- The problem
- This recall involves aftermarket parts sold by Valeo. Valeo is recalling certain engine cooling fans, part numbers 696121, 696273, and 696275, used as service replacement parts for model year 2008-2011 BMW 1-Series, 2006-2011 BMW 3-Series, 2000-2009 BMW 5-Series, 2004-2005 BMW 6-Series, and 2006-2007 BMW 7-Series vehicles. A metal-oxide semiconductor may overheat due to insufficient screwing of the semiconductor on the aluminum heat sink. This primary failure could cause adjacent components on the fan assembly motor circuit board to overheat and short.
- The risk
- This condition could cause the fan motor to become inoperative, or cause the motor circuit board in the assembly to overheat, potentially leading to a fire in the engine compartment.
- The fix
- Valeo will notify owners and replace the fans free of charge. The safety recall began on August 22, 2012. This recall is being conducted by Valeo, not by BMW. For further information, owners may contact Valeo at 1-888-718-2536.
Engine & cooling
2004 BMW 5 Series Engine problems
Owners have filed 27 complaints about the 2004 BMW 5 Series's engine & cooling with NHTSA - 8% of all its complaints, most recently on October 21, 2020. They describe 0 crashes, 1 fire and 0 injuries. Stalling, loss of power, oil consumption, overheating, head gaskets, timing chains and engine failure.
- Complaints
- 27
- Recalls
- 1
- Crashes
- 0
- Fires
- 1
- Injuries
- 0
- Deaths
- 0
Engine recalls for the 2004 BMW 5 Series
Engine complaints
Smell burning or exhauste fume in the cabin during the first two miles of driving the car!
Valve cover gasket leak, timing chain cover gasket leak, valve stem leak.
VEHICLE WONT STOP LEAKING OIL.
I came back from my summer holiday, and restarted my car. A lot of warnings appears on the odometer. About engine, airbags, steering, tire pressure, and seat belt. (I have checked the tire pressure, it is normal. And I always lock the seat belt before driving). In addition, the navigation screen and radio died. Furthermore, the car lose electricity after it shuts down. After more than 3 hours of shut down, it won't have enough power to re-ignite. I check on nhtsa website that there are three recall issues that my...
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car was included, and related to the issues I am reporting right now. About air bags (08v384000), engine (12e029000), and electrical system (12v126000). But I cannot find out any information by my vin number on nhtsa. It is a used car, I am not sure whether the former user responded the recall before. Even if this car was recalled before, I don't know whether it was fixed properly, and the similar issues would not happen again.
Drive moderately keeps popping up an service engine after getting bmw to check it an fix it also it won't crank sometimes but the battery an alternator is brand new but after it sit for hours it finally crank up, maybe it's an security issue but it's unnecessary
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 bmw 545i. While driving 65 mph, the vehicle overheated. The contact stated stated that the pump cool pipe was making the vehicle overheat. The contact stated that the vehicle was diagnosed. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 140,000.
Since 2012, the nightmares begin with trying to get my 525i smogged, from weber bmw fresno under a whooping $500.00. Every time the smog is due which is ever 2-yrs the service engine light comes on.... And bmw gives you the code you replace what the code says and then guess what the light comes back on they keep charging you a diagnostics charge of $130.00 Each time and when you get to $500.00 They now know what the problem is which will cost you around $1000.00 Or so. Bmw gave him a code for $130.00, He made the...
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repair based on their information and guess what it didn't pass smog. So, my mechanic took it back, service adviser not in who handled the car the first time so their is another diagnostics fee of $130.00, My mechanic tells them fine just smog it. Well it's been two weeks with the bmw service center, they claim to not know what the problem is but they need authorization now for additional diagnostics which would bring the total to $520.00, And you guessed it the car still hasn't passed smog. I called to speak to the service manger on 2/11, for assistance and of course he is going to look into it and call me back. My mechanic says he was last informed this same thing by the service manager but the service adviser said he would need authorization to proceed with the charge of $520.00 In order to do another diagnostics?? ...When in fact all they do is rake up false charges and codes based on the mileage of your vehicle, you can forget the fact that you keep up the maintenance on your vehicle, it won't matter when the time comes to get your vehicle smog be prepared to be scammed by weber bmw in fresno.
