2005 BMW 545I

BMW IS CONDUCTING A SAFETY RECALL CAMPAIGN ON APPROXIMATELY 200,000 MY04 THROUGH MY06 SUBJECT VEHICLES BUILT THROUGH 11/30/05 TO CORRECT THE FRONT PASSENGER SEAT AIR BAG OCCUPANT DETECTION MAT. THE SPECIFIC VEHICLES INCLUDED IN THE RECALL AREMY04- 06/ 5-SERIES WITH STANDARD AND SPORT SEATS, MY04-06/ X3-SERIES AND MY06/ 3-SERIES WITH SPORT SEATS. IN ADDITION, BMW WILL EXTEND THE WARRANTY COVERAGE OF THE PASSENGER SEAT AIR BAG OCCUPANT DETECTION MAT TO 10-YEAR/UNLIMITED MILEAGE ON APPROXIMATELY 120,000 REMAINING MY04-06 SUBJECT VEHICLES BUILT THROUGH 11/30/05. THE SPECIFIC VEHICLES INCLUDED IN THE EXTENDED WARRANTY ARE MY 06/ 6 SERIES, MY 06/ 3-SERIES WITH STANDARD SEATS, MY04-05/ Z4, MY04-06/ 7 SERIES, MY 06/ X5, AND MY04-06/ 5-SERIES WITH COMFORT SEATS.THE AVERAGE FREQUENCY OF FAILURES AMONG THE EXTENDED WARRANTY GROUPS WAS LESS THAN 1/7TH OF THE RECALL VEHICLE GROUPS.PLEASE SEE BMW'S 08V-384 RECALL NOTIFICATION FOR FURTHER DETAILSDEPENDING ON SEAT CONFIGURATION AND VEHICLE GEOMETRY, THE OCCUPANT DETECTION MAT CAN FATIGUE DURING USE DEPENDING ON THE MANNER AND FREQUENCY OF THE FRONT PASSENGER'S ENTRY AND EXIT.SPECIFICALLY, OVER TIME, MICRO-CRACKS COULD DEVELOP IN THE SIDE FLANKS OF THE MAT CAUSING A BROKEN CIRCUIT.A BROKENCIRCUIT CAN LEAD TO THE DEACTIVATION OF THE PASSENGER AIR BAG AND THE ILLUMINATION OF BOTH THE AIR BAG WARNING LIGHT AND THE PASSENGER AIR BAG LIGHT.

IN CERTAIN MY 2005 THROUGH MY 2006 BMW VEHICLES, THE OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM (OCS) FOR THE PASSENGER FRONTAL AIRBAG MAY MALFUNCTION AND RENDER THE PASSENGER AIRBAG INOPERATIVE.IN JUNE 2006, BMW ISSUED A TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN (SI B 72 02 06) REGARDING THE ILLUMINATION OF THE AIRBAG WARNING LIGHT AND THE PASSENGER AIRBAG STATUS LAMP.ILLUMINATION OF THESE LIGHTS WARN THAT AN OPEN ELECTRICAL CIRCUIT MAY BE PRESENT WITHIN THE PASSENGER SEAT MAT SENSOR.WHEN BOTH OF THE LIGHTS ARE ILLUMINATED, THE PASSENGER FRONTAL AIR BAG WILL NOT DEPLOY IN A FRONTAL CRASH.CERTAIN BMW VEHICLES IN ADDITION TO THE SUBJECT VEHICLES CONTAIN THE SAME SEAT MAT SENSOR.THESE ARE THE MY 2004 5-SERIES, 7-SERIES AND X3, THE MY 2004 THROUGH 2006Z-4 SERIES AND MY 2006 3-SERIES, 6-SERIES AND X5 VEHICLES.AN IMPROVED SEAT MAT SENSOR WAS INTRODUCED IN DECEMBER 2005 FOR THE MID-MY 2006 PRODUCTION.IN RESPONSE TO ODI'S INFORMATION REQUEST LETTER, BMW PROVIDED 1,172 OWNER REPORTS AND 28,238 WARRANTY CLAIMS.INITIAL REVIEW OF THE DATA INDICATE THAT 280 NON-DUPLICATING OWNER REPORTS AND 13,051 NON-DUPLICATING WARRANTY CLAIMS MAY BE RELATED THE SUBJECT DEFECT ISSUE ON THE SUBJECT VEHICLESTHIS PRELIMINARY EVALUATION IS BEING UPGRADED TO AN ENGINEERING ANALYSIS (EA08-001).

