Owner-reported complaints naming the brake system, filed with NHTSA
Data refreshed
Reports naming service brakes, the antilock braking system, brake hoses, master cylinders or the parking brake. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 1999 BMW 528I submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 13 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed
I HAD BEEN DRIVING MY 528I (BMW 1999) THIS PAST WINTER WHEN I NOTICED THE POWER BRAKES WERE NO LONGER WORKING. I HAD TO DEPRESS THE PEDDLE WITH NO ASSIST, AND WHILE THE CAR DI EVENTUALLY STOP, IT COULD HAVE BEEN UNFORTUNATE IF MY WIFE OR DAUGHTER WERE FACED WITH THIS CONDITION SUDDENLY. POWER BRAKE BOOSTER APPARENTLY WENT BAD, WATER LEAKING IN AND FREEZING, FORTUNATELY NO ON E INJURED.
COMMON ABS ASC+T ELECTRONIC CONTROL UNIT FAILURE DISABLED ODOMETER, SPEEDOMETER, CRUISE CONTROL, AUTOMATIC DOOR LOCKS, AND ALARM DISABLED, ANTI-LOCK BRAKES DISABLED, AND STABILITY CONTROL DISABLED. THE CAR CAN NO LONGER BE LOCKED TO KEEP OUT INTRUDERS, THE ODOMETER IS DISABLED AND AN UNKNOWN AMOUNT OF MILEAGE IS BEING ADDED TO THE VEHICLE(ALSO A VIOLATION OF CALIFORNIA VEHICLE CODE CVC), THE ANTI-LOCK BRAKES AND STABILITY CONTROL WILL NOT WORK AND THE CAR IS OUT RIGHT DANGEROUS TO DRIVE IN BAD WEATHER. BMW IS AWARE OF THE ABS CONTROL MODULE PROBLEMS IN THESE CARS AND HAS DONE NOTHING TO RECTIFY THE SITUATION EXCEPT OFFER A VERY EXPENSIVE REPLACEMENT PART WITH NO UPGRADES TO PREVENT FUTURE FAILURES. MY PERSONAL VEHICLE HAS HAD THE MODULE FAIL AT ONLY 94K MILES. THERE ARE MANY OTHERS OUT THERE WITH THE VARY SAME COMPLAINT. IF I WAS THE ORIGINAL OWNER I WOULD BE TALKING WITH A LAWYER ABOUT CALIFORNIAN "LEMON LAWS". THE ABS SYSTEM, AUTOMATIC LOCKING SYSTEM, AND LOCK SYSTEM ARE ALL MAJOR SAFETY HAZARDS. THE ODOMETER NOT WORKING I BELIEVE FALLS UNDER A CVC VIOLATION POSSIBLY A FEDERAL MANDATE VIOLATION. *TR
BOUGHT A NEW CAR IN 1999: 1999 BMW 528I AT ABOUT 75,500 MILES, THE ABS MODULE (BOSCH 5.7) FAILED. *** BRAKE DOES NOT RESPOND FOR A FEW SECOND THEN ABS LIGHT IS ON *** - CONTACTED A FEW OTHER 1999 AND 2000 BWM E39 OWNERS, THEY ALL HAD THE SAME ISSUE WITH THE ABS MODULE. - SENT THE CAR TO A BMW DEALER AT STERLING, VA. THE DEALER CONFIRMED THE ABS MODULE NEEDS TO BE REPLACED AT A COST OF $1000+. - DEALER CONFIRMED THAT BECAUSE OF THE DEFECTIVE ABS MODULE, ABS BRAKE DOES NOT WORK. - CONTACTED BMW NORTHERN AMERICA CUSTOMER SERVICE. NO RECALL HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR THIS PROBLEM. *TR
MY ASC AND ABS WARNING LIGHTS CAME ON, LOST SPEEDOMETER. TOOK TO BMW MECHANIC WHO READ CODES AND IT READ REAR WHEEL SPEED SENSOR. REPLACED SENSOR AND SPEEDOMETER DID NOT WORK. CONTINUED WITH MECHANIC ON LOOKING FOR SOLUTION AND HE CONCLUDED AFTER TALKING TO OTHER BMW MECHANICS AND GOING OVER THE SYMPTOMS THAT IT IS THE ABS CONTROLLER THAT FAILED. SO I HAVE NO ABS OR TRACTION CONTROL OF SPEEDOMETER UNTIL I CAN FIX THIS. MAJOR SAFETY ISSUE. *JB
ABS CONTROLLER FAILURE. SPEEDOMETER STOPS WORKING, ODOMETER FROZEN, FUEL GAUGE INOPERATIVE, NO AUTOMATIC STEERING CONTROL, NO ABS PROTECTION FOR EMERGENCY STOPS. KNOWN COMMON PROBLEM YET BMW, TO DATE, HAS ISSUED NO RECALL THAT I KNOW OF, AS CARS ARE OUT OF WARRANTY. *JB
ABS CONTROLLER FAILURE THAT LED TO DISABLING OF ABS SYSTEM, STABILITY CONTROL SYSTEM AND SPEEDOMETER. MULTIPLE BMW OWNER RESOURCE WEB SITES (BIMMERFEST, ROADFLY, ETC.) HAVE THREADED DISCUSSIONS ABOUT THE PROBLEM AND REFLECT THE OWNERS' DISATISFACTION WITH BMW'S LACK OF RESPONSE. THEY COMPLAIN OF CONTROLLER UNIT FAILING, GETTING REPLACED, AND FAILING AGAIN. A NUMBER OF LOCAL MECHANICS HAVE CONFIRMED SEEING THE PROBLEM AND HAVE SUGGESTED SEEKING OUT SOMEONE WHO WILL REBUILD THE CONTROLLER UNIT TO PREVENT FUTURE FAILURE.
