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1997-2002 · 4 model years

BMW 540 Problems by year

Owners have filed 10 complaints about the BMW 540 across 4 model years, and it has 1 recall. The 1997 has the most complaints once its age is allowed for (7). The most reported problem area is the airbags, followed by the engine & cooling.

Most complaints for its age19977 complaints · 0 recallsSee the 1997
Complaints
10
Recalls
1
Crashes
0
Fires
0
Injuries
0
Deaths
0

540 complaints by model year

Highlighted: the year with the most complaints for its age. Older vehicles have had more time to collect complaints - the Safety Index grade allows for that.

YearComplaintsRecallsCrashesFiresTop problemGrade
20020100-C
20010100-C
19993000Engine & coolingC
19977000AirbagsF

Most common 540 problems

BMW 540 recalls 1

Latest 540 complaints

1997 BMW 540Transmission & drivetrain

Tl* the contact owns a 1997 bmw 540. The contact stated that the transmission failed and the vehicle inspected by the dealer who advised that the transmission ring gear failed and cause the transmission to slip into safe mode. The manufacturer advised that the vehicle was not under recall and the vehicle was not repaired. The vin was unavailable. The failure and current mileage was 141,000.

Filed Incident Power trainNHTSA 10396026
1999 BMW 540Engine & cooling

1. No symptoms; 2. Cracked radiator neck, that was fortunatly caught just prior to a catastrophic failure. The radiator neck broke in my hand as I was removing it. 3.Replaced radiator. *Ak

Filed Incident Engine and engine coolingNHTSA 10102169
1997 BMW 540Airbags

The airbag light illuminated because of the passenger side weight system. *Nlm

Filed Air bagsNHTSA 10019947
1999 BMW 540Engine & cooling

According to repair facility (bmw dealer), this is a known problem, poorly designed/manufactured raditor, that bmw will not acknowledge. They will not even re-designed and or make modifications to currect radiator design for the 540 model. Please do something about this. Dt

Filed Incident Engine and engine coolingNHTSA 770241

Questions about the BMW 540

Which BMW 540 years have the most problems?

By the number of complaints owners filed with NHTSA: 1997 (7), 1999 (3). Allowing for how long each has been on the road, the 1997 stands out most. Complaint counts also rise with sales, so compare years of the same model rather than different models.

What are the most common BMW 540 problems?

Across every model year, owners report problems with the airbags (3), engine & cooling (2), transmission & drivetrain (2) most often.

How many recalls does the BMW 540 have?

NHTSA lists 1 recall across all BMW 540 model years. Each year's page lists the recalls for that year; check your own vehicle by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see whether the repair has been done.

Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) complaints and recalls, checked daily. Complaints are owners' own reports and are not verified. How we use the data

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