Reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers, shown in full
Data refreshed
Our database holds 9 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 1991 BMW 850I. 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 1–9 of 9
STARTED MY BMW 850I, DRIVE HALF A BLOCK DOWN THE STREET, THE AIRBAG BLOW , BURN MY HANDS. I CAN TAKE PICTURE OF THE BROKEN AIRBAG IN THE STEERING WHEEL IF NEEDED.
THE DRIVER NOTICED THAT THE HEADLIGHT ADJUSTER WAS BROKEN. THIS CAUSED POOR VISIBILITY WHILE DRIVING AT NIGHT. THE CONSUMER TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER AND WAS INFORMED THAT THE HEADLIGHTS ADJUSTER NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. *NM THE HEADLIGHTS WERE NOT HIGH ENOUGH TO SHINE ON THE ROAD TO ALLOW THE CONSUMER TO VIEW THE ROAD. THE LIGHTS WOULD ONLY GO ABOUT 15-20 FEET IN FRONT OF THE VEHICLE. *SC *JB
BOTH HEADLIGHT ADJUSTMENT MECHAISMS HAVE REPEATEDLY FAILED. THIS IS AN ONGOING COMPLAINT WITH BMW 8 SERIES OWNERS. WHEN THE ADJUSTMENT MECHANISM FAILS THE HEADLIGHT BUCKETS POINT DOWNWARDS SO THAT THE AMOUNT OF ROAD VISIBLE TO THE DRIVER IS 25 FEET OR LESS. BMW HAS A "FIX" FOR THIS WHICH CONSISTS OF "PEENING" A PLASTIC ADJUSTMENT WHEEL TO THE ADJUSTMENT SHAFT. THIS USUALLY FAILS WITHIN SEVERAL THOUSAND MILES. BMW THEN SAYS TO BUY A NEW HEADLIGHT BUCKET... $4-500 TO FIX A $2.00 PART. SOMETIME, OR MAYBE IT HA ALREADY HAPPEND THIS IS GOING TO CAUSE A MAJOR ACCIDENT OR A PEDESTRIAN FATALITY DUE TO THE FACT THAT THE LIGHTS ARE NOT PROJECTING FAR ENOUGH FOR A DRIVER TO SEE A REASONABLE DISTANCE DOWN THE HIGHWAY. I HAVE CONTACTED BMW AND HAVE YET TO RECIVE THE COURTESY OF A RETURN CALL. PLEASE RESPOND TO THIS COMPLAINT WITH WHAT ACTION THAT YOU MIGHT BE TAKING REGARDING THIS MATTER.*AK
AFTER FAILURE, BMW TELLS YOU TO BUY NEW HEADLIGHT BUCKETS FOR $650 WITH NEW ADJUSTERS IN THEM, WHICH WILL FAIL AGAIN AFTER TWO TO FOUR YEARS, DEPENDING ON THE MILEAGE. AFTER FAILURE THE LIGHTS SHINE EXTREMLY LOW WITHOUT COVERING THE STREET IN FRONT OF YOU, RESULTING IN A REAL SAFETY HAZARD.
CONSUMER STATES THE CONVERTIBLE HEADLIGHTS KNOB ARE NOT FUNCTIONING CORRECTLY MECHANIC AND MANUFACTURE HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED HOWEVER TO RESOLVE PROBLEM MANUFACTURE HAS OFFERED TO REPLACE THE WHOLE LIGHTS FOR $400.00 PER LIGHTS. NLM
HEADLIGHT HOUSING BROKEN. POINTS DOWNWARD.*AK
THIS CAR LOSES COOLANT, OVERHEATS, AND BLOWS A HEAD GASKET, AND NOW POSSIBLY NEEDS NEW CYLINDER HEADS. BMW MECHANIC STATES THAT THE TEMPERATUTE GAUGE IS NOT SUPPOSED TO TELL YOU THE ENGINE IS OVERHEATING IF THE COOLANT HAS ALREADY COMPLETELY LEAKED OUT OF THE SYSTEM. THAT THE GAUGE DOES NOT REGISTER THE EMPTY AIR IN A NOW EMPTY COOLANT SYSTEM. IN MY OPINION THE TEMP GUAGE SHOULD TELL ME THE POSSIBILITY OF MY CAR OVERHEATING SO THAT I CAN SHUT DOWN THE ENGINE AND HAVE IT REPAIRED. THIS HAS OCCURRED TWICE($5,000 FIRST TIME) AND NOW AN ESTIMATED $9,000-15,000 DEPENDING ON EXTENT OF DAMAGE. PLEASE SEND ANY INFORMATION YOU MAY HAVE ON THIS PROBLEM WITH THIS VEHICLE. A LOCAL REPUTABLE IMPORT REPAIR SHOP INFORMED ME THAT THIS HAPPENS WITH THIS CAR AND THAT THEY CONSIDER IT A COMMON DEFECT/OCCURRENCE. TO COMBAT THIS THEY EVEN HAVE THEIR OWN SOLUTION MY DRILLING EXTRA HOLES IN THE ENGINE AND BOLTING IT DOWN WITHOUT HAVING TO EVEN USE A HEADGASKET. IF THIS IS ACCEPTED COMMON KNOWLEDGE THEN THERE MUST BE FURTHER COMPLAINTS/HISTORIES OF THIS OCCURRENCE WITH THE BMW 850I.. *AK
BRAKES CONTINUE TO FAIL ALMOST RESULTING IN AN ACCIDENT.
SHOCK SUPPORT CAME COMPLETELY OUT OF THE BODY OF THE VEHICLE ON TWO OCCASIONS.
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 .