BMW 5 Series (E34)


The BMW E34 is the third generation of the BMW 5 Series, which was produced from November 2, 1987 until 1996. Initially launched as a sedan in January 1988, the E34 also saw a "Touring" station wagon body style added in September 1992, a first for the 5 Series. BMW replaced the E34 with the E39 5 Series in December 1995, although E34 Touring models remained in production until June 1996.
The E34 generation marked the first time all-wheel drive was incorporated into the 5 Series with the 525iX, and the first V8 engine to be used in a 5 Series. The E34 also saw the introduction of stability control, traction control a 6-speed manual transmission and adjustable damping to the 5 Series range.
There was an unusually large range of engines fitted over its lifetime as nine different engine families were used. These consisted of straight-four, straight-six and V8 engines.
The E34 M5 is powered by the S38 straight-six engine and was produced in sedan and wagon body styles.

Development and launch

Development ran from July 1981 to early 1987, with the initial design proposal penned by Ercole Spada in 1982. Under the guidance of chief designer Claus Luthe, BMW based much of the design on the E32 7 Series. Following Spada's departure from BMW and styling approval in 1983, J Mays finalized the design for production in mid-1985. Special attention was paid to aerodynamics, with the E34 basic sedan having a drag coefficient of 0.30.
Series production began in November 1987. In December 1987, the E34 sedan was unveiled to global press.

Body styles

Sedan models have a length of, a width of and a height of. Wagon models have a length of and a height of. All models have a wheelbase of.

Engines

Official output figures are as follows:

Petrol

ModelYearsEnginePowerTorque
518i1989–1994M40B18
inline-4
at 5,500 rpm
at 4,250 rpm
518i1994–1996M43B18
inline-4
at 5,500 rpm
at 3,900 rpm
520i1988–1990M20B20
inline-6
at 6,000 rpm
at 4,300 rpm
520i1989–1992M50B20
inline-6
at 6,000 rpm
at 4,700 rpm
520i1992–1996M50B20TU
inline-6
at 5,900 rpm
at 4,200 rpm
525i1988–1991M20B25
inline-6
at 5,800 rpm
at 4,300 rpm
525i1991–1992M50B25
inline-6
at 6,000 rpm
at 4,700 rpm
525i1992–1996M50B25TU
inline-6
at 5,900 rpm
at 4,200 rpm
530i1988–1991M30B30
inline-6
at 5,500 rpm
at 4,300 rpm
530i1992–1996M60B30
V8
at 5,800 rpm
at 4,500 rpm
535i1987–1992M30B35
inline-6
at 5,700 rpm
at 4,000 rpm
540i1992–1996M60B40
V8
at 5,800 rpm
at 4,500 rpm
M51988–1992S38B36
inline-6
at 6,900 rpm
at 4,750 rpm
M51992–1996S38B38
inline-6
at 6,900 rpm
at 4,750 rpm

Diesel

ModelYearsEnginePowerTorque
524td1988–1991M21D24
inline-6
at 4,800 rpm
at 2,400 rpm
525td1993–1996M51D25
inline-6
at 4,800 rpm
at 1,900 rpm
525tds1991–1996M51D25
inline-6
at 4,800 rpm
at 2,200 rpm

Drivetrain

Manual transmissions

Front suspension consists of double pivot MacPherson struts, with a replaceable shock absorber cartridge inside a steel strut housing. Control arms and thrust arms control front-to-back and side-to-side movement. Steering on most models is a recirculating ball design, however the all-wheel drive 525iX uses a rack and pinion steering system similar to the E30 3 Series 325iX model. All front suspension components are steel, except that the lower control arms on some models are aluminum.
Rear suspension consists of semi-trailing arms with coil springs integrated in a strut assembly.

Models

Petrol-engined

The base model, available only in Europe, was the petrol-powered four-cylinder 518i. Only available with a 5-speed manual transmission, with a total of 53,248 cars were produced.
The next petrol model up was the six-cylinder 520i, which began production in January 1988. It was initially powered by the BMW M20 single overhead camshaft engine, which was replaced by the BMW M50 double overhead camshaft engine in 1990. The 520i was the second most popular E34 model globally, with 426,971 units produced. The 525i was the most popular E34 model globally with 434,549 units produced. As per the 520i, the 525i initially used the M20 engine, which was replaced by the M50 engine in 1990.
A rare E34 model is the petrol-powered six-cylinder 525iX, of which only 9,366 cars were produced. The 525iX was the first all-wheel drive 5 Series, and the only all-wheel drive model in the E34 range. It was powered by the BMW M50 engine and was the first 5 Series to use a rack and pinion steering system.
There are two versions of the E34 530i: an inline-six model produced from 1988 to 1990, and a V8 model produced from 1993 to 1995. The earlier model was one of the last applications of the BMW M30 inline-six engine. The V8 version, which replaced the six-cylinder 535i in the lineup, was powered by the new BMW M60 V8 engine and was available with a 5-speed manual or 5-speed automatic transmission. Initially, the V8 models were differentiated from other models by the wide grill; in 1994 the wide grill became available on other models. Between the two versions of the 535i, a total of 57,570 cars were produced.
The highest six-cylinder model was the 535i. Despite the '535i' model designation and '3.5' casting on the intake manifold, the BMW M30 engine found in the E34 535i actually has a displacement of. A total of 97,679 cars were produced, including the Alpina B10 models. The 535i was replaced by the V8-engined 530i and 540i models in 1993.
In 1993, the 540i model was added to the top of the 5 Series lineup, powered by the BMW M60 V8 engine and available in both sedan and wagon body styles. Transmission options were a 6-speed manual or a 5-speed automatic. A total of 26,485 units were produced. Initially, the V8 models were differentiated from other models by the wider grilles. In 1994 the wide grilles became available on other models as well.