SAFETY SYSTEM FAILURE - ABS AND ANTI-SKID CONTROL MODULE. THIS APPARENTLY IS A CHRONIC FAILURE FOR BMW 5 SERIES CARS FROM THE 1997 TO 2002 MODEL YEARS THAT OCCURS AT APPROXIMATELY 70,000 MILES. THE ABS AND ASC LIGHTS BOTH LIGHT AND WITHIN A SHORT TIME AFTER THE SPEEDOMETER AND ODOMETER STOP WORKING. NO ANTI-LOCK BRAKES AND NON-WORKING SKID CONTROL, PLUS NOT KNOWING YOUR SPEED IS UNSAFE AND COSTS OVER $1000 TO FIX. *JB
ASC CONTROL UNIT FAILED. THIS RESULTED IN FAILURE OF ANTI-LOCK BRAKES AND TRACTION CONTROL AND SPEEDOMETER ON MY 1999 BMW 528I. BMW HAS A SERVICE BULLETIN OUT ON THIS ISSUE FOR 5 SERIES CARS 9/98 TO 9/00 (MINE WAS BUILT 10/98). BULLETIN INFO: VS-23/WEINTUCH BAUGRUPPE/GROUP:32 32 01 00 (646) DATED 11/2000. THE REPAIR INSTRUCTIONS CODE IS RA 24 52 515/ 34 52 516. AFTER UNIT FAILED, I WAS INVOLVED IN AN EMERGENCY SITUATION IN WHICH I HAD TO BRAKE HEAVILY AND ALL FOUR WHEELS LOCKED UP. HOWEVER I MANAGED TO STOP WITHIN 2 FEET OF THE CAR THAT PULLED IN FRONT OF ME. THERE IS A LARGE NUMBER OF VEHICLE OWNERS CURRENTLY REPORTING THIS SAME PROBLEM ON A NUMBER OF BMW BULLETIN BOARDS (WWW.ROADFLY.COM). IT IS A SAFETY ISSUE THAT APPARENTLY BMW IS AWARE OF BUT NOT DOING ANYTHING ABOUT IT. I JUST SPENT $1006.37 TODAY FOR THE REPAIR AT CROWN BMW. I UNDERSTAND THAT MY CAR IS NOT IN WARRANTY BUT I BELIEVE THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE THAT SHOULD BE ADDRESSED. EVENTUALLY, THERE WILL BE A SERIOUS ACCIDENT FROM THIS KNOWN PART FAILURE. I HAVE ALSO HEARD THAT A NUMBER OF BMW DEALERS ARE STOCKING UP HIGHER THAN USUAL INVENTORIES OF THIS PART, APPARENTLY IN ANTICIPATION OF LARGE SCALE FAILURES OF THE ASC CONTROL UNIT (PART34-52-6-756-343). *NM
THE ABS CONTROLLER FAILED INTERMITTENTLY CAUSING BOTH ABS AND TRACTION CONTROL SYSTEM TO BE DISABLED, SPECIALLY ONCE THE ENGINE IS WAM, ONCE IT FAILED, RESTARTING THE CAR WON'T CORRECT THE SITUATION. IF THE CAR SITS OVER NIGHT, THE ABS AND TRACTION WORKS AGAIN FOR A WHILE, DEPENDS ON DRIVING CONDITION, IF THE CAR IS TAKEN INTO HIGHWAY RIGHT AWAY, THE ABS MIGHT WORK FOR HOURS, IF IT GOES INTO CITY DRIVING, IT COULD FAIL WITHIN MINUTES. I HAVE SEARCH ALL OVER THE INTERNET AND FOUND SO MANY OTHER OWNERS WITH THE SIMILAR PROBLEM. WEB SITES RESEARCHED: WWW.BENTLEYPUBLISHING.COM AND WWW.ROADFLY.ORG. *AK THE CAR IS 1999 BMW 528IT, MANUFACTURED 09/98
THE ABS BRAKING LIGHT APPEARED ON THE DASHBOARD AND REMAINED ON. CONSUMER TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER FOR INSPECTION, AND MECHANIC DETERMINED THAT THE BRAKE LIGHT SWITCH NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. *AK
I HAVE HAD FAILURES OF THE BRAKING SYSTEM ON MY 1999 BMW WHERE THE SYSTEM LOCKS UP AND CAUSES THE CAR TO GO OUT OF CONTROL. BASED ON NUMEROUS CONVERSATIONS WITH OTHER OWNERS THESE MODELS SEEM VERY PRONE TO THIS PROBLEM. BMW DOES NOT SEEM TO CARE VERY MUCH ABOUT ADDRESSING THIS.*AK
1999 BMW 528IT - ASC/ABS CONTROL MODULE FAILURE. LOSS OF ABS, TRACTION CONTROL AND SPEEDOMETER.COMMON ON 99 MODEL YEAR/55K MILES .NOTED WIDELY ON BMW WEB FORUMS.$1200 REPAIR ALWAYS OUT OF WARRANTY. NO ACKNOWLAGEMENT , RECALL OR HELP FROM BMWNA.
NO SUMMARY LISTED FOR ABOVE VEHICLE. *AK
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.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
Data on this page last refreshed .