2006 Bmw 530I: complaints, problems and recalls

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 BMW 530I. THE CONTACT STATED THAT UPON STARTING THE VEHICLE, THE WARNING MAT SENSOR ILLUMINATED ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL, INDICATING THAT THE AIR BAG WOULD NOT DEPLOY IN THE EVENT OF A CRASH. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER, WHERE THE CONTACT WAS ADVISED TO REPLACE THE MAT SENSOR. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE, BUT FAILED TO OFFER ANY ASSISTANCE SINCE THE VEHICLE WAS NOT INCLUDED IN THE RECALL ASSOCIATED WITH NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER 08V384000 (AIR BAGS:FRONTAL). NO REPAIRS WERE PERFORMED. THE FAI…

Owner-reported narrative. 105,800 miles reported. Look up ODI 10447977 at NHTSA ↗

A PASSENGER AIRBAG WARNING LIGHT HAS BEEN ON IN MY WIFE'S 2006 BMW 530I FOR THE PAST YEAR. DESPITE THE NHTSA RECALL CAMPAIGN (ACTION NUMBER EA08001 AND PE07045), BMW SAYS THIS CAR IS NOT COVERED BY THE RECALL AND WILL NOT FIX THE PROBLEM. I ALSO HAVE A 2006 BMW 530I WITH THE SAME AIRBAG WARNING LIGHT ON. BMW WILL FIX MY PROBLEM. IT SEEMS THAT MY CAR HAS "COMFORT SEATS" WHILE MY WIFE'S CAR HAS "SPORTS SEATS." OBVIOUSLY, THE DEFECTIVE PART IS PRESENT ON BOTH VEHICLES AS WELL AS ON THE OTHER BMW MODELS AND YEARS IDENTIFIED IN YOUR RECALL CAMPAIGN.…

Owner-reported narrative. 50,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10498477 at NHTSA ↗

I WENT TO GET INTO MY CAR YESTERDAY AND STARTED IT UP AND THEN I HAVE THIS PASSENGER RESTRAINT SYSTEM MALFUNCTION APPEARS ON MY IDRIVE COMPUTER. I HAVEN'T CALLED THE DEALERSHIP AS OF YET SINCE I HAVE BEEN DOING RESEARCH ONLINE ABOUT THIS ISSUE AND IT HAS BECOME EVIDENT THAT THIS IS A RECURRING ISSUE IN THESE CARS. THROUGH MY RESEARCH ONLINE I HAVE FOUND THAT SOME DEALERSHIP WILL FIX IT AND SOME WON'T AND I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY. I THINK THAT SINCE THIS IS A RECURRING PROBLEM IT SHOULD BE FIXED BY BMW WITH NO QUESTIONS SINCE AIR BAG MALFUNCTION I…

Owner-reported narrative. 78,420 miles reported. Look up ODI 10501238 at NHTSA ↗

MY SON WAS DRIVING THE CAR TO WORK AND IT ONLY GOT ABOUT 8 BLOCKS FROM OUR HOUSE WHEN THE CAR STALLED AND LOST COMPLETE POWER. HE COASTED TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND FROM THE LOOKS WHEN I ARRIVED THE SERPENTINE TENSION BELT HAD BROKEN WE TURNED THE KEY OVER AND THE ENGINE WAS IN A FREE SPIN. WE HAD IT TOWED TO A LOCAL SERVICE SHOP AND THEY REPLACED THE BELT BUT STATED THE ENGINE HAD NO COMPRESSION TOWED CAR TO A SECOND SHOP AND GOT THE SAME OPINION THE ENGINE HAD NO COMPRESSION. THERE WAS NO WARNING LIGHTS OR MESSAGES ON THE DASH. THE CAR JU…

Owner-reported narrative. 143,812 miles reported. Look up ODI 10502741 at NHTSA ↗

WE HAVE OWNED THIS VEHICLE SINCE 2007 AND HAVE NOT HAD TOO MANY ISSUES WITH IT. HOWEVER, RECENTLY IT DEVELOPED AN OIL LEAK WHICH BMW HAS REFUSED TO FIX. WHAT HAS HAPPENED IS THAT FOUR ALUMINUM BOLTS THAT HOLD THE TOP OF THE ENGINE BLOCK ON TO THE ENGINE HAVE BROKEN FOR NO APPARENT REASON. ACCORDING TO THE REPAIR SHOP I TOOK IT TO, BMW KNOWS THIS IS A DEFECT. THEY SHOULD HAVE NEVER USED ALUMINUM BOLTS AS FASTENERS FOR THIS ENGINE. I HAVE HAD TO SPEND $2900.00 TO HAVE THESE BOLTS REPLACED BY AN AUTHORIZED BMW REPAIR SHOP. THIS HAS STOPPED T…

Owner-reported narrative. 74,500 miles reported. Look up ODI 10504740 at NHTSA ↗

HELLO NHTSA, RECALL REGARDING MY ISSUE HAS ALREADY BEEN WELL DOCUMENTED / INVESTIGATED WITH BOTH NHTSA AND BMW. TO SUMMARIZE THE ISSUE IS ABOUT A "PASSENGER RESTRAINT MALFUNCTION" SPECIFICALLY THE OC3 SEAT SENSOR MAT FAULTY UNIT, WHICH CONTROLS THE FRONT PASSENGER AIRBAGS. WHEN FAULTY, THE AIRBAGS ARE DEACTIVATED, WHICH RAISES A SAFETY CONCERN. I HAD CALLED BMW NA AND HAD MY VIN PULLED AND UNFORTUNATELY WAS NOT INCLUDED WITHIN THE RECALL CUT OFF DATE UP UNTIL 11/2005, MY PARTICULAR MODEL WAS MADE 12/2005. I REQUESTED BMW NA TO OPEN UP AN I…

