2005 BMW 530I problems
NHTSA has received 84 complaints about the 2005 BMW 530I, and 48% of them involve air bags. After that come electrical system (12%) and seat belts (10%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 84 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Air bags 48% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 6 and 1
- Injuries and deaths
- 9 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 100,000 miles 71 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 | 1 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 3 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 10 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 11 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 10 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 17 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 4 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 6 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 7 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 2 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Among the 71 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 100,000 miles. For air bags specifically, the median reported mileage is about 90,000 miles (33 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 6 complaints mention a crash; 1 complaint mentions a fire; 9 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2005 ranks 7th most-complained-about out of 11 model years of the BMW 530I with enough data (16 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.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 BMW 530I. While driving at an unknown speed, the contact heard a loud noise near the front driver's side wheel. The dealer could not duplicate the failure and did not state if the vehicle was included in NHTSA campaign id number: 10v446000 (service brakes, hydraulic). The contact was unable to stop the vehicle in time when another vehicle suddenly maneuvered in her lane, which LED to the contact crashing into the rear of the second vehicle.
I purchased my vehicle from a dealer on april 2014. Approximately a month later, the passenger frontal airbag automatically disabled and the light illuminated on the dashboard. The frontal passenger seatbelt also disabled and the light illuminated on the dashboard. The brake light is also illuminated. In june 2014, my car was hit by a f150 truck. The impact was so forceful, my car was knocked on the other side of the street. Non of the airbags deployed and there were injuries to the driver.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 BMW 530I. The contact stated that the front passenger seat air bag warning lamp illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The technician diagnosed that the passenger seat air bag sensor mat was defective and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure who did not offer any assistance since the vehicle was not included in recall NHTSA campaign number: 08v384000 (front passenger seat occupant detection mat). The vehicle was not repaired.
The insulation inside the headlight has completely cracked and flaked off, leaving bare wires exposed that can short out and present a fire risk.