Cooling Fan Problems of BMW 540

The contact owns a 2000 BMW 540i. While the contact was driving approximately 1 mph in the driveway, there was a loud roaring noise outside of the vehicle. Immediately, the engine was turned off. The radiator fan blades detached, dented the hood, which caused the paint to peel and then fell to the ground. . The failure mileage was 111,000. The contact was in the process of towing the vehicle to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The failure mileage was approximately 111,000.

See all problems of the 2000 BMW 540 🔎.

1. Brought my car to firestone automotive repair in los angeles California and had the thermostat replaced - work completed by firestone - 2-5 days later went to beverly hills BMW to have coolant resevoir replaced was told I needed a new thermostat (just replaced at firestone) and water pump and that I had a major engine leak (later was told I had a minor engine leak not worth repair at that point) - had water pump replaced. - recieved vehicle from beverly hills BMW with the engine cover removed and vehicle not checked as asked - this took 3 weeks! 2. The problem: while driving at 65 mph on the hwy 2 hours from my house an explosion occured in the engine bay of the vehicle. 4 peices of the fan had shot through the hood of the vehicle making a large 1 inch slit accros the entire hood and approx 1 inch hole the whole length. Almost lost control and crashed! pulled over to find that my fan was completly gone (the plastic parts had completly exploded from the fan clutch and gone through the hood and look to have tore many hoses inside the engine bay) and coolant was leaking out (my cooling system had been completly replaced whitin the last 4 weeks). 3. Towed the car to harloff BMW where they suspected that beverly hills BMW forgot to tighten the fan when they removed it for service to the water pump. Beverly hills BMW refused to service the car at harloff BMW and towed the vehicle to beverly hills BMW where I was told by the service manager that everything would be taken care of and not to worry. Was told today that this is my fault and that they said my fan was going bad (not true - have documentation to prove this and now they seem to have documentation to say otherwise fraud?). Damage: the hood, many internal engine bay parts I have found many other cases of this. Either BMW is not servicing this part or that they cut some corners in designing the engine fan there is no way that an engine fan should ever explode through the engine hood!!!.

See all problems of the 1997 BMW 540 🔎.

Failure: engine cooling fan clutch seized and the fan turned at water pump rpm. The fan flew apart, flinging all blades off the fan hub. This occurred while my wife was driving the car home on a 25 mph street in the evening with our two small children in the back seat. Consequences of failure: exploding fan chopped through the radiator, coolant tank, both radiator hoses, automatic transmission hoses, power steering hoses, punched holes through hood and out through bottom engine compartment cover, broke both air ducts for front brake cooling and destroyed the main fan shroud. What has been done to correct the failure: I called the 800 number for our cpo extended warranty vehicle assistance. The operator recommended advised our coverage provided free towing to nearest dealer and that the incident would likely be covered under our extended warranty. South bay BMW charged me $150 to review the situation and then advised the situation was not covered. I have asked for some explanation why this is not covered and none is offered. The service advisor today told me they have an "internal document" which states this is not covered, but she cannot fax or show it to me. My warranty booklet states it is a complete listing of non-covered items and the fan and clutch are not listed as not covered. The dealer has not offered to repair the car under warranty and has advised it will be $4800 plus body shop expenses to replace the hood. I find the safety implications of this fan explosion to be inexcusable. I also demand to know why my BMW warranty booklet is not in agreement with the secret document held by south bay BMW.