BMW M5 Problems by Model Year
NHTSA recorded 81 consumer complaints across the 7 model years of the BMW M5 (2002–2019) that have at least 5 complaints. 2006 has the most, with 39. Across all years, the part named most often is air bags (34 mentions). Pick a model year below to see its parts, mileage, recalls and service bulletins.
All M5 model years
Years with fewer than 5 complaints are not listed. The score compares years of the same model, allowing for the era and for how long each year has collected complaints: 50 is a typical year, lower means fewer complaints. It is not adjusted for sales volume.
| Year | Complaints | Median mi | Recalls | TSBs | Score (50 = typical) | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 8 | 44,430 | 3 | 156 | — | Not enough data |
| 2018 | 6 | 750 | 3 | 208 | — | Not enough data |
| 2013 | 10 | 37,000 | 2 | 383 | — | Not enough data |
| 2008 | 6 | 67,500 | 2 | 56 | — | Not enough data |
| 2007 | 6 | 51,000 | 1 | 61 | — | Not enough data |
| 2006 | 39 | 55,100 | 1 | 60 | Not compared (before 2008) | Falling |
| 2002 | 6 | 26,000 | 2 | 16 | — | Not enough data |
Parts named most often, all years
Counts add up complaint mentions across the listed years. A complaint can name several parts.
- Air bags34 35%
- Engine18 19%
- Transmission and drivetrain10 10%
- Seat belts10 10%
- Electrical system8 8.3%
- Seats7 7.3%
- Steering5 5.2%
- Fuel system4 4.2%
Example complaints
One per model year, chosen for length and detail. Personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.
2002: “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. …”
NHTSA complaint #11241212, filed 2019-08, 195 miles2006: “Upon starting my car, I received an error message fault in passenger restraint system affecting air bags, belt tensioner or belt force limiter the message continues to show up every day.. This is the same issue that has a recall in all other 5 series models for this year, 2006 and has a recall for those vehicles. This model should be added since its the same issue. See attached.”
NHTSA complaint #11012472, filed 2017-08, 72,812 miles2018: “I almost had a terrible accident in my 2 week old 2018 M5 on the 1-95 highway on the night of may 25, 2018 at about 9:45pm. Without warning, at about 65mph, the car jerked for about 3seconds , kicked out of drive into neutral and started decelerating. I was in the middle lane surrounded by speeding vehicles. I managed to guide it to the shoulder and turned off the ignition for 2minutes, after which I re-started the car and was able to engage drive. …”
NHTSA complaint #11098125, filed 2018-05, 750 milesOther BMW models
3,165 complaintsBMW 328I
2,576 complaintsBMW X3
2,016 complaintsBMW 325I
1,377 complaintsBMW Z4
1,271 complaintsBMW 3 Series
832 complaintsBMW 528I
830 complaintsBMW 330I
813 complaints
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. Methodology