The contact owns a 2005 BMW 545I. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator pedal was depressed, and the contact became aware of a ball of white smoke coming from the exhaust. The contact stated that whenever the accelerator pedal was depressed, there was white smoke coming from the exhaust pipe. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with a failed crank casting and the protective crank casting valve. The contact was informed that the failure was similar to an undisclosed manufacturer's recall, however the contact's VIN was not associated with the recall. The independent mechanic informed the contact that the smoke was excessive. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 122,195.

NHTSA ID

11576234

Incident

Mar 7, 2024

Mileage

122,195 mi

The wiring inside of the headlights has dried up and fallen off, leaving bare electrical wire. The resulting was both of the headlights became non operational at night. To replace the headlights in the car with all the factory features is about 3200.00 for parts alone. I know of others who have had this happen, and everyone i know who owns one, has the same exact problem. The vehicle in question barely has 125,000 miles on it. I feel the manufacturer should repair these vehicles at no cost to the owners.

NHTSA ID

11442056

Incident

Nov 10, 2021

At approxamitately 1:20pm on July 13, after being parked for a little over an hour I was told that my car was burning. 911 was called immediately and the owner of the establishment went outside and called to the firemen at the station on the other side of the street. Their response was immediate. Response was so quick that damage was limited to the right rear. Which seems that the fire started in the area directly foreward and above the battery

NHTSA ID

11424889

Incident

Jul 13, 2021

WHILE DRIVING TO WORK DURING MORNING RUSH HOUR IN A BUSY HIGHWAY THE CAR JUST STOPPED RUNNING. NO ODD SOUNDS NO SHUTTING NO CLUNKING. IT WAS LIKE SOME JUST TURNED THE KEY OFF. I MADE IT TO THE SIDE OF THE HIGHWAY AND HAD TO WAIT TWO HOURS FOR A TOW TRUCK TO SHOW UP. MOST OF THE WEEK PREVIOUS TO THIS MY CAR WOULD NOT START AT RANDOM TIMES EVEN THOUGH MY BATTERY WAS GOOD AND I HAD GAS. THE PROBLEM WAS THE DME HAD WATER INGRESS FROM A POOR LOCATION WHERE THE DME AND METRONIC COMPUTER AND THE INTERGRADED POWER MODULE ARE LOCATED AND STORED. THEY ARE IN A SEALED PLASTIC BOX UNDER THE CABIN FRESH AIR INLETS AND CABIN FILTERS AND THE FRONT HOOD COWL. I'M THE BOX THERE IS A FAN AT THE BOTTOM TO EXPELL MOISTER. IF THE INTERGTATED POWER MODULE STARTS TO GO THEN THE FAN STOPS WORKING OR THE FAN IT SELF GOES BAD. AT THAT POINT THERE IS ALMOST ALWAYS WATER INGRESS INTO THE DME AND OR THE METRONIC COMPUTER CAUSING THE CAR TO NOT TO RUN OR EVEN CRANK AND WITH WATER CORROSION ON THE THE DME IT CAUSES PHANTOM PROBLEMS IN OTHER AREAS OF THE CAR. THE DME IS ALSO NOT EASILY REPLACED. THE CAR HAD TO BE TAKEN TO THE DEALERSHIP AND THEY HAVE TO ORDER A NEW DME AND ALIGN IT WITH THE BE CAS MODULE FOR THE IMMOBILIZER TO WORK CORRECTLY AND FOR YOUR CAR TO START. THIS USALLY COST IN EXCESS OF $2,000 JUST FOR THE NEW DME. THE WORST PART OF THIS WHOLE THING IS I LOST MY JOB BECAUSE I WAS 4 HOURS LATE TO WORK AFTER WAITING FOR THE TOW AND GETTING A RIDE TO WORK

NHTSA ID

11354824

Incident

Jun 15, 2018

Mileage

127,000 mi

DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 50 MPH AN ACCIDENT OCCURRED WHERE THERE WAS OIL IN ROAD. MY CAR LOST CONTROL AND VEERED INTO A GUARD RAIL ON THE HIGHWAY. MY CAR WAS SUBSEQUENTLY TOTALED AND NONE OF MY AIR BAGS DEPLOYED IN THE CRASH.