Owner-reported narrative. Look up ODI 10505512 at NHTSA ↗

MY 2006 BMW 530I HAS JUST EXPERIENCED A MALFUNCTION OF THE PASSENGER AIRBAG / SEATBELT SENSOR, AND I TOOK IT TO THE BMW OF STERLING SERVICE CENTER, WHICH CONFIRMED THAT THE OCCUPANCY SENSOR IN THE PASSENGER SEAT HAS FAILED. THIS IS EXACTLY THE CAUSE FOR THE AUGUST 5 2008 BMW RECALL (NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 08V384000), AND ACCORDING TO THE RECALL DESCRIPTION, MY CAR SHOULD HAVE BEEN RECALLED AT THAT TIME. HOWEVER, BMW OF STERLING TOLD ME THAT MY VIN DOES NOT SHOW UP IN THE RECALL DATABASE. I HOPE THIS IS NOT A SCAM THAT BMW OF STERLING (VIRG…

Owner-reported narrative. 65,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10506002 at NHTSA ↗

ALL 3 ALUMINUM HEAD BOLTS WERE BROKEN CAUSING AN OIL LEAK WHICH COULD RESULT IN A FIRE. BOLTS WERE FOUND IN OIL PAN WHICH COULD HAVE DAMAGED ENGINE AND CAUSED FAILURE. THERE ARE NO WARNING LIGHTS OR MESSAGES THAT INDICATE A PROBLEM. THE ONLY WAY TO KNOW THERE IS A PROBLEM IS AN OIL LEAK BENEATH THE CAR. THIS WAS FIXED OUT OF WARRANTY AT A COST OF $2131.78. THE SAME PROBLEM OCCURRED AGAIN 2.5 YEARS LATER ON MARCH 27, 2013 AT 105,135 MILES AND A COST OF $2236.47. BMW DOESN'T THINK THIS IS A MAJOR PROBLEM AND SAYS IT IS "TYPICAL" OF A "HIGH …

Owner-reported narrative. 70,872 miles reported. Look up ODI 10507266 at NHTSA ↗

Reported: 2013-11-12 (November 12, 2013)

BMW of North America LLC (BMW) is recalling certain model year 2006 325i, 325xi, 330i, 330xi sedans and 325xi sports wagons, model year 2007 328i, 328xi, 335i, 335xi sedans and 328i and 328xi sports wagons, model year 2006-2007 525i, 525xi, 530i, 530xi, 550i sedans and 530xi sports wagons, model year 2006 760i sedans, model year 2006-2007 750i, 750Li, and 760Li sedans, and model year 2006 X5 sports activity vehicles, equipped with certain seat types. The front passenger seat occupant detection mat that determines if and how the passenger frontal air bag should deploy in a crash may fatigue and develop cracks which could lead to a system failure.

Consequence: Should the system fail, in the event of a crash, the front passenger air bag would be deactivated, increasing the risk of personal injury.

Remedy: BMW will notify owners with an interim notification letter in January 2014 since parts are not currently available. When parts are available, BMW sent a second letter in August and dealers will repair the occupant detection mat to eliminate the possibility that it may crack, free of charge. Additionally, owners of model year 2006-2007 3 Series with standard seats, 5 Series with comfort seats, and Z4 models, will receive an extended warranty on their front passenger seat occupant detection mat. Owners may contact BMW customer relations at 1-800-525-7417 or email BMW at CustomerRelations@bmwusa.com.

Reported: 2017-07-06 (July 6, 2017)

BMW of North America, Inc. (BMW) is recalling certain 2006 325i, 325xi, 330i, 330xi, 525i, 525xi, 530i, 530xi, and 550i vehicles equipped with the Sport Seat option and certain 2006 525i, 525xi, 530i, 530xi, 550i vehicles with standard seats. The front passenger seat occupant detection mat that determines if, and how, the passenger frontal air bag should deploy in a crash may fatigue and develop cracks which could lead to a system failure.

Consequence: Should the system fail, in the event of a crash, the front passenger air bag would be deactivated, increasing the risk of personal injury.

Remedy: BMW will notify owners, and dealers will repair the occupant detection mat to eliminate the possibility that it may crack, replacing it as necessary, free of charge. The recall began September 1, 2017. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.

Reported: 2019-04-04 (April 4, 2019)

BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2006 525i, 525xi, 530i, 530xi, 530xi Sports Wagon, 325i, 325xi, 325xi Sports Wagon, 330i, 330xi, Z4 3.0i and Z4 3.0si vehicles. The heater for the positive crankcase ventilation (PCV) valve may short circuit.

Consequence: An electrical short can cause the parts within the PCV valve to melt, increasing the risk of a fire, even when the vehicle is not in use.

Remedy: BMW will notify owners, and dealers will replace the PCV valve heater, free of charge. The recall began May 30, 2019. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417. Note: This recall is an expansion to recall 17V-683.