Owners have filed 88 complaints on the BMW M5, covering 2000–2022. The system named most often is Air Bags (35 reports). Worst years by volume: 2006, 2013, 2019; cleanest: 2010, 2016, 2020. 3 reports describe a crash, 5 a fire, 1 a death. On average the car was 6.8 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on BMW M5
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 88 M5 complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Air Bags 35 Read
On sept 25, 2014, I was driving my 2008 bmw m5 and turning into a parking lot when I was hit from the rear, shoved on top and over a median and into another vehicle. My vehicle was struck from the rear and then struck again from the front. I do not know how fast the driver that hit me was going, however, none of my…
This is for the front passenger seat only.The idrive system will give an error for the passenger restraint system and will mention there is a seat belt issue and turn off the airbag. This is intermittent and will happen with or without a passenger. I contacted BMW about it but because it is not presently acting out,…
Light comes on for passenger restraint system malfunction
Engine 15 Read
The contact owned a 2008 bmw m5. The contact stated while attempting to parallel park, the vehicle was shifted to reverse and a loud pop noise was heard as flames was seen coming from underneath the vehicle. No warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated people outside of the vehicle began to scream to him…
Coolant expansion tank is leaking on fuel injectors, coils and plugs on engine below causing ‘drivetrain malfunction’ which puts vehicle into Limp Mode. Car can begin to shudder, misfire and stall. BMW has an SIB on the expansion tank, but has done nothing to address the components underneath that get damaged. Feel…
I actively participate in online F90 forums, and it seems like the coolant expansion tank seems to fail for almost all owners (both pre-LCI and LCI). In many cases, it also damages critical engine components underneath the tank and results in expensive repairs. Indeed, because BMW has failed to address this problem,…
Power Train 9 Read
Car catch on fire and explode it with 2 ocupantes inside
On june 24, 2006, a-united leased the m5 through bmw of monrovia, formerly assael bmw. During the duration of the lease, a-united incurred less than 1800 miles on the m5 primarily because the m5's safety and reliability had caused serious concerns. From as early as november 2006, a-united began experiencing problems…
Car went into transmission malfunction and speed was reduced when I was going at high speed. Could have caused an accident but luckily I am a good driver so accident was avoided
Electrical System 6 Read
All wires leading into the headlights have deteriorated and are bare. It keeps shorting out the lights and seems to be a major fire hazard. This is a garage kept car with 80k miles. Appears many many others have the same problem. Please help
Door locks. Passenger doors do not unlock from inside when pulling door handles. Cannot unlock manually. Must press button on dash to unlock. Vehicle not in motion
The sunroof drains of my vehicle overfill or clog causing water to leak in the trunk and wheel well. The cars wheel well holds the cars battery, rdc, and pdc modules. Surrounded by foam when water reaches the modules they arc and spark causing them to heat up and melt. Also located in the trunk is several other…
Engine And Engine Cooling 4 Read
The contact owns a 2019 BMW M5. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The contact researched the failure and related the…
The contact owns a 2019 BMW M5. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to the dealer and repaired under Technical Service Bulletin Number: SIB 17 03 24. The dealer replaced the coolant expansion tank; however, the vehicle experienced a coolant leak two months later. The message "Drivetrain Malfunction" was…
After taking my car to the dealership several time complaining about idling and engine knocking. I was told it was the gas, and the change of weather causing the problem. They finally supposedly replaced the parts in the engine, but I still had the problem later, and my neighbor notice it as well. While driving my car…
Steering 4 Read
While making a slow right turn the vehicle's engine suddenly shut down and immediately restarted a few moment later. However, when the vehicle stalled all power steering was lost which was followed by multiple system failure warnings that were displayed, such as: rear differential is locked, power steering has failed,…
Creaking noise in the front suspension when turning steering wheel when parked and at low speeds. Diagnosis from shop indicated the lower control arms and ball joints were loose. Both sides replaced
Fuel filler tube gaskets are improperly installed allowing water to enter the left rear quarter panel causing the steering electronics to be flooded and short out causing a loss of power steering without warning. This is a recurrent problem that dealerships are refusing to acknowledge or fix without charging $1,000.00
Vehicle Speed Control 2 Read
I was stopped at a red light. The car had numerous safety malfunctions on at the time of the incident. The I-drive screen prompt advised to drive in a cautious manner. While stationary at the red light the cars rev counter was bouncing up and down from 500rpm-1500rpm. My destination was roughly one mile away. The…
The contact owns a 2006 bmw m5. The contact stated that when attempting to start the vehicle, whether the vehicle was idle or traveling at low speeds, there was a sudden engagement that caused the vehicle to surge forward intermittently. The dealer made ten attempts to duplicate the failure but to no avail. They…
Visibility 2 Read
My rear view mirror failed and leaked a substance which dripped onto my shift lever. Unknowingly I placed my hand on the lever and was contaminated. I also was breathing the vapors which smelled somewhat like dry cleaning fluid. I have been researching and have found that the substance inside the mirror may be highly…
For some months now, my rearview mirror has been discolored/obstructed with a fluid "bubble" in the glass. I generally only drive the car on weekends in bright and sunny weather, so the decreased visibility isn't a real big a deal as it would be if driven at night or during inclement weather. However I've recently…
M5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Unknown Or Other | — | — | |
| 2021 | Exterior Lighting | — | 1 | |
| 2020 | Engine | — | — | |
| 2019 | Engine | — | — | |
| 2018 | Air Bags,seat Belts | — | — | |
| 2016 | Unknown Or Other | — | — | |
| 2015 | Electrical System | — | — | |
| 2014 | Engine | — | — | |
| 2013 | Air Bags | — | 1 | |
| 2010 | Air Bags | — | — | |
| 2008 | Air Bags,equipment Adaptive/mobility | 1 | 2 | |
| 2007 | Air Bags | — | — | |
| 2006 | Air Bags | 1 | — | |
| 2003 | Air Bags | — | — | |
| 2002 | Air Bags | — | — | |
| 2001 | Air Bags | — | — | |
| 2000 | Air Bags | 1 | 1 |
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 | 60 |
| Average complaints per series | 1.5 |
| Worst single series | 6 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 6.8 years |
A model average of 1.5 hides a worst series at 6. 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
- The original window sticker and factory options
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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 M5?
By complaint volume, 2006, 2013, 2019 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 M5 years are the cleanest?
2010, 2016, 2020 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the BMW M5 have?
88 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 2000–2022. Of those, 3 describe a crash and 5 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.