Subject: 2004 bmw 535i on october 30,2012 just after hurricane sandy hit the east coast of new jersey, I had occasion to use my 535i. While driving I noticed various warning and fault lights flashing on the control panel, loss of power and the cabin began filling with smoke. With great difficulty, I managed to pull across several lanes to the side of the multi-lane highway I was on (route 42n). Upon inspection I found 6-8 inches of water in the trunk wheel well. Under the spare tire I observed a burning and...
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smoking msm power module. I subsequently brought the car to my local bmw dealer in turnersville, nj. The dealer refused any liability or fault for the $3000 repair which included replacing and relocating the msm power module, replacing the radio system, cleaning water stains from the hood liner and trying to alleviate the smoke odor. I came to find out there was a service bulletin to relocate the msm power module higher in the trunk from its original position at the bottom of the wheel well. The dealer lied and told me water has leaked into the trunk via loose trunk rivets. I later determined the water entered the trunk following clogged sunroof drains. The dealer did not deny that could have happened but refused to cover the damages. Bmw should be sued as I've determined this issue is not atypical and could lead to a disaster. [[redacted]] [[redacted]] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.S.C. 552(B)(6).'*Jb
Battery cable/terminal melted. Car would not start on several occasions. After sitting ...Then car would start. Random start. Also, radio would come on all by itself. Call has just over 100k miles (101,200). Also codes received for cam shaft and air pump which had to be replaced.
Sudden acceleration on a bmw 525i 2004. No previous incidents. While turning into a parking space, perpendicular to the road, in front of a bakery, during the final approach the engine suddenly accelerated, abruptly and without a reason, going over the bump stop. The car ended up in the sidewalk, no injuries (fortunately no pedestrians were on the sidewalk at the time). Luckily the driver had the foot on the break pedal and could take action preventing a crash with the building's door and avoiding hitting the...
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people inside the shop. Car was taken to the dealer and will undergo testing. Service adviser claims no issue like this has happened before, only in toyota's. Not true at all. *Tr
Custom ordered 545i in 2004 as still original/existing owner. Have had repeated electrical errors on I drive "dynamic drive failure proceed with caution as the steering has been effected and see your bmw authorized rep," "electrical failure see your bmw authorized rep. Immediately proceed with caution, "passenger restraint fault proceed with caution effecting belt and belt force limiter, stalling at very low and as high rates of speed as high as 70 mph without any warning." Sometimes the car logs the errors and...
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many times it doesn't fully that it takes bmw na's computer to access the extended ram in the car to retrieve per bmw na that the dealerships can't. I even have pictures of the errors the car doesn't log so they claim they can't do anything. Bmw engineers in germany have been involved as the car refused to reprogram twice for the dealership. This car is compliant w/all recalls per the dealer and has been in the shop over 16 times w/only 70k miles. The dealer and bmw na can't determine the root cause of the problems except to say they think they're being triggered by low voltage and its had 3 batteries at less than 70k miles, isn't driven much, and bmw na nor the dealership can permanently resolve the errors and stalling and/or stop them. Bmw na and the dealership have replaced the entire wiring harness at 13k miles, have refused to take the car back after several attempts after qualifying as a lemon under the lemon law since before 10k miles and been given multiple excuses for all of the errors they can't resolve. They keep telling us to bring it back every time, buy an extended warranty at $6k to continually service electrical and stalling/running rough issues they can't fix under original factory warranty. They're not reporting service trips to carfax and refuse to release documentation on the car regarding the problems to us or our attorneys. *Tr
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 bmw 545i. The contact stated that while at a complete stop, he attempted to accelerate and a large cloud of smoke emitted from the exhaust. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was found that the valve stem seals had failed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted about the failure. The failure mileage was 94,000.
