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.
The contact owns a 2008 BMW 328xi. While the vehicle was parked in the garage, a fire started without warning. The contact was able to notify the fire department and a fire inspector extinguished the flames. A fire inspection report was not provided at the time. The fire began near the instrument panel and the front passenger side of the vehicle. The insurance company and manufacturer were notified and the contact was waiting for them to investigate the cause of the failure. The dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was parked at the contact's residence and was unable to be driven. The failure mileage was not available.
The contact owns a 2008 BMW 328I. While the vehicle was stationary, none of the doors (except for the driver's side door) would unlock or open. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 116,000. The VIN was not available.
Power lock system failed trapping wife inside while stopped on a parking lot. No manual override on door handles. Wife drove home and tried to use valet key reaching from inside thru window to unlock door. Very difficult to see. She dropped key. She was then trapped. Only means of egress at that point as per on line BMW rep was to climb out window. Has high potential for injury for most folks if done alone. Fortunatlley I arrived on scene and unlocked door. If very frail 93 yr old mother had been in passenger seat rescue/extraction would have been very excrutiating and required professional assistance. Potential for severe consequences if medical emergency. BMW provides no warning of this eventuality or instruction on safe egress from vehicle if valet key is dropped by driver. If this were to happen while no key was avaialable [during vehicle cleaning for instance]. person could not open window and be trapped and forced to break window or wait for help. My wife has gone in car w out/ a key while I'm on business and could conceivably have been trapped for days. BMW says not enough complaints to merit any attention. BMW blogs however have numerous references of this issue to this series of vehicle!! wife was highly stressed and afraid to use either of our 90/91 series BMW's.
The contact owns a 2008 BMW 328xi. While driving 15 mph, the vehicle stalled without warning. The contact was able to restart the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent and occurred on several occasions. The manufacturer was not notified. The approximate failure mileage was 80,000.
6 weeks ago my car lost all power. I had the car towed to a mechanic that has worked on and repaired my car before. They replaced the fuse box and all fuses ($678) which didnt fix the car. Because they were at an impasse with the repairs I had the car towed to BMW Mercedes specialist ($110). My car has been at the second shop for a month....it still will not start. So, this weekend I got online and did some digging about the 2008 BMW 328I repair history. As it turns out there was a recall on the battery cable in March on 2013. I bought the car is Jan. 2013. Did not receive or was I made aware of the recall. So now I am out $1000 not to mention what I owe the second repairs shop. And BMW usa informs me that I now have to have the car towed at my expense to a BMW dealership...and have the cable repaired there to have the repair covered by BMW. First of all BMW is liable to have informed me of the recall...which they did not. So, its my understanding by law I have to be completely remedied monetarily by BMW for all and any costs related to the recall. BMW is trying to strong arm me into bringing my car to them. My car is already taken apart at the second mechanics shop....I have already been without my car for 6 weeks. Please review my situation and advise me of my rights. And the laws that apply to this recall
- Santa Rosa Beach, FL, USA
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My car abruptly losses all power. It's lost power on the freeway (3 times), at stop lights (too many to count) and after the car sits; either at work, over night or even if I'm out running errands. In other words, the power failure cannot be duplicated, it happens randomly (my car is unable to start as I type this!!). needless to say my life as well as my families safety have been put to the test several times. On 2 separate occasions, I was nearly rear-ended on the freeway when my car lost power at highway speeds. I couldn't move over to the shoulder and ended up stalling in the slow lane. After spending a small fortune trying to fix this dilemma a friend sent me this letter that the NHTSA sent to BMW in 2013 regrading a power failure that many cars were experiencing at the time. Here's the letter: www-ODI.NHTSA.dot.gov/acms/cs/jaxrs/download/doc/ucm433921/rcak-13V044-6848.pdf I've also drafted BMW this letter I sent them yesterday: (in part) to whom it may concern, I am writing to voice grave concern regarding my M3, which has: 1). lost power several times while traveling on the freeway at highway speeds and has almost caused a crash on 2 separate occasions (near rear end collision) 2). Lost power at stop lights and several times as I started to accelerate 3). Consistent failure to start the car (no power) or it tries to start and immediately turns off after a brief second in addition to the imminent danger to my family and others, this has cost me thousands of dollars the included link below shows a document which was sent by the NHTSA to BMW na in 2013. I was happy to realize that BMW acknowledged the problem for the E92 3 series (my car shares the exact same part number for the mentioned faulty part), but I was equally shocked to find out that my specific vehicle was not covered under the recall which is what my car is experiencing.
The car's airbag failure warning light, and seat belt warning light started going off whenever someone sits in the passenger seat, indicating that there is no airbag/passenger seat belt function in the car. Dealer has diagnosed the problem as a failed passenger seat sensor mat and indicates that this is a common problem. Cars up until the 2007 model year have been recalled to fix the problem, but BMW has yet to extend the recall to the 2008 model year. BMW still has not issued a recall, and I would like NHTSA to perform an investigation as this looks like the same problem as NHTSA campaign 13V-564. The lights come on whether stationary or in motion, whether a passenger is in the seat or the seat is empty.
