1999 BMW 540I

THE DRIVER OWNS A 1999 BMW 540I WITH 72,579 MILES. OVER THE PAST TWO MONTHS THE DISC BMW ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL SYSTEM ICON AND THE AMBER ABS AND BRAKE LIGHTS ILLUMINATED IN ONE OF TWO SCENARIOS: (1) JUST AFTER A NEW IGNITION CYCLE, (2) DURING NORMAL DRIVING. ONCE THESE WARNINGS ILLUMINATED THE DSC, ABS, AND TRACTION CONTROL SYSTEMS BECOME NON-FUNCTIONAL. UNTIL RECENTLY, THE WARNINGS WOULD GO OUT AFTER 5-10 IGNITION CYCLES. NOW THEY WERE ON CONTINUOUSLY.*AK NEXT TO SEATBELTS, I STRONGLY BELIEVE ESC IS THE MOST SIGNIFICANT DEVELOPMENT IN AUTOMOTIVE SAFETY. AS SUCH, I FIND IT VERY DISCONCERTING THE SYSTEM ON MY VEHICLE HAS MALFUNCTIONED. RESEARCHING THE TOPIC ON THE VARIOUS BMW FORUMS HAS LEAD ME TO BELIEVE MY SITUATION IS NOT AN ISOLATED ONE; THAT MANY MODEL YEAR 1999-2000 5-SERIES BMWS HAVE ALSO BEEN AFFECTED. ESC MALFUNCTIONS CAN HAVE VERY NEGATIVE IMPACT ON VEHICLE SAFETY. IN JUSTIFYING THE RATIONALE FOR ITS RECENT MANDATE OF ESC, NHTSA ESTIMATES ESC WILL REDUCE SINGLE VEHICLE CRASHES AND ROLLOVERS BY 34 AND 71 PERCENT, RESPECTIVELY. THE AGENCY ESTIMATES THIS TECHNOLOGY WILL SAFE UP TO 9600 LIVES PER YEAR. PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CONTACT ME IF YOU REQUIRE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. THANK YOU.

I THINK THIS IS RIDICULOUS THAT THE 60,000 DOLLAR BMW 5 SERIES WITH DSC AND ABS CONTINUALLY HAVE ABS CONTROL MODULE FAILURES. THE PART IS OBVIOUSLY A DESIGN FLAW AND THE COMPANY SHOULD BE FORCED TO REPAIR OR REPLACE UNITS FREE OF CHARGE. THIS IS OBVIOUSLY A SAFETY ISSUE SINCE THE MODULE FAILURE CAUSES THE TRACTION CONTROL AND ABS TO FAIL. THIS IS COMMON IN MODEL YEARS 98,99,AND 2000. *NM

ABS WARNING AND DSC LIGHT IS ON INDICATING FAILURE OF ABS ELECTRONIC MODULE. ABS AND DSC IS NO LONGER OPERABLE. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE SINCE THE CAR WILL NO LONGER HAVE ABS AND DYNAMIC STABILITY CONTROL SYSTEM IN OPERABLE CONDITION. IT IS UNKNOWN IF BRAKE COULD BE RANDOMLY ACTIVATED BY THE FAILED ABS MODULE WHILE DRIVING. COMMON FAILURE ON 1999 OR PLUS 5-SERIES BMW BASED ON USER DISCUSSION ON INTERNET. THE FAILURE IS TEMPERTURE RELATED. THE HIGHER THE TEMPERTURE, THE QUICKER THE WARNING LIGHT WILL COME ON. *NM