Owners have filed 107 complaints on the BMW 528xi, covering 2012–2013. The system named most often is Engine (34 reports). Worst years by volume: 2013, 2012; cleanest: 2012, 2013. 2 reports describe a crash. On average the car was 8.3 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on BMW 528xi
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 107 528xi complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Engine 34 Read
The contact owns a 2013 bmw 528xi. While driving 75 mph, the vehicle stalled without warning and lost power completely. The vehicle was towed to union park bmw in wilmington, delaware where it was diagnosed that the oil pump failed, which caused the engine to seize. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer…
The contact owns a 2013 bmw 528xi. While driving approximately 70 mph, the message "drive train malfunction" displayed as the vehicle decelerated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer (reeves bmw tampa, 109 east fowler ave, tampa, fl) where it was diagnosed that the engine timing chain was faulty. The vehicle was…
Timing chain failure causing catastrophic engine failure. Car displayed "low oil pressure" warning immediately followed by "drivetrain malfunction" error and shut down on 4 lane highway unable to move. Dangerous situation and could have been killed if a car hit me as it was dark outside in early morning hours. Car had…
Power Train 32 Read
Warning for chassis stabilization is on, I encountered not being able to accelerate and had the car towed. I was on a main road and I got rear ended immediately after I was not able to accelerate and I had my hazard lights flashing
Drive train malfunction: drive moderately error, car lost power as driving and went into limp mode. I had to have flatbed tow truck come and get vehicle and take to dealership, this particular error is widely referenced by bmw owners for this model year, could have caused major accident had I been pulling into heavy…
The contact owns a 2013 bmw 528xi. While attempting to accelerate from a stop, the drive train malfunction warning indicator illuminated. As a result, the vehicle failed to accelerate. The vehicle was taken to bmw seattle (1002 airport way s, seattle, wa 98134, (206) 829-5004) when the failure first occurred, but the…
Electrical System 10 Read
Doors are getting lockdown sporadically even after your car is at complete stop and parked, unless you press the central unlock switch in the panel you are locked down in the car, it took 15mins for me to figure out how to unlock the doors and come out. If this is an emergency situation then I would have been dead by…
Drivers door lock is failing at only 40,000 miles. We first noticed this problem when we would lock the car from the key fob and noticed the door wouldn't lock, even though the car would beep and the security system would activate. Then, if you went to open the door after you locked the car, the alarm would go off…
My 2013 528i has some problems with the motor. I purchased the car around december 18 some time with about 76000 miles and only had it for 2 days an problem's came . First it was saying I drivetrains malfunction so I turn the car off an tried to crank it about 4 times an it finally crunk . About 3 days later same…
Engine And Engine Cooling 8 Read
See attached document for complaint
The contact owns a 2013 BMW 528XI. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V608000 (Engine and Engine Cooling, Electrical System); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable…
The contact owns a 2013 BMW 528I. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V608000 (Engine and Engine Cooling, Electrical System); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact stated…
Air Bags 6 Read
My care has 30000 miles; warranty expired in nov 2016. I have never been in an accident and have maintained the car very well. I got a warning sign that read 'passenger restraint system malfunction'. I took it to the dealer and he said the szl (steering angle sensor) and the passenger seat mat have to be replaced. In…
Airbag restraint system malfunction passenger side indicator comes on. Stating restraint had malfunctioned and might not work. Passenger seat of not registering properly
The contact owns a 2012 bmw 528xi. While the vehicle was stationary, the passenger restraint system malfunction message illuminated. The vehicle was taken to bmw of bellevue (located at 13617 northup way, bellevue, wa 98005, (425) 243-5201), but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the…
Exterior Lighting 6 Read
Something isn’t right with how water travels to and gets into the Front Headlights of these cars weaking the seals and damaging the multiple modules of these headlights my front passenger headlight out of nowhere started forming condensation in the headlight which shorted almost every module in there it barely works…
The vehicle has had no accidents or front impacts but has extensive moisture/condensation build up in both front headlamp housings. I intermittently receive a "adaptive headlight failure "warning in cold temperatures until the vehicle warms up. Night driving visibility is being affected as a result of the lens being…
The head lights are frequently burn out although there is no break in the light covers. It is unpredictable and unsafe especially because alot of my driving is at night
Steering 2 Read
My wife was turning hear steering wheel and heard a "click" and then she got some lights on her dashboard. Upon further inspection, the "clock spring" failed. From reading online this seems to be a fairly common failure with 2013 bmw 5 series. It is a serious design flaw because when it fails the following items are…
My BMW started leaking fluid 4 months ago. Lights on dash came on one light was the triangle light which engine light. I had it serviced completely oil & filter change hooked up to machine that checks all components senors everything checked out great. One week later I was driving I was coming to a stop my brakes…
Fuel/propulsion System 2 Read
The fuel pump suddenly failed as I was driving on the highway. I was lucky to be able to get over to the shoulder before the car quit completely. If I had stopped in the lane I am sure I would have been hit by someone going 65 miles/hr. There is a recall related to exactly this issue that includes 2012 models but my…
The contact owns a 2012 bmw 528xi. While driving 10 mph, the engine stalled and the "fuel supply performance not available drive moderately' warning message displayed. The dealer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was…
528xi years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Air Bags,seats | — | — | |
| 2012 | Air Bags | 2 | — |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 25 |
| Average complaints per series | 4.3 |
| Worst single series | 10 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 8.3 years |
A model average of 4.3 hides a worst series at 10. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
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How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the 528xi?
By complaint volume, 2013, 2012 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which 528xi years are the cleanest?
2012, 2013 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the BMW 528xi have?
107 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 2012–2013. Of those, 2 describe a crash and 0 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.