Reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers, shown in full
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Our database holds 3 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 2020 BMW 540I. 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.
Showing 1–3 of 3
I am reporting a potential safety concern with my engine. The oil pumps are known to fail due to plastic internal components. BMW has issued a new pump with metal parts, but existing engines are not being helped and if oil pressure drops the car can suddenly stop in traffic, creating a safety hazard.
Component: Engine Oil Pump (Plastic Internal Variant) Safety Risk: Sudden Loss of Motive Power / Engine Seizure Defect Description: The oil pump in the BMW B58 engine utilizes a plastic tensioning/adjusting ring that is prone to brittle fracture. At only 38,000 miles, my vehicle suffered a catastrophic internal pump failure, resulting in an immediate "Low Oil Pressure" warning and forced engine shutdown. Safety Hazard: Stalling at Speed: This defect causes an immediate loss of propulsion. If this occurs during highway merging or high-speed maneuvers, the driver faces an abrupt loss of power steering and braking assist, significantly increasing the risk of a high-speed rear-end collision. Imminent Seizure: Total oil pressure loss can lead to crankshaft seizure, potentially locking the drive wheels and causing a loss of vehicle control. Technical Evidence: BMW has released an updated part (P/N 11419895359) that replaces the plastic internals with a metal housing, acknowledging the original design is insufficient for the thermal loads of the engine. Post-repair inspection of my vehicle showed significant carbonized "soot" in the filter, indicating that the pump's underperformance caused localized overheating of the lubricant prior to the final failure. Request: NHTSA should open an investigation into the B58 oil pump (2019–2021 models) to determine the failure rate of the plastic-ring units. A safety recall is necessary to replace these units with the updated all-metal version before a high-speed seizure results in a fatality.
BMW G30 chassis vehicles equipped with the optional Bowers & Wilkins stereo have multiple owners reporting on Bimmerpost owners forum that water incursion damages the front door midrange speakers on both sides of the vehicle due to poor water drainage design. Water is causing the speakers to short out and stop functioning. This is also happening to owners of the BMW F90 chassis with the Bowers & Wilkins optioned stereo speakers. Stock stereo and Harmon Kardon systems seem not to be impacted by this issue.
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.
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