2006 BMW 530I

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 BMW 530I. THE CONTACT STATED THAT AFTER THE VEHICLE WAS STARTED, THE PASSENGER'S SIDE SRS WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED CONTINUOUSLY. THE VIN WAS NOT INCLUDED IN NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 13V564000 (AIR BAG). THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS UNKNOWN.

UPON REPLACING A HEAD LIGHT BULB I NOTICE THAT THE HEADLIGHT WIRING INSIDE THE HEADLIGHT HOUSING WAS EXPOSED AND THE INSULATION CRUMBLING TO THE TOUCH. MANY WIRES ARE EXPOSED WITHOUT INSULATION THUS CREATING A SHORT CIRCUIT POTENTIAL AND FIRE HAZARD, I HAVE RESEARCHED ABOUT THIS AND IT SEEMS IT IS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH BMWS, THERE ARE MANY OWNERS WITH THIS ISSUE. I FEEL THERE SHOULD BE A RECALL FOR THIS BEFORE SOMEONE CAR CATCHES FIRE AND\OR SOMEONE DIES, BMWNA DOESN'T SEEM TO WANT TO RESOLVE THIS ISSUE BASED ON ALL THE OWNERS COMPLAINTS AND THEIR NEGATIVE RESPONSE. *TR

WHEN I STARTED MY CAR THE IDRIVE DISPLAYED THE "INCREASED BATTERY DISCHARGE" MESSAGE. I THEN SMELLED A STRONG ODOR OF SMOKE AND MELTED PLASTIC, AND THE IDRIVE STOPPED WORKING ALTOGETHER. I COULDN'T FIGURE OUT THE PROBLEM UNTIL I SEARCHED THIS WEBSITE AND SEVERAL BMW DEVOTED MESSAGE BOARDS TO DISCOVER THAT THE PROBLEM COULD BE TRACED TO A DEFECTIVE DESIGN RELATED TO THE MICRO PROCESSOR MODULE THAT CONTROLS THE IDRIVE. APPARENTLY, BMW THOUGHT IT WAS A GOOD IDEA TO INSTALL THE MPM, AN IMPORTANT AND SENSITIVE ELECTRICAL COMPONENT, IN THE SPARE TIRE WHEEL-WELL WHERE LIQUID CAN GATHER EASILY. A SMALL AMOUNT OF WATER SPILLED IN MY TRUNK, AND THE MPM BURNED AND MELTED ALONG WITH THE ATTACHED WIRING HARNESS. OBVIOUSLY, THIS IS A SERIOUS AND DANGEROUS DESIGN DEFECT. AND MINE IS NOT THE FIRST INSTANCE OF THIS HAPPENING - WHY HASN'T A RECALL BEEN REQUIRED? IT ALSO SEEMS THAT BMW ISSUED AT LEAST ONE SERVICE BULLETIN REGARDING THIS ISSUE, AND DIRECTED ITS DEALERS TO RELOCATE THE MPM TO A SAFER LOCATION. MY VEHICLE HAS BEEN TO THE DEALER SEVERAL TIMES SINCE THE BULLETIN WAS ISSUED - AT LEAST TWICE FOR PROBLEMS WITH THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - BUT THE DEALER NEVER MENTIONED THE BULLETIN OR SUGGESTED THAT THEY SHOULD RELOCATE IT. *TR

I WAS REPLACING A PARKING (ANGEL EYE) BULB IN THE DRIVERS SIDE OF MY 2006 BMW 530I AND NOTICED THAT THE WIRING FOR THE PARKING AND HIGH BEAM BULB WAS SO BRITTLE THAT THE WAS FALLING OFF EXPOSING THE BARE WIRING AND I ALSO NOTED A SMELL OF BURNT PLASTIC. I CHECKED THE FORUMS AND OTHER OWNERS WITH THE SAME HEADLIGHTS 2004-2010 5 SERIES WERE REPORTING THE SAME ISSUE. BMW IS NOT OFFERING A TSB OR A RECALL FOR THIS. THE LIGHTS IN THIS CASE ARE THE BI-XENON ADAPTIVE LIGHTS. IT APPEARS THE HEAT CREATED BY THE HID UNIT IS CAUSING THE WIRES TO BECOME BRITTLE. I EMAILED BMW USA DIRECTLY AND I WAS JUST REFERRED TO A DEALER. FOR THE TIME BEING I HAVE WRAPPED THE WIRING IN ELECTRICAL TAPE UNTIL I CAN AFFORD TO REPLACE EACH UNIT. I AM AFRAID TO USE MY HIGH BEAMS BECAUSE I DO NOT WANT TO BLOW ANYMORE BULBS, SHORT OUT MY LIGHTING SYSTEM OR POSSIBLY EVEN START A FIRE. I HAVE CONSIDERED DOWNGRADING THE TYPE OF LIGHTING SYSTEM IN MY CAR BUT THAT WOULD ENTAIL HAVING TO REWIRE THE CAR AND REPROGRAM THE COMPUTER TO RECOGNIZE THE NEW TYPE OF LIGHTING. *TR

