2008 Bmw 535I: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 116 complaints
116
Total Complaints
70,000mi
Median Mileage
ENGINE
Top Issue
0
Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

51,050 25th Percentile
70,000 Median Mileage
102,500 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

ENGINE
27
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
16
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
15
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
13
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
9
AIR BAGS
7
POWER TRAIN
6
SEAT BELTS
6
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
5
STEERING
3

Severity Assessment

0
Crashes
7
Fires
1
Injuries
0
Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"THE ACTIVE STEERING STOPS WORKING WITHOUT WARNING, DRAMATICALLY CHANGING THE HANDLING OF THE CAR. IT RANDOMLY STARTS & STOPS WORKING. THE DEALER FIRST DENIED THAT THERE WAS A PROBLEM, THEN AFTER 3 VISITS "FIXED" IT WITH UPDATED SOFTWARE, BUT THE PROBLEM PERSISTS. I HAVE GONE OFF THE ROAD, BUT NOT..."
"THE CAR PULLS HARD TO THE RIGHT AND NOW SHAKES ABOVE 20MPH. *TR"
"WHILE DRIVING, THE ENTIRE ELECTRICAL PANEL [SPEEDOMETER, RADIO, DISPLAY SCREEN, ETC.] BEGIN TO CLICK ON/OFF EACH TIME REAPPEARING WITH APPEARED TO BE EVERYTHING BUT ENGLISH. SOON TO FOLLOW, I RECEIVED A WARNING LIGHT INDICATING "ENGINE OVERHEATED", "ENGINE POWER WAS BEING REDUCED", AND "TO STOP THE ..."

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28