2004 BMW 530I problems
NHTSA has received 175 complaints about the 2004 BMW 530I, and 29% of them involve air bags. After that come seats (17%) and electrical system (16%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 175 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Air bags 29% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 5 and 29
- Injuries and deaths
- 10 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 82,000 miles 146 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 | 4 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 14 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 23 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 26 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 29 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 16 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 13 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 4 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 8 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 6 |
| 200k+ miles | 3 |
What the data shows
Among the 146 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 82,000 miles. For air bags specifically, the median reported mileage is about 81,000 miles (46 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 5 complaints mention a crash; 29 complaints mention a fire; 10 injuries reported. Its complaints are more severe on average than those of 88% of model years in our database.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2004 ranks 1st most-complained-about out of 11 model years of the BMW 530I with enough data (51 complaints in that window).
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.
While driving, the seat heater burned a hole in the leather seat, resulting in ignition of drivers clothing (leather jacket and suit coat), which caught fire. Attempts to extinguish the flames resulted in heat blisters and burns to drivers hands, damage to car, smoke damage, and damage to personal attire, loss of work hours, etc. The car was purchased certified pre-owned, however, the recall of the front seat heater was, obviously, not completed by the dealership prior to vehicle purchase.
The heated seat on my driver's side continuously got hotter and hotter, until if finally burned through the seat. My clothing was burned and so was my hand when I reached down feel the seat. I was driving at the time. This was a very dangerous situation. I my car to nob_BMW in rockville. This is where I purchased and maintain the vehicle. The did repair it for free, but charged me a fifty dollar warranty fee.
While driving, a smell of burning matter rapidly increased in the car, then immediately followed by a sharp burning sensation in my left thigh. I stopped the car, garbed my extinguisher and looked around the seat for any signs of fire. Then I noticed a black burned hole on the seat bottom left bolster exactly where my thigh burned. It seemed that the seat warmer overheated, and burned a hole in the leather. Turning on the car and warmer again for couple seconds, resulted in sparks appearing through the hole.
Tl*the contact owns a 2004 BMW 530I. The contact stated that the passenger side air bag light illuminated. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer and was told that the failure was caused by cracks in the passenger seat, which could also cause the air bag light to come on and prevent air bag from deploying in a crash. The dealer and manufacturer stated that the vehicle was not included in recall campaign 08v384000, air bags, frontal which was related to the failure. The failure and current mileages were 90,000.
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.