The 540d has swirl flaps on the intake manifold to regulate air intake so it adjusts how much air the intake manifold feeds the engine. There's an actuator motor that connects to the swirl flap shaft that connects via a plastic linkage. When the linkage breaks, the flaps are no longer controlled by the actuator and stays in its semi closed state. The result is when you give it full throttle, it spews out plumes of black smoke that is thick and the equivalent to rolling coal on a deleted diesel truck. The car still runs, but this poses a danger to those behind you and not very environmentally friendly to spew out soot. BMW's solution is a $6,000 repair bill, because the entire intake manifold has to be replaced for that linkage. This will be a guaranteed fail again - considering I had a check engine light for swirl flap issues starting around 40K miles.
The worst 2018 BMW 540D problems
Ranked by number of owner complaints. Mileage and cost come from what owners wrote.
- Engine2
- Airbags1
- Fuel system1
Problems by type
Tap a problem to see which part fails, at what mileage and in which other years.
- Engine2
- Airbags1
- Fuel system1
Recalls 4
Engine and engine cooling: exhaust system: emission control: gas recirculation valve (EGR valve)
- What is wrong
- BMW of North America, LLC. (BMW) is recalling certain 540d xDrive vehicles that were previously repaired under recall number 22V‑614. The exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) cooler may leak internally, causing coolant to mix with diesel engine soot, which could result in smoldering particles and a melting intake manifold.
- Risk
- An EGR valve with smoldering particles and a melting intake manifold increases the risk of an engine fire.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect and replace the EGR module and the intake manifold as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed October 7, 2024. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1‑800‑525‑7417.
Recall number 24V588000 · Recall details
Engine and engine cooling: exhaust system: emission control: gas recirculation valve (EGR valve)
- What is wrong
- BMW of North America, LLC. (BMW) is recalling certain 2018 540d xDrive vehicles equipped with an Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) module with an integrated cooler. The EGR cooler may leak internally, causing coolant to mix with diesel engine soot, which could result in smoldering particles and a melting intake manifold.
- Risk
- A melting intake manifold increases the risk of fire.
- Remedy
- Dealers will replace the EGR module, and the intake manifold will be inspected and replaced, if necessary, free of charge. Interim owner notification letters were mailed on October 7, 2022. Owner notification letters were mailed December 30, 2022. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1‑800‑525‑7417.
Recall number 22V614000 · Recall details
Back over prevention: sensing system: camera
- What is wrong
- BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2018 540d, 2018-2020 530i, 530i xDrive, 540i, 540i xDrive, M550i xDrive, M5, 530e, 530e xDrive, X3 sDrive, X3 xDrive, X3 M40i, X3 M, and 2019-2020 X4 xDrive, X4 M40i, X4 M, X7 xDrive, X7 M50i, 740Li, 740Li xDrive, 750Li, 750Li xDrive, 8 Series Convertible and Coupe 840i, 840i xDrive, M850i xDrive, X5 sDrive, X5 xDrive, X5 M50i, X6 xDrive, X6 M50i, 330i, 330i xDrive, M340i, M340i xDrive, Z4 sDrive, Z4 M40i, 740Le xDrive and 745Le xDrive, 2018-2019 640i xDrive Gran Turismo and Rolls-Royce Phantom, 2019 M850i xDrive Gran Coupe and Rolls-Royce Cullinan and 2020 Toyota Supra vehicles. The back-up camera and display settings can be adjusted such that the rear view image is no longer visible and the system will retain that setting the next time the vehicle is placed in reverse. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 111, "Rearview Mirrors."
- Risk
- The lack of an image in the back-up camera display increases the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- BMW will notify owners, and dealers will update the back-up camera software, free of charge. The recall began November 8, 2019. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1‑800‑525‑7417 or Rolls-Royce at 1‑877‑877‑3735. Toyota owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1‑888‑270‑9371.
Recall number 19V684000 · Recall details
Engine and engine cooling: engine
- What is wrong
- BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2018 BMW 540d xDrive vehicles. The crankshaft sensor may be equipped with incorrect firmware, preventing the sensor from properly processing input from the crankshaft reluctor ring, possibly resulting in a vehicle stall. On September 12, 2018, BMW expanded the recall to a total of 5,309 vehicles including certain 2018-2019 BMW 540d xDrive, 230i M240i, M240i xDrive, X2 sDrive28i, X2 xDrive28i, X1 sDrive28i, X1 xDrive28i, 330i, 330i xDrive, 340i, 340i xDrive, 330i xDrive Gran Turismo, 530i, 530i xDrive, 540i, 540i xDrive, 530e, 530e xDrive, 640i xDrive Gran Turismo, 330e, 2019 430i Gran Coupe, 430i xDrive Gran Coupe, 440i Gran Coupe, 440i xDrive Gran Coupe, 430i, 430i xDrive, 440i, 440i xDrive, 740i, 740i xDrive, MINI Cooper, Cooper S, JCW, MINI Countryman (Cooper, Cooper All4, Cooper S, Cooper S All4, JCW All4), and MINI Clubman (Cooper, Cooper S, Cooper All4, Cooper S All4, JCW All4) vehicles.
