Page 2 of 2 · complaints 51–71 of 71

2009 BMW 535i complaints

Owner reports filed with NHTSA about this vehicle, newest first and reproduced as filed. They are unverified accounts: one proves nothing, and a pattern across many is the thing worth reading. Back to the full 2009 record →

Engine
Filed Apr 13, 201424,000 milesTX

CAR STARTS NORMALLY. UPON REACHING CRUISING SPEED CAR ENGINE WARNING LIGHT COMES ON AND CAR IMMEDIATELY REDUCES ENGINE POWER. THIS HAPPENS RANDOMLY, AND HAS HAPPENED ON SIDE ROADS AND FREEWAYS. I HAVE TO PULL OVER IMMEDIATELY AND SHUT OFF CAR, WAIT, AND RE-START CAR. LATER, AND RANDOMLY SAME THING HAPPENS AGAIN. SCARY. *JS

Fuel System, Gasoline
Filed Jan 9, 201475,434 milesGA

ON AN EARLY COLD MORNING, I CRANK MY CAR AND AFTER IT STARTED I NOTICED THAT MY CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON; IT STALLED OUT AND I HAD TO RESTART IT. THIS CAR HAS BEEN IN AND OUT OF THE REPAIR SHOP (BMW) WITHIN THE LAST YEAR APPROXIMATELY FOUR TIMES. THE MAJOR REASON WAS FUEL PROBLEMS. I HAD A DIAGNOSTIC TEST DONE ON IT AND THE BMW REPAIR SHOP STATED THAT I NEEDED ALL INJECTORS, SPARK PLUGS AND A FUEL INLET VALVE REPLACED WHICH WILL COST ABOUT 2200. THE PROBLEM I HAVE IS THAT BMW PUBLISHED THIS INFORMATION TO CORRECT AN ONGOING PROBLEM WITH 535I TWIN TURBO FUEL SYSTEM; HOWEVER AT THE CONSUMERS' EXPENSE. I SPOKE WITH A SUPERVISOR IN CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP AND SHE STATED THAT BMW WAS NOT RESPONSE FOR OR REPAIRING IT. *TR

Exterior Lighting
Filed Oct 25, 201368,000 milesFL

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 BMW 535I. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE REAR DRIVER'S SIDE TAIL LIGHT FAILED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN FOR INSPECTION AND WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS NOT LISTED UNDER NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 13V407000 (EXTERIOR LIGHTING). THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 68000.

Engine
Filed Sep 30, 201352,000 milesMA

FAN RAN TOO FAST, ENGINE HOT MESSAGE, REDUCE SPEED MESSAGE, CAR LIMPED TO A STOP. OVER HEATED. *TR

Engine and Engine CoolingFire
Filed Apr 16, 2013MA

2009 BMW 535I. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO ENGINE MALFUNCTION THAT CAUSED VEHICLE FIRE. *SMD THE CONSUMER STATED THE VEHICLE WAS IN THE PROCESS OF BEING TOWED, WHEN IT CAUGHT ON FIRE. THE CONSUMER STATED THERE WAS NO UNUSUAL SERVICE HISTORY. THE HIGH PRESSURE FUEL PUMP WAS REPLACED TWICE, ONCE AS A RECALL. THE VEHICLE WAS SERVICED FOR STALLING PROBLEMS, WHICH WAS THE SAME ISSUE THAT OCCURRED ON THE DAY OF THE FIRE.

Air Bags
Filed Dec 26, 2012CA

I GOT A PASSENGER RESTRAINT SYSTEM MALFUNCTION: FAULT IN PASSENGER-RESTRAINT SYSTEM AFFECTING AIRBAG, BELT TENSIONER OR BELT-FORCE LIMITER RESTRAINT PROBLEM. THIS RESULTED IN A RED AIRBAG LIGHT AND RED PASSENGER BELT TO COME ON THE DASH AND IDRIVE. THE PASSENGER RESTRAINT SYSTEM AND BELT TENSIONER IS SAID TO BE BAD . THIS TIME WITH A RED AIRBAG LIGHT ON ALL THE TIME, AND THE SEAT BELT UNBUCKLED LIGHT ON AS WELL. *TR

