1996 BMW 840CI Problems
Owner-reported complaints filed with NHTSA, grouped by component
Data refreshed
What this page shows
Everything below is an owner-reported complaint submitted to NHTSA about the 1996 BMW 840CI, grouped by the component NHTSA recorded on the report. These are not confirmed defects, and they are not recalls. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a category with more reports in it is not evidence that a part is defective.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Reports by component
Ranked by how many owner reports name each component category
- Electrical150.0%
- Exterior lighting150.0%
Percentages are of component mentions. A single complaint can name more than one component, so these do not sum to the total complaint count.
Each component in detail
What the reports in each category say, in the owners' own words
Electrical
Reports naming the electrical system — wiring, battery, charging, control modules, infotainment and electrical accessories.
From owner reports, verbatim
The Lighting Control Board Module (LKM) of the 1996 BMW 840Ci failed in a manner that caused it to catch fire even though the vehicle was not running at the time, and in fact had not been driven in several days. The fire damaged surrounding modules and wiring inside the passenger compartment of the car, and filled the garage with smoke, necessitating dispatch of the local fire department. The failure happened in the early morning hours and was only discovered by chance that allowed the fire to be put out before the car became fully involved, which could have burned the house down and killed the sleeping occupants. The failure appears to involve the electromechanical relay for the Fog Lights that actuates the lights and powers the board uncommanded - requiring fully disconnecting both batteries in the trunk to remove power from the board, and has been reported on user forums multiple times, including at least one other fire with similar burn patterns reported. No spare parts for this board are available from the manufacturer, so all existing vehicles may eventually see this failure The vehicle has not been inspected by the manufacturer or insurance (no policy covers this failure, and the vehicle is out of warranty), and there were NO warning lights or behavior given by the vehicle in the time before the failure.
Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.
Exterior lighting
Reports naming headlights, tail lights, turn signals and other exterior lighting.
From owner reports, verbatim
The Lighting Control Board Module (LKM) of the 1996 BMW 840Ci failed in a manner that caused it to catch fire even though the vehicle was not running at the time, and in fact had not been driven in several days. The fire damaged surrounding modules and wiring inside the passenger compartment of the car, and filled the garage with smoke, necessitating dispatch of the local fire department. The failure happened in the early morning hours and was only discovered by chance that allowed the fire to be put out before the car became fully involved, which could have burned the house down and killed the sleeping occupants. The failure appears to involve the electromechanical relay for the Fog Lights that actuates the lights and powers the board uncommanded - requiring fully disconnecting both batteries in the trunk to remove power from the board, and has been reported on user forums multiple times, including at least one other fire with similar burn patterns reported. No spare parts for this board are available from the manufacturer, so all existing vehicles may eventually see this failure The vehicle has not been inspected by the manufacturer or insurance (no policy covers this failure, and the vehicle is out of warranty), and there were NO warning lights or behavior given by the vehicle in the time before the failure.
Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.
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.
Elsewhere on this vehicle
Data sources
- NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation — owner-reported complaints and the components recorded on them
Data on this page last refreshed .