2011 Bmw 550i problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Engine (14) · Fuel/Propulsion System (11) · Tires (10)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Bmw 550i model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
🛣️ Complaints by mileage
62 NHTSA complaints that reported an odometer reading.
Safety recalls (3)
Engine And Engine Cooling:engine:gasoline:turbo/Supercharger 2018-04-18 · campaign 18V248000 · 47,806 vehicles
Defect: BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2011-2012 BMW 550i, 550i xDrive, 550i Gran Turismo, 550i Gran Turismo xDrive, 750i, 750Li, 750i xDrive, 750Li xDrive, 760Li, X5 xDrive50i, X5 M, X6 xDrive50i, X6 M, ActiveHybrid7, MINI Cooper S Convertible, John Cooper Works (JCW) Convertible, Cooper S Countryman, Cooper S Countryman ALL4, Cooper S, JCW, Cooper S Clubman, JCW Clubman, Cooper S Roadster, JCW Roadster, Cooper S Coupe, JCW Coupe and Rolls-Royce Ghost, 2011 BMW X6 Hybrid and 2012
Risk: If the circuit board were to overheat, it can increase the risk of a fire.
Fix: BMW will notify owners, and dealers will replace the electric auxiliary water pump, free of charge. Depending on the model, there are currently limited parts available, however not all parts are available at this time. Owners will be notified of the recall beginning June 11, 2018, and will receive a second notification when remedy parts become available. Owners may contact BMW customer service at BMW 1-800-525-7417, MINI at 1-866-825-1525, or Rolls-Royce at 1-877-877-3735. Note: BMW recommen
Air Bags:frontal:sensor/Control Module-Inactive 2016-11-17 · campaign 16V832000 · 91 vehicles
Defect: BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain model year 2011 BMW 528i, 528xi, 535i, 535xi, 550i and 550xi vehicles manufactured March 1, 2010, through August 31, 2011. The affected vehicles may have received a replacement Sensor Cluster Unit (SCU) during a service visit. These SCUs have an acceleration sensor that may have been incorrectly programmed and, as a result, the SCU may not accurately determine if activation and deployment of the air bags, safety belt pre-tensioners and head
Risk: Depending on the severity of the crash, inadequate activation of the driver and/or passenger air bags, safety belt pre-tensioners and active head restraints may increase the risk of injury.
Fix: BMW will notify owners, and dealers will replace the SCU, free of charge. The recall began on December 16, 2016. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.
Fuel System, Gasoline:delivery:fuel Pump 2016-10-17 · campaign 16V746000 · 136,188 vehicles
Defect: BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain model year 2007-2011 BMW X5 3.0si, X5 4.8i, X5 M, X5 xDrive30i, X5 xDrive35i, X5 xDrive48i and X5 xDrive50i, 2008-2011 X6 x Drive35i, X6 xDrive50i and X6 M, 2010-2011 X6 ActiveHybrid, 535i xDrive Gran Turismo, 535i Gran Turismo, 550i xDrive Gran Turismo and 550i Gran Turismo, 2011-2012 528i, 535i, 535i xDrive, 550i and 550i xDrive and 2012 535i ActiveHybrid, 640i Convertible, 650i Convertible, 650i xDrive Convertible, 650i Coupe and 650i Coupe
Risk: The loose wires may cause the connector to melt, resulting in a fuel leak. Additionally, the fuel pump may stop working, possibly causing an engine stall and increase the risk of a crash.
Fix: BMW will notify owners, and dealers will replace the fuel pump module, free of charge. The recall began February 2017. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.
Service bulletins (382)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Visibility:power Window Devices And Controls 2024-01-16 · B510819 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
the basic conditions for initializing the power windows are not met.
Electrical System 2024-01-11 · B611305 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
the electrical system of bmw vehicles has been subject to an ongoing development process over the last few years. this has led to increased demands being placed on the battery. this document covers important information for the dealer on how to handle ã¢ââdischarged batteryã¢ââ complaints.
