Skip to content
Transmission and drivetrainPart report

2013 BMW 535I Transmission and drivetrain Problems

Complaints
2about this part
Share
5%of 39 total for the year
Median mileage
3,100miles
Trend
Not enough dataFewer than 15 complaints, too few for a reliable trend.

NHTSA recorded 2 complaints about the transmission and drivetrain of the 2013 BMW 535I, 5% of the 39 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 3,100 miles.

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.

“While driving on the free way my brand new 535I had a drivetrain malfunction and the check engine light came on while losing power and slowing down all while shaking. Pushing the accelerator the car would not gain speed. When I called Bmw they said to stop at the nearest Bmw dealership which I did. After exiting the car would not shift out of first gear and refused to go faster than 20 miles an hour shaking the whole way to the dealer. They had my car for a week before saying they needed to replace the high pressure fuel pump then run more tests and that was 2 weeks ago. …”

NHTSA complaint #10496937, filed 2013-02, 3,200 miles

“Once again nearly a month after my 2013 535I had its high pressure fuel pump replaced by Bmw. The car decides to lose all power and not want to accelerate again while traveling on the freeway. The check engine light and drivetrain malfunction lights came on and the vehicle began shaking and sputtering. This car is not safe at all. The service advisor immediately recognized this problem and kind of blew it off by joking about how he thought Bmw corrected this problem for all of their 135, 335, and 535, which is disturbing to now Bmw has this problem and is still selling these vehicles. …”

NHTSA complaint #10503756, filed 2013-03, 3,000 miles

Related service bulletins

Transmission and drivetrain: other model years

YearComplaintsShare of year
201413%
201325%
20121019%
20111715%
201023%
200968%
200868%
1991120%

Other parts of the 2013 BMW 535I

Electrical system
13 complaints
Engine
10 complaints
Exterior lighting
8 complaints
Air bags
5 complaints
Fuel system
3 complaints
Other or unknown
3 complaints
Suspension
3 complaints
Body and structure
2 complaints
Tires
2 complaints
Visibility (wipers, defrost, mirrors)
2 complaints
Engine cooling
1 complaints
Equipment
1 complaints

← All problems reported for the 2013 BMW 535I

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