2018 BMW 540I

On September 11, 2024, I took my vehicle to BMW of Great Neck for a tire and rim job under insurance. BMW failed to return my lug nuts, leaving my vehicle in an unsafe condition. It took nearly a month for them to provide the missing lug nuts. Upon inspection, each wheel had fewer than the required 5 lug nuts, creating a serious safety risk. On September 24, 2024, I had to return to BMW due to a Tire Pressure Monitor (TPM) sensor issue, which should not have occurred after their September 11th service. Instead of addressing the issue, BMW dismissed it and suggested I get it fixed elsewhere. BMW’s own manager confirmed my vehicle was returned in this unsafe condition. If I hadn’t noticed, this could have resulted in wheel detachment, loss of control, or a crash. Additionally, after a routine oil change on December 27, 2024, BMW’s Multi-Point Inspection (provided January 12, 2024) revealed: •A missing stiffening plate, which supports chassis integrity. BMW stated this could cause chassis damage. •Coolant expansion tank & vent hose leaks, affecting vehicle cooling. •Fluid leaks, which could worsen over time. Contradiction in BMW’s Diagnostics & Evidence of Negligence: •The 1/12 Multi-Point Inspection contradicts the 12/27 diagnostic image I captured from service advisor Kevin Guo. •BMW failed to identify these issues on 12/27, despite servicing my vehicle that day. •This suggests either a misdiagnosis, negligence, or an attempt to cover up damages. Safety Concerns & Inspection Status: •The wheel issue put my safety at risk, and BMW has not taken accountability. •The stiffening plate issue affects vehicle stability, which could lead to handling problems or structural failure. •These issues were confirmed by BMW’s own inspection report on 1/12/25, contradicting the 12/27 diagnostic. BMW of Great Neck’s negligence directly compromised my vehicle’s safety. I request an investigation into their repair practices to prevent this from happening to others.

1) Passenger restraint system malfunction. According to information on the web and several BMW forums, this is a common problem on these vehicles and it is a serious and inherently unsafe issue that should necessitate a recall from the manufacturer. The root cause is typically a malfunction of the passenger seat pad that is utilized by the passenger restraint system. BMW service repair cost is $2,700-$3,000. This is really outrageous given that it's part of the safety restraint system and many BMW 5 series (and likely others) have this problem.

I contacted the dealership where I purchased my vehicle called Global Imports on December 6 because the car was running hot. I arrived on Saturday morning was informed that the radiator was leaking and a water pump was leaking that they both needed to be replaced and I would be charged around $3000 to replace it. There were no recalls the service bulletins that I mentioned they advised me were only repair notifications. They said there were no other notifications regarding the radiator only to have the check engine light come back on a week later I took it to a different dealership and I was advised that the 15 year warranty on the flaps which the flaps are not functioning properly. I was advised to take it back to Global Imports .

The car's hood sensor did not alert us to the fact that the hood was not properly closed. This resulted in the car's hood opening while being driven, causing the driver to lose sight of the road and crashed into a guardrail in a canyon road (see photo). The car is currently being evaluated by the insurance company for a total loss, and the car may be available for inspection currently, although it may also be taken apart by the auto collision company for their estimate evaluation. The failure of the hood latch mechanism to properly and conspicuously notify us prior to driving the car put us at severe risk of being in a life threatening accident as well as potentially imperiling the lives of other drivers or pedestrians. The vehicle was inspected by BMW after I reported the incident to them, and I have a written report from them. BMW concluded they are "technically confident that no manufacturing defects, faults or malfunctions were present in the vehicle that could have contributed to this incident." There were no warning messages of the problem prior to the hood opening. We also provided BMW with a video taken after the crash whereby the hood latch on the right side of the car was intentionally left open, and the hood latch on the left side of the car was closed, and demonstrated in this situation that there was no indication on the BMW i drive screen of any notifications to alert the driver of the hood not being completely closed. Despite asking numerous times for BMW to address the findings in that video, which we shared with them at their request, they never provided any response to the video. I would like to share the video with you but am unable to upload MP4 files onto your platform.

When i have a passenger in the car I will intermittantly get the warning "Passenger restraint system malfunction" which will turn off the air bag to the passenger side when driving even when there is a passenger in the car. From forums it sounds like there is a pressure pad in the seat that is a very common malfunction for BMW. This seems like a pretty critical part to ensure the airbags are operational when a passenger is in the car, and feel it should not be as common a problem as it seems to be.

Passenger seat restraint malfunction error code. Code will show fault when no one is in the passenger seat and if the person is light enough in weight, it will also pop up. The issue means that the air bag will not deploy when there is someone in the seat. A HUGE safety concern and online search shows that this is a very common problem with BMW’s. BMW needs to issue a recall for this and fix the issue. Please note that the date the incident occurred below is an approximation and the code has been continuing since the first code came up.

My car has around 74k miles on it. I had the following service request warning present itself this last week, 'Passenger restraint system malfunction:' on my drive into work in the morning. At first I dismissed the message and closed it to see if it would clear itself. It did not clear. It came back up a couple of minutes later. This time I left it alone. It proceeded to close itself and reopen every minute or so for about 10-15 minutes. Then it turned off and didn't come back on until I started my car later in the day and again the following morning. After taking it into the BMW dealer, the warning light was able to be replicated by the dealer and they've told me it is the seat mat (occupancy sensor) that was faulty. No outside influence appears to be at fault for the failure. Just that the part went bad. This is the diagnostic message given: CHECK CONTROL MESSAGE PRESENT FOR PASSENGER RESTRAINT MALFUNCTION. PERFORMED VEHICLE TEST, FAULTS PRESENT REGARDING PASSENGER FRONT SEAT OCCUPANCY DETECTION. PERFORMED TEST PLAN AND INDCATED PASSENGER SEAT OCCUPANCY DETECTION IS FAULTY. RECOMMEND REPLACING PASSENGER SEAT OCCUPANCY DETECTION. According to the dealer, if this if not fixed the airbag and/or seatbelt won't perform in the event of an accident. This appears to be a very common issue for BMW and similar to a 2017 BMW Technical Service Bulletin MC-10146769-9999. There was no warning of this issue prior to receiving the error message. There has been no opportunity for moisture to compromise the sensor (via window, sunroof or drinks spilled). Nor has any cellphone been stored on the passenger seat as I've read of some reasons provided to other Owners with the same error message. This seems to be an ongoing issue with this part for some time and it would seem to be an important issue for BMW to resolve in their design for the safety of the user.

The seat occupancy sensor malfunctioned. The technician said the computer showed it had moisture that caused the problem. I had the sensor replaced and the repair shop siad there was no sign of moisture contamination. I took pictures of the seat cushion allow with the imbedded sensor and there is no sign of moisture. I feel the sensor was defective and BMW should have been responsible for the replacement but they use the excuse that moisture caused the problem.