Reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers, shown in full
Data refreshed
Our database holds 10 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 1999 BMW 540IA. 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 1–10 of 10
I HAVE A 1999 540I AND THE REVERSE HAS STOPPED WORKING COMPLETELY. THE FORWARD GEARS WORK PERFECTLY BUT THE REVERSE SUDDENLY STOPPED WORKING. I HAVE READ MANY SIMILAR STORIES. *TR
MY 1999 BMW 540I SPORT CAUGHT FIRE 12/19/08 WHILE IT WAS SITTING IN THE DRIVEWAY OF MY HOME. I NOTICED FLAMES ABOUT 1:30 AM COMING FROM THE SIDES OF THE HOOD. I HAD DRIVEN THE CAR TO DINNER THAT NIGHT AND IT WAS PARKED AND LOCKED IN MY DRIVEWAY. I JUST HAPPENED TO NOTICE THE FLAMES THROUGH THE WINDOW OF MY HOUSE. CALLED FIRE DEPARTMENT AND CAR WAS TOTALLY BURNED AND MELTED. ONLY THE REAR TRUNK AREA WAS LEFT. I COULD FIND NO MENTION OF THIS TYPE OF FIRE OCCURRING ON THE WEBSITES OF CONSUMER COMPLAINTS. NO RECALLS THAT I COULD FIND. MY CAR WAS WELL MAINTAINED WHILE I HAD IT. THE PREVIOUS OWNER HAD GOOD RECORDS ALSO. I HAD ONLY OWNED IT ABOUT 6 MONTHS. IT WAS BOUGHT FROM THE PREVIOUS OWNER. *TR
TL*- THE CONTACT OWNS A 1999 BMW 540IA WITH FAILURE MILEAGE OF 100,000 MILES. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT 40 MPH HE BEGAN HAVING PROBLEMS WITH THE TRANSMISSION. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE GEARS BEGAN TO FUNCTION IMPROPERLY, AND COULD NOT BE OPERATED IN 1ST THROUGH REVERSE GEARS. THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE BMW DEALER, WHERE THEY STATED THAT THERE WAS NOTHING THAT THEY WOULD DO TO FIX THE RECALL. THEY REFUSED TO REPAIR THE VEHICLE WITHOUT COST BECAUSE THE RECALL WAS ISSUED BY NHTSA AND NOT BY THEM. THE CONTACT STATED THAT AS OF 4-13-07 THE DEALER HAS HAD THE VEHICLE FOR OVER A MONTH, AND WANTED TO CHARGE HIM $5,000, EVEN THOUGH THE FAILURE WAS DUE TO THE RECALL. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 140,000.*AK
I HAD TROUBLES WITH MY ABS MODULE UNIT THAT IS ATTACHED TO MY BMW 1999 540IA. I HAVE BECOME AWARE THAT THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM THAT DISABLES THE ABS CONTROL OF MY CAR AND MANY OTHER SAME MODEL CARS AS MINE. I HAD TO REPLACE THE PART MYSELF DUE TO NO RECALL OR ACCEPTANCE FROM BMW THAT THIS IS A MAJOR PROBLEM WITH A SAFETY FEATURE ON MY AND MANY OTHER BMW'S SIMILAR TO MINE. THE FAILURE OCCURED OUT OF THE NOWHERE AND THE RESULTING PROBLEM IS THAT THE UNIT WOULD GO OFF AFTER CAR WOULD WARM UP THEN EVENTUALLY OVER TIME THE UNIT COMPLETELY FAILS AND DISABLES THE CARS ANTI BRAKING SYSTEM. THE UNIT WAS REPLACED BY ME AFTER NUMEROUS TIMES TO GET BMWNA OR ANYONE FROM BMW TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT THE PROBLEM WITH MY UNIT. THE NEW PART COST ME ABOUT $700 AND THE LABOR WAS ABOUT $60 TO GET IT INSTALLED AND PROGRAMMED FROM TEH BMW DEALER AROUND HERE. I HAVE MY OLD PART IF THAT HELPS BUT IT IS OF NO USE. THX MICHAEL D. KARR. *NM
RADIATOR CRACKED AT TOP HOSE INLET CAUSING LOSS OF COOLANT
1) CHECK COOLANT LEVEL WARNING LIGHT CAME ON TWICE IN 1 WEEK. KUNI BMW CONDUCTED MY FACTORY INSPECTION II SERVICE ONLY 2 MONTHS BEFORE THIS OCCURED. ) RADIATOR CRACKED WHERE THE UPPER HOSE ENTERS THE RADIATOR, LEAKING FLUID INTO THE ENGINE BAY AND GROUND. 3) REPLACE THE RADIATOR. THIS IS A WELL KNOW DEFECT ON THIS VEHICLE - WHY DOESN'T BMW DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS?*AK
RADIATOR FAILED ON MY 1999 BMW 540 AT 54,700 MILES. I BELIEVE THIS TO BE A SAFETY PROBLEM THAT BMW NEEDS TO ADDRESS. THIS SAFETY PROBLEM: - DISABLES THE VEHICLE NO MATTER WHERE YOU ARE FROM RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC WHERE THE PANIC COULD ENDANGER OTHER DRIVERS, TO THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE IN THE DEAD OF WINTER BY YOURSELF. - STEAM FROM FAILED RADIATOR BLOCKS VISION OF THE ROAD, OR WHATEVER ELSE IS IN THE DRIVERS SIDE FRONT CORNER OF THE VEHICLE. - FAILURE CAN NOT BE PREDICTED BY VISUAL INSPECTION OF THE RADIATOR.*AK
CRACK IN RADIATOR - NEEDS REPLACEMENT. *AK
HEADLAMP INTERNAL ADJUSTING RODS (BRITTLE PLASTIC MATERIAL) FAIL PREMATURELY CAUSING HEADLAMP BEAN TO DEFLECT AND LAMP BEAMS TO SHUDDER OR WIGGLE. THIS TENDS TO REDUCE THE FIELD OF VISION FOR DRIVERS AND TO BLIND ONCOMING MOTORISTS.
NO SUMMARY. DT
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 .