2002 BMW 525I: recalls and complaints
NHTSA advisory: do not driveCampaign 19V015000. NHTSA received the report on . 157,549 units. Air Bags / Frontal / Driver Side / Inflator Module
Remedy of campaign 19V015000, in the NHTSA record
Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the vehicle has been remedied. BMW will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the vehicle for an optional sports steering wheel with an affected inflator. Dealers will replace the air bag module as necessary, free of charge. The recall began March 14, 2019. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.
NHTSA advisory: do not driveCampaign 15V318000. NHTSA received the report on . 419,235 units. Air Bags / Frontal / Driver Side / Inflator Module
Remedy of campaign 15V318000, in the NHTSA record
Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the vehicle has been remedied. BMW will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front driver air bag module, free of charge. The recall began Aug 2016. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417. Note: This recall supersedes recall 14V-348 in its entirety. Additionally, vehicles that have had their driver side frontal air bag replaced previously as part of a recall remedy need to have their air bag replaced under this recall as well. Note: On December 17, 2015 BMW removed the model year 2004 X5 3.0i and 4.4i Sports Activity vehicle from this recall. Those vehicles were mistakenly identified as including the air bags that are subject to this recall.
Do-not-drive advisory: A mark on a recall campaign in the NHTSA recall file. This site shows the mark as NHTSA sets it.
NHTSA lists 4 recall campaigns for the 2002 BMW 525I. The newest campaign is 19V015000. NHTSA received the report on 14 Jan 2019. The NHTSA record gives the component Air Bags / Frontal / Driver Side / Inflator Module. NHTSA has 14 complaints on file for this model year.
This page cannot show if a recall applies to one vehicle. The NHTSA VIN lookup shows the unrepaired recalls of one vehicle.
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
4 campaigns, newest first. 582,774 units in total.
- 19V015000Air Bags / Frontal / Driver Side / Inflator ModuleAdvisory
- 15V318000Air Bags / Frontal / Driver Side / Inflator ModuleAdvisory
- 02V057000Suspension
- 01V352000Tires / Sidewall
19V015000Received . 157,549 units.
Air Bags / Frontal / Driver Side / Inflator ModuleDo-not-drive advisory
- Defect, in the NHTSA record
BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain model year 2000-2003 525i Sedan, 530i Sedan, 540i Sedan, 2001-2003 525i Sports Wagon and 540i Sports Wagon vehicles, and 2000-2004 X5 SAV 3.0i, X5 SAV 4.4i, and X5 SAV 4.6is vehicles. This recall affects certain vehicles where the original steering wheel has been replaced with the optional sports steering wheel. The sports steering wheel has a frontal air bag inflator that may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.
- Consequence, in the NHTSA record
An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
- Remedy, in the NHTSA record
Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the vehicle has been remedied. BMW will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the vehicle for an optional sports steering wheel with an affected inflator. Dealers will replace the air bag module as necessary, free of charge. The recall began March 14, 2019. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.
Report filed by BMW of North America, LLC. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: .
15V318000Received . 419,235 units.
Air Bags / Frontal / Driver Side / Inflator ModuleDo-not-drive advisory
- Defect, in the NHTSA record
BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain model year 2002-2005 325i, 325xi, 330i, and 330xi Sedans, and 325xi and 325i Sportswagons, 2002-2006 330Ci, 325Ci, and M3 Convertibles and 325i, 330i, and M3 Coupes, 2002-2003 M5, 540i, 525i Sedan, and 530i Sedans, and 540i and 525i Sportswagons, and 2003 X5 3.0i and 4.4i Sports Activity Vehicles. Please note that the 5-series and X5 vehicles are only included if they are equipped with the optional sports steering wheel. The affected vehicles are equipped with a dual-stage driver frontal air bag that may be susceptible to moisture intrusion which, over time, could cause the inflator to rupture.
- Consequence, in the NHTSA record
In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
- Remedy, in the NHTSA record
Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the vehicle has been remedied. BMW will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front driver air bag module, free of charge. The recall began Aug 2016. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417. Note: This recall supersedes recall 14V-348 in its entirety. Additionally, vehicles that have had their driver side frontal air bag replaced previously as part of a recall remedy need to have their air bag replaced under this recall as well. Note: On December 17, 2015 BMW removed the model year 2004 X5 3.0i and 4.4i Sports Activity vehicle from this recall. Those vehicles were mistakenly identified as including the air bags that are subject to this recall.
Report filed by BMW of North America, LLC. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: .
02V057000Received . 4,672 units.
Suspension
- Defect, in the NHTSA record
On certain passenger vehicles, during the strut mount manufacturing process, the thrust bearing was not properly positions and secured. If the suspension is fully unloaded, the front strut could separate from the upper mount.
- Consequence, in the NHTSA record
This could affect vehicle handling and control, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy, in the NHTSA record
Dealers will replace both front spring strut upper mounts. Owner notification began march 15, 2002. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact BMW at 1-800-831-1117.
Report filed by BAYERISCHE MOTOREN WERKE. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: .
01V352000Received . 1,318 units.
Tires / Sidewall
- Defect, in the NHTSA record
Vehicle description: during the tire mounting process on certain passenger vehicles built with standard (non-sport) suspension and equipped with continental contitouringcontact ch95 ecoplus tires, size 225/65r16 95h, having DOT codes 4001, 4101, or 4201, the outer sidewall surface of the tires may have been cut by a sharp edge. Operation of the vehicle over a long period of time could lead to a reduction of inflation pressure.
- Consequence, in the NHTSA record
Continued driving with low inflation pressure in the tire could ultimately result in damage to the tire, affect vehicle handling and control, and could in some cases result in a vehicle crash.
- Remedy, in the NHTSA record
Dealers will inspect all five tires for a possible cut in the sidewall, and if a cut is found, the tire will be replaced. Owner notification began december 10, 2001. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time 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
14 complaints, 23 component mentions.
A complaint can name more than one component. Each component that a complaint names is one component mention. This model year has fewer than 50 component mentions, so the table shows the number of mentions only.
| Component | Mentions |
|---|---|
| Seat Belts | 3 |
| Electrical System | 3 |
| Structure | 3 |
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 2 |
| Air Bags | 2 |
| Seats | 2 |
| Fuel System, Other | 1 |
| Fuel System, Gasoline | 1 |
| Unknown or Other | 1 |
| Power Train | 1 |
The table shows the 10 components with the most mentions, of 14.
- Complaints that report a crash
- 0
- Complaints that report a fire
- 0
- Injuries in the complaints
- 1
- Deaths in the complaints
- 0
- Date of the newest complaint
- 18 Jul 2009
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
The NHTSA investigation file has no investigation that names this model year.
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.
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 2002 BMW 525IThe recalls, the complaints and the investigations that NHTSA shows for this model year.
Cite this page
Recall Register. 2002 BMW 525I: recalls and complaints. https://recallregister.com/vehicle/bmw/525i/2002/. 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
- 29 Sep 2026
- Complaint file through
- 29 Mar 2018
- 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 2002 BMW 525I?
- 582,774 units in 4 campaigns. A campaign can name other models and model years, and its units include them.
- How many recall campaigns does the BMW 525I have for all model years?
- NHTSA lists 16 recall campaigns for the BMW 525I, model years 1989 to 2011. 4 of them name the 2002 model year.
- Which component do the complaints about the 2002 BMW 525I name most often?
- Seat Belts: 3 of 23 component mentions.
- Is an NHTSA investigation of the 2002 BMW 525I open?
- The NHTSA investigation file has no investigation that names this model year.