10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
3 / 0
Average Mileage:
50,479 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2012 BMW 528 miscellaneous problems

miscellaneous problem

Find something helpful? Spread the word.
Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2012 BMW 528:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

2012 BMW 528 Owner Comments

problem #14

Nov 192021

528

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I had been having problems with my seatbelt alarm coming on for a while with nothing in the seat of the passenger and then as I was trying to turn in to park I heard a click from my steering wheel as if it didn-??t want to turn and the driver seat restraint malfunction error popped up. Now my horn will not work as well. I-??m told that the dealership is the only place it can be repaired. I-??m worried that it will deploy on me while driving. I-??m sure this is an issue others have experienced as well.

- Greenville , SC, USA

problem #13

Jan 162019

528

  • 120 miles
So I bought a BMW, then a lot of condensation and water got into a headlight and it messed up the wires and my turn signal stopped working. Ordered a new one and the same thing started happening, I got another one and the light isn't working again. Ive had multiple mechanics, BMW, etc look at my car. Come to find out the way the car was built, vibration off the road often creates cracks or micro fissures, that make moisture get into a headlight and people have complained numerous times. I don't have enough money to continue buying new headlights if this a manufacture problem. Especially in this pandemic. People will rather not use their turn signals and mess their connectors up then replace it and I don't blame them. These need recalled. Moisture doesn't get out until you take off the headlight and you need to take off the bumper to remove the headlight.

- Fort Wayne, IN, USA

problem #12

Mar 112019

528

  • 80,000 miles
Defective drive train - on March 11, 2019 my drive train malfunction and which damage my engine. This is an safety concern because my car stop on the freeway while I was driving. BMW mfg knew about the defective drive train prior to me purchasing car from fields BMW on July 2013. BMW North America offer to pay 21,000 for the engine replacement and they want me to pay $6,000 and I feel BMW know about the faulty design in 2012 and did not inform the consumer. When I purchase the car, it had 18,000 miles on it and I put 62,000.00

- Wimauma, FL, USA

problem #11

Feb 262019

528

  • 83,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Last week I was on the NJ turnpike when all of a sudden my car stall and lost power, I barley got off the turnpike when the car came to a completely stop. No warning messages or noises just stopped. Fortunately no accident occurred due to this but could have been an ugly one. The car would not start and was towed to the BMW dealer. The car was inspected, oil was clean, no water damage, however they tell me I need a new engine (13K) has the engine seized without telling me what caused it.the car has 83K miles. I've been a BMW owner for 19 years. I now have mixed feelings about BMW and the way I feel now I will nevery buy another BMW as I'm not getting the attention I thin I deserve. Any advice is greatly appreicated!

- Bayonne, NJ, USA

problem #10

Jul 252018

528

  • 76,000 miles
Airbag restraint system malfunction passenger side indicator comes on. Stating restraint had malfunctioned and might not work. Passenger seat of not registering properly.

- East Windsor, NJ, USA

Search CarComplaints.com for these popular complaint phrases...

problem #9

Feb 282018

528

  • 98,000 miles
I had an issue with the timing chain on this vehicle. I do believe this is a safety issue. Car fails with very little warning while the car is being driven. It is not a question of maintenance but of a specific manufacturing fault. How would one know of a defect until something goes wrong. Then the manufacturer doesn't take blame. Manufacturer knew about the problem but did not let owners know about the problem until something happens while driving. BMW has since redesigned the engine but what about the existing cars with the issue?

- Delaware, OH, USA

problem #8

Mar 112018

528

  • 63,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I own a 2012 BMW 528I (Oct 2011). While driving various speeds, the engine suddenly stalled and became inoperable. The failure occurred while driving on the freeway. The vehicle was taken to an BMW where it was diagnosed that the fuel pump module was faulty and needed to be replaced. I was informed that the VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 16V746000 (fuel system), although the vehicle experienced the same failure listed in the recall. The failure mileage was 63000. This is illegal and unfair.

