2011 BMW 528I problems
Owners have filed 164 complaints about the 2011 BMW 528I with NHTSA. Engine accounts for 20.1% of them — narrowly the most common, ahead of engine and engine cooling at 19.5%.
Complaints164
Crashes1
Fires1
Injuries6
Deaths0
What owners report breaking
Engine 20.1% · 33
Engine and engine cooling 19.5% · 32
Power train 15.2% · 25
Fuel/propulsion system 10.4% · 17
Unknown or other 6.1% · 10
Electrical system 4.9% · 8
Fuel system, gasoline 4.3% · 7
Vehicle speed control 3.7% · 6
Severity
Of those complaints, 1 describe a crash, 1 describe a fire and 6 report an injury.
Reading the numbers
Across the 6 model years of the BMW 528I in this data, 2011 ranks 2nd by complaint volume — 2008 draws the most.
Filings are rising — 49 in the last three years against 18 in the three before. For a vehicle this age that usually points to a wear-related failure owners are hitting now.
The median odometer reading at the time of complaint was 59,340 miles.
In owners' own words
The contact owns a 2011 BMW 528I. The contact stated that while driving 75 mph, the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was taken to a dealer. The technician was unable to diagnose the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure recurred. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 4,000 and the current mileage was 56,000. Engine · reported at 4,000 miles
The throttle body of the 2011 model of the BMW 528I has been faulty since day 1. The car jerks at low rpm making it dangerous during driving situations. The slow response time of the throttle can cause accidents. There is about thousands of complaints that BMW received over the years and they still are not issuing a recall on it. Engine · reported at 52,000 miles
As I was driving, my car started making a loud clicky noise and then stalled in the middle of the road and I had to call a shop to come and get it into neutral so it could be moved. My car has been broken since November because the engine bolts are unavailable. BMW has taken too long to get this easily fixed. Engine
Verbatim from NHTSA filings. Complaints are unverified owner reports.
Safety recalls
Checking NHTSA for open recalls…