There are 8 owner-reported speed control & cruise complaints for the 2008 BMW 5 Seriesin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
The contact owns a 2008 BMW 550I. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, the accelerator pedal was depressed however, the vehicle failed to respond. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact pulled over to the side of the roadway and turned off and restarted the vehicle however, the battery warning light illuminated and remained illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an unknown dealer and was previously repaired under an unknown recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 141,000.
CAR REDUCED POWER, SHAKES AND WILL NOT RUN ANYMORE. IS SO UNSAFE TO BE DRIVING THIS SPECIALLY IN THE FWY VERY SCARY.
CURRENTLY HAVING ISSUES WITH A WASTEGATE RATTLE ON TURBOS. ROUGH ENGINE IDLE. HAVING MULTIPLE MISFIRES, AND STUCK OPEN FUEL INJECTORS. CAUSING TAILPIPES TO EXCESSIVELY SMOKE (WHITE COLOR) WHILE GOING INTO LIMP MODE COULD NOT GO PAST 20MPH AND SURGING. ISSUES HAPPEN WHEN STATIONARY AND WHILE DRIVING. HAD TO GET VEHICLE TOWED HOME. 'FUEL INJECTOR RECALL 16E-A01 'HPFP RECALL- COULD NOT FIND NUMBER 'TURBO RECALL- COULD NOT FIND NUMBER
TIP IN AS IT IS CALLED, LAG IN THE RESPONSE TIME FROM WHEN YOU STEP ON THE GAS PEDAL TILL THE CAR ACTUALLY TAKES OFF. ALSO PASSENGER SIDE SEAT SENSOR SENSING SOMEONE IS THERE WHEN THEY ARE NOT CAUSING THE FASTEN SEAT BELT ERROR TO CONTANTLY GO OFF.
HPFP IS GOING BAD ENGINE LIGHT COMES ON LONG CRANK START
DURING HIGHWAY TRAVELING UPON ACCELERATION TO CHANGE LANES THE CAR BEGAN TO LOSE POWER AND STALL. A ENGINE MALFUNCTION LIGHT CAME/REDUCED POWER. I HAD TO DRIVE THE CAR ABOUT 45 MPH BECAUSE IT BEGAN TO SHAKE AS IF IT WAS GOING TO CUT OFF. DEALERSHIP ADVISED THAT IS WAS NOT THE HPFP (HIGH PRESSURE FUEL PUMP). I WAS TOLD THAT ALL SIX FUEL INJECTORS NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THIS CAR CAN BE VERY DANGEROUS TO DRIVE ON THE HIGHWAY BECAUSE OF ITS UNRELIABILITY! *TR
WE WERE STOPPED AND WAITING AT A RED LIGHT THEN PRESSED ACCELERATOR WHEN THE LIGHT TURNED GREEN. THE CAR STARTS MOVING THEN SUDDENLY LOSES ALL POWER WITHIN SECONDS WHILE ENTERING A VERY BUSY FREEWAY ONRAMP. AFTER LOSING POWER AND CAR IS DEAD, A WARNING MESSAGE APPEARS. WARNING SAYS CAR IS "OVERHEATED AND TO STOP, DANGER OF BURNS WITH HOT WATER PUMP." CAR HAD NOT BEEN DRIVEN FOR 2 HOURS PRIOR TO INCIDENT. THERE WAS ABSOLUTELY NO WARNING BEFORE LOSING ALL POWER AND CONTROL OF THE CAR. HAD TO HAVE CAR TOWED TO DEALER. DEALER REPLACED THE WATER PUMP AND DID NOT EXPLAIN THE SUDDEN LOSS OF POWER OR LACK OF WARNING. THE CAR HAS HAD MULTIPLE PROBLEMS WITH THE HIGH PRESSURE FUEL PUMP. THE CAR ALSO HAS HAD SEVERAL WARNINGS OF SUDDEN POWER LOSS THAT THE DEALER IS UNABLE TO DIAGNOSE. THE SUDDEN STOP ON THE FREEWAY CAUSED US TO BE NEARLY REAR-ENDED A FEW TIMES BEFORE THE POLICE CAME. *TR
WHILE DRIVING THE 2008 BMW 535XI, THERE WAS A LOUD SOUND FROM THE ENGINE. A MESSAGE APPEARED "CAR OVERHEATED" AND THE CAR STOPPED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD. THE WATER PUMP FAILED WITH ABSOLUTELY NO WARNING. THE ACCELERATION WOULD NOT WORK AT ALL AND THE CAR WAS ESSENTIALLY INOPERABLE. IT WAS A VERY DIFFICULT SITUATION WITH VEHICLES APPROACHING ME FROM BEHIND ESPECIALLY WITH NO SHOULDER SPACE AVAILABLE TO PULL THE CAR OVER. I MANAGED TO TURN ONT HE HAZARD LIGHTS AND BARELY MANAGED TO ESCAPE THIS SITUATION WITHOUT AN INCIDENT. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A DEALER AND I WAS INFORMED THAT THE AUXILIARY WATER PUMP HAD FAILED AND WILL HAVE TO REPLACE IT, THE COST OF WHICH WOULD BE AT LEAST $1,200. WHEN I LOOKED UP ON THE INTERNET REGARDING THIS ISSUE, I HAVE SEEN MANY INDIVIDUALS COMPLAINING ABOUT THE WATER PUMP IN LESS THAN AS LITTLE AS 30,000 MILES. I ALSO STUMBLED ONTO A NHTSA RECALL CAMPAIGN (NO. 11V-521: "ELECTRIC AUXILIARY WATER PUMP") ON CERTAIN 2008 BMW 5-SERIES. I WAS SHOCKED TO KNOW THAT MY VEHICLE WAS NOT INCLUDED IN THIS CAMPAIGN NUMBER. WHAT TYPE OF QUALITY CHECKS ARE THESE PUMPS SUBJECTED TO? I HAVE HEARD OF MANY SUCH INSTANCES WITH THIS YEAR, MAKE AND MODEL. MOST OTHER VEHICLES HAVE WATER PUMPS LASTING OVER 100,000 MILES AND WELL BEYOND. WHY HASN'T BMW ISSUED A RECALL? *TR
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 26, 2026