2001 BMW 525I Engine cooling Problems
- Complaints
- 4about this part
- Share
- 18%of 22 total for the year
- Median mileage
- 110,000miles
- Trend
- Not enough dataFewer than 15 complaints, too few for a reliable trend.
NHTSA recorded 4 complaints about the engine cooling of the 2001 BMW 525I, 18% of the 22 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 110,000 miles. 1 a fire, according to the filers. 2 recall campaigns on record are 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.
“Upon arriving home from 4 mile round trip light city traffic (25 MPH aver speed), and entering base of my driveway, my well-serviced 2001 Bmw 525I (60,000 miles) suddenly lost power steering, engine quit, battery warning lighting, and service engine soon light came on, and loud clanging noise came from engine compartment. Restarted car to pull from street into my driveway and smoke starting coming out of engine compartment. Shut car off and opened hood, saw steam coming out of cooling system expansion tank which had cracked. …”
NHTSA complaint #10366961, filed 2010-11, 60,000 miles“I have 2001 Bmw 525I. I went to dealer service so many times to fix my problem concern. They won't fix it and said that no customers complaint duplicated all the times. After done my first 15000 miles service at dealer, eml lights came up and I sent my car to dealer immidiately. They changed trottle body because they said, it's burned. After that repair, my car has alignment, trottle, accelation and transmission problems. Also they replace the fan by recall. Now my car conditions are poor. I press the gas peddal for accelation, RPM's going high and big idle sound I can hear. …”
NHTSA complaint #10031158, filed 2003-08, 16,000 miles“The contact owns a 2001 Bmw 525I. While the contact was driving approximately 50 MPH, the check engine light illuminated. The contact pulled over and turned off the vehicle. After two hours, the contact turned the vehicle on and took it to a local repair shop where he was informed that the engine cooling fan needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 166,000. Updated 01/14/11”
NHTSA complaint #10368126, filed 2010-11, 166,000 milesRelated recalls
- 02V138000May 16, 2002On certain passenger vehicles, the engine auxiliary/cooling fan operation, including variable speed, is electronically controlled. Failure of the fan motor…Covers: BMW 525I 2001, X5 2001, 330I 2001 +17 more
- 01V206000Jun 21, 2001Vehicle description: passenger vehicles. The engine auxiliary/cooling fan operation, including variable speed, is electronically controlled. Failure of the…Covers: BMW 525I 2001, X5 2001, 330I 2001 +17 more
Related service bulletins
- 10247567Dec 20, 2023Engine will crank but not start. There is no communication with the integrated fuel module (TFE) whendiagnosing with ISTA. The following two fault codes will be stored in the…
Engine cooling: other model years
| Year | Complaints | Share of year |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 3 | 4% |
| 2006 | 3 | 4% |
| 2004 | 1 | 1% |
| 2003 | 1 | 3% |
| 2002 | 2 | 7% |
| 2001 | 4 | 18% |
| 1995 | 4 | 17% |
| 1994 | 3 | 43% |
| 1993 | 3 | 60% |
| 1992 | 7 | 39% |
| 1991 | 5 | 38% |
| 1990 | 6 | 55% |
Other parts of the 2001 BMW 525I
6 complaintsAir bags
4 complaintsEngine
4 complaintsElectronic stability control
2 complaintsTransmission and drivetrain
2 complaintsVehicle speed control
2 complaintsBrakes
1 complaintsEquipment
1 complaintsFuel system
1 complaintsOther or unknown
1 complaintsSteering
1 complaintsSuspension
1 complaints
← All problems reported for the 2001 BMW 525I
About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 27, 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