2002 BMW 530I problems
NHTSA has received 32 complaints about the 2002 BMW 530I, and 25% of them involve air bags. After that come cruise control (12%) and engine (9%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 32 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Air bags 25% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 4 and 3
- Injuries and deaths
- 0 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 60,000 miles 21 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 | 2 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 4 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 4 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 3 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 4 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 1 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 0 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 3 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Among the 21 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 60,000 miles.
Safety-related details: 4 complaints mention a crash; 3 complaints mention a fire.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2002 ranks 11th most-complained-about out of 11 model years of the BMW 530I with enough data (10 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.
Tl*the contact owns a 2002 BMW 530I. While driving approximately 30 MPH, a cloud of smoke was emitted from the hood and the vehicle stalled. The vehicle would not restart so it was towed to an authorized dealer where the contact was told oil separator failed, resulting in a complete loss of oil. The vehicle was repaired. The failure occurred three times. After each failure, the vehicle was taken back to an authorized dealer to be repaired. The failure mileage was 40,000 and the current mileage was 120,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 BMW 530I. The contact stated that while driving 15 MPH, the heated seat warmer was activated to a low setting when the seat became extremely hot. There was smoke and an abnormal odor present. As a result, a hole burned through the front driver's side seat. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 76,000. The VIN was unavailable.
Came out in morning after parking car in driveway and it wouldn't start. Smelled funny. Had it towed. Mechanic found my lcm had caught fire. All wiring and harness melted.
We were driving on dry tarmac on a main street in new rochelle. We were traveling at a reasonable/slow rate of speed, about 25-30 MPH and approached a stop light. As we slowed to stop at the light the breaks pulsed violently. It felt as if we had run over something, but I looked and there was nothing there. We looked to see if any warning lights activated to indicate a failure - but we didn't see any. We proceed to next light, and stopped again. This time there was no problem and no pulsing.
I have coolant leaks and power steering leaks and oil leaks , my alignment in batires are inward causing my tires to worn out quick, electric problem sometimes car won't start randomly making me to jump start it, my suspension is bad not sure why but causing my tire traction light go on makes it very hard to stay in control of car when driving on freeway