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BMW 6 SeriesYears to avoid, problems & recalls

NHTSA has 25 owner complaints and 9 safety recalls on record for the BMW 6 Series.

Years to avoidNoneBased on weighted complaintsBest years—Fewest complaints for their ageOwner complaints25Top: Electrical systemSafety recalls92004–2012 model years

Source: NHTSA complaints, recalls, investigations and manufacturer recall reports. Updated daily. How we score years.

Best & worst years

BMW 6 Series years to avoid

Complaints by model year, colored by the CarFlaw verdict: complaints weighted for crashes, fires and injuries, adjusted for years on the road and compared with the 6 Series median. Tap a year for its full report.

'04'05'06'07'08'09'10'12
  • Avoid
  • Caution
  • Solid
  • Best
  • Not rated
2012Not rated–/1002 complaints · 1 recall2010Not rated–/1000 complaints · 2 recalls2009Not rated–/1000 complaints · 2 recalls2008Not rated–/1006 complaints · 2 recalls2007Not rated–/1002 complaints · 3 recalls2006Not rated–/1005 complaints · 5 recalls2005Not rated–/1007 complaints · 3 recalls2004Not rated–/1003 complaints · 4 recalls
Complaints by system

Most common BMW 6 Series problems

All model years combined: 25 complaints grouped by the system owners reported.

Box size = number of complaints naming that system. Darker = larger share. One complaint can name more than one system.
Complaints by system
SystemComplaintsCrash, fire or injury
Electrical system80
Air bags60
Engine and engine cooling40
Electronic stability control (ESC)20
Equipment20
Power train20
Seats20
Service brakes, hydraulic21
Tires20
5 other systems50
9 recalls

BMW 6 Series recalls

Newest first. The ring shows the share of affected vehicles repaired, from the manufacturer's latest report to NHTSA.

–Other fuel types: turbo/supercharger12V-161 · 2012 · Apr 10, 2012 · 2,846 vehicles–12v/24v/48v battery: cables12V-126 · 2004–2010 · Mar 26, 2012 · 367,682 vehicles–Power assist: vacuum10V-446 · 2004–2010 · Oct 1, 2010 · 198,352 vehicles–Frontal: sensor/control module-inactive07V-178 · 2007 · Apr 25, 2007 · 225 vehicles–Rear: shock absorber06V-277 · 2006 · Jul 26, 2006 · 11,640 vehicles–Front: control arm06V-187 · 2006 · May 30, 2006 · 40 vehicles–Power train: automatic transmission05V-504 · 2005–2006 · Nov 1, 2005 · 240 vehicles–Automatic transmission: control module (tcm/pcm/tecm)04V-344 · 2004 · Jul 14, 2004 · 4,102 vehicles–Fuel system, gasoline04V-303 · 2004 · Jun 23, 2004 · 7,532 vehicles
2 investigations

NHTSA investigations of the 6 Series

  1. Desiccated Air Bag Inflator RuptureEA21002 · 2012 · still open
    Open
  2. BMW AIRBAG LIGHT ILLUMINATIONEA08001 · 2006 · closed Dec 31, 2008
    Led to recall 08V-384