2007 BMW 530XI Body and structure Problems

“After driving about 5 minutes from home, I parked the car in the parking lot in front of my office. About 5 minutes later, bystanders noticed a fire in engine compartment of the car and called 911. The car was in flames in a short time. The fire department arrived, put out the fire.”

“I discovered failures of multiple wires in the tailgate/rear window wiring harnesses. Through research online I have found this is a common problem with this vehicle over several model years - search for Bmw e61 tailgate wiring problems. The failures are caused by a poor design where the wires entering the hinge guides (4) for the glass and tailgate are repeatedly flexed at a sharp angle until the insulation, then the copper wire breaks. …”

“This vehicle, unlike all other Bmw automobiles has no rock guard in place on the lower front bumper protecting the radiator, etc from road hazards. A rock was thrown by a vehicle in front of me that pierced the condenser attached to the front of the radiator resulting in the car being taken to a service center on a roll back. I see this as a design flaw, (corrected on the 08 model), that can result in dangerous driving situations.”

“While sitting at a light car was impacted by another vehicle from the passenger's side at the rear axle wheel area. Auto struck vehicle at speeds near 80-100 MPH. Airbags did not deploy even though when the car stuck it continued from the rear to the front of the car even partially ripping the front bumper out of place.”

“Front glass panel on the panoramic glass roof spontaneously exploded on flat straight stretch of highway at 75 MPH. All windows were closed, no radio playing, no forward traffic or wind to produce airborne road debris. The original factory roof was not made with laminated glass producing a deafening explosive shower of glass pieces. Panoramic sunroof not covered under regular glass insurance, required an expensive auto claim to replace.”