The 2006 BMW M5 has 1 NHTSA recall campaign affecting an estimated 367,682 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 54 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the air bags. Last updated July 5, 2026.
BMW IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2004-2010 5-SERIES, MODEL YEAR 2004-2010 6-SERIES, MODEL YEAR 2006-2010 M5, AND MODEL YEAR 2007-2010 M6 VEHICLES. THE INSULATED BULKHEAD CONNECTOR FOR THE POSITIVE BATTERY CABLE MAY HAVE BEEN INCORRECTLY ATTACHED TO THE TRUNK FLOOR PANEL, WHICH CAN LEAD TO A LOOSENING OF THE BOLT…
Consequence
OVERHEATING COULD LEAD TO A FIRE, EVEN WHILE THE VEHICLE IS NOT IN USE. AS A PRECAUTION, OWNERS ARE ADVISED TO PARK OUTSIDE UNTIL THE REMEDY HAS BEEN MADE.
Remedy
BMW WILL NOTIFY OWNERS, AND DEALERS WILL INSPECT AND SECURE THE BATTERY BOLT CABLE CONNECTION AS NECESSARY, FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON APRIL 30, 2012. OWNERS MAY CONTACT BMW CUSTOMER RELATIONS AND SERVICES AT 1-800-525-7417.
Complaints by component
AIR BAGS
23
SEAT BELTS
7
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL
3
1crashes1injuries
ENGINE
3
POWER TRAIN
3
1crashes1injuries
SEATS
3
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
2
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
2
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
1
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
1
Total complaints54
What owners report
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal
information removed.
“Clearance failure on s85 engine to rod bearings causes oil starvation. This in turn causes engine catastrophic failure. If driving this will effect power breaking, power steering and all components requiring the engine to be running. This is a very common issue, I now have symptoms requiring a…”
“Upon starting my car, I received an error message " fault in passenger restraint system affecting air bags, belt tensioner or belt force limiter" the message continues to show up every day.. This is the same issue that has a recall in all other 5 series models for this year, 2006 and has a recall…”
“The early m5 with the smg (sequential manual gearbox) 7 speed have numerous tsb's and warranty campaigns. The shifting of the gearbox is up executed by pressure from the hydrualic pump that stores aaprx 80psi in the accumulater. This accumulator or pump has a hi chance of failing and when it does…”
“Steering wheel lock malfunctions and keeps steering wheel locked, will not release intermittently.”
“The car has an issue with passenger airbag occupancy sensor, when someone sits on the passanger seat the airbag turns on, these bmws has many recalls for this issue, for some reason mine does not fall into the recall. I have scanned the computer and confirmed that the sensor is the issue, I would…”
“Malfunction in passenger restraint system. Warning message stating "fault in passenger - restraint system affecting airbag, belt tensioner or belt force limiter" is activated every few minutes that car is in drive. Was informed that the passenger airbags will not deploy in the event of a crash.…”
“Well documented (on the internet) problem with the passenger side active restraint system failing, typically due to the passenger side occupancy mat. This problem has been documented in almost every model manufactured since 2000, but has only been addressed in a few, select, vehicles. This is the…”
“Well documented (on the internet) problem with the passenger side active restraint system failing, typically due to the passenger side occupancy mat. This problem has been documented in almost every model manufactured since 2000, but has only been addressed in a few, select, vehicles. This is the…”
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL,
FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 2006 BMW M5 as of
July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page
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