Problems · by component
2011 BMW 535I Xdrive electrical system problems
26 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 2011 BMW 535I Xdrive cite electrical system, 10% of all 268 complaints for this model year.
Complaints
26
10% of all complaints
Crashes
2
Reported by owners
Fires
5
Reported by owners
Injuries
1
Reported by owners
What owners say about the electrical system
Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“My car suddenly shut off when I came to a stop at a red light while on a busy state route. The information cluster then began to read “Fuel supply” and “Battery Discharge” My car would not turn back on and still has not turned back on since and it's been over a month now. According to the OBD results, the fuel pump and injectors were somehow seized and therefore have caused the car to become inoperable. I was forced to spend over $1000 just to get my car out of the police tow yard and towed to my home because I could not afford the cost of the repairs needed. The NHSTA website states that there is a recall on both the fuel system and the electrical system for my exact vehicle, but according to my Vin search results, there are 0 recalls. That doesn't make sense. I had just got my new inspection done maybe a month prior to my car breaking down.”
“The contact owned a 2011 BMW 535i. The contact stated that while the vehicle was unoccupied and parked in a parking lot, it was brought to the attention of the contact that the vehicle caught on fire. The local fire department arrived on the scene to extinguish the fire. The contact stated that it was unknown if a fire report was filed. A police report was filed. No injuries were sustained. The origin of the fire was unknown. The contact stated that the fire damaged one other parked and unoccupied vehicle that was nearby. The vehicle was towed by the insurance and was deemed a total loss. The vehicle remained in the possession of the insurance provider for further investigation. The local dealer was contacted. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 140,000.”
“The vehicle is having cooling/ heat problems. Does not overheat while driving but rather driving on high temp. Cools to norm temp here and there. My best thought is electrical. Also same vehicle rattles in rear center when going 65mph.. not sure the cause is.”
“The drivers headlight has developed significant condensation on its interior caused by a failed seal which in turn damaged or short-circuited the modules disabling my daytime running light, low beam, high beam, and turn signal”
“Driver side headlight has an extreme condensation issue. Especially after it rains or using a car wash. The condensation leaks into the control light module , which makes the turn signal, parking lamp and the adaptive light to all fail.”
“Passenger side door lock actuator has failed. Door lock actuators should not be failing on cars that are less than 10m years old. This causes a major safety issue when you are unable to open/unlock the door from the inside or outside because the lock can not be actuated (manually or with button). Given the vast amount of actuators failing, this should be addressed with BMW. This has become a common issue with BMW vehicles.”
Showing 6 of 26 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 9, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.