2018 BMW M550I
Safety record from NHTSA: recalls, owner complaints, investigations and service bulletins.
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These records cover every 2018 BMW M550I. To see whether one car still needs a recall repair, decode its VIN or check it with NHTSA.
Recalls
1 recall names the 2018 BMW M550I. Newest first.
BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2018 540d, 2018-2020 530i, 530i xDrive, 540i, 540i xDrive, M550i xDrive, M5, 530e, 530e xDrive, X3 sDrive, X3 xDrive, X3 M40i, X3 M, and 2019-2020 X4 xDrive, X4 M40i, X4 M, X7 xDrive, X7 M50i, 740Li, 740Li xDrive, 750Li, 750Li xDrive, 8 Series Convertible and Coupe 840i, 840i xDrive, M850i xDrive, X5…
Risk and remedy
Risk
The lack of an image in the back-up camera display increases the risk of a crash.
Remedy
BMW will notify owners, and dealers will update the back-up camera software, free of charge. The recall began November 8, 2019. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417 or Rolls-Royce at 1-877-877-3735. Toyota owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371.
Owner complaints
23 complaints1 involved a fire
What owners report most
Latest complaints
- Engine
Throughout my ownership, I have adhered to BMW’s recommended maintenance schedule, including routine oil changes and inspections. At no point was I advised of any engine issues, oil leaks, or conditions that could potentially lead to catastrophic engine failure. Most recently, the vehicle had…
Throughout my ownership, I have adhered to BMW’s recommended maintenance schedule, including routine oil changes and inspections. At no point was I advised of any engine issues, oil leaks, or conditions that could potentially lead to catastrophic engine failure. Most recently, the vehicle had change oil svc. at BMW of White Plains on June 25, 2026, at 69,456 miles. On July 17, 2026, while driving on the Bronx River Parkway, I unexpectedly noticed signs indicating that the vehicle was leaking oil. I was approximately three miles from BMW of White Plains and proceeded directly to the dealership. Before reaching the dealership, the engine lost power and ultimately failed. A few days later, I was informed by my BMW Service Advisor that the engine had sustained catastrophic internal damage and would require the replacement of the short block. The estimated repair cost exceeds $50,000. After six years of ownership, approximately 50,000 miles driven, and consistent maintenance performed by authorized BMW service centers, I find it extremely concerning that the engine could experience such a sudden, catastrophic failure without any prior warning or documented indication of an oil leak or impending engine issues. Most importantly, I believe this incident posed a significant safety hazard. The engine lost power while I was driving on a busy parkway, causing my vehicle to slow down and stall in traffic. Additionally, the active oil leak raised concerns about the potential risk of fire. A sudden loss of propulsion on a high-speed roadway put both myself and surrounding motorists at considerable risk.I respectfully request that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration investigate whether this type of failure indicates a broader safety issue involving the N63 engine or related components. If similar incidents have occurred, I believe owners should be informed so they can take appropriate precautions before experiencing a potentially dangerous loss of power.
- Forward collision avoidance › Adaptive cruise control · Lane departure › Assist · Steering
To: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Subject: Safety Complaint – 2018 BMW M550i Driver Assistance System I am filing a formal safety complaint regarding a dangerous malfunction of the driver assistance systems in my 2018 BMW M550i. These systems behave unpredictably and…
To: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Subject: Safety Complaint – 2018 BMW M550i Driver Assistance System I am filing a formal safety complaint regarding a dangerous malfunction of the driver assistance systems in my 2018 BMW M550i. These systems behave unpredictably and cannot be reliably disabled, creating an unsafe driving condition. The vehicle’s driver assistance features (including steering and braking interventions) activate or restrict themselves unexpectedly while driving, sometimes without clear warnings. At other times, the system disables itself mid-drive. Despite repeated attempts, these features cannot be fully turned off, leaving me forced to rely on a computer system that makes erratic decisions affecting vehicle control. BMW dealerships acknowledge the issue but state no permanent fix exists unless I pay out of pocket. BMW corporate has declined goodwill repairs and claims the behavior is “normal,” despite the clear safety implications. I believe I should not be required to pay to correct a defect that impacts safe operation of the vehicle. This issue is especially concerning given prior BMW recalls involving driver assistance and steering sensor systems. An unpredictable or uncontrollable ADAS system undermines driver authority and increases crash risk. I am requesting that NHTSA investigate this issue to determine whether it represents a broader safety defect and require BMW to provide a full repair at no cost. If the defect cannot be reliably repaired, I believe a buyback or vehicle replacement should be considered. This vehicle does not operate in a consistently safe manner, and I fear continued use places me and others at risk. Thank you for your attention to this serious safety concern.
