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What 78 owners told NHTSA about the 2018 BMW 5 Series Hybrid Sedan Phev

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.

All (78)Crash / fire / injury (6)Airbags (35)Seat belts (24)Seats (14)Electrical system (12)Engine (8)Engine & cooling (3)Body & structure (2)Transmission & drivetrain (2)Brakes (1)Fuel system (1)

1 of 78 complaints match · Brakes · clear filters

Apr 14, 2022Transmission & drivetrainElectrical systemBrakesCrash1 injury

The vehicle was at a complete stop, when the gas pedal was tapped to move forward slightly the vehicle suddenly accelerated out of control. There was an attempt to apply the brakes, but the vehicle continued to accelerate and "Drive Train Malfunction" began to flash on the dashboard of the vehicle. The vehicle proceeded to accelerate as it jumped a curb, crashed into a ditch, before finally becoming lodged in a fence and coming to a complete stop when half of the vehicle was lifted off of the ground. The driver of the vehicle suffered a fractured back as a result of the incident. We have reported this incident to BMW and are awaiting a response from the manufacturer. The vehicle has been inspected by the driver's insurance and, while we do not have a report from them yet, the vehicle was totaled.

NHTSA ODI 11460740

Working with the data? Download all 78 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 19, 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 2018 BMW 5 Series Hybrid Sedan Phev verdict →