NHTSA ID

11325833

Incident

May 18, 2020

Mileage

150,000 mi

AS I UNDERSTAND A VEHICLE FOR PASSENGER SIDE AIRBAG IN PASSENGER SIDE FREE STREAM HAS BEEN DEALT WITH ALREADY I JUST RECEIVED THIS VEHICLE SEVERAL MONTHS AGO SO IT IS NEW TO ME AND I HAVE THE SAME ERRORS AS WHICH A RECALL HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR MY CAR 2005 545 I BMW. AS I HAVE READ AFTER X AMOUNT OF YEARS A RECALL IS FINALIZED I JUST RECEIVED THIS VEHICLE SEVERAL MONTHS AGO SO I FEEL I AM STILL ABLE TO SUCCEED FROM THIS SAFETY RECALL FROM THE MANUFACTURE

NHTSA ID

11139108

Incident

Jun 25, 2018

Mileage

172,000 mi

GOOD EVENING ALL, SINCE 2011 I HAVE HAD ISSUES WITH THE I DRIVE SYSTEM. JUST RECENTLY, THE SYSTEM STOPPED WORKING. AFTER ATTEMPTING TO RESOLVE THE ISSUE WITH BMW OF ONTARIO, THEY DECLINED TO COVER THE VEHICLE'S I DRIVE COMPUTER MODULE. FINALLY, THE COMPUTER STOPPED WORKING AND I COULD NOT SEE MY COMPUTER DISPLAY OR LISTEN TO MUSIC. I COULD NOT RE-SET THE AIR PRESSURE ON THE TIRES. I DROVE THE VEHICLE THAT WAY FOR MONTHS. FINALLY, I WENT TO THE JUNK YARD AND FOUND A VEHICLE SIMILAR TO MINE AND REPLACED IT. EVEN THOUGH I REPLACED THE COMPUTER, I WAS NOT ABLE TO GAIN CERTAIN FUNCTIONS ON MY VEHICLE THAT CAME STANDARD WITH THAT PARTICULAR VEHICLE SUCH AS THE SATELLITE RADIO OR SPEAK TO CALL FUNCTION. I'M PRETTY SURE MANY VEHICLE OWNERS CAN RELATE TO THIS ISSUE AND THE DIFFICULTY IT HAS CREATED TO TRY AND MITIGATE WITH THE DEALER. TAKE CARE,

NHTSA ID

11115784

Incident

Jul 12, 2018

Mileage

182,282 mi

GOOD EVENING ALL, EVERY TIME I FILL UP THE GAS IN THE VEHICLE, THERE IS A STRONG SMELL INSIDE THE CAB. THIS BEGAN OCCURRING ABOUT 4 YEARS AGO BUT HAS CONTINUED THOUGHT MY TIME WITH THE VEHICLE. CURRENTLY, I CANNOT FILL THE TANK AT MORE THAN . IF I DO FILL UP THE VEHICLE TO MORE THAN I FACE HAVING TO SMELL THE FUMES OF THE FUEL INSIDE THE CAB OF THE VEHICLE. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE AND SHOULD BE RECALLED. MANY PEOPLE HAVE A SIMILAR COMPLAINT WITH THESE VEHICLES.

NHTSA ID

11115783

Incident

Jul 11, 2018

Mileage

182,252 mi

The basic conditions for initializing the power windows are not met.

The electrical system of BMW vehicles has been subject to an ongoing development process over the last few years. This has led to increased demands being placed on the battery. This document covers important information for the dealer on how to handle “discharged battery” complaints.

Engine will crank but not start. There is no communication with the integrated fuel module (TFE) whendiagnosing with ISTA. The following two fault codes will be stored in the DME: 032B43 - Low fuel pressure system, electric fuel pump: pressure value too low CDA594 - Message (- 0x33E) missing, receiver DME, transmitter TFE

Customers may state that the alarm system (DWA) is not active after locking their unoccupied vehicle. Depending on the vehicle’s equipment and settings, no acoustic or optical confirmation (folding the mirrors/blinking confirmation) is noticeable. Additionally, the red anti-theft alarm LED in the interior mirror does not briefly flash every 2 seconds, indicating the alarm is armed.

Diagnosis of Compound Brake System Complaints in M Vehicles: 1. Visible cracks are caused by high thermal stresses during rapid heating and cooling of the brake discs. Braking from high speed with cold brake components (less than 212 degrees F) increases the likelihood of cracks to form.

Discharged Battery Energy Diagnosis Must Be Performed: The electrical system of BMW vehicles has been subject to an ongoing development process over the last few years. This has led to increased demands being placed on the battery. This document covers important information for the dealer on how to handle "discharged battery" complaints. In order to properly repair the vehicle the first time in the workshop, it is very important that the diagnostic test plans are performed to completion, with all results taken into consideration. Without performing the energy diagnosis test plan, the root cause of the discharged battery cannot be identified. This increases the chances of a repeat repair.