BMW 5 Series E39 1997-2003 Review

After its initial release in 1997, the E39 BMW 5 Series received only minor equipment tweaks until 2000, but came in for a noticeable facelift for the 2001 model year. The Touring (wagon) body style arrived in 1999, available with both engines, and was renamed Sport Wagon in 2000.

In addition to improved equipment and an updated appearance, the 2001 facelift also introduced an expanded engine range to tide the E39 over until the next-generation 5 Series (E60) arrived for 2004.

Viewed from the front, the most obvious change to the 2001 E39 BMW 5 Series facelift lies in the headlights, which gains the "angel-eye" corona-ring DRLs that would become a BMW styling hallmark for the next decade or so. The side marker lenses are now clear instead of amber¹, and the black protection strip in the front bumper is body color².

Closer inspection reveals a more-prominent double-kidney grille with thicker chrome surrounds, as first seen on the 1999 M5³. A deeper bumper with a more pronounced chin spoiler underneath adds further distinction⁴, and round instead of squared-off foglights in the corners of the lower air intake complete the facelifted Five's fresher face⁵.

Changes to the rear of the facelifted E39 BMW 5 Series are as visible as those applied to its front. The taillight clusters get new crystal-look lenses and LED running lights in place of the old amber-and-red lens combination¹, and the black bump strip in the bumper changes to body color².

The E39 BMW 5 Series didn't change much in its profile view with the facelift, but can easily be distinguished by the side trim strips¹, which are now also body-colored. The revised side marker lights in both the head-² and taillight clusters³ give the game away in a side view , as do revised wheel designs⁴ and clear fender-mounted turn signal lenses⁵.

In contrast to the facelifted BMW E39's obvious external changes, the interior remained largely unchanged, except for a redesigned steering wheel with a smaller airbag cover¹. The optional navigation system gets a wide-screen display instead of the 4:3 display with which earlier models came, but since this only applies to vehicles with the navigation option, normal models won't present this tell-tale.

The E39 BMW 5 Series was available with a wide selection of engines in international markets, but only the nicest ones made their way to North America, after launching in 1997 with two gas powertrains. The 2.8-liter inline six in the 528i could be paired to either a five-speed manual or a four-speed automatic transmission, and the 4.4-liter V8 in the 540i came with either a six-speed manual or a five-speed automatic transmission.

For the 1999 model year, BMW added Vanos (variable valve timing) to the V8's intake cams, improving its torque output by 15 lb-ft, with a power hike of 8 hp for 2002. Meanwhile, the 2.8-liter model gained Vanos on its exhaust cam as well as the intake for 1998, before being superseded in 2001 by two new-generation inline sixes in 2.5-litre or 3.0-liter form, each available with a five-speed manual or a five-speed automatic transmission.

Drivers submit their own fuel-economy figures to the EPA, which then serve as a good comparison between a car's official figures and real-world fuel consumption. These real-world figures may vary considerably but nonetheless, give an indication of a car's actual drinking habits in normal driving conditions. Real-world figures are unavailable for certain models due to a lack of sales, or not enough people participating in this after-sales survey. But, from the figures at hand, it is interesting to note that owners of the E39 BMW 5 Series largely managed to better their official combined figures in real-world driving.

* Real-world mpg and MPGe figures are provided by the EPA. Once a car has been on sale for a significant period of time, the EPA gets real-world figures directly from the customer base. These figures are then provided on the EPA website. Real-world figures are not available for certain models due to a lack of sales, or not enough people partaking in this after-sales survey.

The E39 BMW 5 Series was well-equipped with standard safety features from the outset, and gained more equipment through its production run. At launch, the E39's safety specifications included four-wheel ventilated disc brakes with ABS and emergency brake assist, traction control, four airbags (dual front airbags and dual front side airbags), seatbelt pretensioners in front, impact sensors to turn the engine off and unlock the doors after a collision, and halogen headlamps.

