2004 BMW 5 Series Seats Problems
- Complaints
- 11about this part
- Share
- 17%of 64 total for the year
- Median mileage
- 85,000miles
- Trend
- Not enough dataFewer than 15 complaints, too few for a reliable trend.
NHTSA recorded 11 complaints about the seats of the 2004 BMW 5 Series, 17% of the 64 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 85,000 miles. 6 a fire, according to the filers. 1 recall campaign on record is filed under a similar system.
Fewer than 15 complaints name this part, so treat the figures as a rough indication only.
Example complaints
Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.
“Passenger seat/airbag warning malfunction. This warning has been on since I purchased vehicle. It is obviously the common seat mat sensor failure. And it would appear that either my VIN isn't on the previous recall or it has expired for my year and model. But my wife sits in that seat and if we have an accident and her airbags do not deploy whose fault will that be?”
NHTSA complaint #11130543, filed 2018-09, 175,000 miles“Seat-warmer overheated, burning holes through the leather driver's seat, causing minor skin burns before terminating use of unit. Over the past two months, I had noticed a burning odor in the car periodically, but neither I nor my mechanic had been able to determine the source of the odor. On 1/27/12, I felt the extreme heat in my seat while driving, and found two charred holes in the leather seat. …”
NHTSA complaint #10445684, filed 2012-01, 124,631 miles“My front passenger seat occupant detection mat has cracks in it and does not function properly. My front airbag may not deploy in case of an accident. There has been a recall for that part for my make model and year but Bmw north america claims that my VIN number is not on the list even thought my make model and year is a part of the recall. There are also several other recalls for this particular car and again my VIN is not on the list but I have the issues listed in the recall.”
NHTSA complaint #10483810, filed 2012-11, 50,000 miles“My car has the passenger restraint system malfunction message on the navigation screen and also the seatbelt light and the airbag light are illuminated on the dashboard. There is a recall for seat occupancy sensor below and as you can see my car falls within the criteria as the cars affected by the recall but a visit to my local Bmw dealer revealed that there was no active recalls under my VIN number. This is an obvious safety issue as airbags will not deploy and the risk of being seriously hurt or killed. …”
NHTSA complaint #10455361, filed 2012-04, 102,000 miles“We just purchased our Bmw 545i in mid october. On november 13th while driving home from our son's home we smelled something burning. My husband soon realized that the driver's seat and his pants were on fire. We immediately turned off the seat heaters and was able to put the fire out. We were fortunate that no one was injured, and while a pair of pants were ruined, my husband did not sustain any burns. Our dealer immediately took the car back to the dealership and furnished me with another car to drive. …”
NHTSA complaint #10100389, filed 2004-11, 8,100 milesRelated recalls
- 04V575000Dec 6, 2004On certain passenger vehicles equipped with front seat heating systems, upon entering and exiting the vehicle, excessive contact with the side bolster that is…Covers: BMW 5 Series 2004, 7 Series 2003–2004
Related service bulletins
- 10035246Oct 1, 2010Bmw vehicles: replaced seat occupancy sensor mat will not enable. After replacing a cis (capacitive sensing passenger occupancy mat), the new mat will not enable when using…
- 10024510Nov 1, 2007Recode or replace oc3 seat mat. Vehicles produced up to march 31, 2005.
Seats: other model years
Other parts of the 2004 BMW 5 Series
29 complaintsElectrical system
9 complaintsSeat belts
7 complaintsExterior lighting
6 complaintsTransmission and drivetrain
6 complaintsSteering
5 complaintsBrakes
3 complaintsTires
3 complaintsEngine cooling
2 complaintsElectronic stability control
1 complaintsLatches, locks and linkages
1 complaintsOther or unknown
1 complaints
← All problems reported for the 2004 BMW 5 Series
About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 31, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.
To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology