general problems of the 1999 BMW 540

Power steering pump broke causing accessory belt to be thrown from engine at highway speeds, resulting in loss of steering and power.

My transmission would not accelerate or move. I had the trans rebuild and 2 years later the same problem. The trans has lost gears 1-3 and reverse, multistate repaired the trans again 2013, ifor the second time, it never worked after repairs. The engine light stays on, BMW says I need new trans and engine. When I looked up recalls for 540i, it states the same trans problem and it should be replaced. When I look up engine there are known engine problems with 540i, not my VIN. I also have electical issues, which have a recall on 540i, but not my VIN. Also issues with coolant, which is another known issue, but not my VIN. I have tried to get BMW to diagnose, but they only recommend replacing all parts at my expense, even though there is a history of these type of issues with the 540i, 1999 cars. I want BMW to replace all know issue parts at their expense and they have refused due to my VIN, not willing to add VIN to the issue. All issues with my car are known issues for 540i 1999 cars.

During a down shift, my car sometimes jump forward a foot or so and makes a thump down shifting noise. This forces me to apply the break quickly. Just a week ago, I hit a curve because of this defect and the bottom bumper cover of the car got hit and became cracked! luckily this problem is rare. This is about 4th failure in a span of 10 months. For about 10 months, my car also stalls (engine loses power) during a slowdown. Usually this happens when I slow to make a right turn. I nearly got into an accident few times this month because my car stalled in an intersection during a turn. This occurs about 0-2 times per month and each time I take the car to the dealer, Im informed that they see no problems or the problem is fixed. Ive reported this complaint to BMW customer service and asked if they are aware of this problem. Theyve told me no.