The 2002 BMW 540ia has 1 NHTSA recall campaign affecting an estimated 1,318 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 3 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the electrical system. Last updated July 5, 2026.
Recall campaigns
TIRES01V3520002001-11-261,318 affected
Defect
VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: DURING THE TIRE MOUNTING PROCESS ON CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES BUILT WITH STANDARD (NON-SPORT) SUSPENSION AND EQUIPPED WITH CONTINENTAL CONTITOURINGCONTACT CH95 ECOPLUS TIRES, SIZE 225/65R16 95H, HAVING DOT CODES 4001, 4101, OR 4201, THE OUTER SIDEWALL SURFACE OF THE TIRES MAY HAVE BEEN CUT BY A…
Consequence
CONTINUED DRIVING WITH LOW INFLATION PRESSURE IN THE TIRE COULD ULTIMATELY RESULT IN DAMAGE TO THE TIRE, AFFECT VEHICLE HANDLING AND CONTROL, AND COULD IN SOME CASES RESULT IN A VEHICLE CRASH.
Remedy
DEALERS WILL INSPECT ALL FIVE TIRES FOR A POSSIBLE CUT IN THE SIDEWALL, AND IF A CUT IS FOUND, THE TIRE WILL BE REPLACED. OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN DECEMBER 10, 2001. OWNERS WHO TAKE THEIR VEHICLES TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER ON AN AGREED UPON SERVICE DATE AND DO NOT RECEIVE THE FREE REMEDY WITHIN A REASONABLE TIME…
Complaints by component
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
1
1fires
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
1
1fires
SEATS
1
1fires
Total complaints3
What owners report
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal
information removed.
“I went out to my bmw 540i and found the driver's power seat all the way back in the horizontal position. I did not leave it this way, so this was confusing to me. When I attempted to move it back upright into a comfortable driving position, it did not respond- the seat was dead. I could not move…”
“I went out to my bmw 540i and found the driver's power seat all the way back in the horizontal position. I did not leave it this way, so this was confusing to me. When I attempted to move it back upright into a comfortable driving position, it did not respond- the seat was dead. I could not move…”
“On 7/19/2008, my 2002 bmw 540i with automatic transmission caught fire while myself and my wife driving toward an evening party. At first I smell something is burning then see a tiny bit of smoke. I parked the car in a bank of america parking lot and my wife went out to check the car, and she saw…”
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL,
FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 2002 BMW 540ia as of
July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page
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