Only a year after launch, the safety specifications received its first upgrade, with the fitment of standard front head-protection airbags across the range, and rear side and head airbags became optional equipment across the range. The 540i automatic also introduced stability control to the model range in 1998 (soon followed by the other models), and added rain-sensing windscreen wipers and xenon headlamps as standard equipment in 1999 (optional on the 528i). The final safety improvements happened in 2001, when automatic headlights became standard on all models, and in 2002, when rear child-seat anchors were added.

The NHTSA did not test any derivative of the BMW E39, but the IIHS test program gave it a Good overall rating, with consistently good scores for the safety cage's integrity and front passenger protection. Euro NCAP crash testing yielded similar results, with a four-star rating for front occupant protection in their testing protocol. Remember that these tests were all conducted to much older standards, and cannot be directly compared to the results of cars that were tested according to current standards.

The E39 BMW 5 Series sedan arrived in 2007 in two variants, the 528i and 540i. Given its high-end profile, the 540i had a few extra features as standard, but many of these could be ordered for the 528i as well, and often became standard after a year or two anyway. Consequently, a late-model E39 is all but guaranteed to be better equipped than an older example.

The wagon became available, also in 528i and 540i guises, under the Touring name in 1999 before switching to the Sport Wagon badge in 2000. It usually carried more standard equipment than its sedan equivalents, such as self-leveling rear suspension, xenon headlights, and rear parking sensors - many of which were only available as options for the sedan.

During the facelift in 2001, the 2.8-liter six-cylinder engine was dropped, and replaced by two new-generation engines in 2.5-liter (525i) and 3.0-liter (530i) formats. The entry-level Sport Wagon received the smaller of the two sixes, but was never available in 530i form in North America.

Getting into an E39 BMW 5 Series, the first impression is of quiet class, with an ergonomically sound layout and high assembly and material quality. Front-seat occupants have a good view to the outside, thanks to a comparatively deep glasshouse, with very comfortable seats and decent room in front.

Front headroom of 38.7 inches beats the 37.6 inches on offer in the Mercedes-Benz E-Class (W210) of this era, but falls some way short of the 39.3 inches you'd get in the competing Audi A6 (C5). The BMW has about half an inch more front legroom than both the Audi and the Mercedes at 41.7 inches, and beats them by a similar margin on front shoulder room too, so front-seat occupants should be fairly content in a BMW E39 5 Series.

The picture changes somewhat on the rear seat, however, where the BMW matches the Audi with 37.9 inches of headroom and beats the Mercedes-Benz by more than half an inch in this regard, but the 5 Series falls some way behind them both on rear legroom, with only 34.2 inches on offer against the E-Class's 36.1 inches and the Audi's generous 37.3 inches.

It's a similar story in the trunk, where the BMW 5 Series sedan can offer only 11.1 cu.ft., compared to the 15.4 cu.ft in the Audi A6 C5 and 15.3 cu.ft in the W210 Mercedes E-Class. In sedan form, the 5 Series is rather cramped and has the smallest boot in comparison to its opponents, so it's not necessarily the one you'd want if practicality is your prime concern.

As with every other BMW, the key to keeping a 5 Series in good order is a disciplined service- and maintenance regimen. The engine's oil and oil filter needs to be replaced with fresh full-synthetic oil every 5,000 miles, and both the cabin and engine air filters should last for 30,000 miles. If your car is operated in dusty conditions, inspect these two air filters every 15,000 miles, and replace them as necessary.

On E39 BMW 5 Series cars with automatic transmissions, we suggest ignoring the official interval of 100,000 miles, and replacing the transmission oil and its filter every 60,000 miles at the latest. Manual transmissions and differentials are sealed for life, but if you want to be extra careful, replace their respective fluids every 100,000 miles.

BMW recommends spark-plug replacements every 50,000 miles, and that's a fair lifetime for direct-ignition spark plugs. Coolant and brake fluid both need to be replaced every two years or 25,000 miles, and we'd recommend replacing the power-steering fluid every 60,000 miles. These service recommendations apply to all years and variants of North American BMW E39 models.

