10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
52,782 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 550 engine problems

engine problem

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2012 BMW 550 Owner Comments

problem #15

Aug 012021

550

  • 60,000 miles

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

The contact owns a 2012 BMW 550i. The contact stated after parking and exiting the vehicle, he noticed coolant leaking on the front driver-€™s side and saw white smoke exiting near the water pump. The contact stated the low coolant fluid and the drivetrain malfunction warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated the smoke disappeared on its own. The contact stated that he continued driving the vehicle. The contact took the vehicle to an independent mechanic and was informed that the water pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed with needing the water pump to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired but was pending repairs. Upon investigation, the contact associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V248000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000.

- Midwest City, OK, USA

problem #14

Oct 252021

550

  • miles
My car died in an intersection unexpectedly as if my battery had died. My infant was in the backseat. This was suck a busy intersection that police dept had to park behind me to keep me from being hit. The car could not be put in neutral to move it out of the way. After over an hour we were able to restart the car and excessive battery discharge message displayed. This is on top of me taking it to the dealership for excessive oil consumption and BMW was aware my motor would eventually give out.

- Deer Park, TX, USA

problem #13

May 262021

550

  • miles
Engine is available for inspection upon request. Earlier this month, my 550i completely shut off at a traffic light. When attempting to restart the engine, the Starter strained very hard and smoke came out of the engine. Engine was immediately shut off and the car was towed to a local shop. In turn the shop replaced the Starter the following day and heard knocking from the engine once it turned it over. Upon examination the shop pulled open the oil filter and it was full of metal shrapnel. I feel fortunate the car was not in motion at the time of the failure, given the engine shut off with no warning this could have resulted in a catastrophic accident.

- Jupiter, FL, USA

problem #12

Feb 162021

550

  • 58,200 miles

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

The high pressure fuel pump caused a fire in the engine compartment and totaled the car with less than 60K miles on

- Epsom, NH, USA

problem #11

Sep 252020

550

  • 89,000 miles
Vehicle stops suddenly while driving

- Bakersfield, CA, USA

problem #10

Oct 122019

550

  • 78,771 miles
Son was driving car and car just shut off in the middle of the road without any warning. Car was towed to BMW dealership and they want to charge $3000 to tear down engine to see why engine locked up. Car was bought 31 May 2019 and shut down after driving a little over 3,000 miles 12 October 2019. Just a complete runaround with BMW offices.

- High Point, NC, USA

problem #9

Sep 142019

550

  • 49,479 miles

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

The contact owns a 2012 BMW 5501. While driving approximately 65 mph, the "service required soon" message illuminated on the message center and the vehicle stalled. The contact coasted the vehicle to the shoulder. The vehicle was towed to global imports (550 interstate North pkwy SE, atlanta, ga 30339) where it was diagnosed that the engine seized and a new one was needed. The contact also stated that the vehicle was running oddly approximately a week before the failure, presumably due to oil consumption issues. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 49,479.

- Marietta, GA, USA

problem #8

Sep 012018

550

  • 65,000 miles
Takata recall car uses excessive amounts of oil, a quart every week.

- Aurora, IL, USA

problem #7

May 052019

550

  • 72,000 miles
I was driving my car on a road when a warning light came on. I parked the car home, since I was close to home. The same week I took the car to a BMW specialist because there was a noise coming from the engine. After $467 spent on labor, just to tell me I need a new engine. This car has 72K miles. This is a car that I only drove on weekends and not every weekend. The car is now parked in my garage because to repair it it will cost me $11K. I have heard this complaint from several BMW owners. The car still runs but the noise will no go away.

- Raleigh, NC, USA

problem #6

May 242019

550

  • 59,287 miles
The contact owns a 2012 BMW 550I. After driving the vehicle a short distance, the contact felt extreme heat coming from underneath the vehicle and smelled burning wires. Orange county BMW (101 maher ln, harriman, NY 10926, (845) 782-4269) stated there were no recalls and scheduled an appointment. The manufacturer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was 59,287.

- New Windsor, NY, USA

problem #5

Nov 012018

550

  • 40,000 miles

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

The contact owns a 2012 BMW 5-series. The contact stated that the vehicle excessively overheated without warning. The contact constantly had to exercise caution in the event that the vehicle may have reduced engine power and was uncertain if the failure would result in a fire. BMW gallery of norwood (918 boston providence hwy, norwood, MA 02062, (888) 441-2338) was notified of the failure, but had not specified if the failure was related to any recall campaigns or technical service bulletins. The dealer stated that further diagnostic testing was required. The manufacturer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 40,000.

- Westwood, MA, USA

problem #4

Jul 232017

550

  • 112,000 miles
The contact owns a 2012 BMW 550I. While driving approximately 50 mph, the vehicle shook. The contact pulled over and turned off the vehicle. Shortly afterwards, the engine malfunction warning indicator illuminated and the vehicle shook again. The contact pulled over a second time and turned off the vehicle; however, it failed to restart the second time. The contact had the vehicle towed to nally BMW in Decatur, ga where it was diagnosed that there were metal shavings in the oil and there was a loud knocking sound in the engine. The dealer diagnosed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the vehicle was included in customer service recall number: N63. Repairs needed to be performed to the engine in order to avoid the failures listed previously. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle was no longer covered under the warranty and opened a case regarding the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 112,000.

- Coyners, GA, USA

problem #3

Aug 122016

550

  • 58,700 miles
I was driving at about 65 mph on a highway uphill, engine completely stalled, no power, got a message "drive-train malfunction, no maximum output, drive moderately". I was surrounded by cars/semi trucks, very dangerous situation. Managed to pull over on the should. Could not restart car, got a message "automatic start/stop deactivated: Engine will not start automatically. Press the start/stop button to start the engine." About 30 mins after engine stalled, I finally restarted the car. Continued to drive on the highway for about 10 miles @ 60-65 mph. At a local street, as I slowed down to approach a traffic light, engine stalled again, no power, car stopped in the middle of road, got the two same messages, could not start car. About 30 mins after engine stalled, I finally started the car.

- Blacksburg, VA, USA

problem #2

Dec 222014

550 8-cyl

  • 40,800 miles
The car threw a drive train malfunction code which happens weekly on these engines and the car jumped a lane as it misfired and went into limp driving mode. If there was cars next to me there would have been a crash. Since then BMW has issued a customer campaign on the N63 engine effecting thoughts of cars. They are changing tons of parts from injectors to fuel rails. It should be a full blown recall and the NHTSA should get involved on this. My car has been in the shop since 12/23 and still has not been repaired correctly. I have a feeling you are going to be getting thousands of these complaints against BMW. They need to be held accountable for these failures.

- Hopewell Junction , NY, USA

problem #1

Sep 112014

550

  • 8,500 miles
The contact owns a 2012 BMW 550I. The vehicle stated that while driving at 30 mph, the vehicle stalled as all the warning lights illuminated. The vehicle failed to restart after numerous attempts. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the vehicle was hydro-locked. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 8,500. The VIN was not available.

- Parker, AZ, USA

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