- Risk
- A vehicle stall can increase the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- BMW will notify owners, and dealers will replace the crankshaft sensor, free of charge. The recall began September 6, 2018. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1‑800‑525‑7417.
Recall number 18V465000 · Recall details
See all 4 recalls for the 2018 BMW 540D
Defect investigations
High pressure fuel pump failure
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE21-021 on October 14, 2021, to investigate incidents alleging a stall/loss of motive power as a result of high-pressure fuel pump failures in certain model year (MY) 2019-2020 Ram 2500, 3500, 4500, and 5500 heavy duty trucks equipped with 6.7L Cummins turbodiesel engines. During the investigation, ODI sought to determine if the related defect allegation was limited in scope to the recalled population. After review of information request response materials from both FCA and BMW, the federal safety agency determined that sufficient information to identify a comprehensive recall population could not be produced by FCA and BMW.During the investigation FCA filed recalls 22V406, 22E048, 22V767, and 22E087 which include vehicles not identified in the initial subject population by ODI. ODI also received recall 21V586, involving loss of motive power due to failed CP4 fuel pumps on certain BMW manufactured vehicles. An information request letter response received from BMW indicated that failed pumps on their vehicles were caused by an interaction between pump internal components and US market diesel fuel, leading to increased slip and eventual particle-generating wear surface. Additional work will be done to identify whether a similar root cause is associated with the FCA recalled population and if similar wear dynamics occur on pumps supplied to vehicle manufacturers other than those included in the recalled population.ODI has upgraded this investigation to an EA in order to 1) determine engineering specifications of internal pump components that are correlated with pump failure leading to loss of motive power or other safety related hazards, 2) identify vehicle populations equipped with alleged defective pump variants, 3) assess if vehicles equipped with alleged defective pump variants result in an unreasonable risk to motor vehicle safety and 4) gather and review any other relevant information related to high pressure fuel pump failure associated with the subject populations of recalls 21V586, 21V880, 21E094, 22V406, 22E048, 22V767, and 22E087.Review of the above information will allow the federal safety agency to confirm root cause and recall remedy viability, and identify and evaluate vehicle populations equipped with pump components that may pose an unreasonable risk to motor vehicle safety.The ODI reports cited above can be reviewed at: http://www-odi.the federal safety agency.dot.gov/owners/Searchreference using the following complaint identification numbers: 11257550, 11351441, 11361603, 11361616, 11365300, 11365426, 11365858, 11366401, 11372337, 11373793, 11374797, 11376793, 11377871, 11378173, 11384377, 11386063, 11387018, 11399710, 11402550, 11415339, 11418868, 11418870, 11427075, 11434276, 11436807, 11437226, 11437249, 11437273, 11437292, 11437294, 11437394, 11437399, 11437403, 11437405, 11437423, 11437528, 11437565, 11437579, 11437580, 11437590, 11437679, 11437744, 11437781, 11437842, 11437993, 11438006, 11438008, 11438121, 11438138, 11438155, 11438392, 11438629, 11439359, 11439879, 11440397, 11443030, 11446542, 11448163, 11453556, 11458918, 11460558, 11469337
EA23001
Technical service bulletins for the 2018 BMW 540D 362
Bulletins tell dealers how to fix known problems. A warranty extension means the manufacturer pays for that repair for longer.
- One or more of the LED daytime running lights are dim or discolored.
- Check Control message (CCM) indicates: (ID 213): Stop, exercising due care
- The basic conditions for initializing the power windows are not met.
- The electrical system of BMW vehicles has been subject to an ongoing development process over the last few...
- At low outside temperatures (below 40 degrees F) and slow driving speeds (i.e. when parking,...
- The Central Information Display goes black intermittently due to resets of the Head Unit (HU-H3)....
- Situation
- Engine will crank but not start
- Customers may state that the alarm system (DWA) is not active after locking their unoccupied vehicle
- Diesel fuel injectors: ltd wty extension to 10 years/120,000 miles
What 2018 BMW 540D owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
My passenger restraint system randomly faults. Problem with passenger seat mat. Many BMW owners have reported the issue. Should be recalled by BMW.
There is an exhaust leak which has developed in the turbo. This causes untreated fumes and soot to be emitted in the engine compartment. This untreated exhaust makes its way into the passenger cabin, putting passengers at safety risk due to untreated exhaust fumes entering the cabin. The dealership has acknowledged the issue and describes it as follows: "The soot that you have seen and the smell is coming out of the wastegate shaft which by design there is a tolerance for it to move, but due to back pressure from the soot build up before the regen has occurred there is some soot that comes out." This problem happens every time I start and drive the car. The dealership is stating that this is not covered by the factory warranty. An exhaust leak like this is a serious passenger safety issue.
Compare the 2018 BMW 540D
Other model years
2018
Questions about the 2018 BMW 540D
Is the 2018 BMW 540D reliable?
Owners have filed 3 complaints about the 2018 BMW 540D, close to a typical 540D model year.
What is the most common problem with the 2018 BMW 540D?
Engine and cooling, with 2 complaints. Next is airbags (1).
How many recalls does the 2018 BMW 540D have?
4 recalls, covering engine and engine cooling and back over prevention.
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