2004 BMW 5 Series: recalls and complaints
NHTSA lists 6 recall campaigns for the 2004 BMW 5 Series. The newest campaign is 12V126000. NHTSA received the report on 26 Mar 2012. The NHTSA record gives the component Electrical System / 12v/24v/48v Battery / Cables. NHTSA has 64 complaints on file for this model year. 1 NHTSA investigation names this model year.
The NHTSA recall file shows no do-not-drive advisory and no park-outside advisory on these campaigns.
This page cannot show if a recall applies to one vehicle. The NHTSA VIN lookup shows the unrepaired recalls of one vehicle.
Remedy of the newest campaign, 12V126000, in the NHTSA record
Bmw will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and secure the battery bolt cable connection as necessary, free of charge. The safety recall began on april 30, 2012. Owners may contact BMW customer relations and services at 1-800-525-7417.
Complaint information entered into NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation vehicle owner's complaint database is used with other data sources to identify safety issues that warrant investigation and to determine if a safety-related defect trend exists.
NHTSA publishes these words. Source: NHTSA Datasets and APIs, section Complaints, read on . Complaint file through . Recall file through .
Since the last update
No tracked figure of this page changed in a data update. What the log tracks
Recall campaigns
6 campaigns, newest first. 795,573 units in total.
- 12V126000Electrical System / 12v/24v/48v Battery / Cables
- 10V446000Service Brakes, Hydraulic / Power Assist / Vacuum
- 08V384000Air Bags / Frontal
- 04V575000Seats / Front Assembly / Seat Heater/Cooler
- 04V344000Power Train / Automatic Transmission / Control Module (Tcm/Pcm/Tecm)
- 04V303000Fuel System, Gasoline
12V126000Received . 367,682 units.
Electrical System / 12v/24v/48v Battery / Cables
- Defect, in the NHTSA record
Bmw is recalling certain model year 2004-2010 5-series, model year 2004-2010 6-series, model year 2006-2010 m5, and model year 2007-2010 m6 vehicles. The insulated bulkhead connector for the positive battery cable may have been incorrectly attached to the trunk floor panel, which can lead to a loosening of the bolt connection. As it loosens, an increase in electrical resistance at this cable connection is possible and could cause the cable connection to overheat.
- Consequence, in the NHTSA record
Overheating could lead to a fire, even while the vehicle is not in use. As a precaution, owners are advised to park outside until the remedy has been made.
- Remedy, in the NHTSA record
Bmw will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and secure the battery bolt cable connection as necessary, free of charge. The safety recall began on april 30, 2012. Owners may contact BMW customer relations and services at 1-800-525-7417.
Report filed by BMW OF NORTH AMERICA, LLC. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: .
10V446000Received . 198,352 units.
Service Brakes, Hydraulic / Power Assist / Vacuum
- Defect, in the NHTSA record
Bmw is recalling certain model year 2004-2010 5-series, 6-series, and model year 2002-2008 7-series vehicles. A check valve of the brake vacuum pump may leak a small amount of lubricating oil. Over time this could result in contamination of the brake booster.
- Consequence, in the NHTSA record
Power assist braking performance could be adversely affected. In extreme cases there could be a complete loss of power assist braking. An unexpected reduction or loss in power braking assist may increase the risk of a crash.
- Remedy, in the NHTSA record
Bmw will notify owners and dealers will repair the vehicles free of charge. The safety recall began on november 24, 2010. Owners may contact BMW at 1-800-525-7417.
Report filed by BMW OF NORTH AMERICA, LLC. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: .
08V384000Received . 200,000 units.
Air Bags / Frontal
- Defect, in the NHTSA record
Bmw is recalling 200,000 my 2006 3 series sport seat, my 2004-2006 5 series standard and sport seat, and my 2004-2006 x3 passenger vehicles. Depending on the manner and frequency of the front passenger's entry and exit, small cracks have developed in the mat. If this occurs, the front passenger air bags, with the exception of the head protection system, will be deactivated and the air bag warning lamp as well as the passenger air bag "on-off" lamp will be illuminated.
- Consequence, in the NHTSA record
In this situation the front passenger air bags will not deploy even if a sufficiently severe accident would occur and occupant protection provided by the system would not be possible.
- Remedy, in the NHTSA record
Dealers will rework the front passenger seat sensor mat so that external force application to the seat does not cause a crack to the mat. The recall began on november 6, 2008. Bmw will also extend the warranty on these vehicles to 10 years from first registration without any mileage limit. Owners may contact BMW at 1-800-525-7417.
Report filed by BMW OF NORTH AMERICA, LLC. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: .
04V575000Received . 17,905 units.
Seats / Front Assembly / Seat Heater/Cooler
- Defect, in the NHTSA record
On certain passenger vehicles equipped with front seat heating systems, upon entering and exiting the vehicle, excessive contact with the side bolster that is contained in the seat's backrest may damage the heating mat located in this area. If such damage were to occur, with the system turned on, the vehicle occupant may feel excessive heat from this area.
- Consequence, in the NHTSA record
It is possible that the heating mat in the backrest's side bolster could overheat and damage, or melt a small hole in, this area of the seat cover. If this happened, it could lead to an occupant being burned.
- Remedy, in the NHTSA record
Dealers will modify the seat heating circuit. The recall is expected to begin during december 2004. Owners should contact BMW at 1-800-831-1117.
Report filed by BMW OF NORTH AMERICA, LLC. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: .
04V344000Received . 4,102 units.
