2011 BMW 5 Series problems
The 2011 BMW 5 Series has 96 complaints on file with NHTSA. The largest share (31%) concerns tires. After that come steering (21%) and drivetrain & axles (8%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 96 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Tires 31% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 6 and 3
- Injuries and deaths
- 3 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 2,000 miles 87 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 70 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 3 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 6 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 5 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 3 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 0 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 0 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 0 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Among the 87 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 2,000 miles. For tires specifically, the median reported mileage is about 3,000 miles (26 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 6 complaints mention a crash; 3 complaints mention a fire; 3 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2011 ranks 2nd most-complained-about out of 5 model years of the BMW 5 Series with enough data (86 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 4 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
There are 3 major issues. 1. Vehicle tends to veer to the right. Feeling is quite like a vehicle that hasn't been aligned for a while. 2. The most dangerous. Upon acceleration and/or at low speed, the vehicle randomly jerks forward without any notice- making it too late for the driver to slam the brakes. If your vehicle is standing three feet behind another vehicle in stop and go traffic, you can easily crash and rear end into the car in front of you. And of course, you will be sued for not keeping your distance.
The first time it happened, my wife drove our 2011 BMW 535I to work and the fuel gauge was reading half tank. It's only approx. 20 miles to work round trip to our house but when she came back home the fuel gauge was almost empty and flashing warning light fuel refill is showing. I drove the car for the past few days and I noticed that the fuel gauge indicator seemed to be staying all the time at half tank reading.
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 BMW 5 series. While driving approximately 10 MPH, the contact approached a stop sign and depressed the brake pedal when the vehicle suddenly accelerated abnormally. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing where the technician advised that the failure occurred due to driver error. The failure recurred three times. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer and the manufacturer was made aware of the failure.