A lube service for the six-cylinder models, with seven quarts of 5W-40 full-synthetic motor oil and a quality filter, will cost you about $130 at an independent workshop, or about $110 for parts if you were to perform the oil change yourself.

An OEM air filter will cost a reasonable $23 but up to $170 if a private workshop were to perform this filter change, and a set of six OEM spark plugs will cost around $90, or around $285 if you were to have a private workshop replace them for you. Replacing the cabin filter can run up to around $180 at such a private workshop. You'll pay about $100 if you were to replace the filter with a new OEM unit.

The only differences when considering a 540i's service charges concern oil changes and spark-plug replacement. The V8 engine has a larger oil capacity than the six-cylinder, and uses a different oil viscosity, bringing the total for eight quarts of 5W-30 full-synthetic plus an oil filter up to $145 at a private workshop, or around $115 in parts if you were to do it yourself. Eight OEM spark plugs will cost you around $130, or roughly $310 if you were to have a private workshop replace them for you.

A number of 1997-2003 BMW 5 Series recalls were issued through the years.

• The first recall applies only to the 1998 528i Automatic, where the gear selector switch could admit water, which can result in an incorrect gear-selection indication on the dashboard, and may either deny start authorization to the engine or allow the car to start even if it is in gear.
• 1998 BMW 540is were subject to a recall for its differential assembly, where the pinion shaft did not receive the appropriate hardening treatment, which will cause premature wear and eventual failure. This only applies to 1998 model year BMW V8s, and should be resolved after more than two decades.
• The next recall involves all E39 BMW 5 Series models from the 2000 model year, and relates to the brake light switch, which may fail internally and cause malfunctions with the brake light operation.
• There were a number of recalls for the 2000 model's driver-side airbag inflator, which may rupture upon deployment and send metal shards into the car's cabin. These are all related to the ongoing Takata BMW 5 Series E39 airbag recall campaign, so it's important to ensure that this recall has been resolved as prescribed.
• 2002-vintage six-cylinder BMW 5 Series models were subject to a recall for their upper front strut mountings, which could see the front strut separate from its upper mounting at full extension, possibly leading to a loss of steering control.
• Some aftermarket parts were also recalled for these vehicles, so these recalls are not linked to BMW itself. Certain ZF/Lemforder steering center rods were sold as aftermarket replacement units for all BMW E39 model years, which have been recalled for a defect that may cause the rods to detach from the steering knuckle.
• Aftermarket headlight clusters made for 1996-1998 BMW 5 Series models by Dope, Inc. were recalled for non-compliance with federal safety standards, because they do not contain the required amber side reflectors.
• The final aftermarket recall involves engine cooling fan assemblies, supplied by Valeo as replacement parts for 1996-2003 BMW E39s. The failure here involves an overheating semiconductor in the fan's circuitry, which could lead to adjacent components failing and possibly causing an engine bay fire. Only 585 units are potentially affected, so this shouldn't scare off prospective E39 5 Series buyers too badly.

On all 1997-2003 BMW E39 5 Series models, the following error codes could appear in an on-board diagnostics scan:

• P0601 indicates a problem with the engine control unit's (ECU) internal memory, which will register a checksum error.
• P0172 indicates that the engine is running too rich. Errors on the secondary air-injection system will register as fault codes P0491 and P0492.
• A leak on the air intake pipe between the throttle and air-mass meter (MAF) will cause errors P1188 and P1189, due to a discrepancy between the intake airflow registered by the MAF and the measured fuel mixture in the exhaust system. This could also be caused by a leaking crankcase ventilation valve.
• A problem with the accelerator pedal position sensor will cause error code P1542.
• P1624 indicates a problem with the cooling system, where the coolant temperature sensor detects too-low engine temperature for the emission control to work correctly.