Fuel/Propulsion System
Filed Sep 17, 201258,750 milesGA

MY FIRST INCIDENT OCCURRED WHILE I WAS TRAVELING ON I-185. MY VEHICLE SUDDENLY LOST POWER AND BEGAN SPUTTERING AND CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. THIS HAPPENED WHILE TRAFFIC WAS HEAVY BUT MIRACULOUSLY I WAS ABLE TO MERGE OVER TO THE EMERGENCY LANE AND EXIT OFF THE INTERSTATE. BMW DEALERSHIP DIAGNOSIS IT AS A FAILED IN-TANK ELECTRIC FUEL PUMP AND SENSOR. IT WAS REPAIRED AND I PAID 1254.00. UNFORTUNATELY, A WEEK LATER, I EXPERIENCED ANOTHER LOSS OF ENGINE POWER AND CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON WHILE I WAS TRAVELING ON THE INTERSTATE. THIS TIME BMW DEALERSHIP TOLD ME THEY HAD TO UPGRADE SOFTWARE AND CHANGE OUT SOME INJECTORS AND THAT SHOULD SOLVE MY PROBLEM. I BOUGHT THIS CAR TO DRIVE IT AND NOT SEND IT BACK AND FORTH TO THE REPAIR SHOP. *TR

Fuel System, Gasoline
Filed Jul 27, 201134,284 milesTX

VEHICLE HAD LOSS OF POWER, SHAKY AT START UP. VEHICLE HAD A LOSS POWER TO ONLY GO ABOUT 5MPH. VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO DEALER. *TR

Fuel System, Gasoline
Filed Apr 16, 201118,000 milesVA

SUDDEN LOSS OF ENGINE POWER, ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. BMW REPROGRAMMED THE COMPUTER BUT SO FAR IT HAS HAPPENED 3 TIMES (AT 8,000MILES, 13,000 MILES AND 18,000 MILES). *TR

Engine and Engine Cooling
Filed Aug 29, 20108,300 milesNJ

ENGINE MALFUNCTION LIGHT AND REDUCED POWER WARNING FOR BMW 535I. *TR

Engine and Engine Cooling
Filed Aug 19, 201018,500 milesPA

PURCHASED A BMW 535I X DRIVE IN APRIL 2009. SINCE APRIL 2010, THE CAR HAS BEEN IN FOR SERVICE 4 TIMES, MOST RECENTLY AUGUST 2010. ALL 4 TIMES, THE CAR'S ENGINE LIGHTS HAVE COME ON - OXYGEN SENSORS HAVE BEEN REPLACED TWICE. A PROBLEM IN THE FUEL AREA/CATALYST CONVERTER WAS JUST FIXED IN JULY. LAST PROBLEM WAS AT 18,400 MILES - DRIVING ON HIGHWAY AT 70MPH OUT OF TOWN IN ANOTHER STATE AT 10:45PM, AN AUDIBLE SIGNAL WENT OFF AND THEN 2 ENGINE LIGHTS APPEARS IN MY SPEEDOMETER AREA. ALSO, IN THE NAVIGATION AREA, ENGINE MALFUNCTION REDUCED POWER ERROR MESSAGE. THE CAR BEGAN SHAKING AND THE POWER WAS REDUCED DOWN TO 40MPH. AT THAT POINT, 225 MILES FROM HOME, NEEDED TO TURN BACK AND DRIVE 45 MINUTES FROM THE CITY THAT I JUST LEFT. CAR WAS TOWED TO A CITY 60 MILES FROM THERE AND THE SERVICE MANAGER TOLD ME IMMEDIATELY IT WAS THE HPFP PROBLEM. AT THAT TIME, HE ALSO STATED THAT THE FUEL INJECTORS ARE NOT A PROBLEM NOW, BUT IT IS VERY LIKELY THAT THEY WILL GO BAD WITHIN 6 MONTHS FROM NOW. CONFIDENCE HAS BEEN LOST IN THIS NEW CAR AND SAFETY CONCERNS FOR DRIVING THIS CAR MORE THAN 25-30 MILES OUT OF MY HOME CITY. EXTREMELY CONCERNED ABOUT BREAKING DOWN AND STRANDED AGAIN. *TR