- Air bags · Seat belts
I’m getting a passenger restraint system malfunction message on my infotainment. Says: “Passenger restraint system limited. Increased risk of injury in case of a collision. Continue wearing safety belt.” This is the second time this has occurred on this specific vehicle. First time was in 2021 and was repaired. Now it came up again.
- Air bags
Passenger restrain system mail function
- Air bags
Passenger restrained seatbelt signal. There is bulletin in google: SIB 72 04 17. There are recalls for this vehicle but dealer want accept it.
- Tires › Sidewall
In the last 8 months, I have experienced 3 blowouts on the same side of the car. The tires were Continental Procontact SSR 245/40R19. In each instance, the sidewall failed and blew out. This has occurred on the highway as well as at low city speeds.
- Electrical system · Lane departure › Assist · Lane departure › Blind spot detection
Excessive amounts of water accumulated at interior floors from the A/C drain unit. Water damage to all sensors and bad odor. Worried car may catch fire while driving. A/C will sometimes work.
- Latches/locks/linkages › Doors › Latch
The rear driver door does not open from the outside or inside of the vehicle. I had someone sitting behind the driver and they could not exit the vehicle, we had to assist so they can exit out the other side (passenger rear door). The handle on the outside of the car seems like if it is not…
The rear driver door does not open from the outside or inside of the vehicle. I had someone sitting behind the driver and they could not exit the vehicle, we had to assist so they can exit out the other side (passenger rear door). The handle on the outside of the car seems like if it is not connected to the door mechanism. This is a huge safety issue. I also took the car to the dealer to have the door covered under my extended warranty and they did not cover it under warranty.
- Structure › Body
The rear driver door will not open. It seems the door handle does not open the door from the exterior of the vehicle. The door will also not open from the interior of the vehicle. It feels like the handle has come lose from the door latch mechanism to open the door of the vehicle. This is a big safety concern if there is a passenger sitting behind the driver and they cannot exit the vehicle.
- Air bags · Seat belts · Seats
Vehicle reported a Passenger Restraint Failure intermittently and upon getting diagnosed is related to a faulty seat occupancy sensor. If this sensor can fail ~4yrs of ownership with < 30k miles driven and it is critical to passenger restraint, it would seem that this should be fixed by BMW. With…
Vehicle reported a Passenger Restraint Failure intermittently and upon getting diagnosed is related to a faulty seat occupancy sensor. If this sensor can fail ~4yrs of ownership with < 30k miles driven and it is critical to passenger restraint, it would seem that this should be fixed by BMW. With quick search, the problem doesn't seem isolated: [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
- Air bags · Seat belts · Seats
Passenger restraint system malfunction. I took it to the dealership and was told it will cost $3785.91 to replace the passenger seat mat. Looking online, this problem appears to be widespread with many individual car owners complaining of the issue. Given that this is a life safety system and its apparent prevalence, it seems appropriate to consider this for a mandatory recall.
- Air bags · Seat belts · Seats
The passenger seat occupancy mat is faulty - same as in many other BMW models for which BMW has issued a 15 year warranty. The car chimes and states "fasten safety belt" for the passenger seat when the passenger seat is entirely empty. This error comes and goes, and stops when the belt is buckled.