When I got up out the seat the airbag and seat belt indicator came on and is still on. It says passenger restraint system malfunction. And it will not deploy airbags. Also there have been a few oil leaks in the engine. *Tr
Vehicle slips in an out of 5th and 6th gear when traveling at constant 35 to 40 mph in auto mode and around 60 mph in ds mode. Noticeable oil leaks as well as occasional smoke from tailpipe and vehicle bangs into gear ( while downshifting on occasion) also noticed that the electrical system seems to cut out for a split second while driving. Heads up display and radio illustrates this finding as they shut off for a second. The clock is also behind a few minutes / week because of this. *Tr
Transmission jerks and slips. When coming to a stop, the car slams into gear. This could cause a major accident if this occurred during wet or icy road conditions due to breaking traction from wheels and road surface. This is a major concern and after doing some research, thousands of 5 series bmw's have this problem. The result is a defective mechatronics which costs between $5000-$8000 to fix and not covered by bmw or under warranty. *Tr
When beginning to drive, the vehicle would slam to the point where I thought I was rear ended. I took the car to my mechanic and he said it was the transmission and the fix was costly. Continues to do this at times and will also do a smaller scale slam when slowing to a stop light or stop sign. *Tr
On bmw with the n62 4.4L v8 engine there's an oil leak on the alternator bracket that leaks for a while until it is inspected and found it leaks oil on the steering components I think causing the steering components to deteriorate after a while causing a safety issue. The oil leak eventually happens to all n62 4.4L v8 engines. *Tr
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 bmw 530i. The contact noticed that the air bag warning light was illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostics where the technician stated that the seat mat would have to be replaced. The contact referenced nhtsa campaign id number: 08v384000 (air bags:frontal) but was advised by the manufacturer that the vin was not included in the recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 40,000. Updated 08-16-12 *bf updated 08/16/2012 *js
Intermittent harsh 2-1 downshift (jolt) when coming to a stop with light brake application. Jolts and/or jerks felt when reaccelerating after coasting. Judder when gently accelerating (most noticeable at an engine speed below 2,000 rpm). *Tr
Dealer is telling me a new transmission is needed.
In july my car was short of oil and the following parts were replaced cyclone seplerator with updated kit and replaced separator with updated parts including dipstick tube. Had oil changed on 9/16/11, on road at 2:00 a.M. In the morning and the oil level low light came on again. Had to pull off the road for fear of perm. Damage to engine. In town where there were no stores open to buy oil,i though the oil leakage situation was taken care of. Added 1.5 Quarts of oil, returned home to take it back to dealer with...
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the mileage 69731 and it was a quart short. They stated there were no leaks and I was informed per sib 110584 1 quart of oil is allowed to be consumed per 750 miles. I informed the dealer this car never consumed oil before. Had I known that it consumed oil I would not have paid 1308.00 To replace the parts. I would have traded the car. Very disappointed and this could be dangerous. *Tr
2004 Bmw 530i. Consumer states engine abruptly stopped running which in turn, shut down the power steering and power brakes *tgw the mechanic stated the oil level sensor had short-circuited internally and the sensor was installed on the same circuit as the fuel injectors, so the power to the fuel injectors was abruptly cut off and the motor failed. *Jb
2004 Bmw 530i with only 54,000 miles (6 yrs of ownership) - on sunday morning, my engine won't start on 1/31/2010 all of sudden. - Called aaa for battery check and jump start but it was not a battery issue per aaa. - Towed my car to my bmw dealer for check up - bmw dealer checked and told me my engine is dead and need to replace it with a new engine. It would cost $13,000 (this is ridiculous.) - I told them it must be engine defect and check this for me and tell bmw hq - my dealer checked my...
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maintenance record with them and they are trying help and find out what was the issue with the engine. They don't understand either. - Dealer is still trying to find out why my engine died with a good maintenance record and only 54,000 miles (no flood involved) - dealer is trying to report to bmw hq with their finding if bmw hq is willing to help. No update from bmw dealer yet. Not sure if bmw hq is willing to help. - Please kindly investigate this bmw engine failure defect issue because you don't expect to buy a car that can last only 54,000 miles (6 yrs). This is crazy! - My friend has 3 series bmw and he told me his engine stops multiple times almost everyday. Bmw engine has a major issue. *Tr
Engine tapping/knocking on first drive of day. 8 Service visits. Service by bmw confirmed "noise is not normal." Escalated to bmw na 3 times. First serviced under bmw original warranty. Bmw claims just a noisy engine by design. Even though bmw claimed it was normal, bmw could not tell me what it was or coming from. Bmw is not compliant in performing under the new car warranty. *Tr
Bmw x5 accelerator failed to respond after stop at traffic lights. It moved forward slowly for about 20 yds. Before deciding to engage...This happened three times, consecutively, at the end of drive home. Around noon on tuesday october 14, 2008. The day before the internal door lock button failed to function. Called bmw dealership and had it towed. Bmw continue to test but was informed last evening that there appeared to be nothing wrong with vehicle according to the computer! This is a major safety issue and bmw [central] have not been supportive so far. I have asked that the car be fixed and that I be supplied with a loaner until then. *Tr
BMW 5 Series engine complaints by year
5 Series engine problems, every yearSource: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) complaints and recalls, checked . Complaints are owners' own reports and are not verified. How we use the data