NHTSA (USA)Critical
At a glance
What can fail
The exhaust gas recirculation cooler may leak internally, allowing coolant to mix with diesel soot and create smoldering particles that can melt the intake manifold.
What the fix does
The 2018 BMW 540D has 4 recalls, the most serious being an engine fire risk tied to the exhaust gas recirculation cooler, which can leak internally and allow coolant to mix with diesel soot, producing smoldering particles that can melt the intake manifold. An earlier repair attempt for this EGR cooler issue did not fully resolve the problem, so vehicles that went through that prior fix remain at risk and are covered under a follow-up recall.
On the engine side, the crankshaft sensor on certain vehicles may carry incorrect firmware that prevents it from properly reading crankshaft rotation, which can cause the engine to stall without warning while driving. Finally, a rearview camera recall covers certain 540D vehicles along with a wide range of other BMW models from this era: the backup camera display can go blank when the vehicle is shifted into reverse, leaving the driver with no rear view while maneuvering.
At a glance
What can fail
The exhaust gas recirculation cooler may leak internally, allowing coolant to mix with diesel soot and create smoldering particles that can melt the intake manifold.
What the fix does
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Dealers will inspect and replace the EGR module and intake manifold as needed at no cost.
Summarized — see the official notice for exact wording, dates, and contacts.
At a glance
What can fail
The exhaust gas recirculation cooler may leak internally, allowing coolant to mix with diesel soot and create smoldering particles that can melt the intake manifold.
What the fix does
Dealers will replace the EGR module and inspect the intake manifold, replacing it if needed, at no cost.
Summarized — see the official notice for exact wording, dates, and contacts.
At a glance
What can fail
The backup camera display can be adjusted to hide the rear view image, and the vehicle remembers this setting when put in reverse, leaving the screen blank.
What the fix does
Dealers will update the backup camera software at no cost to restore the display functionality.
Summarized — see the official notice for exact wording, dates, and contacts.
At a glance
What can fail
The crankshaft sensor has incorrect firmware that prevents it from reading the crankshaft reluctor ring properly, which can cause the engine to stall.
What the fix does
Dealers will replace the crankshaft sensor at no cost to you.
Summarized — see the official notice for exact wording, dates, and contacts.