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Engine & cooling

1997 BMW 528 Engine problems

Owners have filed 4 complaints about the 1997 BMW 528's engine & cooling with NHTSA - 31% of all its complaints, most recently on August 2, 2015. Stalling, loss of power, oil consumption, overheating, head gaskets, timing chains and engine failure.

Complaints
4
Recalls
0
Crashes
0
Fires
0
Injuries
0
Deaths
0

Engine complaints

SteeringDriver assistanceEngine & cooling

I bought the 1997 bmw 528i off lease. It was my second bmw. The prior bmw had virtually no problems. I guess the second one had to make up for the first one. If I only had a nickle for every time I wished I hadn't traded for the second one. 1. The first problem occurred immediately, the engine overheated and I had to have it towed to a bmw dealership. This was to happen several times over the next year and a half. Whenever I drove the car I had to keep one eye on the engine temperature at all times (it would heat...

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up very fast). The bmw dealership mechanics couldn't solve the problem even though they charged me over $2,000. Well, that and a couple of boldface lies ended my relationship with that dealership. 2. The second problem occurred in roughly the same time frame. As I was driving along one day the steering wheel started moving in and out repetitively and wouldn't stop along with my seat (it had nothing to do with the memory switches in the door). This occurred several times also. 3. The radio (fm) and cd player quit immediately along with the sun roof... I am an engineer and I have managed to fix some of the problems myself but I am ashamed to relate my experience with the bmw dealerships here, as well as some other auto-repair facilities. Oh, I might add that none of my five children, who are all engineers or doctors, own a bmw and I'm sure none of their kids (15) will either.

Filed Incident Steering · Electronic stability control (ESC) · EngineNHTSA 10745657
Engine & cooling

Engine keeps overheating due to a faulty water pump. Dealer has replaced water pump twice. *Ak

Filed Engine and engine coolingNHTSA 8004403
Engine & cooling

Engine overheated suddenly at expressway speed. Suspect thermastat or water pump. Caused major engine failure, "meltdown" of radiator assy. *Ak

Filed Incident Engine and engine coolingNHTSA 748337
Engine & cooling

While getting routine service check the sevice representative reported the car had run hot. I had noticed no previous problems, however they suggested a water pump replacement. I test drove the car and it began to overheat. I returned to the dealership and suggested the thermostat be replaced first. It has been one month and I have not had any tempature problems.

Filed Incident Engine and engine coolingNHTSA 738190

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Source: 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

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