT IT CONSUMED OIL I WOULD NOT HAVE PAID 1308.00 TO REPLACE THE PARTS. I WOULD HAVE TRADED THE CAR. VERY DISAPPOINTED AND THIS COULD BE DANGEROUS. *TR
2004 BMW 530I. CONSUMER STATES ENGINE ABRUPTLY STOPPED RUNNING WHICH IN TURN, SHUT DOWN THE POWER STEERING AND POWER BRAKES *TGW THE MECHANIC STATED THE OIL LEVEL SENSOR HAD SHORT-CIRCUITED INTERNALLY AND THE SENSOR WAS INSTALLED ON THE SAME CIRCUIT AS THE FUEL INJECTORS, SO THE POWER TO THE FUEL INJECTORS WAS ABRUPTLY CUT OFF AND THE MOTOR FAILED. *JB
2004 BMW 530I WITH ONLY 54,000 MILES (6 YRS OF OWNERSHIP) - ON SUNDAY MORNING, MY ENGINE WON'T START ON 1/31/2010 ALL OF SUDDEN. - CALLED AAA FOR BATTERY CHECK AND JUMP START BUT IT WAS NOT A BATTERY ISSUE PER AAA. - TOWED MY CAR TO MY BMW DEALER FOR CHECK UP - BMW DEALER CHECKED AND TOLD ME MY ENGINE IS DEAD AND NEED TO REPLACE IT WITH A NEW ENGINE. IT WOULD COST $13,000 (THIS IS RIDICULOUS.) - I TOLD THEM IT MUST BE ENGINE DEFECT AND CHECK THIS FOR ME AND TELL BMW HQ - MY DEALER CHECKED MY MAINTENANCE RECORD WITH THEM AND THEY ARE TRYING HELP AND FIND OUT WHAT WAS THE ISSUE WITH THE ENGINE. THEY DON'T UNDERSTAND EITHER. - DEALER IS STILL TRYING TO FIND OUT WHY MY ENGINE DIED WITH A GOOD MAINTENANCE RECORD AND ONLY 54,000 MILES (NO FLOOD INVOLVED) - DEALER IS TRYING TO REPORT TO BMW HQ WITH THEIR FINDING IF BMW HQ IS WILLING TO HELP. NO UPDATE FROM BMW DEALER YET. NOT SURE IF BMW HQ IS WILLING TO HELP. - PLEASE KINDLY INVESTIGATE THIS BMW ENGINE FAILURE DEFECT ISSUE BECAUSE YOU DON'T EXPECT TO BUY A CAR THAT CAN LAST ONLY 54,000 MILES (6 YRS). THIS IS CRAZY! - MY FRIEND HAS 3 SERIES BMW AND HE TOLD ME HIS ENGINE STOPS MULTIPLE TIMES ALMOST EVERYDAY. BMW ENGINE HAS A MAJOR ISSUE. *TR
BMW X5 ACCELERATOR FAILED TO RESPOND AFTER STOP AT TRAFFIC LIGHTS. IT MOVED FORWARD SLOWLY FOR ABOUT 20 YDS. BEFORE DECIDING TO ENGAGE...THIS HAPPENED THREE TIMES, CONSECUTIVELY, AT THE END OF DRIVE HOME. AROUND NOON ON TUESDAY OCTOBER 14, 2008. THE DAY BEFORE THE INTERNAL DOOR LOCK BUTTON FAILED TO FUNCTION. CALLED BMW DEALERSHIP AND HAD IT TOWED. BMW CONTINUE TO TEST BUT WAS INFORMED LAST EVENING THAT THERE APPEARED TO BE NOTHING WRONG WITH VEHICLE ACCORDING TO THE COMPUTER! THIS IS A MAJOR SAFETY ISSUE AND BMW [CENTRAL] HAVE NOT BEEN SUPPORTIVE SO FAR. I HAVE ASKED THAT THE CAR BE FIXED AND THAT I BE SUPPLIED WITH A LOANER UNTIL THEN. *TR
FOR THREE YEARS BLUE SMOKE OCCASIONALLY COMES FROM EXHAUST IN SPITE OF MAJOR ENGINE REPAIR. ELECTRICAL PROBLEM FOR 1 AND 1/2 YEARS RESULTS IN CAR NOT STARTING HAS BEEN IN FOR REPAIRS 4 TIMES. *TR
ENGINE TAPPING/KNOCKING ON FIRST DRIVE OF DAY. 8 SERVICE VISITS. SERVICE BY BMW CONFIRMED "NOISE IS NOT NORMAL." ESCALATED TO BMW NA 3 TIMES. FIRST SERVICED UNDER BMW ORIGINAL WARRANTY. BMW CLAIMS JUST A NOISY ENGINE BY DESIGN. EVEN THOUGH BMW CLAIMED IT WAS NORMAL, BMW COULD NOT TELL ME WHAT IT WAS OR COMING FROM. BMW IS NOT COMPLIANT IN PERFORMING UNDER THE NEW CAR WARRANTY. *TR
THIS 2004 BMW 545I CAR HAS A PROBLEM WHICH CAUSES EMISSIONS WARNING LIGHT TO COME ON FREQUENTLY AND THE SUBSEQUENT FUEL MILEAGE TO BE REDUCED IN HALF. THE DEALERSHIP IS UNABLE TO PERMANENTLY FIX THE PROBLEM -EACH ATTEMPT TO FIX THE PROBLEM LASTS FOR ONLY ABOUT ONE MONTH. IT AS BEEN TO THE DEALER APPROXIMATELY 8 TIMES FOR THIS CONDITION AND IS CLEARLY HARMING THE ENVIRONMENT. I HAVE ALSO BEEN IN CONTACT WITH THE REGIONAL OFFICE AND THEY ARE OF NO HELP. *TR
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 26, 2026