Owner-reported complaints naming the engine system, filed with NHTSA
Data refreshed
Reports naming the engine itself — including stalling, misfires, oil consumption, cooling and internal engine components. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 1998 BMW 540I submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 16 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
WHITE STEAM WAS COMING FROM UNDER THE HOOD ONTO THE FRONT WINDSHIELD. THE STEAM WAS FOGGING THE WINDSHIELD, AND CAUSING POOR VISIBILITY WHILE DRIVING 50-55 MPH. CONSUMER WAS ABLE TO GET THE VEHICLE TO A REPAIR SHOP. DEALER INFORMED THE CONSUMER THAT THE UPPER NECK CONNECTOR OF THE RADIATOR HOSE BROKE.*AK
2ND CATASTROPHIC RADIATOR FAILURE. NOT A LEAK, THE NECK BREAKS OFF CAUSING IMMEDIATE LOSS OF COOLING. 1ST RADIATOR AT 45K, 2ND AT 92K. BASED ON OTHER'S EXPERIENCES, THIS IS VERY COMMON FOR THIS MODEL (AND EVEN LONGER LIFE THAN MANY). CAUSES LOSS OF VISION DUE TO AMOUNT OF STEAM RELEASED. LESS EXPERIENCED DRIVER MAY HAVE DIFFICULTY CONTROLLING VEHICLE TO GET TO SIDE OF ROAD QUICKLY TO SHUT DOWN. NO WAY TO PREDICT THE FAILURE. SAME ISSUE WITH EXPANSION TANK. BOTH FAILURES ARE ON PLASTIC PARTS.*AK
I WAS DRIVING DOWN A BUSY STREET ONE EVENING AND AS I CAME TO A LIGHT, SMOKE STARTED COMING OUT OF MY HOOD. FORTUNATELY IT WAS IN THE EVENING AND TRAFFIC WAS LIGHTER THAN USUAL. I PULLED INTO A PARKING LOT OFF THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. HAVING KNOWN OTHERS THAT THIS HAS HAPPENED TO, I FIRST CHECKED THE RADIATOR AND SURE ENOUGH, THERE WAS A LARGE CRACK DOWN THE SIDE OF THE HOUSING. I HAD THE CAR TOWED HOME AND PURCHASED A NEW RADIATOR FROM BMW OF SEATTLE THE FOLLOWING MORNING. THE NEW RADIATOR WAS ABOUT $200, A FEW HOURS OF MY OWN LABOR AND A FEW MORE HOURS DETAILING THE ENGINE PAY AND HEADLIGHTS WHICH HAD RADIATOR FLUID ALL OVER THEM. ALSO FROM THE EXPERIENCE OF OTHERS WHO OWN E39 BMW 540S, I FULLY EXPECT THIS TO HAPPEN AGAIN IN THE NEXT 50K MILES. I ALSO EXPECT THE EXPANSION TANK TO GO WITHIN THE NEXT FEW MONTHS. *AK
PLASTIC NECK OF RADIATOR ON MY '98 BMW 540IA BROKE COMPLETELY AND SUDDENLY ON HIGHWAY. WHITE SMOKE CAME OUT UNDER THE HOOD. SAW TEMP GAUGE CLIMB UP RAPIDLY. PULLED OVER IMMEDIATELY. TOWED TO DEALERSHIP FOR REPAIR. NO ONE WAS HURT LUCKILY. *NM
MULTIPLE COOLANT DEFECTS ON THE 1998 540. THE CAR HAS NOW HAD 3 RADIATORS, 3 THERMASTATS, WATER TUBE SEALS REPLACED TWICE, AND A WATER PUMP. THE COSTS HAVE BEEN OVER $3,500. THESE LEAKS ARE NOT JUST EXPENSIVE, THEY POSE A REAL DANGER TO CAUSING PERSONAL INJURY AND DAMAGE. THE FAILURE RATE IS KNOWN TO BE VERY HIGH. HTTP://WWW.VOTATIONS.COM/ASP/SURVEYRESULTS.ASP?POLLID=66461 .*AK
ENGINE COOLING RADIATOR HOSE FITTING BROKE OFF. LOST ALL COOLANT ON HIGHWAY. DEALER REPLACED RADIATOR UNDER WARRANTY AND STATED IT IS COMMON FAILURE ON 540I BMW DUE TO PLASTIC PARTS NOT STONG ENOUGH TO RESIST TEMPERATURE. WELL DOCUMENTED ON PRIVATE WEB SITES.
ENGINE DOESN'T REV UP ABOVE 4500 RPMS AND MISFIRES. ENGINE CHECK LIGHT ON. DEALER REPLACED ONE OF TWO CATALYTIC CONVERTERS UNDER WARRANTY. ACCORDING TO PRIVATE CLUBS ABD WEB SITES OF BMW OWNERS, 540I CAT CONVERTERS LAST 50KMILES ONLY.
ENGINE IDLES ROUGH AND STALLS WHILE DRIVING. DEALER REPLACED FAULTY CAMSHAFT SENSOR UNDER WARRANTY.
RADIATOR NECK SHEARED OFF WITHOUT WARNING WHILE MY WIFE WAS DRIVING ON FREEWAY. CAUSED IMMEDIATE LOSS OF COOLANT AND EMERGENCY STOP. CAR HAD TO BE TOWED.
SECOND RADIATOR FAILURE AT 56,254 MILES IN 10/19/2001 CAUSED POOR VISIBILITY. DT
RADIATOR FAILED WITHOUT WARNING. STEAM OBSCURRED VISION. DT
TECHNICIANS TOLD ME THIS WAS A COMMON PROBLEM SINCE MANUFACTURER SWITCH TO PLASTIC RADIATORS. THE UPPER HOSE FITTING BROKE OFF THE RADIATOR. *PH *JB **DIMSII IVOQ ENTRY POSTED AFTER 12/12/02 CUT OVER TO ARTEMIS**762585
ENGINE ENTERMITTENTLY STALLED WHEN THE CLUTCH IS DEPRESSED WHILE DRIVING AND IS RELATED TO AN INTERMITTENT LOW RMP ENGINE MALFUNCTION. YH
DRASTIC ENGINE POWER LOSS 4-5000RPM. THIS PROBLEM IS WELL DOCUMENTED ON HTTP://WWW.BIMMER.ORG/5SERIES/MESSAGES/. DEALER HAS NO KNOWLEDGE.
CATALYTIC CONVERTER SYSTEM FAILED. *YC
CONSUMER MAY BE DRVING AT ANY GIVEN SPEED. WHEN HE BEGINS TO SLOW DOWN OR IF HE DOWNSHIFTS AND TURNS, ENGINE WILL SHUT DOWN, CAUSING LOSS OF STEERING AND BRAKING CONTROL. BMW DEALERSHIPS CANNOT FIND A CAUSE. *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.
Data on this page last refreshed .