RoadVitals

2002 BMW 540IA 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.
2
Latest Aug 24, 2012
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.
2
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 Jul 21, 2008

What this page shows

Our database holds 2 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 2002 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.

Complaints, most recent first

Showing 1–2 of 2

ElectricalInterior & seats
Filed Aug 24, 2012
Fire reported

I WENT OUT TO MY BMW 540I AND FOUND THE DRIVER'S POWER SEAT ALL THE WAY BACK IN THE HORIZONTAL POSITION. I DID NOT LEAVE IT THIS WAY, SO THIS WAS CONFUSING TO ME. WHEN I ATTEMPTED TO MOVE IT BACK UPRIGHT INTO A COMFORTABLE DRIVING POSITION, IT DID NOT RESPOND- THE SEAT WAS DEAD. I COULD NOT MOVE IT MANUALLY, EITHER. I WAS FORCED TO DRIVE THE CAR A SHORT DISTANCE TO DROP MY SON OFF AT AN ACTIVITY, SO I DECIDED TO DRIVE IT AND LEAN FORWARD WHILE DRIVING. MY PLAN WAS TO TAKE THE CAR TO MY LOCAL BMW MECHANIC LATER THAT NIGHT AND DROP IT OFF TO BE REPAIRED. MY SON AND I WERE ONLY TWO MINUTES INTO OUR DRIVE, I WAS LEANING FORWARD, AND HE SAID "DO YOU SMELL SMOKE?" I DID SMELL IT, AND WAS LOOKING AROUND TO SEE WHAT WAS WRONG. THEN MY SON SAID "DAD, YOUR SEAT IS ON FIRE!" I LOOKED DOWN, AND SAW FLAMES COMING OUT FROM UNDER MY SEAT. WE PULLED THE CAR OVER AND PUT OUT THE FIRE WITH HIS WATER BOTTLE. THE HEATED SEATS WERE NOT BEING USED, THIS HAPPENED ON JULY 19TH, DURING THE SUMMER. MY LOCAL BMW SHOP IS TELLING ME THIS IS A $3100 REPAIR. THE PART IN QUESTION THAT CAUSED THE FIRE, PER THE CLAIMS ADJUSTER, IS THE "GENERAL MODULE." I UNDERSTAND THE CAR IS 10 YEARS OLD, BUT IT SIMPLY BLOWS MY MIND THAT A CAR CAN RANDOMLY CATCH ON FIRE INTERNALLY LIKE THIS. BMW NORTH AMERICA IS NOT TAKING OWNERSHIP TO THIS SITUATION, AND HAS OFFERED NO HELP. *TR

NHTSA ID
10472344
Incident
Jul 19, 2012
Mileage
90,000 mi
Transmission
Filed Jul 21, 2008
Fire reported

ON 7/19/2008, MY 2002 BMW 540I WITH AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION CAUGHT FIRE WHILE MYSELF AND MY WIFE DRIVING TOWARD AN EVENING PARTY. AT FIRST I SMELL SOMETHING IS BURNING THEN SEE A TINY BIT OF SMOKE. I PARKED THE CAR IN A BANK OF AMERICA PARKING LOT AND MY WIFE WENT OUT TO CHECK THE CAR, AND SHE SAW FIRE STARTED TO BURST. WE CALL 911 AND WITHIN FIVE MINUTES, THE FRONT END OF THE CAR IS IN FLAME. THE LOCAL FIRE DEPARTMENT CAME THE PUT OUT THE FIRE. THE CAR IS NOW BEEN TOW TO A LOCAL SHOP AND WILL BE MOVED TO THE "TOTAL LOT" OF MY INSURANCE COMPANY. I DID A QUICK SEARCH ON THE INTERNET, AND FOUND OUT I AM NOT THE ONLY ONE. I HOPE BMW CAN FIND OUT EXACTLY WHAT CAUSE THE FIRE AND FIX THE PROBLEM. MY WIFE AND I ARE LUCKY SINCE WE GOT OUT OF CAR SOON ENOUGH. THIS IS NOT A GOOD EXAMPLE FOR BMW SUCH A LUXURY BRAND. SINCERELY, STEVE HUNG *TR

NHTSA ID
10235236
Incident
Jul 19, 2008
Mileage
109,834 mi

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 .