Fuel System, Gasoline
Filed Jul 14, 201013,000 milesAE

WHILE DRIVING MY BMW, THE ENGINE STALLED OUT ON THE HIGHWAY AND FORCED ME TO EXPEDITE MYSELF TO A SAFE LOCATION. THE ENGINE WOULD SHAKE AND RATTLE AT IDLE, AND THE CAR WAS SENT INTO LIMP MODE BY THE PCM. THIS OCCURRED NUMEROUS TIMES IN THE FOLLOWING DAYS, AND ALWAYS AT RANDOM TIMES AND SPEEDS. I WAS LUCKY ENOUGH TO NOT BE PASSING SOMEONE ON THE HIGHWAY, OR ENTERING/EXITING THE ON/OFF RAMPS WHEN IT OCCURRED. I AM FORCED TO TAKE ULTRA SAFE ROUTES THAT OFFER SLOWER SPEEDS. THIS ISSUE SEEMS TO BE VERY COMMON WITH THIS ENGINE MAKE AND MODEL, AND MUST BE ADDRESSED AS THIS WILL EVENTUALLY CAUSE A INJURY/ACCIDENT/ OR WORSE, FATALITY. PLEASE LOOK INTO THIS ISSUE AND HAVE THE PEOPLE RESPONSIBLE FIX THEIR MISTAKES. *TR

Fuel System, Gasoline
Filed Jun 14, 20109,000 milesFL

NORMAL DRIVING THE VEHICLE BEGINS TO SHAKE LOSING POWER. THE VEHICLE'S CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COMES ON AND THE COMPUTER SCREEN STATES "ENGINE MALFUNCTION! REDUCING POWER". THE HIGH PRESSURE FUEL SYSTEM HAS BEEN REPLACED 3 TIMES BY BMW. BMW ACKNOWLEDGES THEY HAVE A PROBLEM BUT HAS NO REPAIR FOR THE SITUATION. *TR

Fuel System, Gasoline
Filed Feb 17, 201010,000 milesFL

SUDDEN LOSS OF POWER ENTERING HIGHWAY. DEALER CONFIRMED FAILURE OF HIGH PRESSURE FUEL PUMP 2009 BMW 535I WITH 10K MILES. *TR

Engine and Engine Cooling › Engine
Filed Feb 12, 20101,000 milesCA

2009 BMW 535I ENGINE DIED ON THE FREEWAY 5 GOING 70MPH WITH MY FAMILY AND WAS VERY LUCK TO PULL OVER WITHOUT CAUSING AN ACCIDENT. BMW SAID IT WAS THE BRAIN AND HAD THE CAR FOR 7 DAYS TO PROGRAM IT. I FOUND OUT THAT ABOUT 5% OF ALL 335I AND 535I HAS THE SAME ISSUE, IT IS THE NEW TWIN TURBO ENGINE 3.0 IS HAVING ISSUES IN BOTH CARS. PLEASE CHECK THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE. *TR

Fuel System, Other
Filed Dec 28, 200910,400 milesMI

2009 BMW 335IX WITH 10,400 MILES. SUDDEN HIGH PRESSURE FUEL PUMP FAILURE, CAUSING IMMEDIATE DECREASE IN POWER, ROUGH IDLE, AND POOR HANDLING. ENGINE SERVICE ICONS ILLUMINATED. CAR TOWED TO DEALER, DEALER FIXED PROBLEM, DEALERSHIP SERVICE MANAGER COULD NOT GUARANTEE THAT IT WILL NOT HAPPEN AGAIN AS..."BMW IS AWARE OF THESE FUEL PUMP FAILURES. THEY ARE DOING EVERYTHING THEY CAN TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM, BUT IT HAS BEEN A PROBLEM FOR SEVERAL YEARS NOW." THE MANUFACTURER SHOULD HAVE TO DISCLOSE THIS POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS CONDITION AND DEAL WITH IT EFFECTIVELY... NOT WITH AN EXTENDED WARRANTY, BUT WITH THE OPTION RETURNING THE CAR UNTIL THEY FIX THE PROBLEM. *TR

Fuel System, Gasoline
Filed Dec 25, 20095,500 milesCA

MY FAMILY AND I WAS DRIVING TO SAN FRANCISCO AND READY TO CROSS THE BAY BRIDGE. I WAS IN MY 2010 BMW 535I (THE CAR WAS THREE MONTHS OLD WITH ABOUT 5500 MILES ON IT. WITH NO WARNING, THE ENGINE MALFUNCTION LIGHT GOES ON AND I GET A MESSAGE TO SLOW THE CAR DOWN. IN ABOUT 2 MINUTES, THE ENGINE DIES AND THE CAR IS STALLED. I WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF HEAVY TRAFFIC, VERY DANGEROUS, NO WHERE TO EXIT. I TRIED TO START THE ENGINE AND EVERYTIME I TRIED TO DRIVE, THE ENGINE DIES. WE WERE BLOCKING TRAFFIC FOR ABOUT 30 MINUTES BEFORE THE CHP ARRIVED TO MOVE THE CAR OUT OF THE TRAFFIC LANES. I WAS TOLD THE PROBLEM WAS THE HIGH PRESSURE FUEL PUMP SYSTEM (HPFP) - BMW KNOWS ABOUT THIS PROBLEM AND THEY STILL HAVE NOT FIXED THIS ISSUE. IT IS VERY DANGEROUS -- THERE IS NO TELLING WHEN THIS FUEL PUMP WILL FAIL AGAIN. *TR

