1993 BMW 525Ia

Routine

Owners filed 1 complaints about this vehicle with federal regulators, most often about the power train › automatic transmission. It has been recalled 1 time.

What fails

Component	Reports		Crashes	Fires	Injuries
Power Train › Automatic Transmission	1		0	0	0

1 safety recall

Part 573 reports

Engine and Engine Cooling › Cooling System98V178000

Filed Aug 4, 1998340,000 vehiclesBayerische Motoren Werke

Defect. VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: PASSENGER VEHICLES. A MALFUNCTION OR FAILURE OF A COOLANT SYSTEM COMPONENT, SUCH AS A THERMOSTAT, WATER PUMP, OR FAN BELT, CAN RESULT IN SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED COOLANT TEMPERATURE AND SYSTEM PRESSURE. IF THE INDICATIONS OF A CRITICAL OVERHEATING CONDITION IS NOT NOTICED BY THE DRIVER, IT IS POSSIBLE THAT DAMAGE TO, OR FAILURE OF, A COOLANT SYSTEM COMPONENT COULD OCCUR.

Risk. IF A CRACK WERE TO FORM OR A SEAM WERE TO SEPARATE IN THE HEATER CORE END PIECE, HOT COOLANT COULD SUDDENLY BE EXPELLED, INCREASING THE RISK OF PERSONAL INJURY TO A VEHICLE OCCUPANT.

Remedy. DEALERS WILL INSTALL A NEW DESIGN RADIATOR CAP TO CONTROL PRESSURE AND PROVIDE GREATER COOLANT OVERFLOW IN THE EVENT OF OVERHEATING.

What owners reported

Newest filings

Power Train › Automatic Transmission

Filed Oct 11, 2000VA

"TRANS PROGRAM" WILL LIGHT UP ON DASHBOARD AND WHEN IT DOES, TRANSMISSION WILL SLIP. THIS WAS INTERMITTENT BEFORE BUT NOW CONSTANT WHEN FIRST STARTING IN AM. IF I LET CAR SIT FOR ABOUT 15 MINUTES, "TRANS PROGRAM" WILL DISSAPPEAR AND CAR WILL SHIFT NORMALLY (AUTOMATIC TRANS). AFRAID TRANSMISSION MIGHT SLIP WHEN CAR IS IN MOTION CAUSING ACCIDENT. BROUGHT TO DEALER, COULD NOT EXPLAIN WHATS WRONG BUT WANTS TO REPLACE TRANS. BMW HAS SEVERAL TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETINS RE. THIS (ACCORDING TO INTERNET) BUT BMW WILL NOT SHARE NOR ANSWER MY LETTER. WENT TO INDEPENDENT TRANS. MECHANIC WHO SAYS TRANSMISSION ITSELF IS FINE. THANKS.*AK

1 of 1 complaints, reproduced as filed.

Across model years

Worst on record: 1994

Year	Complaints	Recalls	Fires	Assessment
2002	3	1	0	Routine
2001	1	3	0	Routine
1995	3	2	0	Routine
1994	4	2	2	Routine
1993 — this page	1	1	0	Routine
1992	1	1	1	Routine
1991	1	1	0	Routine
1990	0	1	0	Routine

Compare every 525Ia year →

Other BMW models

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Reading this record

No unusual pattern of severe incidents in the complaint record.

Complaint counts track how many cars were sold and how long they have been on the road as much as they track quality. A common model from 2013 has had a decade to accumulate reports; a rare one from last year has not. The signal worth weighing is in the severity columns, in whether the same component keeps appearing, and in whether the manufacturer eventually opened a recall for it.

Recall repairs are free for as long as the recall stands. Check whether a specific car still has open work at NHTSA's VIN lookup.

Most recent recall on file: Aug 4, 1998. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.