- Air bags · Air bags › Sensor › Occupant classification
The passenger restraint malfunction continues to alarm and the dealership states that it is a seat-pad sensor and want over $2000.00 to replace. From a number of BMW forums, it appears that this was a common problem with earlier models and a subsequent 15-year warranty extension was granted…
The passenger restraint malfunction continues to alarm and the dealership states that it is a seat-pad sensor and want over $2000.00 to replace. From a number of BMW forums, it appears that this was a common problem with earlier models and a subsequent 15-year warranty extension was granted because of the safety concerns. My car is well cared for and has very few miles on it, so I truly believe that BMW needs to either recall this faulty SAFETY component or replace it free of charge. Please protect me and my family by holding BMW accountable.
- Air bags · Seat belts
Passenger Restraint Warning Light has been coming on off and on and now stays on all the time. Dealer has confirmed car needs to have the OC3 mat replaced at a very high price. Car is a 2018 BMW M550ix. Apparently this has been a common problem with the BMWs.
- Air bags · Electrical system · Seat belts
Passenger side sensor is faulty. BMW has issued Technical Service Bulletin to repair when found in warranty. The sensor will errantly warn airbag disable when person is not in seat.
- Air bags
My old 5 series 2017 had this same problem, now my 2018 m550i has the airbag problem. A warning light for no reason pops up saying “passenger restraint system malfunction” and turns off the passengers airbag, BMW will not fix it out of warranty and charges 3,000$. Many people are driving around without airbags in a new car because of this.
- Electrical system · Forward collision avoidance › Adaptive cruise control · Forward collision avoidance › Automatic emergency braking
On vacation road trip driving for about 3 hours. Instrument cluster completely shuts off and goes to black. Screen, vehit speed and rpm and all adas systems stop working. Sometimes turning the car off and on will address the issue other times it will constantly restart the instrument cluster when driving.
- Unknown or other
Sunroof on 2018 BMW M550i "exploded" while driving home from work. Weather was cloudy, light rain in the 50's, late March in northern California, USA. Sunroof was in closed position and cars HVAC was not being used to create temperature or pressure difference. Heated seat was being used. Had been…
Sunroof on 2018 BMW M550i "exploded" while driving home from work. Weather was cloudy, light rain in the 50's, late March in northern California, USA. Sunroof was in closed position and cars HVAC was not being used to create temperature or pressure difference. Heated seat was being used. Had been parked outdoors under an awning during the day and had been on the road for less than 15 minutes. The automobile will be taken to the nearest dealership in the morning. Pictures were taken. Significant safety risk to occupants if glass shatters when the "slider" is in the open position.
- Unknown or other
I was driving on the highway and the sunroof exploded out of no where, BMW said a rock hit it or something but I am 90% sure a rock didn't hit it. Did not see anything fly up towards the car. It sounded like a gunshot went off in the car and glass showering all over you because I had the shade…
I was driving on the highway and the sunroof exploded out of no where, BMW said a rock hit it or something but I am 90% sure a rock didn't hit it. Did not see anything fly up towards the car. It sounded like a gunshot went off in the car and glass showering all over you because I had the shade open. Luckily it did not get into my eyes to cause another accident. Glass shattered upwards and from doing research it looks like it's a common problem
- Visibility/wiper
Due to weather change the sunroof can shatter. This could had injured to passenger and infants in car. BMW takes no responsibility on fixing it
- Wheels
? this IS my fourth car(bmw) because I big fun of it. hoping for your kind consideration. thanks,
- Wheels
Vehicle was driving at moderate speed and hit a small pot hole creating a 3 inch cut where tire and rim lip meets. damage to tire was not noticeable until one day later when tire was deflated. This could have caused potential danger to driver,passanger and to other oncoming vehicles.
- Electrical system · Engine · Structure › Body
On 4/10/2018 vehicle was parked caught fire tottal lose
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.
- 10252031One or more of the LED daytime running lights are dim or discolored.
- 10249437The basic conditions for initializing the power windows are not met.