UPON STARTING ENGINE PASSENGER-SIDE AIR BAG FAULT LIGHTS APPEARED INDICATING AIR BAGS WOULD NOT WORK IN AN ACCIDENT. PASSENGER SEAT WAS UNOCCUPIED AT THE TIME AND NO ITEMS WERE ON THE SEAT. DEALER RESET AND REPORTED DIAGNOSTIC TESTS DETECTED LOW VOLTAGE CONDITION TO THAT CIRCUIT. DEALER RESET. DEALER RECOMMENDED I PURCHASE A NEW BATTERY. I PURCHASED A NEW BATTERY 10 DAYS LATER.DURING THE INTERVAL BETWEEN RESET AND NEW BATTERY THE LIGHTS DID NOT REAPPEAR. 9/2014 I WAS DRIVING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS WHEN PASSENGER SIDE AIR BAG FAULT LIGHTS APPEARED. SEAT WAS UNOCCUPIED AT THE TIME AND NO OBJECTS WERE ON THE SEAT. DEALER DIAGNOSED SAME AS ABOVE. AT TIME OF THIS INCIDENT BATTERY WAS 1.5 YEARS OLD. NO LIQUIDS HAVE EVER BEEN SPILLED ON SEAT. NO MOISTURE ON SEAT. MILEAGE AT TIME OF INCIDENT WAS 23,900. DRIVER'S SIDE AIR BAG FAULT WARNING DID NOT APPEAR DURING EITHER INCIDENT. PRESUMABLY THAT CIRCUIT WOULD BE SUBJECTED TO THE SAME LOW VOLTAGE CONDITION AS THE PASSENGER SIDE. *TR

I HAVE A 2006 BMW 530I THAT HAS BEEN LEAKING OIL FOR 3 YEARS. I HAVE HAD WORK DONE ON THE CAR FROM AN AUTHORIZED BMW SHOP AND THE LEAK WAS NOT FIXED. I HAVE HAD EXCESSIVE OIL CONSUMPTION TO WHERE I HAVE HAD TO EITHER PUT OIL IN THE CAR MYSELF BECAUSE IT WAS AT THE MINIMUM LEVEL, OR TAKE IT IN TO THE DEALERSHIP (IF I'M IN THE AREA) FOR THEM TO TOP IT OFF. I HAVE TAKEN MY CAR BACK TO THE DEALERSHIP 4 DIFFERENT TIMES AND THEY HAVE TOLD ME THAT THEY COULD NOT FIND AN OIL LEAK. RECENTLY I TOOK MY CAR IN FOR AN OIL CHANGE AND THEY TOLD ME I HAD A LEAK IN 3 DIFFERENT PLACES. SINCE I HAVE BEEN TOLD DIFFERENT SCENARIOS, I ESCALATED THE ISSUE TO HIGHER MANAGEMENT AND ASKED FOR AN ANSWER AS TO WHY TWO DIFFERENT MECHANICS AT A DEALERSHIP THAT SPECIALIZE IN THE "ULTIMATE DRIVING MACHINE" GAVE ME THREE DIFFERENT DIAGNOSTICS. THEY THEN TOLD ME THAT MY CAR HAS A BROKEN BOLT WHICH IS COMMON FOR THIS MODEL, BUT REFUSE TO RECTIFY THE SITUATION AND THE VEHICLE IS UNDER EXTENDED WARRANTY AND NEITHER WILL PAY THE COST. *TR

