Total Complaints
2 filings
BMW 525IA SPORT WAGON · model year
2 NHTSA complaints, and 1 active recall for this specific cohort.
NHTSA overall rating
Not crash-tested
New Car Assessment Program
The 2002BMW525IA SPORT WAGON carries 2 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 0 crashes, 0 fires, 0 injuries, and 0 fatalities. No NCAP 5-star crash-test rating is available for this model year in the federal database.
Component-level analysis is where model-year complaints become actionable: the top complaint category for the 2002 525IA SPORT WAGON is engine and engine cooling with 1 filings, followed by power train (1). Concentration in one or two component groups is the classic signature of a systemic defect; a flat distribution usually reflects normal aging, warranty complaints, or isolated build-plant variability. This model year has 1 active recall campaign, which means the manufacturer is obligated to remedy the covered defect at no charge for the life of the vehicle — the full NHTSA campaign numbers are listed below.
NHTSA currently has 34 investigation files overlapping the 2002 525IA SPORT WAGON. Owners comparing this cohort against neighboring years should pair the counters above with the complaint-by-year trend on the parent model page — a spike in a single year often tracks to a platform refresh, a new transmission supplier, or an updated ECU calibration. Use the related-complaint feed below to read raw owner narratives before deciding whether any pattern here affects your specific use case.
Total Complaints
2 filings
Crashes Reported
0 reports
Source
NHTSA ODI
Federal complaints database
At or below the fleet median complaint volume.
| Component | Count |
|---|---|
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | 1 |
| POWER TRAIN | 1 |
TIRES:SIDEWALL
VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: DURING THE TIRE MOUNTING PROCESS ON CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES BUILT WITH STANDARD (NON-SPORT) SUSPENSION AND EQUIPPED WITH CONTINENTAL CONTITOURINGCONTACT CH95 ECOPLUS TIRES, SIZE 225/65R16 95H, HAVING DOT CODES 4001, 4101, OR 4201, THE OUTER SIDEWALL SURFACE OF THE TIRES MAY
REVERSE DRUM FOR TRANSMISSION WENT OUT UNEXPECTEDLY AT 89,000 MILES. MANY OTHERS ARE HAVING THIS ISSUE, BUT BMW HAS FAILED TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE DEFECT IN THE PART WHICH BREAKS DUE TO THE METAL PIECE BEING TOO THIN. NO RECALLS EITHER. BMW SHOULD BE FORCED RECALL THIS PART, AS IT COSTS $6,000 TO REPLACE THE TRANSMISSION, AND $3,500 TO HAVE IT REBUILT BECAUSE OF THIS DEFECTIVE PART. *TR
Mileage: 89,000
REVERSE DRUM FOR TRANSMISSION WENT OUT UNEXPECTEDLY AT 89,000 MILES. MANY OTHERS ARE HAVING THIS ISSUE, BUT BMW HAS FAILED TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE DEFECT IN THE PART WHICH BREAKS DUE TO THE METAL PIECE BEING TOO THIN. NO RECALLS EITHER. BMW SHOULD BE FORCED RECALL THIS PART, AS IT COSTS $6,000 TO REPLACE THE TRANSMISSION, AND $3,500 TO HAVE IT REBUILT BECAUSE OF THIS DEFECTIVE PART. *TR
Mileage: 89,000
Data as of 2025. Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) complaints database, NHTSA recall campaign API, NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings, and NHTSA FARS for fatality cross-reference.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.