Engine Cooling System Problems of BMW 540

My son was driving home in rush hour traffic on connecticut Ave. It was raining rather hard and visibility was low. My son all of the sudden smelled smoke coming through the vents and the engine shut down. It would not restart. He had to push it off the road into a service station due to the high volume of traffic. The car was towed that evening to my repair shop where it was diagnosed that the thermostat housing sensor failed which melted the wiring harness and damaged other electrical sensors on the engine.

See all problems of the 1999 BMW 540 🔎.

Water pump failure. Coolant leaking from shaft. Radiator failure, drivers side top radiator nipple inlet cracked.

See all problems of the 2001 BMW 540 🔎.

Water pump failure. This is a known defect that involves a high percentage of the e39 540i BMW. The failure of the pump is known to happen between 5000-60000 miles and can put the driver in danger and cause unnecessary expensive repairs to be incurred on a car of this caliber. The water pump failure in my case destroyed the main drive belt leaving me with out power steering, brakes, alternator etc. E39 owners who have had this experience should be reimbursed for the repairs and costs associated with the faulty design and problems associated with the water pump and cooling system.

See all problems of the 2000 BMW 540 🔎.

Radiator defect -- plastic neck of radiator connecting to upper hose broke at point of connection while at moderate speed, spraying coolant onto engine and windshield and causing risks of fire and hazardous impairment of visability. This defect is well known to the manufacturer and a recall should be commenced.

See all problems of the 1997 BMW 540 🔎.

Serious safety issue complete loss of coolant at speed. Dt.

This is a very common occurence. On the roadfly bulletin board of fellow owners, failure rate is almost 40% of respondents! typically after only 40 - 50k miles! dt.

No summary. Dt.

Radiator failed without warning. Steam obscurred vision. Dt.

See all problems of the 1998 BMW 540 🔎.

According to repair facility (BMW dealer), this is a known problem, poorly designed/manufactured raditor, that BMW will not acknowledge. They will not even re-designed and or make modifications to currect radiator design for the 540 model. Please do something about this. Dt.

Upper radiator neck broke off from radiator during normal driving. Radiator was replaced by dealer with identical component. I expect the radiator will fail again within 80,000 miles from time of incident. Catastrophic failure of the radiator is potentially dangerous due to obscured vision from steam, immediate need to stop the car to prevent further engine damage, etc. Dt.

Second radiator failure at 56,254 miles in 10/19/2001 caused poor visibility. Dt.

Radiator and cooling system failed on my 1997 BMW 540i. Car quickly overheated severely and shut down on interstate 5 in stockton, CA with my wife and child in the car. The system failed a second time in March 2002. Same occurance, radiator and cooling system failed on highway 580 in tracy, CA. Car shut down due to failure.