There are 19 owner-reported steering complaints for the 2004 BMW 5 Seriesin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNED A 2004 BMW 530I. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING 40 MPH, WHEN THE STEERING WHEEL BECAME DIFFICULT TO TURN AND THE FRONT PASSENGER SIDE AXEL SEPARATED FROM THE BODY WHICH RESULTED IN THE CONTACT CRASHING THE VEHICLE. CONTACT STATED ALL AIR BAGS DEPLOYED AND A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THERE WAS A LOUD POP BEFORE THE FAILURE OCCURRED. 1 PERSON WAS INJURED WHICH RESULTED IN BACK SORENESS, NO MEDICAL TREATMENT WAS NEEDED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO MOBILE MAINTENANCE & TOWING LLC (2014 W GARDNER LN, TUCSON, AZ 85705 (520) 900-1196) THE VEHICLE WAS DESTROYED. UPON INVESTIGATION, THE CONTACT ASSOCIATED THE FAILURE WITH, NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 19E058000 (STEERING) HOWEVER THE VIN WAS NOT INCLUDED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT INFORMED OF FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 190,000.
DYNAMIC STEERING MALFUNCTION CAUSING HAZARDOUS DRIVING CONDITIONS AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS
ACTIVE STEERING MALFUNCTION, STEERING WHEEL NOT CENTERED
TAKADA RECALL. MY CAR'S MAKE CRACKING NOISE OR GROANED NOISES AS SOME OTHER E60 OWNERS DESCRIBED. THE NOISES SOUNDED AS THE CAR START ROLLING AT LOW SPEED WHETHER GO STRAIGHT OR TURN A LITTLE TO LEFT OR RIGHT. IT'S HAPPENED EVERY TIME. THE AIRBAG LIGHT COME ON DURING DRIVE AND IT IS OFF WHEN I SHUT OFF THE ENGINE. THE NEXT TIME I START THE CAR IS STILL REMAIN STAYED ON, AND IT'S GOES OFF DURING DRIVE. THE STEERING WHEEL SEEMS NOT FIRM UNLIKE E39 IS MORE FIRM. I FOUND A FORUM WHERE THE E60 OWNERS HAD SIMILAR PROBLEM AND THE DEALER SOLVED THE PROBLEMS I MENTIONED ABOVE BY JUST REPLACE THE TAKATA AIRBAG AND MAYBE AN UPDATE OF SOFTWARE INVOLVED. IN CONCLUSION TO MY COMPLAINT REGARDING TAKADA AIRBAG THE BMW SHOULD OPEN A RECALL FOR MY CAR OR ADD MY CAR TO THE RECALL LIST AS IT'S NOT SAFE FOR ME AND MY FAMILY. PLEASE HELP, THANK YOU.
WHILE DRIVING SUDDENLY THE DRIVE CONTROL MALFUNCTION ALERT APPEARED, A FEW SECONDS LATER, ACTIVE STEERING MALFUNCTION ALERT OCCURRED. IT DID NOT AFFECT MY DRIVING AT ALL, SO I CONTINUED UNTIL ABLE TO PULL OVER, AND TURN THE CAR OFF, WHEN I RESTARTED THE CAR, BOTH ALERTS CLEARED. NEXT DAY, AFTER DRIVING FOR 20 MINUTES IT HAPPENED AGAIN, ONCE CAR IS TURNED OFF AND TURNED BACK ON, ALERTS DISAPPEARED AGAIN. SOME DAYS DOES NOT COME ON AT ALL, BUT NOTICED IT OCCURS MORE FREQUENT WHEN WEATHER IS HOT. I LIVE IN PHOENIX, AZ THE TEMPS ARE IN 105-109 RANGE. WHEN COOLER WEATHER THE ALERTS DO NOT COME ON. I AM TOLD IT WILL COST OVER $2000 TO REPLACE BOTH SENSORS. THAT IS NUTS... *TR
ON BMW WITH THE N62 4.4L V8 ENGINE THERE'S AN OIL LEAK ON THE ALTERNATOR BRACKET THAT LEAKS FOR A WHILE UNTIL IT IS INSPECTED AND FOUND IT LEAKS OIL ON THE STEERING COMPONENTS I THINK CAUSING THE STEERING COMPONENTS TO DETERIORATE AFTER A WHILE CAUSING A SAFETY ISSUE. THE OIL LEAK EVENTUALLY HAPPENS TO ALL N62 4.4L V8 ENGINES. *TR
THE BATTERY DIED SO I GOT A NEW ONE. AFTER REINSTALLING IT, ALL THE DASH LIGHTS CAME ON. THE ACTIVE STEERING CAME ON ALSO. AFTER DRIVING THE CAR OFF THE LOT, I REALIZED MY STEERING WHEEL WAS TURNED TO THE LEFT BUT I WAS GOING STRAIGHT. NOW I CAN'T FIGURE OUT HOW TO FIX THIS ISSUE. *JS
THE ACTIVE STEERING FAULT CODE COMES ON AND STATES YOUR ACTIVE STEERING MAY NOT BE FUNCTIONING. *TR
WENT TO START CAR AFTER A 5 MINUTE DRIVE. STEERING WHEEL LOCKED, NO SOUND, IGNITION NOT WORKING. HAD TO HAVE CAR TOWED. BMW IS SAYING IT NEEDS A NEW STEERING COLUMN, IGNITION SWITCH, TO THE TUNE OF $3300! THE CAR IS A 2004 BMW 525I. SOUNDS LIKE THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM. *TR
