2005 BMW 545I problems
Owners have filed 121 complaints with NHTSA about the 2005 BMW 545I. Air bags is the most reported problem area, at 31% of complaints. After that come electrical system (12%) and brakes (8%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 121 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Air bags 31% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 3 and 1
- Injuries and deaths
- 1 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 84,000 miles 96 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 | 3 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 1 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 24 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 16 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 19 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 13 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 11 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 4 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 3 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 2 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Among the 96 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 84,000 miles. For air bags specifically, the median reported mileage is about 100,000 miles (31 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 3 complaints mention a crash; 1 complaint mentions a fire; 1 injury reported. Its complaints are less severe on average than those of 88% of model years in our database.
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 BMW 545I 2005 has experienced problems with mechatronics for some time. One day I was driving home and my car has down shifted from high 4th gear to 2nd and caused me to drive into a ditch. Luckily I was wearing a seat belt but still experienced neck injuries from hitting the ditch. This problem needs a recall before some one gets killed. BMW can no longer cover this up and this issue needs to be investigated. Many forms on the internet have addressed the same problem.
At approxamitately 1:20pm on July 13, after being parked for a little over an hour I was told that my car was burning. 911 was called immediately and the owner of the establishment went outside and called to the firemen at the station on the other side of the street. Their response was immediate. Response was so quick that damage was limited to the right rear. Which seems that the fire started in the area directly foreward and above the battery
Driving approximately 50 MPH an accident occurred where there was oil in road. My car lost control and veered into a guard rail on the highway. My car was subsequently totaled and none of my air bags deployed in the crash.
Car slams like you just got rear ended if you speed up while rolling at around 35MPH. This is very dangerous as it happens when I'm trying to change lanes and speed up. Also transmission jerks as if you are missing a spark or it is trying to find a higher or lower gear while cruising in traffic between 32-40 MPH. It jerks noticeably where my son asks why are you driving like that. This is terrible and needs to be dealt with, regardless whether the car is still under warranty or not.
2005 BMW 545I e60 fault in passenger restraint system: this model BMW has experienced a fault in the passenger restraint system and is not listed in the past recall which can lead to dangerous situations if an accident occurs and the restraint system malfunctions. The problem is in the mat of the passenger seat and upon a passenger getting into my car about a year ago, I received the error message.
Other model years of the 545I
- 2005
- 2004