1997 BMW 540 Recalls

No recalls on record Updated July 2026

No NHTSA recalls on record for the 1997 BMW 540. That means NHTSA has no open safety campaign for this vehicle — it does not guarantee the absence of problems. Owners have filed 9 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the air bags. Last updated July 5, 2026.

Complaints by component

AIR BAGS
2
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL
1
AIR BAGS:SIDE/WINDOW
1
POWER TRAIN
1
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
1
STRUCTURE
1
STRUCTURE:BODY
1
TIRES:SIDEWALL
1
Total complaints9

What owners report

Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal information removed.

“Tl* the contact owns a 1997 bmw 540. The contact stated that the transmission failed and the vehicle inspected by the dealer who advised that the transmission ring gear failed and cause the transmission to slip into safe mode. The manufacturer advised that the vehicle was not under recall and the…”

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION · reported 2011-03-12

“Burned out odometer/trip leds. Shows partial numbers and characters only. *ak”

POWER TRAIN · reported 1999-04-01

“Sidewall failure caused high speed blow out. Contenental size - 225/55r16, dot033208.”

TIRES:SIDEWALL · reported 1998-10-01

“The driver's side door airbag deployed without warning after turning on the ignition. *ak”

AIR BAGS:FRONTAL · reported 1997-05-26

“The driver's side door airbag deployed without warning after turning on the ignition. *ak”

AIR BAGS:SIDE/WINDOW · reported 1997-05-26

“Driver feels airbags are a problem for short people.”

AIR BAGS

“Structure design of the vehicle (struts between windows) are too large causing poor visibilty. Yh”

STRUCTURE

“Glove compartment lock continually failing/sticking, repaired several times and continues to stick. Yh”

STRUCTURE:BODY
Sources & methodology

Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL, FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 1997 BMW 540 as of July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.