THE TRANSMISSION HAS A HARSH 2-1 SHIFT DOWN TO STOP. THIS HAPPENS AT 5 MPH AND WHEN THE TRANSMISSION IS SHIFTING FROM SECOND GEAR TO FIRST GEAR. SOMETIMES IT IS MILD SOMETIMES IT IS VERY ROUGH AS TO MOVE YOU AND YOUR HEAD IN THE SEAT, AS IF ANOTHER CAR TAPPED INTO THE BACK OF THE CAR. SOMETIMES THE TRANSMISSION WILL JERK WHILE SITTING AT A TRAFFIC LIGHT OR STOP. I SEE REFERENCE TO THIS PHENOMENON ALL OVER THE WEB BUT WHEN I APPROACHED A BMW SERVICE WRITER AND EXPLAINED THIS TO HIM, HE WOULD NOT ACKNOWLEDGE THAT HE WAS EVEN AWARE OF IT. HE WOULD ONLY SAY THAT THEY COULD LOOK AT MY CAR BUT THEIR POLICY IS THAT THEY DO NOT REPAIR TRANSMISSIONS, THEY ONLY REPLACE THEM. SO IF THERE IS ANY TRANSMISSION OPERATION OUT OF THE NORM, IT WILL BE DEEMED FOR REPLACEMENT. DID I STILL WANT THEM TO LOOK AT IT? A NEW TRANSMISSION FOR MY CAR IS $8,000.00 AND ALMOST ANOTHER $700.00 TO PROGRAM THE COMPUTER TO MATE THE NEW TRANSMISSION WITH THE CAR. BLUE BOOK ON MY CAR IS $9,000.00, THEREFORE YOU COULD SAY IT'S TOTALED! BMW NEEDS TO STAND BEHIND THIS PROBLEM AS IT IS NOT AN ISOLATED CASE. WHEN I PUT THE TRANSMISSION IN M+S MODE THE 2-1 SHIFT DOWN DOES NOT OCCUR BUT THERE ARE ROUGHER SHIFTS GOING UP THROUGH THE GEARS. EITHER WAY IT IS A TRADE OFF AND NEITHER IS A SATISFACTORY RESULT. *TR

AS I WAS DRIVING A WARNING CAME ON MY IDRIVE DISPLAY THAT THERE WAS A PARKING LIGHT MALFUNCTION. I LATER REMOVED THE HEADLIGHT TO REPLACE A BULB AND UPON DOING SO I NOTICED BARE COPPER WIRES. I THEN REMOVED THE MAIN COVER AND SAW THAT LITERALLY EVERY WIRE HAD PORTIONS OF THE OUTER WIRE JACKET DETERIORATING. WHEN I REMOVED THE PARKING LAMP ASSY. TO REPLACE THE BULB, THE WIRE JACKET JUST FLAKED OFF. DUE TO THE SEVERITY OF THE DAMAGE I IMMEDIATELY TOOK THE HEADLIGHT TO LAUDERDALE BMW. LAUDERDALE BMW HAD A SPECIALIST LOOK AT THE HEADLIGHT. THE SPECIALIST SAID THAT THOUGH IT DID LOOK VERY BAD UNFORTUNATELY IT WAS JUST DUE TO THE FLORIDA SUN! THERE IS NO SUPPORT FOR THE HEADLIGHT EITHER FROM HELLA NORTH AMERICA (THE ACTUAL MANUFACTURER OF THE HEADLIGHT) OR FROM BMW. NO PARTS CAN BE ORDERED FOR IT. THE ONLY OPTION AVAILABLE IS TO PURCHASE A COMPLETE NEW HEADLIGHT ASSY. AT $1500.00 I WROTE TO HELLA NORTH AMERICA AND THEY REFERRED ME TO BMW GERMANY. I WROTE TO BMWNA AND THEY RESPONDED THAT IT WAS JUST NORMAL WEAR AND TEAR. IMAGINE THAT, AN 8 YEAR OLD HEADLIGHT DETERIORATE TO BARE WIRES IS BY BMW'S CONCERN, NORMAL WEAR AND TEAR! THAT'S SHAMEFUL! AT THIS POINT I CANNOT INSTALL THE HEADLIGHT ASSEMBLY BACK INTO THE CAR FOR FEAR OF A DEAD SHORT AND POSSIBLE FIRE! I HAVE A 1995 CHEVROLET S-10 THAT AT 19 YEARS HAS NO WIRING ISSUES AND DEFINITELY NO BARE WIRES! FOR BMW THOUGH IT IS CONSIDERED COMPLETELY ACCEPTABLE AFTER 8 YEARS! YET BOTH VEHICLES SIT SIDE BY SIDE IN THE FLORIDA SUN EVERYDAY! IS IT RIGHT THAT BMW VEHICLE PRICING ON THE AVERAGE IS SO MUCH HIGHER THAN CHEVROLET AND YET BMW'S BUILD QUALITY AND WHAT IS ACCEPTABLE IS SO MUCH LOWER! WHEN THIS HAPPENS, SOMETHING IS TERRIBLY WRONG! *TR