BMW 5 Series
Owners filed 426 complaints across 24 model years of the BMW 5 Series. The 2008 drew the most (105).
Which BMW 5 Series years should you avoid?
No BMW 5 Series year stands out. Across the 4 model years old enough to judge, none drew twice the complaints of a typical year (about 83), and none shows an unusual share of fires, crashes or deaths for its age.
How this is worked out: each year is compared with a typical year of the same model, which takes most of the difference in sales out of it, and its share of serious failures is compared with every other car of the same model year, because older cars were complained about differently. A year needs 25 complaints to be judged at all. Complaints are unverified owner reports. Full method →
Every BMW 5 Series model year compared
Complaints per year| Year | Complaints | Relative volume | Recalls | Fires | Crashes | Most reported | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 0 | 1 | — | — | — | Routine | |
| 2012 | 10 | 0 | — | — | Power Train | Routine | |
| 2011 | 81 | 4 | 2 | 2 | Tires | Routine | |
| 2010 | 6 | 5 | — | — | Air Bags | Routine | |
| 2009 | 8 | 4 | — | 1 | Electrical System | Routine | |
| 2008 | 105 | 4 | 3 | 1 | Fuel System, Gasoline | Routine | |
| 2007 | 13 | 4 | — | — | Air Bags | Routine | |
| 2006 | 85 | 8 | 2 | 4 | Air Bags | Routine | |
| 2005 | 21 | 5 | 1 | 2 | Air Bags | Routine | |
| 2004 | 64 | 8 | 9 | 1 | Air Bags | Routine | |
| 2003 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 1 | Air Bags | Routine | |
| 2002 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 1 | Exterior Lighting › Headlights | Routine | |
| 2001 | 3 | 2 | — | — | Structure | Routine | |
| 2000 | 2 | 2 | — | — | Air Bags › Frontal | Routine | |
| 1999 | 2 | 1 | — | — | Service Brakes, Hydraulic › Antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip › Control Unit/Module | Routine | |
| 1998 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | Routine | |
| 1997 | 1 | 3 | — | — | Air Bags | Routine | |
| 1996 | 0 | 3 | — | — | — | Routine | |
| 1995 | 3 | 3 | — | 1 | Latches/Locks/Linkages › Doors › Latch | Routine | |
| 1994 | 0 | 3 | — | — | — | Routine | |
| 1993 | 0 | 3 | — | — | — | Routine | |
| 1992 | 0 | 3 | — | — | — | Routine | |
| 1991 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | Routine | |
| 1990 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | Routine |
Data: NHTSA complaint and recall files, October 2026. Complaints are unverified owner reports.