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EnginePart report

2020 BMW Z4 Engine Problems

Complaints
2about this part
Share
40%of 5 total for the year
Median mileage
3,300miles
Trend
Not enough dataFewer than 15 complaints, too few for a reliable trend.

NHTSA recorded 2 complaints about the engine of the 2020 BMW Z4, 40% of the 5 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 3,300 miles. 1 of these say a crash was involved, 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.

“Was in a drive thru on 9/6/2020 waiting our turn. Approx. 7 cars in front of us. As we are slowly moving up to order, car in idle, foot on brake. As we are moving forward, when we were up to 3 cars, still idling and foot on brake, the car had fully accelerated, brake not holding the car, inching forward due to the force of the acceleration. Tried to shift into neutral, went into reverse. Tried again to shift into neutral, went into drive, still inching forward, at this time I pushed the off button to stop the car. Result of collision with the vehicle in front of us. …”

NHTSA complaint #11363216, filed 2020-10, 3,300 miles

“The engine starter failed on my 2020 BMW Z4 M40i. The vehicle experienced starting failures and the repair shop diagnosed a faulty/shorted engine starter assembly. The symptoms and component failure match the exact defect description of active safety recalls NHTSA 24V-576 and 25V-636 (Starter Motor Fire Risk due to electrical short circuit/overheating). However, when checking my specific 17-digit VIN, the manufacturer has excluded my vehicle from the recall population. …”

NHTSA complaint #11751896, filed 2026-07

Related recalls

Related service bulletins

Engine: other model years

YearComplaintsShare of year
2020240%
2019240%
2015120%
2012120%
20111022%
2010110%
2009418%
200815%
2007412%
200655%
200532%
200310%

Other parts of the 2020 BMW Z4

Brakes
2 complaints
Electrical system
2 complaints
Steering
2 complaints
Other or unknown
1 complaints
Body and structure
1 complaints
Suspension
1 complaints

← All problems reported for the 2020 BMW Z4

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