Home · 2013 BMW 535i · Complaints
What 38 owners told NHTSA about the 2013 BMW 535i
These are the actual owner complaints behind this car’s reliability verdict, filed with the federal government, unedited. They’re unverified reports, not confirmed defects: read them as leads for your pre-purchase inspection, not a diagnosis.
2 of 38 complaints match · Visibility & wipers · clear filters
Mar 17, 2023Electrical systemLightsVisibility & wipers
The headlight housing on my model year is leaking water into it and causing electrical issues , Iv noticed majority of other models I see on the road have the same issue with one of the headlight housings having water in them, this has caused numerous codes to appear on the dash. “ Vertical headlight malfunction “ …”turn signal malfunction “ …”daytime running light malfunction “ ect… this is a safety issue because it stops my signal from working and my headlight works when it wants to. Normally I would think maybe I rock chipped the housing but since I see it on majority of 535’s I see I figure it must have been an issue from factory.
NHTSA ODI 11512368
Nov 15, 2014Visibility & wipersBody & structure
BMW 535I SUNROOF GLASS EXPLODED OUTWARD. BROKEN GLASS (THOUSANDS OF SHARDS) CAUSED MULTIPLE SCRATCHES IN PAINT AND DIFFICULTY WITH TRUNK LID. REPAIRS COST $6000. BMW DID NOT ACKNOWLEDGE RESPONSIBILITY UNDER WARRANTY, ALTHOUGH THEY DID ADMIT THAT THE GLASS SUNROOF WAS A WARRANTABLE ITEM. UNEXPLAINED BMW SUNROOF EXPLOSIONS ARE NOT UNCOMMON (SEE INTERNET), INDICATING AN OBVIOUS FACTORY DEFECT FOR WHICH BMW IS NOT TAKING RESPONSIBILITY. *TR
NHTSA ODI 10655229
Working with the data? Download all 38 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 28, 2026
How to use these: a complaint is one owner’s report, filed voluntarily and published unverified. Patterns matter more than any single story. If several owners describe the same failure at similar mileage, put that system at the top of your
pre-purchase inspection list. Back to the
full 2013 BMW 535i verdict →