Problems · NHTSA complaints

2001 BMW M5 problems

Owners filed 4 complaints about the 2001 BMW M5 with NHTSA between Jun 2003 and Feb 2012. The most-cited component is air bags (3).

Complaints
4
Filed with NHTSA
Crashes
0
Reported by owners
Fires
0
Reported by owners
Injuries
0
People reported injured
Deaths
0
Reported to NHTSA
01 —By component

Complaints by component

One complaint can cite several components
  1. Air bags3
  2. Tires1

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.

Data from NHTSA Complaints API · synced Nov 10, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
02 —Trend

When complaints were filed

Does it get worse with age? Complaints per calendar year filed
View as table
Model yearComplaints filed per calendar year
20031
20040
20050
20060
20070
20080
20091
20100
20111
20121

Mileage at failure isn’t a structured field in NHTSA complaint data, so we don’t chart it. Some owners mention it in their reports below.

03 —Owner reports

Top problems in owners’ words

Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first

Air bags

3 reports2 related recalls
“TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 BMW M5. WHILE PARKED, THE FRONT DRIVER AND PASSENGER SIDE AIR BAGS DEPLOYED INADVERTENTLY. THE CONTACT REFERENCED NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER: 03V421000 (AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:SENSOR/CONTROL MODULE) BUT WAS ADVISED BY THE MANUFACTURER THAT THE VIN WAS NOT INCLUDED IN THE RECALL. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 108,000.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Feb 23, 2012Air bagsODI 10449043

Tires

1 report1 related recall
“HI, I PURCHASED A PAIR OF MICHELIN PS2 HIGH PERFORMANCE TIRES FOR $600 FROM TIRERACK.COM AND NOTICED THAT THE LATERAL TREAD / GROVES ARE BLOCKED WITH EXCESS RUBBER THROUGHOUT BOTH TIRES. THEY WERE INSTALLED ON 12/06/2008. I RECEIVED DOCUMENTATION FROM ANOTHER TIRE MANUFACTURER THAT STATES THE LATERAL GROVES PLAY AN IMPORTANT FUNCTION TO DISPERSE WATER TO MINIMIZE HYDROPLANING. CURRENTLY, TIRERACK DENIES MY CLAIM FOR AN EXCHANGE. I CONTACTED MICHELIN AND THEY REFERRED ME BACK TO TIRERACK. HTTP://WWW.YOKOHAMATIRE.COM/CUSTOMER_SERVICE/CONSTRUCTION_TREAD.ASPX THE BLOCKAGE IS DIFFICULT TO REMOVE AND WOULD REQUIRE ME TO USE A SHARP UTILITY KNIFE TO MY TIRES. I AM NOT SURE WHAT MICHELIN WOULD SAY IF THEY KNEW I TOOK A KNIFE TO MY TIRES. TIRERACK SO FAR HAS DENIED MY REQUEST FOR AN EXCHANGE CLAIMING THE PROBLEM IS COSMETIC AND WOULD GO AWAY. I DIFFER BECAUSE THE PROBLEM BLOCKS A FUNCTIONAL SAFETY AND PERFORMANCE AREA OF THE TIRE AND PREVENTS ITS ABILITY TO DISPERSE WATER. TIRERACK'S WRITTEN WARRANTY POLICY STATES THAT THEY WOULD WORK WITH ME AND THE MANUFACTURER TO RESOLVE A CLAIM. THIS HAS NOT HAPPENED ACCORDING TO MY KNOWLEDGE. I HAVE EVEN SUBMITTED A VIDEO AND…”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jan 18, 2009TiresODI 10255515
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 10, 2026

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.