ACTIVE STEERING FAULT LIGHT AND THE PASSENGER RESTRAINING SYSTEM LIGHTS COME ON AFTER CAR PARKED FOR OVER A WEEK DURING A TRIP OUT. SEVERAL FORUMS HAVE INDICATED SIMILAR FAILURE WITH EXCESSIVE REPAIR COSTS FROM DEALER. *TR
THE ACTIVE STEERING MALFUNTION LIGHT CAME ON AND THE STEERING WHEEL TURNED APROX. 30 DEG OFF CENTER. THE CAR DRIVES FINE BUT THE WHEEL IS STUCK 30 DEG OFF CENTER. *TR
I OWNED A 2004 BMW 525I E60 HAD "ACTIVE STEERING FAULT CAME ON AT ALL TIME .THE DEALER WANTS 4000USD TO FIX THE PROBLEM BUT THE STEERING CONTROL IS FINE . I BELIEVE THIS ISSUE HAD RELATED TO STEERING ANGLE SENSOR DEFECTIVE FROM BMW FACTORY AND DEALERS IN US DID NOT WANT TO FIX THIS MANUFACTURING DEFECTS. THIS PROBLEMS HAD HAPPENED TO ALL BMW'S . ALL OVER THE BLOGS .CUSTOMERS HAD FILED A COMPLAINT ABOUT THIS ISSUE. PLEASE LOOKING INTO THIS PROBLEM(S). *TR
ACTIVE STEERING FAILURE: HI, I'VE A 2004 BMW 530I AND MY ACTIVE STEERING KEEPS FAILING AND DEALER IS ASKING FOR $4,000 PLUS. I CHECKED ON INTERNET AND FOUND THIS TO A COMMON ISSUE WITH MOST OF THE BMWS. PLEASE INVESTIGATE THIS AS IT IS A SERIOUS FLAW IN DESIGN AND CONSUMERS HAVE TO SHED $4K PLUS AND ITS STILL NOT A GUARANTEED FIX. *TR
ACTIVE STEERING PROBLEM. *TR
2 WEEK AGO MY VEHICLE DISPLAY " ACTIVE STEERING MALFUNCTION " AND STILL DISPLAYS IT I HAVE NOT FIXED THE PROBLEM YET SINCE I HEAR SO MANY DIFERENT THINGS . *TR
BMW 2004 545I ACTIVE STEERING PROBLEM. MY STEERING WHEEL SUDDENLY SHIFTED TO THE RIGHT. THE ACTIVE STEERING LIGHT WENT ON. NOW THE CAR DRIVES STRAIGHT WITH THE STEERING WHEEL TILTED TO THE RIGHT. THIS IS CAUSED BY THE BATTERY VOLTAGE DROP. CAR STARTS TO SHUT DOWN MAJOR COMPONENTS ACTIVE STEERING, TRANSMISSION, NAVIGATION, AND I-DRIVE SYSTEM WHICH CONTROLS THE WHOLE CARS ELECTRONICS. SCARY WHEN YOU HAVE A 8 MONTH OLD KID IN A CAR. *TR
(NOTE: THIS PROCESS DOES NOT LIST THE 2004 BMW 745I) I PURCHASED MY 2004 745I AS A CERTIFIED PRE-OWNED VEHICLE FROM A LOCAL BMW DEALER IN OCTOBER 2007. SINCE THEN ON 3 SEPARATE OCCASIONS THE STEERING HAS TOTALLY LOCKED. THIS HAS HAPPENED WHEN ENTERING OR EXITING A PARKING SPACE AND THE STEERING WHEEL WAS TURNED COMPLETELY TO THE LEFT (COUNTER CLOCKWISE) POSITION. THE DEALER CANNOT DUPLICATE THE CONDITION AND THERE IS NO ERROR CODE RECORDED IN THE OBDI. ON TWO OF THE OCCASIONS I HAD TO TURN THE ENGINE OFF AND THEN RESTART THE CAR TO FREE THE STEERING. ON THE LAST OCCASION THE STEERING WAS RESTORED AFTER ABOUT 30 SECONDS WITH THE ENGINE STILL RUNNING. ON A FOURTH OCCASION THE STEERING WAS DIFFICULT AND SLUGGISH BUT RETURNED TO NORMAL A FEW SECONDS LATER. I HAVE A GREAT FEAR THIS WILL HAPPEN WHEN I'M TRAVELING ON THE ROADWAY AND NOT JUST IN MY DRIVEWAY OR A PARKING LOT. THE DEALER INSISTS THAT THEY CANNOT FIND ANYTHING TO ACCOUNT FOR MY EXPERIENCES. *TR
ON APRIL 16, 2006, WHILE DRIVING MY 2004 BMW 645CI ON A HIGHWAY WITH ONLY MY 13-YEAR-OLD SON WITH ME, THE ASSISTED STEERING, WHICH WORKS THE REAR WHEELS, FAILED WITHOUT ANY WARNING OR ANY EVENT HAVING OCCURRED. I WAS ABLE TO BRING IT TO A STOP WITHOUT A COLLISION, FORTUNATELY, ALTHOUGH THE LOSS OF CONTROL WAS TERRIFYING AND WE CAME CLOSE TWICE TO HITTING OTHER CARS. THE VEHICLE WAS ULTIMATELY FLAT-BEDDED TO MY DEALERS (GREENWICH BMW) SERVICE FACILITY IN PORT CHESTER, NY. AFTER TWO DAYS OF TELLING ME THAT THEY HAD FOUND NO DAMAGE TO THE VEHICLE, THE DEALER ADVISED THAT IT WOULD NOT HONOR THE WARRANTY BECAUSE THEY FOUND SIGN OF IMPACT TO ANOTHER, UNRELATED PART ON THE UNDERSIDE OF THE CAR. *JB
THE VEHICLE WAS SOLD TO ME WITHOUT REMOVING THE SHIPPING SPACER FORM THE FOUR COIL SPRINGS AND SHOCK ABSORBERS. *JB
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