While starting the car the drivers side air bag deployed.
The worst 1997 BMW 5 Series problems
Ranked by number of owner complaints. Mileage and cost come from what owners wrote.
- Airbags1
Problems by type
Tap a problem to see which part fails, at what mileage and in which other years.
- Airbags1
Recalls 1
Suspension: front
- What is wrong
- On certain passenger vehicles, due to long exposures to certain environmental and operating conditions, the material structure of the front spring strut plate could be affected. In some cases, the strut plate could begin to crack, and eventually it could break. If this occurred, the plate could contact the tire.
- Risk
- This could lead to a sudden loss of tire pressure or tire failure.
- Remedy
- Dealers will install a retaining clip to the underside of the front spring strut plates. The recall began may 17, 2004. Owners should contact bmw at 1‑800‑831‑1117.
Recall number 04V183000 · Recall details
See all 1 recalls for the 1997 BMW 5 Series
Defect investigations
Windshield wiper inoperation
Bmw believes that there is no indication of a systematic or safety defect concerning the subject wiper relay.the main reason that precipitated the issuance of the service bulletin was to inform dealers of a new relay part number for the subject vehicles since this part number was not included in the part catalogs.odi has no complaints alleging wiper failure and bmw's warranty rate (0.13%) does not indicate an existing failure trend.washington-area bmw dealers surveyed by odi reported no complaints relative to the subject relay.a safety defect trend has not been identified at this time and further use of the agency resources does not appear warranted.the closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by the federal safety agency that no safety-related defect exits.the agency reserves that right to take further action on these maatter if warranted by the circumstanes.
SQ98010
Technical service bulletins for the 1997 BMW 5 Series 21
Bulletins tell dealers how to fix known problems. A warranty extension means the manufacturer pays for that repair for longer.
- The basic conditions for initializing the power windows are not met.
- Various functions of the camera-based driver assistance systems (ADCAM system) can lead to customer...
- Program dme
- Bmw: intermittently goes into park during a msa engine start
- Bmw: the high-voltage (HV) battery cells could be damaged if the vehicle is prevented from entering sleep...
- Bmw: wipers lights and front power windows are inoperative
- Bmw service campaign: the airbag warning lamp (AWL) is illuminated, together with the passenger airbag...
- Bmw: vehicle has a check control message self leveling suspension failed/malfunctioning displayed. at...
- Bmw: service engine soon lamp or the check gas cap warnings are illuminated while driving
- Bmw: all instrument dials are inoperative and the illumination of the information display in the...
What 1997 BMW 5 Series owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
Compare the 1997 BMW 5 Series
Other model years
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Questions about the 1997 BMW 5 Series
Is the 1997 BMW 5 Series reliable?
Owners have filed 1 complaint about the 1997 BMW 5 Series, fewer than a typical 5 Series model year.
What is the most common problem with the 1997 BMW 5 Series?
Airbags, with 1 complaint.
How many recalls does the 1997 BMW 5 Series have?
1 recall, covering suspension.
What year does the BMW 5 Series have bad airbags?
The BMW 5 Series model years with the most airbags complaints are 2006 (36 complaints), 2004 (29 complaints) and 2005 (10 complaints).
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