Fuel System, Gasoline 2023-12-20 · B160623 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
engine will crank but not start. there is no communication with the integrated fuel module (tfe) whendiagnosing with ista. the following two fault codes will be stored in the dme: 032b43 - low fuel pressure system, electric fuel pump: pressure value too low cda594 - message (- 0x33e) missing, rec
Equipment 2023-11-22 · B653423 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
customers may state that the alarm system (dwa) is not active after locking their unoccupied vehicle. depending on the vehicleã¢ââs equipment and settings, no acoustic or optical confirmation (folding the mirrors/blinking confirmation) is noticeable. additionally, the red anti-theft alarm led in
Wheels 2023-06-01 · B340914 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
the dynamic stability control (dsc) warning light comes on while driving. the following dsc fault codes for the wheel speed sensors are stored: 480712 and/or 480715 and/or 480718 and/or 48071b they cannot be cleared, even though the wheel speed sensors work correctly and no problem can be found
Electrical System 2023-05-01 · B651523 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
after programming the head unit (hu-h2), activating the fsc (german word freischaltcode) enabling codes repeatedly fails.
Showing the 6 most recent of 382 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-01-31 · Service Brakes“1. ticking noise while cornering without the brakes applied: ticking noise coming from front wheel while cornering without brakes applied, noticeable at low speeds. the vehicle must be moving. 2. cracking noises from the frontaxle area while turning the wheels, when station: cracking noises are heard from the front axle area while maneuvering at l…”
2025-10-25 · Structure:body · 🔥 fire“ my 2011 bmw 550i experienced an unexpected fire in my driveway while my wife and i were sleeping. the fire nearly caused our house to catch fire and also resulted in damage to my bmw z4. i would appreciate the opportunity to speak with someone regarding this matter. for your reference, the last seven digits of my vin are [xxx] . you can reach me a…”
2025-01-17 · Engine And Engine Cooling · 70,000 mi“the contact owns a 2011 bmw 550i. the contact stated that oil was leaking from the vehicle. the engine warning light was illuminated. the vehicle was taken to the local dealer, who declined to service the vehicle. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. the manufacturer was contacted and confirmed that there was no warranty coverage on the vehic…”
2024-04-17 · Unknown Or Other“vehicle displays transmission malfunction & dsc and xdrive malfunction, this vehicle is available upon request for inspection. currently been to two dealerships and all i got from the first dealership is to replace transmission at 59k mile. i purchased a used transmission same problem exist in the replacement transmission. as i was driving on highw…”
2024-01-07 · Electrical System · 🔥 fire“vehicle was parked while running errands, returned to leave and it would not start. went to trunk to check battery connection and found that the positive battery cable had burnt in two where it connects to cable that runs to the engine compartment. carpet cover and sound deadening coating had burnt and cable fell through trunk floor on top of gas t…”
2023-09-05 · Engine · 77,500 mi“the contact owns a 2011 bmw 550i. the contact stated that after having an oil change performed, he noticed white smoke coming from the exhaust pipe. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed with a stem valve cover failure. the contact was informed that the valve cover needed to be replaced. the manufacturer was not m…”
2023-04-02 · Unknown Or Other“i purchased this car from a used dealer ship, drove it for less than a month. then it started misfiring. i paid the car off in cash so i decided to change all of the coils and spark plugs so i did that outta my own pocket also. they put an insert inside of my 2nd spark plug so i need up getting it out and it wasn’t even a spark plug to my car. i wa…”
2022-08-04 · Vehicle Speed Control“i started my car to drive to an appointment and noticed that the car was jerking/bucking as i pulled out of my driveway onto the main road. i was unable to accelerate appropriately for oncoming traffic behind me because the car was jerking violently and it was a bit scary since this had not happened before. this continued for several days, primar…”
2022-02-27 · Seat Belts“drivetrain malfunction comes on dash, due to timing chain being out of "time" meaning that the cranshaft and chain has move out of place, this repair is estimated to cost about 10k, other vehicles of the this type are also included, the recall from bmw is call the "n63 customer service packet", n63 is the kind of engine that this car and other in s…”
2021-07-06 · Exterior Lighting“light assembly has became compromised with moisture , casued a total light failure ! repair cost is $4000.00…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.