Some BMW 5 series E39 battery problems have been reported, but most of them relate to either a door-switch malfunction, which keeps the car "awake" when turned off and locked, or low-current audio-system cables short-circuiting. This may also tie in with the typical 1997-2003 BMW 5 Series door-lock problems, which are often related to the electric door-lock circuitry developing poor contacts in the wiring harness, sometimes linked to water ingress into the door's wiring harnesses.

Other 1997-2003 BMW 5 Series electrical problems can be linked to alternator problems, which could appear as the alternator's brushes wear out with age. Unfortunately, owners report that service parts for these alternators are difficult to impossible to find, which usually means that the whole alternator must be replaced. 1997-2003 BMW 5 Series fuel-pump problems are not common, and neither are fuel-injector problems.

While replacing the brake fluid isn't a massive operation, some owners report problems bleeding the BMW 5 Series E39's brakes. This is usually due to an air lock in the brake master cylinder, and it appears that the easiest way to solve this issue is by using a one-man bleeding kit that sucks the new fluid into the system from the caliper side. 1997-2003 BMW 5 Series ABS problems are fortunately very seldom reported, and are usually caused either by old brake fluid (which corrodes the ABS pump and brake lines, or an electronic sensor malfunction.

1997-2003 BMW 5 Series drivetrain problems are quite uncommon, and most owner complaints point towards either the driveshaft's rubber flex coupling perishing, or dried and worn driveshaft joints causing vibrations and untoward noises. If the vehicle is equipped with self-leveling suspension, such as all Sport Wagons, leaks, position-sensor errors, or compressor failures could cause 1997-2003 BMW 5 Series air-suspension problems, and this usually needs specialist attention to remedy. There was, however, no BMW 5 Series E39 recall for air-suspension problems.

1997-2003 BMW 5 Series automatic gearbox problems are not unheard of, with the five-speed automatic transmission turning particularly fragile if abused or improperly maintained. The only way to help avoid this is through frequent gearbox oil changes with fully synthetic OEM-approved transmission fluid. In contrast, 1997-2003 BMW 5 Series clutch problems are not an issue at all, and most owners reach more than 80,000 miles on the original clutch assembly.

BMW 5 Series E39 dashboard-light or -symbol problems are few and far between - if the instrument cluster shows a warning light in the dash cluster, it most often indicates an actual problem. The most frequently asked questions are regarding the various brake-system warning lights, so please consult the owner's manual for a full explanation of the different warning lights' meanings.

1997-2003 BMW 5 Series headlight problems are few and far between and are mostly linked to replacing xenon globes, which is quite a tricky operation in terms of accessibility.

The newer an E39 BMW, the better it is. This is due to the continuous updates given to this model over the years, which make a newer example both better-looking and better-equipped. With this in mind, we'd rather skip an early (1997-2000) 528i with the four-speed automatic, because it's the slowest of all the six-cylinder models, and lacks some of the niceties such as the xenon headlamps, which became standard on later models. It's still a fine car, and can be had for comparative bargain prices, so if value for money is a strong consideration, such a 528i could still make a case for itself.

If you're looking for a proper sports sedan on a budget, we'd strongly recommend a late-model (2003) BMW 540i manual with the Sport Package. Think of it as an M5 Lite, and you'll enjoy many of the same thrills as you'd have in an expensive M5 but for a lot less money. With practicality in mind, any of the Touring/Sport Wagon variants will be satisfactory, but the better-equipped 525i Sport Wagon from 2002 would be the pick of the bunch. But, if you're in search of a solid all-rounder, it's hard to beat the excellent spread of features and spritely performance of a 2001+ 530i sedan.

The E39 is the last BMW 5 Series of the old school, with simple and clean design and logical interior ergonomics, and offers the best of traditional BMW driving attributes in a still-attractive package. While the E39 BMW 5 Series doesn't have the shock factor and massive gadget counts of its newer successors, it is still an excellent all-round driver's car and family machine in one.

Just be mindful of its myriad of niggling issues, particularly regarding the cooling and lubrication systems. Always keep the maintenance up to date, and repair anything that goes wrong right away, because one small step of neglect will soon turn into a massively expensive repair job.