BMW bulletin B520525
What it saysThe customer states: The driver’s seat will not return to its last saved position. NHTSA’s full summary ↓
BMW filed this with NHTSA as a service bulletin dated Feb 28, 2025, received Mar 3, 2025, about the electrical system. It names 11 model years (2024–2025). A service bulletin is not a safety recall: it is the manufacturer telling its dealers how to diagnose or repair a condition, and whether the work is paid for depends on the warranty in force. Quoting the number at a service desk can save a diagnosis.
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What the bulletin says
Source: NHTSA's summary of the manufacturer's communicationThe customer states: The driver’s seat will not return to its last saved position. No seat memory. The heated seats settings in the menu are missing/different than in their previous BMW vehicle. They canno longer select, under the climate rules, at what temperature Fahrenheit the heated seats willautomatically turn on. Certain other “apps” and functions are not available The driver’s seat moves to an unknown memory position
Document filed under this number
| Document | Kind | Dated | NHTSA id | At NHTSA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| B520525 | Service bulletin | Feb 28, 2025 | 11014660 | PDF, 154 KB |
The summary is NHTSA’s abstract of the document, as filed under 49 CFR 579.5. One communication is usually filed as several documents — the bulletin, a dealer notice, an owner letter — and the number on any of them finds this page. A PDF link is shown only once NHTSA’s own server has been seen to serve that document; the rest are checked over the following nights. Quote the number at a service desk; it is what the dealer’s system is keyed on.
Model years it names
Source: as the manufacturer filed themA vehicle page’s bulletin list shows the newest few communications filed against that model year; the count there is every one.
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What owners reported
Source: NHTSA complaint databaseOwners of the 11 model years this bulletin names have filed 173 complaints with NHTSA since 2015. 42 of them name Electrical System — the same broad component group this bulletin is filed under. NHTSA groups complaints coarsely, so that means the same area of the vehicle, not necessarily the same fault.
The vehicle is a 2025 BMW X7 M60i purchased in New Mexico on . The car's emergency call system and navigation became disabled on after taking the vehicle to a car wash. Subsequently the car was brought to the BMW dealer for repairs; however, the problem recurred after several days, dashboard now showing a traction control warning light.
2025 BMW X7 · Electrical System · filed with NHTSA Apr 3, 2025 · ODI 11652615
The authorized dealership (BMW of South Miami) explicitly instructed my wife to continue operating a vehicle subject to an active engine starter fire hazard recall because they 'have not seen any vehicles catch on fire yet.' Furthermore, BMW Corporate failed to respond to a written 48-hour legal demand requesting alternative safe…
2025 BMW X4 · Electrical System · filed with NHTSA Sep 22, 2026 · ODI 11766080
The contact owns a BMW X1. Wow attempting to park the vehicle inside a residential garage, the contact engaged to transmission into part by the electronic console shelf by wire controls. The ending remained Allen, and the vehicle failed to mechanical grinding noises or dashboard error messages displayed to alert the driver.
2025 BMW X1 · Electrical System · filed with NHTSA Sep 29, 2026 · ODI 11767625
A complaint is one owner’s account, not a defect finding, and a bulletin is not a recall. Nothing here says this bulletin was issued because of these complaints, or that the repair it describes fixed them. Complaint files on this site begin in 2015.
More bulletins about the electrical system
Source: same model, same component group158 other manufacturer communications filed against these BMW models under the same component group (electrical system), newest first. The eight newest are listed; the rest are on the BMW list.
| Number | Kind | Dated | NHTSA’s summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0061610900 | Service campaign | Sep 25, 2026 | The BCP controls several vehicle functions, including the windscreen wipers and air conditioning actuators. Low current flow may cause exces… |
| B611826 | Service bulletin | Sep 17, 2026 | Due to unfavorable software, the Storage Management Electronics (SME) will not show fault codes that trigger the Malfunction Indicator Lamp… |
| B630526 | Service bulletin | Sep 8, 2026 | After programming the vehicle via ISTA/RSUto I-level …26-03-5xx, customer may reportsome of the interior ambient lighting strips(arrows) may… |
| 0061880900 | Service campaign | Aug 27, 2026 | In vehicles equipped with the Roof Function Center “FZD‑21” variant, a quiescent‑current violation mayoccur if the system fails to enter sle… |
| 0034040300 | Service campaign | Aug 20, 2026 | After replacement of the Integrated Braking system (IB)/Power Brake the total distance covered might be lower than when handed over to the w… |
| B652026 | Service bulletin | Jul 23, 2026 | The Central Information Display (CID) side of the Multifunction Display (MFD) may flicker intermittently. Theflickering manifests itself in… |
| B651926 | Service bulletin | Jul 15, 2026 | Activation of the BMW Intelligent Personal Assistant voice is not possible via the Multifunction Steering Wheel (MFL) button and/or via the… |
| B840226 | Service campaign | Jul 10, 2026 | Once the Telematics Module (TCB2) enters sleep mode, a BMW Data Services trigger for Remote Services… |
Quote the number at the service desk. It is what the dealer’s system is keyed on.
Every manufacturer communication NHTSA holds for BMW, by the number printed on the letter.
Common questions
Source: NHTSA, 49 CFR 579.5Is BMW B520525 a recall?
No. A service bulletin is a manufacturer communication filed with NHTSA under 49 CFR 579.5; a safety recall carries an NHTSA campaign number (two digits, a letter, six digits) and a federal duty to repair for free. Check the vehicle’s recalls by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls, or on its page here.
Is the B520525 repair free?
Not automatically. A service bulletin describes how to diagnose or repair a condition; who pays depends on the warranty in force, any extension, and the dealer. Quoting the number can save a diagnosis either way. Every BMW warranty extension on file lists the ones BMW has filed.
Which vehicles does B520525 cover?
The manufacturer filed it against 11 model years: 2025 BMW 2 Series, 2025 BMW 3 Series, 2025 BMW 5 Series, 2025 BMW 8 Series, 2025 BMW X1, 2025 BMW X3 and more. Whether one particular vehicle is affected is a matter of its VIN and its build, not its model year alone.