BMW 525I fire or smoke problems

Filed Aug 10, 2022 · Engine · 189,000 miles · CA

The contact owns a 2007 BMW 525i. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 75-85 MPH, she smelled smoke coming from the hood of the vehicle. The contact was unsure if any warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where he referenced the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 22V119000 (Engine And Engine Cooling) , but the vehicle was not diagnosed for the failure. The dealer was not notified of the failure. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 189,000.

Filed Sep 5, 2021 · Electrical · KY · fire

The car was off and caught fire due too electrical malfunctioning. The a/c unit was staying on even after cutting the car off . Along with my steering wheel randomly adjusting at start of the car . The fire started inside out .

Filed Mar 5, 2020 · Electrical, Engine · 177,000 miles · WA · fire

I drove the car a mile to the store and a mile back and when I was walking away you could see a spark and then a minute later another one and another until then the car started smoking and within 4 minutes the car was engulfed in flames. My security cameras caught the whole thing on tape. We tried our best to contain the fire but it took the fire department to put it out.

Filed Feb 19, 2020 · Engine · 160,000 miles · CA · fire

Tl* the contact owns a 2001 bmw 525i. The contact stated after parking and returning to the vehicle, upon starting the vehicle detected a burning odor and flames exiting the front of hood. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact stated when opening the hood he saw fire located in front of the radiator. The contact stated he extinguished the fire with water he had available. No police or fire department report was filed. The contact stated he was able to disconnect wires for the electrical fan and continued driving the vehicle. The contact called niello bmw elk grove (8580 laguna grove dr, elk grove, ca 95757 (916) 687-9000) were made aware of the failure. The contact stated the dealer informed him that the vehicle was serviced under unknown recall for the engine and engine cooling in 2002.the vehicle had not been diagnosed or repaired as of yet. The manufacturer had not been informed of failure. The failure mileage was 160,000.

Filed Feb 18, 2020 · Electrical, Engine · 160,000 miles · CA · fire

I had taken a longer road trip, and was on my way back, about a quarter of the way when we stopped for dinner. I parked, and everything was usual. A couple minutes later, I went to move the car, and while I was waiting in a drive-thru line, I see smoke billowing out from under the hood and I smell a burning smell. I parked the car back where it had been, and, thinking it was a coolant issue, opened the hood to let the engine cool down, and left my passengers with the car and walked across the street to buy some coolant. When I returned, my passengers told me that they had noticed a flame at the extreme front of the engine and had to douse it with water. I checked, and I saw that the wires leading to the auxiliary cooling fan in front of the radiator had melted and caught on fire and burned the plastic near them (as seen in the picture). I then found the connector for those wires and disconnected them so that they could not relight. I did some research and found that this is a common problem resulting from the wires pulling too much power and thus melting themselves. The problem with the wires did not set off any warning or check engine lights, and did not affect the engine temperature, at least at freeway speeds. I also found out that the battery can run this fan for up to 11 minutes after the engine is turned off, thus being able to start a fire in a garage when no one is around. This problem is extremely dangerous as the whole car could go up in flames.

Filed Aug 25, 2019 · Airbags, Electrical · 180,000 miles · GA · fire

I was on my way to work and had driven only 4 1/2 miles at 6:55am on thursday, august 15, 2019. I was about 1/2 from work on a city street when smoke began coming out the air vents and steering column. A smell of plastic, electrical filled the car and I pulled into the nearest place when the smoke was quickly increasing. My son and I jumped out of the car and called 911. The fire department arrived almost immediately, and upon pulling up, before they could get out of the truck, the driver's side curtain airbag exploded, the firemen heard the explosion. By the time they pulled their hoses and lifted the hood, smoke was heavily coming from the car. When the airbag exploded, a large piece of plastic shrapnel was blown to the passenger side of the car and stuck between the windshield and the window and stuck into the edge windshield frame. The firefighters tried for several minutes to get the source under control and finally was able to when they disconnected the battery. I had my car towed to bmw columbus, they "repaired the recall" and said that the fire was not a result of the recall. I believe that if the firefighters did not respond as quickly as they did because they were nearby, then my car would have gone up in flames.

Filed Mar 8, 2019 · CA · fire

We receantly purchased a used bmw 525 I. And it suddenly caught on fire while my son came to a stop. He barley excaped with his life. The whole car was up in flames. We dont know where it came from but it was the worst thing that I seen. Thank god he was able to get out of the vehicle when he did. We never thought we would have to worry about his safety in this vehicle, being one of the top of the line vehicles!

Filed Dec 3, 2018 · Body, Electrical · 211,000 miles · VA · fire

On dec.2 my 2004 bmw 525i was sitting outside my house when it cought on fire at the fuse panel in the trunk on the right fender well. The car had been driven over 100 miles that day. My step-daughter had gotten home at midnight and parked the car. She said the car was fine when she got home at 3;30 am my neighbor knocked on my door to tell me the car was on fire. The fire department was called to put it out as ever time we would get the fire out it would spark and start again. They reported that it was a mechanical problem that caused the fire.

Filed May 25, 2018 · Electrical · 160,000 miles · AZ · fire

Tl* the contact owned a 2004 bmw 525i. While the vehicle was parked in the garage, a neighbor noticed that the vehicle was on fire. The fire department was called and extinguished the fire. The fire department stated that the fire was due to a faulty battery cable. The contact stated that the vehicle was destroyed in the fire. The contact received medical attention due to smoke inhalation. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The contact called an unknown local bmw dealer, but they were unable to assist. The failure mileage was 160,000.

Filed Nov 28, 2017 · Electrical · 123,000 miles · IL · fire

While driving down the interstate, suddenly we began to smell 'something' burning, and then the idrive system displayed a battery icon light followed by the message "charging system malfunction" and control messages warning "your battery is not being charged". Seconds after that message the power in the vehicle began surging, and another message displayed "4x4 system and dsc have malfunctioned". At this point we were pulling over, and the cab of the vehicle began filling with smoke. The 4 of us exited the vehicle and witnessed flames and smoke coming from under the bonnet. We managed to move safely away from the vehicle and call for help as it went up in flames - burning completely (bumper to bumperr). It has been declared a total loss.