Power Train / Automatic Transmission / Control Module (Tcm/Pcm/Tecm)
- Defect, in the NHTSA record
On certain passenger vehicles equipped with 8 and 12 cylinder engines, the digital engine management control (emc) units were not produced according to specifications.
- Consequence, in the NHTSA record
As a result, engine stalling will occur after a short period of operation. The vehicle may not be able to restart. Also, a loss of power steering and, after repeated actuation of the brake pedal, a loss of brake power assist will occur. These conditions could result in a vehicle crash.
- Remedy, in the NHTSA record
Dealers will install a new digital engine management control unit. The recall began on july 16, 2004. Owners should contact BMW at 1-800-831-1117.
Report filed by BAYERISCHE MOTOREN WERKE. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: .
04V303000Received . 7,532 units.
Fuel System, Gasoline
- Defect, in the NHTSA record
On certain passenger vehicles equipped with 8-cylinder engines, a circular retention clip at the quick-release coupling along the fuel supply line was inadvertently not installed.
- Consequence, in the NHTSA record
In the event of a severe frontal crash, the quick-release coupling could separate causing fuel leakage. Fuel leakage, in the presence of an ignition source, could result in a fire.
- Remedy, in the NHTSA record
Dealers will install a circular retention clip at the quick-release coupling along the fuel supply line. The recall began on july 5, 2004. Owners should contact BMW at 1-800-831-1117.
Report filed by BAYERISCHE MOTOREN WERKE. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: .
The campaign number opens the NHTSA record. Each quotation is the text of the NHTSA recall file.
Recall campaign: One recall in the NHTSA recall file, with one campaign number. A campaign can name many makes, models and model years.
Units: The number of vehicles or products that a recall can include. The manufacturer or the firm reports the number to the agency.
Complaints by component
64 complaints, 89 component mentions.
A complaint can name more than one component. Each component that a complaint names is one component mention. The figure per 1,000 component mentions shows how many of each 1,000 mentions name the component.
- 2004 BMW 5 Series
- All 2004 vehicles
| Component | 2004 5 Series | All 2004 vehicles | 5 Series, all years | Mentions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air Bags | 348.3 | 78.9 | 171.6 | 31 |
| Seats | 123.6 | 18.1 | 31.2 | 11 |
| Electrical System | 101.1 | 129.3 | 117.9 | 9 |
| Seat Belts | 78.7 | 13.5 | 27.7 | 7 |
| Exterior Lighting | 67.4 | 33.1 | 41.6 | 6 |
| Power Train | 67.4 | 113.4 | 71.1 | 6 |
| Steering | 56.2 | 71.7 | 57.2 | 5 |
| Tires | 33.7 | 21.8 | 74.5 | 3 |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 33.7 | 44.1 | 26 | 3 |
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 22.5 | 60.7 | 81.5 | 2 |
The table shows the 10 components with the most mentions, of 15.
- Complaints that report a crash
- 1
- Complaints that report a fire
- 9
- Injuries in the complaints
- 4
- Deaths in the complaints
- 0
- Date of the newest complaint
- 14 Jan 2019
These figures are the entries of the persons who sent the complaints.
Complaint: A report about a possible safety problem that a person sends to NHTSA. This site shows the number of complaints and not their text.
Investigations
| Number | Type | Subject | Component | Opened | Closed | Campaign |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EA08001 | Engineering analysis | BMW AIRBAG LIGHT ILLUMINATION | Air Bags | 4 Jan 2008 | 31 Dec 2008 | 08V384000 |
Investigation: A study of a possible safety defect by the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. An investigation with no closing date in the NHTSA file is open.
Other model years
The number under each year is the number of recall campaigns.
A year without a link has fewer than 2 campaigns and fewer than 25 complaints. It has no page.
Follow by RSS:BMW recallsVehicle recalls
Official channels
- NHTSA VIN lookupNHTSA shows the unrepaired recalls of one vehicle from its VIN or its license plate.
- NHTSA: report a safety problemThe NHTSA form for a complaint about a vehicle, a tire, a child seat or equipment.
- NHTSA page of the 2004 BMW 5 SeriesThe recalls, the complaints and the investigations that NHTSA shows for this model year.
Cite this page
Recall Register. 2004 BMW 5 Series: recalls and complaints. https://recallregister.com/vehicle/bmw/5-series/2004/. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, recall, complaint and investigation files. Data through .
Sources
- Source
- NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
- Licence
- US government work, public domain
- Recall file through
- 30 Sep 2026
- Complaint file through
- 30 Sep 2026
- First complaint in the file
- 1 Jan 1995
- Manufacturer in the recall file
- BMW OF NORTH AMERICA, LLC
The NHTSA record is the authority. A complaint count is the number of different complaint numbers for the make, the model and the model year. How the register is made. Report an error.
Questions
- How many units are in the recall campaigns for the 2004 BMW 5 Series?
- 795,573 units in 6 campaigns. A campaign can name other models and model years, and its units include them.
- How many recall campaigns does the BMW 5 Series have for all model years?
- NHTSA lists 16 recall campaigns for the BMW 5 Series, model years 1989 to 2023. 6 of them name the 2004 model year.
- Which component do the complaints about the 2004 BMW 5 Series name most often?
- Air Bags: 31 of 89 component mentions, or 348.3 per 1,000. For all 2004 vehicles the figure is 78.9 per 1,000.
- Is an NHTSA investigation of the 2004 BMW 5 Series open?
- No. The 1 investigation that names this model year has a closing date in the NHTSA file.