2004 BMW Z4

No clear pattern

0.9% of complaints about the 2004 BMW Z4 arrived in its first year of service. That is an unusual figure for a 2004 vehicle, but with only 443 complaints on record the sample is too small to call it a pattern — the margin of error covers the range where ordinary vehicles sit. The figures below are reported without a verdict. The most-reported system is steering (381 complaints), typically at 8.1 yr or about 46,000 miles.

Complaints: 443
Median age at failure: 8.5 yr
Median mileage: 48,000 n=403
Crash / fire / tow: 0.9% of reports
Safety recalls: 1

Safety recalls — NHTSA campaigns

04V182000 2004-04-12

Fuel system, gasoline:delivery:fuel pump

ON CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES, UNDER CERTAIN ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS, A VAPOR LOCK IN THE FUEL PUMP COULD OCCUR CAUSING THE ENGINE TO STALL. IF THIS WERE TO HAPPEN, THE ENGINE WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO BE RESTARTED FOR APPROXIMATELY 15 TO 20 MINUTES.

IF STALLING WERE TO OCCUR, THE DRIVER WOULD BE UNABLE TO MAINTAIN VEHICLE SPEED OR ACCELERATE, INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.

In owners’ own words

Steering 1,000 mi 1.0 yr in service

PROBLEM: EPS STEERING GETS VERY STICKY AFTER CAR HAS SAT IN DIRECT SUNLIGHT FOR A FEW HOURS. MINOR STEERING CORRECTIONS ARE NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE. PROBLEM CLEARS UP AFTER CAR HAS BEEN GARAGED FOR A COUPLE HOURS AND ALLOWED TO COOL. THIS PROBLEM MAKES THE CAR FEEL VERY UNSAFE TO DRIVE. I AM CONSTANTLY WORRIED IT MIGHT FAIL ENTIRELY AT SOME POINT -- HOPEFULLY NOT WHILE I AM DRIVING IT. PROBLEM WAS FIRST NOTICED AT THE END OF SUMMER LAST YEAR (2004). CAR WAS PURCHASED IN JULY. THIS YEAR, IT HAS BEGUN ALREADY (SINCE MID-APRIL 2005).

Steering 5,300 mi 1.9 yr in service

MY BMW Z4 YR. 2004 DURING HOT WEATHER SEEMS TO HAVE A STEERING PROBLEM. YHE STEERING STICKS AND FEEL NOTCHY, ON THE HIGHWAY IT ALMOST CAUSED A ACCIDENT DUE TO TRY ING TO STEER AND OVER COMPINSATING. THANK YOU

Steering 18,000 mi 2.2 yr in service

WHILE DRIVING WITH TOP DOWN IN COLD WEATHER WITH HEAT ON HIGH, STEERING BECAME STICKY/NOTCHY. I COULDN'T MAKE SMOOTH STEERING CORRECTIONS, ONLY COURSE ONES. AFTER CAR WAS ALLOWED TO COOL OVERNIGHT, PROBLEM WENT AWAY. *JB

Air bags 35,000 mi 8.0 yr in service

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 BMW Z4. WHEN THE CONTACT STARTED THE VEHICLE, THE FRONT PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. THE FAILURE OCCURRED WHENEVER THE ENGINE WAS IN OPERATION AND REMAINED ILLUMINATED UNTIL THE ENGINE WAS TURNED OFF. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER WHO STATED THE CONSTANT FAILURE WAS CONTRIBUTED TO A FAULTY PASSENGER OCCUPANCY SEAT MAT SENSOR. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED AND THE CONTACT PLANNED TO NOTIFY THE MANUFACTURER REGARDING THE DEFECT. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 35,000.

Other Z4 model years

How to read this

This is what owners reported, not a reliability rating. People file with NHTSA about alarming failures, not routine ones, and complaint volume tracks how many cars were sold.
Failure ages come from the incident date on each complaint, populated on about 83% of records. Mileage is shown where reported — NHTSA’s 2021 system change cut mileage capture to roughly 15%, so it thins out sharply after MY2020.
Every rank compares this vehicle only against others of the same model year. A 2025 car has not had time to accumulate five-year failures, so comparing early-failure share across years is meaningless.
Fourteen make-months distorted by media storms and mass recalls — Toyota in February 2010 ran 11× normal volume across 33 models — are excluded.
Recalls are manufacturer actions and authoritative; complaints are not. A recall listed here may already have been performed on any individual car. Check a specific VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

2004 BMW Z4

When each system is reported — middle 50% of complaints

Safety recalls — NHTSA campaigns

In owners’ own words

Other Z4 model years

How to read this