BMW 540
Owners filed 23 complaints across 6 model years of the BMW 540. The 1997 drew the most (7).
Which BMW 540 years should you avoid?
Not enough of the record to single a year out. Fewer than 4 BMW 540 model years have at least 25 complaints and are old enough to judge, so any ranking would be noise. The table below has every year as filed.
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 540 model year compared
Complaints per year| Year | Complaints | Relative volume | Recalls | Fires | Crashes | Most reported | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 0 | 1 | — | — | — | Do not drive | |
| 2001 | 5 | 1 | — | — | Air Bags | Do not drive | |
| 1999 | 3 | 0 | — | — | Engine and Engine Cooling › Cooling System | Routine | |
| 1997 | 7 | 0 | — | — | Air Bags | Routine | |
| 1995 | 6 | 0 | 2 | — | Engine and Engine Cooling › Engine | Routine | |
| 1994 | 2 | 0 | 1 | — | Service Brakes, Hydraulic › Antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip | Routine |
Data: NHTSA complaint and recall files, October 2026. Complaints are unverified owner reports.