There are 1 stored owner reports matching the powertrain & transmission leading-label group for the 2002 BMW M5 in our NHTSA-sourced dataset. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
This group counts stored reports whose component label starts with one of this site's matching prefixes, ignoring case. Each matching report counts once within the group. Components mentioned later in the label or only in the narrative are not searched. How component counts work
Loaded 1 of 1 matching reports.
Open the full vehicle complaint log (all categories)THERE ARE NO POWER MODIFICATIONS TO MY VEHICLE, I JUST RECENTLY INSTALLED A LOWER MILEAGE ENGINE, ALONG WITH ALL OF THE PARTS SURROUNDING THE ENGINE AND TRANSMISSION (IE CLUTCH, FLYWHEEL, THROWOUT BEARING, CLUTCH FORK, ETC). THE BREAK-IN PERIOD FOR A NEW CLUTCH IS 500 MILES OF NORMAL DRIVING AND 1000 MILES FOR THE ENGINE. I COMPLETED THE BREAK-IN PERIOD ON SATURDAY JULY 20, 2019, FOR THE CLUTCH BUT STILL HAVE SOME MILES TO GO FOR THE ENGINE BREAK-IN, SO ON 7-24-19 I WAS ENTERING THE FWY FROM A STOP LIGHT AND WHEN I PUSHED THE GAS PEADAL IT SOUNDED LIKE SOMETHING EXPLODED AND I HADN'T EVEN GOTTEN OUT OF 1ST GEAR YET!!! SO, I PULLED OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD, B/C I HEARD SOMETHING RUBBING, AND CALLED A TOW TRUCK TO TOW IT BACK TO THE SHOP THAT HAD JUST INSTALLED THE NEW ENGINE. THE SHOP CONTACTED ME WITH NEWS AND PICTURES, SHOWING ME THAT THE FACTORY WELDS ON THE DIFFERENTIAL'S SUBFRAME MOUNT HAD SNAPPED APART, DROPPING THE DIFFERENTIAL FROM ITS CORRECT POSITION AND DESTROYING MY DRIVESHAFT, IN THE PROCESS. I CALLED BMW OF NORTH AMERICA AND THEY SAID THERE'S A RECALL FOR THE M3 SUBFRAME BUT NOT THE M5??? THEN GOES ON TO SAY WITH THE AGE AND MILEAGE...BUT WELDS ARE SUPPOSED TO WITHSTAND AGE AND MILEAGE, ESPECIALLY BEING THAT IT'S A SPORTS SEDAN DESIGN TO SHRED TYRES AND ACHIEVE 3-DIGIT SPEEDS. THE INTERNET IS FLOODED WITH THE VERY SAME INCIDENTS WITH OTHER M5 OWNERS BUT IT SEEMS NO ONE ELSE HAS BOTHERED TO VOICE THEIR CONCERNS B/C IF IT HAD NOT BEEN FOR THE EXHAUST SYSTEM THEN THE DRIVESHAFT WOULD HAVE DROPPED TO THE GROUND AND FLIPPED MY CAR INTO FREEWAY TRAFFIC (SEE PHOTOS)
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.
NHTSA source checks for this vehicle year
Checks are recorded separately for each dataset, not for the whole page. Dates use UTC. A missing check date does not mean no records exist.
Vehicle import recorded: Apr 28, 2026. This is the stored import date, not confirmation that every source was successfully refreshed.