I had a funny cable or plastic smell inside the car. Couldn't figure out what it was. While driving the smell went worst. I stopped to get a flashlight from my trunk to see if something in my engine was burning. When I opened the trunk I seen that the battery was burning the plastic over the connectors. I have called last year when I purcheased this car yo check on any recals. I was told there wasn't any recals. By BMW vista employees.
The contact owns a 2008 BMW 328I. While driving 50 mph, the air bag warning light illuminated. The contact thought that it was illuminated because she placed groceries in the passenger seat. When the groceries were removed, the light remained illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 65,000.
All four doors will not unlock. I am able to lock them with the remote but unable to unlock them. Once inside, you become trapped in the car. I have to unroll the window and use my key on the outside of the door to get out. This could be extremely dangerous in an emergency situation.
While driving(in motion) my vehicle will completely stop running and stall out. I took the vehicle to a mechanic for a diagnostics, but he stated he didn't see any issues. This happens frequently.
My wife was driving home from work on the highway at night and her entire car just shut off without warning nearly causing her to be killed by a tractor trailer we had car towed to BMW dealership and they say valvetronic sensor/seal issue...but this was scary and nearly killed my wife so I felt compelled to report this issue
Car was parked in the driveway, drove it earlier that day for about an hour, parked it 3pm and 2 hours later neighbor came knocking saying car was smoking. Ran outside and car was on fire. Interior was smoked out. Keyless entry was dead. Broke the window to get the car open, turned the garden hose on to try and stop the car from burning. Called 911 fire dept arrived and had to pry the truck open because it was still sizzling. Fire dept cut the battery cables and said it looked like an electrical fire under the dash. Glove box and passenger side front seat was completely charred. After 22 days, a BMW engineer and allstate ins called it a total loss. BMW engineers report still has not been published. Total loss on a parked vehicle; clearly this vehicle was unsafe and a design fault. Manufacturers are suppose to engineer cars to withstand fires.
After a scheduled service the electronic locks on the doors would not work. Returned the car the same day for a "fuse" that had blown. Within a few more days, the doors would not open, and remained locked. I had to use the valet/metal key to open the driver door and was totally unable to open any other doors. None would open from inside, outside or the remote fob. Took the car to the dealer for repairs. They said it would take a day to repair after a day of tearing the doors apart and diagnosing the problem. They were unable to get parts and took several days to repair the doors with new "lock actuators" that had all failed. Why" how can three doors fail all at the same time? it must be an electrical problem? dangerous!!! thank god I did not have to drive my grandchildren around that week. The only way to get into and out of three of the seats would be to use the windows or climb over the driver seat/ console. This is scary and dangerous, to not be able to open the car door. Why hasn't BMW had a recall on this issue" I'm out almost $2K for the repairs!
Electronic door locks failed to unlock thus trapping myself in the car. No mechanical override exists to manually unlock the doors. I had to roll the window down and climb out through the window. The 4 door sedan has small windows and I hurt myself (pulled muscles and joints) climbing out. If the windows failed (they did not), I would have had to break the windows and then climb out. Elderly or handicapped occupants would not be able to get out! any power failure will trap occupants since no mechanical override exists!
While driving and exiting a parking lot, vehicle auto-locks engaged. Driver door auto-locked and unlocked repeatedly about 6 times; stopping in the locked position. Once arriving home, driver door would not open with the door handle or the interior unlock button. I turned the engine off and removed the key fob and had to utilize the key fob to lock and unlock the door. The drive door was at this point on the opposite position of all the other doors. When the driver door is lock, the passenger doors are unlocked and vice versa. The next day the driver door would open with the key, but not with the key fob. This is of great concern because the door will not open from the interior of the vehicle. Looking at the database and online forums, this is a known issue that has yet to be addressed.
The contact owns a 2008 BMW 328xi. The contact stated that while the doors were closed, the door actuators failed and the front passenger side door, along with both rear doors, failed to open from inside or outside of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed that the door actuators malfunctioned. The actuators were replaced and the failure was remedied. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 55,700.
Electronic door locks have stopped working on two occasions now. The first when outside the vehicle that later required a new fuse. The second on March 5th happened after entering vehicle, but 3 of the doors remained lock, and my elderly father could not get into the vehicle. The dashboard locking button then subsequently locked the driver's door, and unlocking was subsequently not possible for any doors. In effect trapped inside the vehicle, and the doors could not be manually opened nor electronically. I was able to pass the mechanical key through the sunroof for assistance in opening the driver's door to exit the vehicle. My concern is if this were to happen in an emergency situation (e.g. a car crash), the occupants would not be able to exit the vehicle quickly or safely. Both BMW and NHTSA appear to be aware of the issue from other postings, but no recalls issued. The repair bills too are also high and fall on the consumer to pay.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Cheshire, CT, USA