2013 BMW 535I problems
NHTSA has received 60 complaints about the 2013 BMW 535I, and 22% of them involve electrical system. After that come engine (18%) and lighting (13%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 60 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Electrical system 22% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 3 and 4
- Injuries and deaths
- 3 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 16,000 miles 34 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 | 17 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 2 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 6 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 3 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 1 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 0 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 0 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 3 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 1 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 1 |
What the data shows
Among the 34 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 16,000 miles.
Safety-related details: 3 complaints mention a crash; 4 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 2013 ranks 5th most-complained-about out of 8 model years of the BMW 535I with enough data (26 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 1 safety recall campaign.
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.
My 2013 BMW 535i (VIN [XXX] ) caught fire spontaneously while parked, turned off, and unoccupied on 11/18/2025 in Westbury, NY. A passerby saw smoke and called 911. Nassau County Police and the Westbury Fire Department responded. Firefighters informed me at the scene that the fire was mechanical in origin. The vehicle was completely off and had been parked for about 20 minutes. I was not in or near the car. The fire originated under the hood.
Tl* the contact owns a 2013 BMW 535I. The vehicle stalled and the steering failed without warning when the contact depressed the brake pedal. The contact could not stop the vehicle from rolling down a hill. The dealer was unable to diagnose the cause of the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 12,000.
As I was leaving the stop sign and entering the busy intersection, my engine suddenly died. The second incident happened a few days later. I was driving about 15 MPH, again the engine suddenly died.we took the car to BMW encinitas for its first maintainance check and we did mention these two scary incidents.they re-assured us that everything was fine. The latest incident happened two days ago, feb 23 ,2015.