1991 BMW 850I
Safety record from NHTSA: recalls, owner complaints, investigations and service bulletins.
Have the VIN?
These records cover every 1991 BMW 850I. To see whether one car still needs a recall repair, decode its VIN or check it with NHTSA.
Recalls
2 recalls name the 1991 BMW 850I. Newest first.
Vehicle description: passenger vehicles. a malfunction or failure of a coolant system component, such as a thermostat, water pump, or fan belt, can result in significantly increased coolant temperature and system pressure. if the indications of a critical overheating condition IS not noticed by the driver, it IS possible that damage to, or failure of, a…
Risk and remedy
Risk
If a crack were to form or a seam were to separate in the heater core end piece, hot coolant could suddenly be expelled, increasing the risk of personal injury to a vehicle occupant.
Remedy
Dealers will install a new design radiator cap to control pressure and provide greater coolant overflow in the event of overheating.
The air bag contact ring locking tab located in the steering wheel assembly can break without warning.
Risk and remedy
Risk
If this happens, the contact ring wiring could eventually break. The air bag readiness indicator lamp (srs or airbag) in the instrument cluster will illuminate, and the air bag would not deploy in the event of a frontal impact vehicle collision.
Remedy
Dealers will replace the locking tab with one of a different design.
Owner complaints
9 complaints1 injuries
What owners report most
Latest complaints
- Air bags
Started my BMW 850I, drive half a block down the street, the airbag blow , burn my hands. I can take picture of the broken airbag in the steering wheel if needed.
- Exterior lighting › Headlights
The driver noticed that the headlight adjuster was broken. this caused poor visibility while driving at night. the consumer took the vehicle to the dealer and was informed that the headlights adjuster needed to be replaced. *nm the headlights were not high enough to shine on the road to allow the consumer to view the road. the lights would only go about 15-20 feet in front of the vehicle. *sc *jb
- Exterior lighting › Headlights
Both headlight adjustment mechaisms have repeatedly failed. this IS an ongoing complaint with BMW 8 series owners. when the adjustment mechanism fails the headlight buckets point downwards so that the amount of road visible to the driver IS 25 feet or less. BMW has a "fix" for this which…
Both headlight adjustment mechaisms have repeatedly failed. this IS an ongoing complaint with BMW 8 series owners. when the adjustment mechanism fails the headlight buckets point downwards so that the amount of road visible to the driver IS 25 feet or less. BMW has a "fix" for this which consists of "peening" a plastic adjustment wheel to the adjustment shaft. this usually fails within several thousand miles. BMW then says to buy a new headlight bucket... $4-500 to fix a $2.00 part. sometime, or maybe it ha already happend this IS going to cause a major accident or a pedestrian fatality due to the fact that the lights are not projecting far enough for a driver to see a reasonable distance down the highway. I have contacted BMW and have yet to recive the courtesy of a return call. please respond to this complaint with what action that you might be taking regarding this matter.*ak
- Exterior lighting › Headlights
After failure, BMW tells you to buy new headlight buckets for $650 with new adjusters in them, which will fail again after two to four years, depending on the mileage. After failure the lights shine extremly low without covering the street in front of you, resulting in a real safety hazard.
- Exterior lighting › Headlights
Headlight housing broken. points downward.*ak
- Exterior lighting › Headlights › Switch
Consumer states the convertible headlights knob are not functioning correctly mechanic and manufacture have been notified however to resolve problem manufacture has offered to replace the whole lights for $400.00 per lights. nlm
- Engine and engine cooling · Engine and engine cooling › Cooling system · Engine and engine cooling › Engine
This car loses coolant, overheats, and blows a head gasket, and now possibly needs new cylinder heads. BMW mechanic states that the temperatute gauge IS not supposed to tell you the engine IS overheating if the coolant has already completely leaked out of the system. that the gauge does not…
This car loses coolant, overheats, and blows a head gasket, and now possibly needs new cylinder heads. BMW mechanic states that the temperatute gauge IS not supposed to tell you the engine IS overheating if the coolant has already completely leaked out of the system. that the gauge does not register the empty air in a now empty coolant system. in my opinion the temp guage should tell me the possibility of my car overheating so that I can shut down the engine and have it repaired. this has occurred twice($5,000 first time) and now an estimated $9,000-15,000 depending on extent of damage. please send any information you may have on this problem with this vehicle. a local reputable import repair shop informed me that this happens with this car and that they consider it a common defect/occurrence. to combat this they even have their own solution my drilling extra holes in the engine and bolting it down without having to even use a headgasket. if this IS accepted common knowledge then there must be further complaints/histories of this occurrence with the BMW 850I.. *ak
- Suspension › Rear
Shock support came completely out of the body of the vehicle on two occasions.
- Service brakes, hydraulic › Antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip
Brakes continue to fail almost resulting in an accident.
Service bulletins
Technical service bulletins and other communications the manufacturer sent dealers about this vehicle. Ask a dealer for the full document by its number.
- 10249437The basic conditions for initializing the power windows are not met.
Every BMW 850I model year
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