Home · 2014 BMW 535d · Complaints
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.
4 of 58 complaints match · Electrical system · clear filters
My car keeps indicating that my battery is low because it is discharging after car is turned off. I kept smelling a burning smell and finally discovered that my battery was burning a hole in my trunk lining. The battery has melted the plastic covering the positive terminal on the left side. And it was smoking on fire when I opened my trunk.
NHTSA ODI 11627396
THE DRIVER'S DOOR LOCK CANNOT BE OPENED MANUALLY DUE A KNOWN PROBLEM WITH THE ELECTRICAL DOOR ACTUATOR FAILURE. THIS IS A DESIGN FLAW IN A CRITICAL COMPONENT WHERE THE DRIVER SHOULD BE ABLE TO OPEN THE DOOR IN CASE OF AN ELECTRICAL FAILURE OR IN AN EMERGENCY WHEN ITS CRITICAL THAT THE DRIVER IS ABLE TO MANUALLY OPEN THE DOOR EVEN IF THERE IS AN ELECTRICAL FAILURE, BATTERY DIES, THE CAR IS INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT OR THE CAR FALLS INTO A BODY OF WATER - IN ANY OF THESE CASES THE DRIVER SHOULD BE ABLE TO UNLOCK AND OPEN THE DOOR MANUALLY. THE FAILURE OF THIS DOOR ACTUATOR ALSO PREVENTS THE DOOR TO BE UNLOCKED AND OPENED MANUALLY. I THINK THIS IS A DESIGN FLAW AND A POTENTIAL DEATH TRAP. THIS HAS HAPPENED MANY TIMES AND THERE ARE MULTIPLE BMW OWNERS THAT HAVE COMPLAINED ABOUT THIS ON THE INTERNET AND TO BMW, WITHOUT ANY RECOURSE.
NHTSA ODI 11175900
MY 2014 CERTIFIED PRE-OWN BMW 535D CAUGHT ON FIRE WHILE I WAS DRIVING HOME FROM WORK LAST WEEK, FORTUNATELY A DRIVER NEXT TO ME ALERTED ME THAT MY CAR WAS ON FIRE. I PULLED OVER WITHIN 30 SECONDS, GOT OUT AND WITHIN ANOTHER 30 SECONDS MY ENTIRE CAR WAS ENGULFED IN FLAMES.
NHTSA ODI 11098118
ON 12/03/2016, MY 2014 BMW 535D ABRUPTLY STALLED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD, BLOCKING TRAFFIC. IT HAD SPONTANEOUSLY LOCKED ITSELF INTO 'PARK' WITHOUT WARNING. THE ENGINE WOULD NOT START, AND THERE WAS NO WAY TO OVERCOME THE ELECTRONIC LOCK ON THE TRANSMISSION AND PUT THE TRANSMISSION INTO 'NEUTRAL' TO PUSH THE CAR OUT OF TRAFFIC. IT HAD TO BE TOWED. FORTUNATELY THIS HAPPENED ON A SLOW MOVING ROAD. ON A FAST HIGHWAY, THIS EVENT WOULD HAVE POSED A MORTAL HAZARD. I AM CONCERNED ABOUT THE SAFETY OF A VEHICLE THAT BECOMES DYSFUNCTIONAL IN THAT WAY. ONE OF THE PASSING DRIVERS STOPPED AND INFORMED ME THAT EXACTLY THE SAME HAPPENED WITH HIS BMW 535D AND THAT BMW OF NORTH AMERICA IS AWARE OF THIS PROBLEM. IT SEEMS TO ME THAT THIS SITUATION SHOULD BE A SERIOUS CONCERN OF THE NHTSA. *TR
NHTSA ODI 10930000
Working with the data? Download all 58 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 28, 2026