AutoStatsIQ
Data through Oct 2026
Model line

BMW 540I

Every BMW 540I model year on file, 2017 to 2025. Pick a year for its recalls, investigations, service bulletins and the full text of owner complaints.

Owner complaints, all model years9110 involved a crash, fire, injury or death
Model years92017 to 2025
Recall campaigns11Distinct campaigns listing it
Service bulletins1,459Summed across model years
By model year

The 2018 model year drew the most complaints, 31, 34% of the model's total

Owner complaints filed with NHTSA, all years filed, by model year.

01020304020172018312019202020212022202320242025
Source: NHTSA ODI. Complaints are not verified by NHTSA, and NHTSA publishes no sales volumes, so counts are not rates.
Components

Airbags leads the BMW 540I complaint record

Owner complaints across all model years, by component.

Airbags
21
Seat belts
16
Seats
14
Electrical system
14
Powertrain
12
Brakes
11
Engine and cooling
10
Driver assistance
5
Back-over prevention
5
Fuel system
4
Source: NHTSA ODI complaints file.
Model years

The record for each BMW 540I model year

Peer index compares complaints with the median vehicle of the same model year and body class (100 is the median). It corrects for age, not for how many were sold.

BMW 540I by model year
YearBodyComplaintsSeverity indexPeer indexRecallsInvestigationsBulletins
2025Sedan10.025001
2024Sedan520.0100100
2023Sedan540.0711037
2022Sedan616.7861253
2021Sedan911.110661167
2020Sedan30.03350234
2019Sedan1118.28210239
2018Sedan319.725820286
2017Sedan200.011811442
Source: NHTSA ODI. Body class from NHTSA's VIN decoder where decoded.
Latest recalls

Recent campaigns covering the BMW 540I

  • 26V-525 Aug 12, 2026
    Connection between the driveshaft and the rear differential may become damaged, possibly resulting in a loss of power to the rear wheels or a…
    Powertrain · 28k vehicles
  • 24V-697 Sep 18, 2024
    Welds in the servomotor of the integrated brake control module may break, causing a loss of power brake assist and rear brake function
    Stability and traction control · 309 vehicles
  • 21V-598 Aug 2, 2021
    During engine start, the engine management software may cause loss of braking assist
    Engine and cooling · 50k vehicles
  • 21V-554 Jul 21, 2021
    Passenger seat belt Automatic Locking Retractor (ALR) may deactivate early, before the webbing fully retracts
    Seat belts · 22k vehicles
  • 21V-096 Feb 19, 2021
    When shifting into Reverse, a small portion of the rearview image may be obscured, or the screen may not illuminate
    Back-over prevention · 14k vehicles
  • 21V-046 Feb 3, 2021
    Output shafts (left/right) which transfer power from the driveshaft to the rear wheels may break due to a heat treatment error during supplier…
    Powertrain · 28 vehicles
  • 20V-761 Dec 9, 2020
    Connection between the 48-Volt battery and the starter-generator may not have been assembled properly, which can cause increased electrical…
    Electrical system · 812 vehicles
  • 20V-598 Sep 30, 2020
    Small portion of the rearview image may be slightly obscured
    Back-over prevention · 312 vehicles
  • 20V-243 Apr 29, 2020
    Prior exposure to excessive levels of humidity within the driver and passenger head air bag inflators may affect the proper deployment of the head…
    Airbags · 33 vehicles
  • 19V-684 Sep 27, 2019
    Back-up camera and display settings can be adjusted such that the rear view image is no longer visible and the system will retain that setting the…
    Back-over prevention · 257k vehicles
Source: NHTSA ODI recalls file.