Diesel-engined

The first diesel model was the 524td, which was introduced in 1988. This model was replaced by the 525tds in 1991, and a lower-specification 525td was introduced in 1993. All diesel models were powered by turbocharged inline-six engines.

North America

In the United States, the E34 model range was launched in October 1988 with the 525i and 535i 6-cylinder models. Over the course of the E34 generation, the 525i Touring, 530i, 530i Touring, 540i and M5 models were sold in the United States. The version of the M5 remained in production until 1993, by which time the version was being produced for other countries.

M5 model

Introduced in September 1988 and produced until August 1995, the E34 M5 was produced in both sedan and station wagon body styles, the latter being the first M5 to be available as a wagon.
The E34 M5 is powered by the BMW S38 inline-six engine, originally with a displacement of and an output of, later upgraded to a engine rated at. This 3.8 litre version of the M5 was first seen by the public at the 1991 Frankfurt Motor Show, where the E34 M5 Touring also saw its debut.
In its last year of production for the M5, the transmission was upgraded from a 5-speed manual to the Getrag 420G 6-speed manual.

Special models

518g

A model which could run on natural gas and was only sold in Germany. The 518g was based on the 518i Touring model and the only transmission available was a 5-speed manual. The engine, also used by the 1995-2000 3 Series Compact 316g model, was a re-tuned version of the BMW M43 four-cylinder engine. When running on natural gas, the engine produced, compared with when running on petrol. It was only produced in 1995 and just 298 units were built.

518iev prototype

After unveiling the BMW E1 and E2 concept car electric vehicles in 1992, BMW began a project to show it was possible to make a full-sized electric car, despite the obstacle of the weight of the lead-acid battery technology at the time. The batteries were a lead-acid type and the electric motors used a rotating-field AC electric drive. To assist the electric drivetrain, the 518iev also had a four-cylinder petrol engine and a continuously variable transmission, a configuration similar to the first production hybrid cars produced by other manufacturers several years later. BMW built at least one fully functional E34 prototype, which was tested in the late 1990s by Deutsche Post and others.

540i M-sport / M540i / 540i LE

Because the M5 was discontinued for non-European markets in 1993, the 540i M-Sport model was built in 1995 for the North American market. On top of the regular 540i features, additional features included sports suspension equipped with EDC, bolstered sport seats, servotronic steering, and US-spec M5 brakes. 205 "M-Sport" models were built, 139 of them with the 6-speed manual transmission.
An M540i model was produced for in Canada. It includes the features of the North American 540i M-sport, plus upgraded Euro-spec M5 brakes, 18-inch M-parallel wheels, and various trim pieces. Only 32 of these cars were built, all with a manual transmission.
The 540i LE sedan was sold in Australia and the United Kingdom. The 540i LE included the interior from the M5, "throwing star" M-System II wheels, EDC suspension with self leveling rear, Servotronic power steering, and front air dam. 70 of these 540i LE sedans were produced, all with a manual transmission, each individually numbered using an engraved metal plaque stuck onto the centre console beneath the handbrake lever.

Model year changes

Most changes occur in September each year, when the changes for the following model year go into production, as is typical BMW practice. Therefore, the changes for 1988 represent the 1989 model year, for example.

1988

Production of the E34 commenced on November 2, 1987 for the 535i, with 535i market launch being in January 1988 and other variants following a staggered launch. 520i and 530i production began in January 1988, for March 1988 market launch. Production of the 525i began in February 1988, being launched to market in April 1988, with the 524td entering production in March 1988 for May 1988 introduction. Touring production began in July 1992, after presentation at IAA 1991. Production ended for the sedan in December 1995 and Touring in June 1996.
The production plants for the E34 were the Dingolfing plant in Germany and Rosslyn in South Africa. Total production was 1,333,412 units.