RoadVitals

2003 BMW 525IA Sport Wagon Owner Complaints

Reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers, shown in full

Data refreshed

Complaints on fileComplaints are reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a complaint does not establish that a defect exists. Volume is influenced by how many of a vehicle were sold, how long it has been on the road, and how much attention an issue has received.
6
Latest Oct 28, 2016
Crash or fire reportedComplaints whose submitter recorded that a crash or a fire occurred. These are the reporter's own answers on the NHTSA form, not verified findings.
1
Filed in the last 12 monthsReports filed with NHTSA in the trailing 365 days. Recent volume reflects attention and vehicle age as much as anything else.
0
Reports on file since Jan 18, 2003

What this page shows

Our database holds 6 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 2003 BMW 525IA Sport Wagon. Each one is a report filed by an owner or driver and published by NHTSA without most of them being verified. A complaint is not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. Narratives are shown exactly as filed.

Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.

Complaints, most recent first

Showing 1–6 of 6

Airbags
Filed Oct 28, 2016

TL* TAKATA RECALL. THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 BMW 525IA. THE CONTACT RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 15V318000 (AIR BAGS); HOWEVER, THE PARTS TO DO THE REPAIR WERE UNAVAILABLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE MANUFACTURER EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME FOR THE RECALL REPAIR. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE ISSUE. THE CONTACT HAD NOT EXPERIENCED A FAILURE. PARTS DISTRIBUTION DISCONNECT.

NHTSA ID
10919788
Incident
Jun 30, 2015
Airbags
Filed Oct 5, 2016

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 BMW 525I. THE CONTACT RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 15V318000 (AIR BAGS); HOWEVER, THE PART FOR THE RECALL REPAIR WAS UNAVAILABLE. THE CONTACT STATED THE MANUFACTURER EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME. THE CONTACT HAD NOT EXPERIENCED A FAILURE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE ISSUE. PARTS DISTRIBUTION DISCONNECT.

NHTSA ID
10914076
Incident
Oct 5, 2016
Airbags
Filed Apr 7, 2016

TL* TAKATA RECALL.THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 BMW 525IA SPORT WAGON. THE CONTACT RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 15V318000 (AIR BAGS). THE PART TO DO THE RECALL REPAIR WAS UNAVAILABLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE MANUFACTURER EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME FOR THE RECALL REPAIR. THE MANUFACTURER WAS AWARE OF THE ISSUE. THE CONTACT HAD NOT EXPERIENCED A FAILURE. VIN TOOL CONFIRMS PARTS NOT AVAILABLE.

NHTSA ID
10854044
Incident
Jul 3, 2015
Electrical
Filed Dec 1, 2014
Fire reported

APPROXIMATELY ONE AND A HALF HOURS AFTER ARRIVING AT WORK THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT CAUGHT ON FIRE. THE CAR WAS PARKED, NOT RUNNING, SITTING IN A PARKING SPACE. THE FIRE DEPARTMENT FELT THAT THE FIRE ORIGINATED BEHIND AND BELOW THE PASSENGER SIDE HEADLIGHT ASSEMBLY. THERE APPEARS TO BE SOME KIND OF FAN/BLOWER LOCATED IN THAT AREA JUST AHEAD OF THE PASSENGER FRONT TIRE. THE WEATHER WAS GOOD, NO PRECIPITATION AND APPROXIMATELY 60 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT. *JS

NHTSA ID
10661445
Incident
Dec 1, 2014
Mileage
112,000 mi
Tires & wheels
Filed Jun 4, 2004

AFTER THE TIRES WERE ROTATED, THE TREAD WORE OUT. A BMW HOT LINE REPRESENTATIVE INFORMED THE CONSUMER THAT THE TIRES SHOULDN'T BE ROTATED BECAUSE TREAD WEAR WILL OCCUR. THIS INFORMATION WAS NOT LISTED IN THE OWNER'S MANUAL. *AK THERE WAS EXCESSIVE TIRE NOISE. *SC *JB

NHTSA ID
10068634
Incident
May 26, 2003
Mileage
15,000 mi
Exterior lighting
Filed Jan 18, 2003

MY COMPLAINT IS THE NEW XENON HEADLIGHTS ON AUTOMOBILES. THE ARE SO BRIGHT THAT I AM CONTINUALLY BLINDED BY ONCOMING VEHICLES HAVING THEM. THERE IS REALLY NO NEED FOR SUCH OVERLY BRIGHT HEADLIGHTS, ESPECIALLY CONSIDERING THE HAZARD THEY POSE TO ONCOMING TRAFFIC. THERE MUST BE SOMETHING THAT CAN BE DONE TO MINIMIZE THE EFFECT OF THESE LIGHTS.

NHTSA ID
10002920
Incident
Jan 18, 2003

Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.

Data sources

Data on this page last refreshed .