BMW 530I stalling problems

Filed Apr 16, 2026 · Electrical, Engine · MN

Start blowing black smoke-while idling, over heated, stalled.

Filed Mar 7, 2026 · Electrical, Engine · MN

I was driving my car for about 7 min (in 0 degree weather) and it overheated and just shut off on the road. I noticed it was over heating and headed to the repair shop. It stalled again. Even after apparently it was fixed the engine continues to act like it wants to stall. It’s says malfunction, but codes do not show up in the system. They keep telling me it’s fine and they fixed it, it keeps wanting to shut off.

Filed May 2, 2025 · Engine · 150,000 miles · LA

The contact owns a 2001 BMW 5301. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 40 MPH, the warning light that the engine was overheating was displayed on the instrument cluster. The contact stated that the failure had occurred at various speeds, and the vehicle stalled due to the engine overheating. The contact was constantly refilling the coolant reservoir monthly. The contact had taken the vehicle to an independent mechanic, and the radiator hoses were replaced; however, the failure reoccurred. The contact had researched online and related the failure to the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 02V138000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The manufacturer was informed of the failure and advised the contact that the vehicle was not included in the recall and referred the contact to the federal safety agency Hotline to file a complaint. The failure mileage was approximately 150,000.

Filed Jul 21, 2018 · Acceleration, Electrical · 154,000 miles · FL

My airbag light is on and my transmission has an issue as if it needs to be replaced after research I found out that mechatronics and other components to be an issue for instance if your trying to pass your car stalls and says transmission failure after shutoff message disappears car will go in limp mode and car starts out in 2nd gear instead of 1st and 1st gear will also lock itself.....this is dangerous for a supposed high end well built performance vehicle. Tranny has no issues computer does that causes shutter and stall limp mode nearly could have died

Filed Feb 22, 2014 · Engine · 78,850 miles · IA

I have left my car at the airport for a 2 day business trip. When I drove back from the airport, while on the highway, I saw a big plume of smoke coming from the back of my car. The engine kind of hesitated but didn't' stall. I was able to drive to a safe place and check the oil dipstick. There was no oil left in the oil compartment. When the engine cooled down I saw black liquid dripping off the exhaust pipe. The car smelled like burnt oil. I spoke to the dealership that services my car and they told me to tow it to avoid any further damage. The dealership identified the problem as a frozen oil separator that created a vacuum lock and pushed the oil to burn thru the engine and the exhaust system. From further discussion with the dealership service advisor and looking into bmw posting forums I realized that this is an issue that has been happening for a while now with bmws in cold weather conditions. I also found out that bmw has released in feb 2009 a service information bulletin sib 11 08 03 that recognized, that the defective part may fail in cold weather conditions, and recommended to bmw service depts replacement with a new better designed part. However, bmw did not take the step to notify customers who have been or could be affected by this defect. If I knew about this issue in feb 2009, when my car was under the new vehicle warranty, I would have replaced it at no cost and the engine and exhaust would not have gone thru this nearly destructive incident. I now had to incur this $1300 repair cost and I don't know what else could mechanically incur with this car in the future due to this malfunction.the resale value of the car has also gone down as well. I feel bmw has acted irresponsibly, if not criminally, to not notify affected customers about this defect. It could have been much worse driving in the interstate and having a stalled engine at 60 miles an hour.

Filed Feb 14, 2014 · Steering · 110,000 miles · GA

Car stalled in traffic but would not restart due to a faulty steering wheel lock sensor. (elv) wheel was turned and would not move due to this electronic locking control sensor. Bmw refuses to fix as a recall or safety issue. $1000 for new part.

Filed Mar 14, 2013 · Engine · 143,812 miles · TX

My son was driving the car to work and it only got about 8 blocks from our house when the car stalled and lost complete power. He coasted to the side of the road and from the looks when I arrived the serpentine tension belt had broken we turned the key over and the engine was in a free spin. We had it towed to a local service shop and they replaced the belt but stated the engine had no compression towed car to a second shop and got the same opinion the engine had no compression. There was no warning lights or messages on the dash. The car just stopped operating in the middle of the road and gave no warning.

Filed Feb 24, 2011 · Engine · 40,000 miles · OH · fire

Tl*the contact owns a 2002 bmw 530i. While driving approximately 30 MPH, a cloud of smoke was emitted from the hood and the vehicle stalled. The vehicle would not restart so it was towed to an authorized dealer where the contact was told oil separator failed, resulting in a complete loss of oil. The vehicle was repaired. The failure occurred three times. After each failure, the vehicle was taken back to an authorized dealer to be repaired. The failure mileage was 40,000 and the current mileage was 120,000.

Filed Feb 15, 2010 · Engine · 81,000 miles · NH

Started the vehicle normally after it had been in a cold outdoor garage for 3 days. Car ran a bit rough. A half mile down the road it began billowing white smoke out the exhaust then stalled and would not start. Towed to repair shop - not the bmw dealer - who diagnosed that the engine had seized and would need to be replaced - a $6000 repair (or more). He diagnosed the cause was a known defect described in this bmw service bulletin: http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=210092&d=1259409341. This version of the bulletin differs from the prior one which include "complete engine failure" as a possible consequence. Based on web searches, this failure has happened many times. It is clear bmw knew that the oil separator in this vehicle had a serious defect that could result in substantial damage to the vehicle and they have a modification kit fix it, but no attempt was made to notify owners of this defect or the need to install the kit. Bmw states that had the vehicle been brought to their dealer they might have been able to "help" with this repair, and that the ntsb would have to act before they would take the action to notify owners.

Filed Feb 13, 2008 · Engine · 60,142 miles · NY

Tl*the contact owns a 2002 bmw 530i. While driving 25 MPH, the engine stalled without warning. There was a loss of power brakes and steering. The vehicle would not restart and was towed. The dealer stated that moisture accumulated in the engine and froze. Also, the internal valve became stuck, which caused the engine failure. The oil separator repair kit was replaced. The current and failure mileages were 60,142 .updated 04/25/08