Driving through the brooklyn battery tunnel heading into manhattan the blower motor in my car failed. I was driving in the tunnel when I turned on the heat in my car, then smoke began coming out of the air vents. I turned off the heat immediately. The smoke began filling the cabin, so I opened all of the windows in the car and opened the moonroof. I was able to make out of the tunnel and stopped at the exit of the tunnel in manhattan. I then turned the car off and took the key out of the ignition. One of the brooklyn battery tunnel officers saw me get out of the car and sees the smoke coming from the car. At this point there was melting plastic that was surrounded in flames falling from where the blower motor is located onto the accelerator pedal, the brake pedal, and the carpet surrounding the these pedals. The officers put out the melting plastic that was on fire with fire extinguishers. They also sprayed fire extinguisher material in the area the melting plastic that was on fire was falling from. The officers then seeing the smoke rising out the air vents sprayed the fire extinguisher material into air vents. The fdny shortly showed up at the scene and sprayed the engine bay with the water hose from the fire truck, and sprayed more fire extinguisher material into the air vents, and then disconnected the car battery. The blower motor became so hot it ignited the cabin filter and the leaves and pine needles that the cabin filter was filtering from the fresh air inlet. The fuse for the blower motor did not break until the area the blower motor was in became so hot, that it melted the insulation of the wires located around the blower motor. Because the insulation of the wires melted not only did the fuse for the blower motor break, but five other fuses broke as well. There is an incident report on file with the triborough bridge and tunnel authority.
The worst 1995 BMW 540 problems
Ranked by number of owner complaints. Mileage and cost come from what owners wrote.
- Engine3
- Brakes1
- Electrical1
- Seats1
- Visibility1
Problems by type
Tap a problem to see which part fails, at what mileage and in which other years.
- Engine3
- Brakes1
- Electrical1
- Seats1
- Visibility1
Recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Technical service bulletins for the 1995 BMW 540 2
Bulletins tell dealers how to fix known problems. A warranty extension means the manufacturer pays for that repair for longer.
What 1995 BMW 540 owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
Engine cylinder wall corrosion, known as nickel cell corrosion, caused by fuel contacting cylinder wall. Eventually the corrosion creates a hole in the cylinder wall, leaks and loss of compression. Continues to get worse over time. Mechanic says its a known manufacturer defect, bmw extended the warranty to 6 years and 100000 miles because of it. Is the manufacturer responsible for correcting this defect? How many vehicles have been affected? When did bmw extend the warranty? Why weren't existing owners contacted and made aware of this problem? Any help would be appreciated. *ts *jb ****dimsii ivoq entry posted after 12-12-02 cut over to artemis****760777
There's a hole in cylinder, which makes vehicle hard to drive.
Driver's seat rocks back and forth on its rails and feels loose. Seat belt is anchored to seat. Seems like seat assembly might come off in an accident. Also very distracting while driving.
Electronic climate control module failed.
Engine fire.
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Questions about the 1995 BMW 540
Is the 1995 BMW 540 reliable?
Owners have filed 6 complaints about the 1995 BMW 540, 1.2 times a typical 540 model year.
What is the most common problem with the 1995 BMW 540?
Engine and cooling, with 3 complaints. Next is brakes (1).
How many recalls does the 1995 BMW 540 have?
No recalls on record.
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