There are 5 owner-reported engine complaints for the 2011 BMW 5 Seriesin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
The contact owns a 2011 BMW 5 Series. The contact stated that while his wife was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed as a camshaft failure. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number- 14V176000 ( Engine and Engine Cooling). The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 67,000. The VIN was not available.
WHILE MAKE TURNS WHILE DRIVING THE VEHICLE AXEL MAKES POPPING NOISE AND STEERING WHEEL JERKS VIOLENTLY. TOOK TO SHOP THEY SAID NOTHING FOUND WRONG WITH CAR. CV AXEL REPLACED ON BOTH SIDES PROBLEM STILL PERSISTS.ALSO NOT EVEN 10K MILES THE CAR WENT THRU 2 BELT TENSIONER CAUSING THE DRIVE BELT TO SNAP/TEAR.
POSITIVE CRANKCASE VENTILATION PCV VALVE HEATER THIS IS A RECALL BMW STATES REMEDY NOT AVAILABLE YET.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 BMW 5-SERIES. WHEN THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED, THE ENGINE STALLED WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE DID NOT RESTART. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE CONTACT'S RESIDENCE. AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC DIAGNOSED THAT THE TIMING CHAIN FAILED AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER STATED THAT THE VIN WAS INCLUDED IN NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 16V746000 (FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE). THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 48,000.
I TOOK DELIVERY OF A NEW 2011 535I ON 7/11/10. THE CAR WAS BUILT ON 6/1/10. ON 9/5/10 (ODOMETER READING LESS THAN 2000 MILES), I WAS DRIVING ON LOCAL STREETS AT APPROXIMATELY 30 MPH WHEN THE CAR REPORTED AN ENGINE MALFUNCTION ERROR AND THE CAR SHUTDOWN. I PUSHED THE GAS PEDAL AND THERE WAS NO RESPONSE AND STEERING LOCKED UP. THE CAR WAS PUSHED TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND THEN TOWED TO THE BMW DEALERSHIP. INITIAL ANALYSIS FROM THE BMW DEALERSHIP WAS THAT THE ERROR RECORDED (FAULT STORED FOR VALVETRONIC SYSTEM. DEVIATION TOO GREAT. FREQUENCY 1 LOGISTICS 38.) DID NOT POINT TO A SPECIFIC COMPONENT FAILURE. THE ERROR DID INDICATE THAT A CERTAIN SOFTWARE LEVEL SHOULD BE LOADED IN THE CAR, BUT THE BMW DEALERSHIP SAID I ALREADY HAD THE CORRECT SOFTWARE LEVEL LOADED. THEY RELOADED THE SOFTWARE LEVEL ANYWAY. THE BMW DEALERSHIP KEPT THE CAR FOR A FEW DAYS OF TESTING AND DRIVING, BUT COULD NOT RECREATE THE PROBLEM. AFTER 3 DAYS, THE BMW DEALERSHIP SAID THAT THEY NOTICED THAT I ACTUALLY DID NOT ORIGINALLY HAVE THE LATEST SOFTWARE PATCH LEVEL INSTALLED IN MY CAR. SO, THE ONLY FIX PROVIDED BY BMW FOR MY ENGINE MALFUNCTION AND SHUTDOWN WAS LOADING A NEW SOFTWARE PATCH LEVEL (PROGRAM I LEVEL NEW F010-10-06-512), THE PREVIOUS SOFTWARE LEVEL LOADED IN MY CAR AT THE PLANT WAS PROGRAM I LEVEL PLANT F010-10-06-511. IT SHOULD BE NOTED, WHILE THE CAR WAS AT THE BMW DEALERSHIP, THEY DID INSTALL THE FIX FOR THE FUEL TANK SENSOR RECALL (BULLETIN 121410). BUT, THE FUEL TANK SENSOR PROBLEM WAS NOT RELATED TO THE ENGINE MALFUNCTION PROBLEM I EXPERIENCED, BECAUSE I HAD AN ACTUAL HALF TANK OF FUEL IN THE CAR AT THE TIME OF MY ENGINE FAILURE. *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