- Lso Angeles, CA, USA

problem #7

Dec 012016

528

  • 30,000 miles
The driver door sometimes will not unlock and I have to puch the main button on the dash board to unlock the door. The door sometimes will not close because the lock mechanism does not unlock after I get out of the car. I have to push the main unlock mechanism on the dash. This happens when I park the car and get out of the car to close the door. Only the driver's side door does this. If I were in an accident and could not reach the button on the dash I would not be able to get out of the car. I wonder if this is covered under a warranty as a safety issue. This started happening last winter in December. It has continued ever since but not every day. Cold, hot and medium weather. I am taking the car in for service to see if it can be fixed.

- Mount Vernon, WA, USA

problem #6

May 232017

528

  • 69,000 miles
Vehicle engine died on the highway while moving in 55mph traffic. Could not get the vehicle into neutral to move it to a safe location. Almost hit by several vehicles. Very very very dangerous! the tow operator could not get the vehicle into neutral to tow it.

- Wilmington, DE, USA

problem #5

Apr 292017

528

  • 68,500 miles
At 2:30am on 4/29/17 Saturday morning, we heard a loud bang while driving 70mph on the interstate...turns out that the sunroof exploded out of no where...glass was all over us...very scary situation.

- Houston, TX, USA

problem #4

Sep 102016

528

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

When car is in motion, the gps system voice instruction and map visual sometime conflict. For example, the voice may says turn right while the map says turn left. I've had car since 2012 and reported problem too dealer and BMW when new. You can't predict when it will happen so can't show dealer and problem was ignored. On going problem.

- Pikesville, MD, USA

problem #3

Apr 142016

528

  • 56,000 miles
Vehicle bought in July 2014 with ~24K miles; still under factory warranty. Maintenance maintained. 9-12 months later, a "drive train malfunction" light came on. I had just left the dealership so I called them and they told me to bring it back immediately; I did. Many tests later, was told my "motherboard died" (dme unit); after a month in the shop...repaired. Now, 4/2016, less than 60K and fresh out of warranty...I was driving home with my son on the interstate, about to get off of my exit and another "drive train malfunction and low engine pressure" light comes on and then all of a sudden my car stopped on the 4 lane off-ramp. After waiting for an hour for the tow truck to arrive and trying to put my car into neutral and about 30 min with the tow truck driver trying to put the car in neutral, I called the BMW dealership and I found out that because my car is all electric it cannot be put into neutral; a week at the dealership and still there as I type'diagnosis: Timing chain broke into the engine and now the car needs a new engine which I was quoted to be $21,000. The car is only 4 years old!!!!! needless to say, it was by the grace of god that my son and I were not injured or killed when the engine just shut off in the middle of traffic. And on top of that, it is absurd that the consumer cannot manually put this vehicle into neutral to move it out of harm's way if it's possible to do so. The only way to put the car in neutral when inoperable is to take it to the dealership. Unsat! and for a car company that is supposed to have a great reputation and high standards, it's absurd that a new engine is needed for a car that is barely 4 years old. I have seen the same issues with other BMW owners all over the internet. Love BMW and have owned 3 of them and it's unfortunate that this one will be my last because I do not feel safe in this vehicle anymore.

- Arlington, VA, USA

problem #2

Oct 172013

528

  • 20,090 miles
This 2012 BMW 528, while standing still on a city street, was struck from behind on the left rear corner and the active headrest restraint system was activated striking the driver in the head and causing a traumatic brain injury.

- La Jolla, CA, USA

problem #1

Nov 162015

528

  • 63,000 miles
My BMW 528I 2012 I bought used in April 2015. In November 2015 my check engine light came on. Then it went away, but a week later it came on and another light saying the coolant was low. I took it to be topped off that did not work. My car went from yellow zone to red severe when driving home with my kids on a busy street. My car begin to overheat. I took it home immediately. The car loss all power it would not drive faster than 25 mph. I knew what ever it was going to be costly. My car sat for a month until I thought I had enough money to fix. Low and behold I took it to a BMW dealership there have been one campaign for thermostat and one recall on the oil filter housing. There has seem to be an issue I was unaware about. The dealer is saying because of the coolant mixing with oil and the car overheating there is possible engine damage. 20K worth of damages. I hoping BMW helps because my car is at the dealer still because of this horrible malfunction. I have attached a thread I found online that BMW sent out to all the consumers in July 2015 that I was not made aware of.

- Los Angeles, CA, USA

Not what you are looking for?