- 10249027The electrical system of BMW vehicles has been subject to an ongoing development process over the last few years. This has led to increased demands being placed on the battery. This document covers important information for the dealer on how to handle discharged battery complaints.
- 10244237Functional noises (squealing/honking) when braking shortly before the vehicle comes to a stop. CAUSE Material-
- 10242698?The sunroof will not operate in either direction.
- 10242694?The front seat will not calibrate/initialize, and the stored faults cannot be deleted.
- 10242691?Unusual noises occur only when operating the steering column in the axial direction.
- 10239614The air conditioning cycles from cold to warm air while driving or while at a stand still. The vent outlet temperatures vary by 25 degrees Fahrenheit or more (38 F to 60 F +) without changing any climate control settings.
- 10239611Headlight check control (CC) message 128 "High beam headlight failure" is displayed. The following fault codes are stored during a vehicle test: 80419A - Left high-beam headlight: Short circuit and/or 8041A5 - light outputs: Number of permitted short circuit cycles exceeded
- 10239604A groaning type noise is heard during the height adjustment.
- 10239602A vehicle arrives at your center to be diagnosed for a micro-leak in the fuel evaporative (EVAP) system (NVLD natural vacuum leak detection). For this condition, the following fault is stored in the DME: 190302 - fuel tank ventilation and scavenging air system, micro-leak: leakage more than 0.5 mm.
- 10239601BMW AG has issued a Delivery Stop effective June 6, 2023 on certain Model Year 2023 - 2024 BMW vehicles that were produced between October 26, 2022 and May 8, 2023.
- 10239599With the introduction of the BMW Remote Software Upgrade, all Service Pack 18 vehicles and partial Service Pack 15 vehicles may receive new functionality or modifications in their features.
- 10239595Radiator Grille Upper and Lower Active Air Flaps limited warranty for defects in materials or workmanship has been extended to 15 years/150,000 miles as determined from the original in-service date.
- 10238090After programming the head unit (HU-H2), activating the FSC (German word Freischaltcode) Enabling Codes repeatedly fails.
- 10238083Due to a software error, the vehicle sporadically does not achieve sleep mode. As a result, the 12-volt battery becomes discharged and may cause a no-start condition.
- 10238081Upon opening and closing the tailgate, a creaking/groaning sound can be heard from tailgate actuator.
- 10236236Issues with the various functions of the camera-based driver assistance systems (KAFAS system) can possibly lead to following customer complaints: KAFAS camera system deactivates itself, due to system restrictions that are not clear to the customer KAFAS camera system cannot be activated due to system restrictions that are not clear to the customer Road signs are sporadically not detected.
- 10235206Customer is shown an incorrect GPS location in the vehicle (i.e., Nav Map, coordinates).
- 10235205The 3G network in the US has been shut down. This means that only the 4G network will be available. In the 4G network, voice calls will be transferred via the Voice over LTE (VoLTE) function. For this purpose, the SIM card must perform an IMS registration in the mobile communication network. Due to a production error, the telematics control units were delivered without an IMS configuration. The Connected Drive voice services (Concierge Call, BMW Assistance, and emergency call voice) can no longer be used regionally in the US in vehicle with telematics control units ATM-1 and TCB-4G. Voice control of the vehicle and all other telephone (paired mobile devices) functions are not affected. Emergency call location data is unaffected.
- 10235203Customer states there is no audio playback (telephony, navigation, radio) and system sounds (PDC, turn indicators, acoustic signals) may also have failed.
- 10235200One or more of the LED daytime running lights are dim or discolored.
- 10235191Due to a software error, the vehicle sporadically does not achieve sleep mode. As a result, the 12-volt battery becomes discharged and may cause a no-start condition.
- 10235181A groaning type noise is heard during the height adjustment.
- 10235179There is a howling or whistling noise from under the vehicle at 30 -37 mph (50 -60 km/h) when driving after a cold start, when the outside temperature is 32 F (0 C) or lower.
