2009 BMW 528I — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 22 complaints · 2 recalls
Most-reported system: ENGINE (7 complaints · 31.8%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 1
  • Fires 1
  • Injuries 0
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 2008 →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Component Problem Distribution

Share of owner complaints filed for each vehicle system (unaffected by sales volume)

Component Problem Distribution ENGINE appears in 7 of 22 owner complaints (31.8%) in this vehicle snapshot. ENGINE: 7 complaints, 31.8% of reports ENGINE 7 · 31.8% ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 2 complaints, 9.1% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 2 · 9.1% FUEL SYSTEM: 2 complaints, 9.1% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 2 · 9.1% SERVICE BRAKES: 2 complaints, 9.1% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 2 · 9.1% · 1 crash reports AIR BAGS: 1 complaints, 4.6% of reports AIR BAGS 1 · 4.6% EXTERIOR LIGHTING: 1 complaints, 4.6% of reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING 1 · 4.6% SEAT BELTS: 1 complaints, 4.6% of reports SEAT BELTS 1 · 4.6% VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 1 complaints, 4.6% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 1 · 4.6% VISIBILITY: 1 complaints, 4.6% of reports VISIBILITY 1 · 4.6% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 3 complaints, 13.6% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 3 · 13.6% 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER is an NHTSA classification artifact and is always listed last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
ENGINE 7 31.8% 0 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 2 9.1% 0 crashes · 0 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 2 9.1% 0 crashes · 0 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 2 9.1% 1 crashes · 0 fires
AIR BAGS 1 4.6% 0 crashes · 0 fires
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 1 4.6% 0 crashes · 0 fires
SEAT BELTS 1 4.6% 0 crashes · 0 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 1 4.6% 0 crashes · 0 fires
VISIBILITY 1 4.6% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 3 13.6% 0 crashes · 0 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Problem & Recall Timeline

Observed complaint volume and manufacturer recall actions over time

Problem & Recall Timeline Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Oct 2013; the first recall shown was reported in Sep 2013. 2013-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2014-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2016-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2016-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2017-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2017-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2017-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2018-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2019-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2020-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2020-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2022-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2022-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2022-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2022-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2025-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Sep 2013 Apr 2025 Recall campaign 13V407000 ◆ Recall campaign 13V407000 Recall campaign 17V683000 ◆ Recall campaign 17V683000
  • Campaign 17V683000 was reported 545 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2013-Q4 Owner reports 2
2014-Q3 Owner reports 1
2016-Q2 Owner reports 2
2016-Q4 Owner reports 1
2017-Q1 Owner reports 1
2017-Q2 Owner reports 1
2017-Q4 Owner reports 1
2018-Q2 Owner reports 2
2019-Q4 Owner reports 1
2020-Q1 Owner reports 1
2020-Q4 Owner reports 1
2022-Q1 Owner reports 1
2022-Q2 Owner reports 2
2022-Q3 Owner reports 3
2022-Q4 Owner reports 1
2025-Q2 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 13V407000
Recall campaign 1 17V683000
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (2)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 13V407000

    Report date
    Component:
    EXTERIOR LIGHTING
    Consequence:
    Intermittent light operation reduces the ability to warn other motorists of the driver's intentions, increasing the risk of a crash.
    Remedy:
    BMW will notify owners, and dealers will replace the rear lamp bulb carriers free of charge. Owners may contact BMW customer relations at 1-800-525-7417 or email BMW at CustomerRelations@bmwusa.com.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  2. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 17V683000

    Report date
    Component:
    ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
    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. Interim letters were mailed on November 27, 2017. Owners will receive a second notification by the end of October 2018. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot 2026-08-21
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 22 complaints · page 1 of 1

No complaints match the current filters.
EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot 2026-08-21
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

 Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Data sourced from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Snapshot date: 2026-08-21.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources