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ProblemsByVin Index / 2020-BMW-Z4 / COMPLAINTS
Full complaint record · NHTSA

2020 BMW Z4 owner complaints

5 complaints filed with NHTSA on this vehicle , including 1 reporting a crash, fire, injury, or fatality. Listed by category, newest first within each section.

steering 2 complaints shown

12/14/2019 ODI #11289091.0

BMW's lane departure system actually pulls the car's steering left or right, and could cause the car to collide with another vehicle or run off the road. I experienced this while driving on the freeway in southern california. The lane departure system almost pulled my vehicle into the adjacent lane.

11/26/2020 3,000 mi ODI #11376404.0

Don't know what is causing it. There is major squeaking/whining/grinding noise if even a tiny bit of water gets in there and last couple days after that. And when you turn the steering wheel to the left the squeaking/whining gets louder. And when does do this the suspension if you hit even a small bump will bottom out and make grinding noises. BMW has looked at the car couple times first time they said there was rust. Second time they couldn't find anything wrong with it.

electrical 2 complaints shown

07/21/2026 ODI #11751896.0

The engine starter failed on my 2020 BMW Z4 M40i. The vehicle experienced starting failures and the repair shop diagnosed a faulty/shorted engine starter assembly. The symptoms and component failure match the exact defect description of active safety recalls NHTSA 24V-576 and 25V-636 (Starter Motor Fire Risk due to electrical short circuit/overheating). However, when checking my specific 17-digit VIN, the manufacturer has excluded my vehicle from the recall population. Because this is an identical component failure that poses a severe vehicle fire and safety hazard, I am requesting that the NHTSA investigate a recall expansion to include my vehicle's production batch. I have retained the diagnostic reports and repair invoices as evidence.

02/19/2026 ODI #11719116.0

Engine starter safety recall came out in September 2025, with no remedy or parts existing for fixing it. 5 months later, and no timeframe is provided for a remedy. This is a major fire risk given the amount of rain now that could corrode the starter and lead to a fire.

body 1 complaint shown

10/07/2020 3,300 mi Crash ODI #11363216.0

Was in a drive thru on 9/6/2020 waiting our turn. Approx. 7 cars in front of us. As we are slowly moving up to order, car in idle, foot on brake. As we are moving forward, when we were up to 3 cars, still idling and foot on brake, the car had fully accelerated, brake not holding the car, inching forward due to the force of the acceleration. Tried to shift into neutral, went into reverse. Tried again to shift into neutral, went into drive, still inching forward, at this time I pushed the off button to stop the car. Result of collision with the vehicle in front of us. We have photos but not on this computer.

Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) owner complaint database. Last synced 2026-08-02. Complaints are owner-submitted and unverified — the existence of a complaint is not proof of a defect, but a pattern of complaints around the same component is a signal worth weighing. Verify any specific filing at nhtsa.gov.
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