Problems · NHTSA complaints

2018 BMW M5 problems

Owners filed 4 complaints about the 2018 BMW M5 with NHTSA between May 2018 and Jun 2024. The most-cited component is engine (2).

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. Engine2
  2. Air bags1
  3. Seat belts1
  4. Power train1
  5. Fuel/propulsion system1
  6. Other / unknown1

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
20181
20190
20200
20210
20220
20230
20243

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

Engine

2 reports
“BMW issued a stop sale on 2017-2023 bmw F90 M5 chassis regarding the expansion tank failure. All vehicles should be affected by the recall. My current vehicle is experiencing the issues stated on the recall notice. Expansion tank is failing and causing coolant to seep into engine bay”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jun 17, 2024Unknown or other, EngineODI 11594879

Air bags

1 report
“This is for the front passenger seat only.The idrive system will give an error for the passenger restraint system and will mention there is a seat belt issue and turn off the airbag. This is intermittent and will happen with or without a passenger. I contacted BMW about it but because it is not presently acting out, they won't do anything about it unless I want to just start paying for new parts and do "exploratory" surgery on it trying to resolve this. Unacceptable as this has been happening for a couple of years and is a danger because of it happens during an accident it could prove fatal.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Mar 12, 2024Air bags, Seat beltsODI 11577017

Seat belts

1 report

Power train

1 report
“I ALMOST HAD A TERRIBLE ACCIDENT IN MY 2 WEEK OLD 2018 M5 ON THE 1-95 HIGHWAY ON THE NIGHT OF MAY 25, 2018 AT ABOUT 9:45PM. WITHOUT WARNING, AT ABOUT 65MPH, THE CAR JERKED FOR ABOUT 3SECONDS , KICKED OUT OF DRIVE INTO NEUTRAL AND STARTED DECELERATING. I WAS IN THE MIDDLE LANE SURROUNDED BY SPEEDING VEHICLES. I MANAGED TO GUIDE IT TO THE SHOULDER AND TURNED OFF THE IGNITION FOR 2MINUTES, AFTER WHICH I RE-STARTED THE CAR AND WAS ABLE TO ENGAGE DRIVE. I CONTACTED MY DEALERSHIP TODAY, ONLY TO BE INFORMED, THIS WAS AS A RESULT OF COMPUTER GLITCH CONTROLLING THE FUEL PUMP CAUSING IT TO SHUT OFF WITHOUT WARNING. I WAS TOLD THERE HAS BEEN A SOFTWARE PATCH TO REMEDY THIS PROBLEM. IF IT IS TRUE, I BELIEVE THE CORRECTION SHOULD HAVE BEEN DONE BEFORE THE CAR WAS PICKED UP OR PROMPTLY NOTIFIED TO RETURN THE CAR FOR FIXING. I COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED ON THE HIGHWAY LAST NIGHT IF NOT FOR MY PROMPT SITUATION AWARENESS AND EXPERIENCE IN HANDLING THIS POWERFUL CAR WHICH IS MY FOURTH M5 SINCE 2006. OWNERS NEED TO BE NOTIFIED IMMEDIATELY FOR FIXES LIKE THIS THAT CAN LEAD TO FATAL INCIDENTS. I DON'T KNOW IF ANYTHING SIMILAR HAS BEEN REPORTED ABOUT THIS MODEL”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled May 26, 2018Power train, Fuel/propulsion systemODI 11098125

Fuel/propulsion system

1 report
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.