Fuel System, Gasoline
Filed Dec 15, 200912,447 milesMA

MY BMW 535XI SPORT WAGON HAD A HIGH PRESSURE FUEL PUMP REPLACED AFTER 12500 MI. THE ENGINE LOST MOST OF ITS POWER AND I NEEDED TO QUICKLY EXIT HWY.IN ORDER NOT TO POSE A THREAT TO OTHERS. PRIOR TO THIS PROBLEM I NOTICED THE ENGINE TOOK LONGER TO START, AND ONE TIME THE ENGINE SEEMED TO SPUTTER AND TEMPORARILY BECOME UN DRIVABLE. THE FIRST TIME THIS HAPPENED, THE DEALER SAID THEY HAD TO FIX A PROBLEM IN THE CARS COMPUTER. THE SECOND TIME , THE DEALER SAID THE PUMP HAD TO BE REPLACED. *TR

Fuel System, Gasoline
Filed Nov 30, 200915,000 milesCA

PURCHASED 2009 BMW 335CI IN MARCH OF 2009. IN SEP THE CAR STALLED, BMW REPLACED THE FUEL PUMP OR HPFP (HIGH PRESSURE FUEL PUMP). TODAY WE STARTED THE CAR AND MOVED IT IN OUR DRIVEWAY. 1.5 HOURS LATER WE STARTED THE CAR AGAIN TO GO TO WORK AND IT STALLED. WE TRIED TWICE TO RESTART IT WOULDN'T. AT THAT TIME WE NOTICED A FUEL SMELL AND STEPPED OUT OF THE VEHICLE INTO A PUDDLE OF GASOLINE. *TR

Equipment
Filed Nov 16, 2009TX

THIS IS AN ENFORCEMENT COMPLIANCE REQUEST ON A WEEKLY CONTINUUM FOR THE SAFETY OF THE PUBLIC ON THE FOLLOWING : TIRES: GOODYEAR AND MICHELIN , ALL TYPES, TREADS, SIZES, HEIGHTS, WIDTHS. AUTOS: MERCEDES BENZ, BMW, CADILLAC, FERRARI, BUGATTI, ALFA ROMERO, ROLLS ROYCE, BENTLY, LAMBROGHINI, LINCOLN. PLEASE ASSIST WITH ALL PARTS INSPECTIONS, ANALYSIS FOR INTEGRITY, SAFETY, MAINTENANCE - UPKEEP. PLEASE ASSIST TO NOTIFY THE PROPER AUTHORITIES ON THESE FINDING, IF APPLICABLE. PLEASE BEGIN INSPECTIONS FROM ALL 1990 MODELS, MAKES, TO THE PRESENT 2009 YEAR'S PARTS, AUTOMOTIVES. *TR

Fuel System, Gasoline › Delivery › Fuel Pump
Filed Sep 18, 200911,263 milesGA

2009 BMW 535I: WHILE ACCELERATING, A SUDDEN NEAR-STALL/LOSS OF POWER OCCURRED WHILE ATTEMPTING TO ENTER INTO AN INTERSECTION, NEARLY CAUSING AN ACCIDENT. A WARNING WAS ALERTED THROUGH THE IDRIVE SYSTEM ("ENGINE MALFUNCTION - REDUCED POWER"). THE CAR WAS DRIVABLE, BUT EXTREMELY SLUGGISH AND SLOW TO ACCELERATE. BMW SERVICE CENTER PERFORMED DIAGNOSTICS TO FIND THAT A HIGH-PRESSURE FUEL PUMP (HPFP) HAD FAILED. THEY REPLACED IT, WHICH HAS SINCE SOLVED THE PROBLEM. *TR UPDATED 09/29/09.*JB

Reading these

NHTSA publishes every complaint as the owner wrote it and investigates only a fraction. Spelling, capitalisation and judgement are the filer’s own. What carries weight is repetition: the same component failing the same way across many filings, and whether the manufacturer eventually opened a recall for it.

Full record for the 2009 BMW 535i → · Every 535i year → · How the figures are calculated →