This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
Rear subframe damage where rear suspension connects. Vehicle has not been mistreated or run on anything but street roads. Vehicle has not been raced, primarily a family vehicle.
The exact date unknown. It was during heavy rains in san diego. Insurance co. Said I need a date. We put down Nov 02 2005. During heavy rain san diego develops hundreds if not thousands of pot holes. While driving the car in the rain, the car ran into a large pot hole. The wheel was damaged according to the man that installed new tires on the car. At later weeks the car was making strange noises, I thought it was rear shock on the drivers side. My son took the car to BMW repair shop. After the inspection my son was told that it is not shock but that the frame was damaged and needed to be welded. The car was taken to Mercedes body shop and insurance adjuster examined the car and said that he contacted BMW dealer and was told that it is metal fatigue that caused the damage and that they are not responsible for repairs. (the insurance co.) BMW does not have a regular frame that other cars do. All the wheels and other parts are held up by some kind of joint that is welded to the frame. He gave me an example "if you have a towel rack in the bathroom and some one pulls it down you know how screws and dry wall will look like?" he blames it on manufacturer defect because the BMW dealer said that they have seen this type of problem before. Updated on February 6, 2006 BMW accepted responsibility for the vehicles defect. The vehicle is currently in the body shop being repaired at no cost to the consumer.
Noticed squeaking sounds from the back of the car. Took it to the BMW dealer and they told me that the subframe was seprated from the body where the shock absorbers are attached. If you look underneath the care you see a large cracked in the chassis. They quoted 4K to fix the problem. I started looking on the web for the problem and found many incident of this issue. Got a hold of an engineer inside BMW and basically BMW knew about this problem and decided not to fix it. This is more frequently observed in more powerfull engine. The torque of the engine is causing the sheetmetal of the body to be stressed and eventually crack. I have been contacting the BMW for two weeks and they are very uncooperative. This a design flaw and they should recall it and fix it. This is a serious problem, the back of the car could essentially fall off and cause an accident. Is BMW waiting for people to have accident and die before they recall this?
My 2000 BMW 328I is all stock with the exception of a high-end aftermarket intake... it is one of many E46 BMW's to have the dreaded "body failure at rear subframe mounting point". let me briefly describe the issue at hand: "...the rear mounting points for the subframe can rip out from their spots in the sheet metal....the rear differential transmits the torsional load from the engine through the subframe, then into the chassis. This constant loading and unloading weakens the sheet metal and causes it to fatigue and separate from the chassis. This is where we have seen many failures of the chassis on low mileage street cars.." that is a quote from the respected BMW specialists at turner motorsport (www.turnermotorsport.com). that is the exact problem that I've had. Bmwag (germany) recognized this issue and has addressed it... bmwna (North America) has blown a large percentage of us off... stating that we are post warranty and that it's due to road hazards or just wear and tear. The frame, subframe, and it's mounting points should last the life of the car, without question. I've already got a lawyer which will be perusing this - and I will never buy another BMW until they take responsibility for this issue and issue a recall on all E46 bmws. This is completely unsafe - what happens when the driver side rear suspension / frame collapses on a windy road or on the highway? it will absolutely lose control and most likely head left - towards oncoming traffic. I have no other vehicle which I can drive and the condition is only getting worse... louder... more annoying. Please help. There are much more of us that have this issue... please refer to the links below. I'm not trying to get over on anyone - I just know that BMW needs to step up to the plate... this is supposed to be one of the safest automobiles on the road, not to mention "the ultimate driving machine". thank you so much for your time, I do appreciate it. John hanson.
I recently found out that my subframe on my 2000 BMW 328ci was cracking. This was a problem that BMW has not fixed prior to the release of this vehicle. The previous E36 model has been a victim of this malfunction. I was browsing websites regarding my dilemma and I found that 40+ vehicles have had this subframe issue. This is one website (many more) and here is the link... forum.E46fanatics.com/showthread.php"T=195602&page=21&pp=20&highlight=subframe there are numerous amounts of other websites where this problem will be mentioned. Also, there is a repair kit that www.turnermotorsports.com makes for this car because it is an occurring problem. Here is the link.... www.turnermotorsport.com/html/detail.asp"product_id=tdr4675412 bimmer magazine also has a section informing consumers about the E46 and the subframe problem. It is in this months issue. BMW should recall this issue before someone gets hurt. My car has 60K miles and my warranty just expired. I paid a local body shop to temporarily fix this problem until BMW could repair this problem. This is obviously a dangerous issue that BMW should resolve. If this subframe cracks while driving, an accident will occur. Most people drive with children in that back seat and they could possibly be injured. Please speak with BMW and have them issue a recall for this. Regards, thanh dinh.
- Whitestone, NY, USA
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Through normal driving on my way to work I started to hear cluncking and squeaking coming from the rear of the vehicle. It appears that the rear sub frame separated from the uni-body of the vehicle causing the severe noises. I took the car into BMW to be covered by the certified pre owned warrantee but they told me it was not covered since the body and chassis of the vehicle is not covered by the warrantee. My car has 49000 and 1 year left on the warrantee.
(1) noticed a slight noise from rear drivers side of car while traveling on the freeway. (2) rear subframe cracked on rear drivers side of vehicle. No accident caused this. BMW said it was wear and tear or "I must have hit a big pothole." This I believe is a defect in the manufacture of this particular vehicle. Having frame damage is not wear and tear. (3) the enitre rear subframe of the car was replaced. Over $3500 worth of repairs.
Consumer heard a squeaking noise coming from the rear while driving. Consumer drove vehicle to the dealer, and mechanic determined that the rear sub frame separated from the main frame. Also, suspension needed to be replaced.
Normal use of vehicle to 70000 miles tarted hearing creaking noise upon accelerations and found that subframed had teared had sub frame welded and reinforced. There was no accident or incident that caused this failure. Bwm reffered to this as wear and tear. Subframes are not a wear and tear item!!
A knocking noise was coming from rear and vehicle started to shake uncontrollably. Consumer was able to maintain control of the vehicle, and drove it to the dealer. Mechanic determined that the rear sub frame cracked, and needed replacement.
The rear subframe tore out of the car's unibody (2000 BMW 328ci). It had not reached a point where there was an accident caused by it, but it was getting bad. I took the car to the dealership began the process of getting it fixed. BMW North America called me back and told me that they wouldn't fix the problem and that it was my fault.
The rear subframe of my car used a thin metal to hold it and I was draiving my car in it cracked. Any further use would result in the collapse of the rear part of the car. I have it welded and reinforced.
My rear subframe totally seperated from my vechicle costing 1600 to fix. I was not in an accident, it broke on its own. BMW informed me that this is "normal wear and tear, " but I think its a recall issue. There are a number of people with these problems. Also my moonroof bent the tracks, and now needs total replacement. BMW also has a number of complaints regarding window regulators.
Broken rear subframe mount - has occured in many BMW 3-series cars (mine included) that are either completely stock or where the wheels, tires, and/or suspension may have been modified in any way. It is very unusual to be obliged to repair the frame in a car as a result of damage that occurs during normal driving.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- San Diego, CA, USA