2012 BMW 528I — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 89 complaints · 4 recalls
Most-reported system: FUEL SYSTEM (25 complaints · 28.1%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 0
  • Fires 3
  • Injuries 3
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 2011 →
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 FUEL SYSTEM appears in 25 of 89 owner complaints (28.1%) in this vehicle snapshot. FUEL SYSTEM: 25 complaints, 28.1% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 25 · 28.1% · 1 fire reports ENGINE: 20 complaints, 22.5% of reports ENGINE 20 · 22.5% POWER TRAIN: 13 complaints, 14.6% of reports POWER TRAIN 13 · 14.6% · 2 fire reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 6 complaints, 6.7% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 6 · 6.7% SERVICE BRAKES: 3 complaints, 3.4% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 3 · 3.4% SEAT BELTS: 2 complaints, 2.3% of reports SEAT BELTS 2 · 2.3% STEERING: 2 complaints, 2.3% of reports STEERING 2 · 2.3% STRUCTURE: 2 complaints, 2.3% of reports STRUCTURE 2 · 2.3% VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 2 complaints, 2.3% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 2 · 2.3% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 20 complaints, 22.5% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 20 · 22.5% 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)
FUEL SYSTEM 25 28.1% 0 crashes · 1 fires
ENGINE 20 22.5% 0 crashes · 0 fires
POWER TRAIN 13 14.6% 0 crashes · 2 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 6 6.7% 0 crashes · 0 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 3 3.4% 0 crashes · 0 fires
SEAT BELTS 2 2.3% 0 crashes · 0 fires
STEERING 2 2.3% 0 crashes · 0 fires
STRUCTURE 2 2.3% 0 crashes · 0 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 2 2.3% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 20 22.5% 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 Jul 2012; the first recall shown was reported in Sep 2013. 2012-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2013-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2013-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2015-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2015-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2015-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2016-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2016-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2016-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2016-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2017-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2017-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2017-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2017-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2018-Q1: 5 owner reports 5 2018-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2018-Q3: 6 owner reports 6 2018-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2019-Q1: 7 owner reports 7 2019-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 2019-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2019-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2020-Q1: 8 owner reports 8 2020-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2020-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2020-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2021-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2021-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2021-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2022-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2022-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2022-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2024-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2024-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2024-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 2025-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2025-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2025-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2026-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Jul 2012 Jan 2026 Recall campaign 13V454000 ◆ Recall campaign 13V454000 Recall campaign 14V627000 ◆ Recall campaign 14V627000 Recall campaign 16V746000 ◆ Recall campaign 16V746000 Recall campaign 24V608000 ◆ Recall campaign 24V608000 Investigation PE13030 ● Investigation PE13030
  • Campaign 16V746000 was reported 1,008 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
  • Campaign 24V608000 was reported 4,239 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2012-Q3 Owner reports 1
2013-Q1 Owner reports 1
2013-Q4 Owner reports 1
2014-Q1 Owner reports 1
2014-Q2 Owner reports 1
2014-Q3 Owner reports 1
2014-Q4 Owner reports 1
2015-Q2 Owner reports 1
2015-Q3 Owner reports 1
2015-Q4 Owner reports 1
2016-Q1 Owner reports 1
2016-Q2 Owner reports 1
2016-Q3 Owner reports 1
2016-Q4 Owner reports 2
2017-Q1 Owner reports 1
2017-Q2 Owner reports 2
2017-Q3 Owner reports 1
2017-Q4 Owner reports 2
2018-Q1 Owner reports 5
2018-Q2 Owner reports 3
2018-Q3 Owner reports 6
2018-Q4 Owner reports 1
2019-Q1 Owner reports 7
2019-Q2 Owner reports 6
2019-Q3 Owner reports 1
2019-Q4 Owner reports 3
2020-Q1 Owner reports 8
2020-Q2 Owner reports 1
2020-Q3 Owner reports 3
2020-Q4 Owner reports 1
2021-Q1 Owner reports 1
2021-Q3 Owner reports 1
2021-Q4 Owner reports 1
2022-Q1 Owner reports 2
2022-Q2 Owner reports 1
2022-Q3 Owner reports 2
2024-Q2 Owner reports 2
2024-Q3 Owner reports 1
2024-Q4 Owner reports 5
2025-Q1 Owner reports 1
2025-Q2 Owner reports 3
2025-Q3 Owner reports 2
2026-Q1 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 13V454000
Recall campaign 1 14V627000
Recall campaign 1 16V746000
Recall campaign 1 24V608000
Defect investigation 1 PE13030
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (4)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 13V454000

    Report date
    Component:
    SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
    Consequence:
    A failure of the brake vacuum pump results in a reduction in braking power that could increase the risk of a crash.
    Remedy:
    BMW will notify owners, and dealers will modify the vehicles to prevent insufficient vacuum pump lubrication, free of charge. The safety recall began on January 31, 2014. 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 14V627000

    Report date
    Component:
    SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
    Consequence:
    A failure of the brake vacuum pump results in a reduction in braking power that could increase the risk of a crash.
    Remedy:
    BMW will notify owners, and dealers will install a locking ring in the camshaft to retain the camshaft seal disk in the proper location, free of charge. The recall began on December 2, 2014. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  3. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 16V746000

    Report date
    Component:
    FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
    Consequence:
    The loose wires may cause the connector to melt, resulting in a fuel leak. Additionally, the fuel pump may stop working, possibly causing an engine stall and increase the risk of a crash.
    Remedy:
    BMW will notify owners, and dealers will replace the fuel pump module, free of charge. The recall began February 2017. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  4. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 24V608000

    Report date
    Component:
    ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
    Consequence:
    An electrical short increases the risk of a fire.
    Remedy:
    Dealers will inspect and replace the water pump and plug connector as necessary, and install a protective shield, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on March 28, 2025. 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 89 complaints · page 1 of 4

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