- 10235178BMW AG has issued a Delivery Stop: Due to a software failure, there is the possibility that the transmission does not go into "sleep mode" if the car is turned off.
- 10233157There is a howling or whistling noise from under the vehicle at 30 -37 mph (50 -60 km/h) when driving after a cold start, when the outside temperature is 32 F (0 C) or lower. The noise goes away as the vehicle/driveline reaches operating temperature.
- 10230740Customer is shown an incorrect GPS location in the vehicle (i.e., Nav Map, coordinates).
- 10230734Due to a software error, Remote Software Upgrade (RSU) and Remote Support are currently not possible. Additionally, the Integrated Owner's Handbook cannot be displayed.
- 10230732The saved steering column positions, vertical and horizontal, are not stored long term.
- 10230726There is a howling or whistling noise from under the vehicle at 30 -37 mph (50 -60 km/h) when driving after a cold start, when the outside temperature is 32F (0C) or lower.
- 10230725A cracking, metallic noise from under the center of the vehicle.
- 10230724Coolant leaking from the engine compartment. Traces of coolant leaking from the expansion tank of the low temperature cooling system.
- 10228433The sunroof will not operate in either direction. There are NO faults stored related to the sunroof. If the vehicle has any faults stored related to the sunroof, this bulletin does not apply.
- 10227575The customer complains that the radio stations change by themselves.
- 10227568According to the customer, the airbag warning light was on, but it may not be illuminated when the vehicle arrives in the workshop. 1. ACSM fault code "930A60 - Seat occupancy detection, front passenger; malfunction" is stored. The fault may or may not currently be present. Or 2. ACSM fault code "930A1C - Front passenger seat occupancy detection transmitting fault(moisture)" is stored. The fault may or may not currently be present.
- 10227566After programming, the customer may complain that the Sport Mode display is not fully displayed in the instrument cluster. Instead of a red background in sport mode, the background is displayed in blue (like ECO PRO mode).
- 10227558After opening the vehicle with the radio remote control and changing the profile, the exterior mirror settings are lost.
- 10224210The sound output intermittently drops out entirely. This can be reproduced with all audio sources as well as telephone and voice output.
- 10224186Component-Specific Limited Warranty Extension. For the eligible vehicles, BMW of North America, LLC (BMW NA) is extending the limited warranty for the vehicle's Radiator Grille Upper and Lower Active Air Flaps to: 15 years/150,000 miles as determined by the vehicle's original in-service date. 1. Air flap control (link) active, upper (G12, G30 and G32) 2. Air flap control (drive), active, upper 3. Air flaps, upper (assembly) 4. Air flaps, lower (assembly) For eligible MY 2017 BMW 530i (B460) vehicles that are currently registered in the State of California (CA) or a State that has fully adopted the State of California PZEV/SULEV regulation (CT, ME, MD, MA, NJ, NY, RI, and VT), the standard emission-related coverage for the Radiator Front Grille Air Vent Flaps is15 years/150,000 miles. This component-specific limited warranty extension applies to defects in materials or workmanship.' This coverage is subject to the same vehicle eligibility requirements, limitations, and exclusions that apply to the BMW New Vehicle Limited Warranty for Passenger Cars and Light Trucks. A check control message or MIL (Malfunction Indicator Lamp) may be illuminated with faults stored related to the upper and/or lower active air flap(s). Potential causes include: Faulty upper air flap link (G12, G30, G32) Faulty upper air flap actuator (G01, G02, G12, G30, G32) Faulty upper flap assembly (G01, G02, G12, G30, G32) Faulty lower air flap assembly (G01, G02, G12, G30, G32) Software error in the DME affecting the upper flap (G01, G02 only) Or: Upon visual inspection, the passenger side upper active air flaps are either stuck open or closed, and they will not move and there are no faults stored for the active air flaps (With no check control message or check engine light or displaying)
Every BMW M550I model year
Bars are owner complaints, dots mark years with recalls. Select a year to open its report.