10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 36
Injuries / Deaths:
7 / 0
Average Mileage:
56,670 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

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.

2008 BMW 328 electrical problems

electrical problem

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2008 BMW 328 Owner Comments (Page 1 of 8)

problem #147

Jun 012023

328

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

My vehicle engine cooling fan caught fire one evening while following behind someone to make sure they made it to a parking lot safely due to their own vehicle having problems requiring them to stay under around 20mph. Once we made it to a parking lot, i exited my vehicle to check on the other person, and realized there was smoke starting to come out from under my hood. My husband waited for me to pull the hood release and then proceeded to lift the hood, only to discover my car was on fire, and it was coming directly from the cooling fan. After almost a minute we were able to put the fire out, and discovered the whole electrical area for the fan was melted and destroyed. There was never any type of warning light or any information at all that would have told me a problem was imminent. Im thankful it wasn;t myself alone or with my kids just driving down the highway because it would have taken over the whole vehicle before i would have known it was having any issues at all. The part is still on the vehicle, which has become inoperable and now any attempts to check the vehicle out have realized that another issues with BMW's is also causing problems with my vehicle. It appears an actual recall was never issued for my actual VIN, rather a collection of years and makes. Any further information or remedy that might get me the ability to actually use my vehicle again would be greatly appreciated. I can also include photos and witness statements if needed, . Thank you for your time.

- Freeport, TX, USA

problem #146

Jun 082023

328

  • miles
ON ALL E90 SERIES 3 (2008 BMW 328i), the PCV VALVE FAILS AND IS WELDED INTO THE VALVE COVER, THUS IF IT LEAKS OR GETS CRACKS IN THE ORANGE MEMBRANE, IT WILL CAUSE CAR TO STALL.. I ALMOST CRASHED 2x and this part should be recalled..IT AFFECTS THE FUEL AIR RATIO IN BMW E90, AND THE CAR WILL RUN LEAN AND NOT RECEIVE ENOUGH GAS AS AIR IS LEAKING FROM THE BROKEN MEMBRANE IN THE PVC VALVE. BMW WILL THROW ENGINE CODES WITH LIT CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ON DASH. THIS SHOULD BE A RECALL AS THE WHOLE VALVE COVER HAS TO BE REPLACED TO REPLACE A DEFECTIVE $10 PCV VALVE WHICH IS LUDICROUS...THE DEALER CHARGES thousand dollars and up to replace a ten dollar part. THE CAR HAS ROUGH IDLE AND WILL STALL, CREATING A DANGEROUS DRIVING SITUATION AND FATAL ACCIDENT. PLEASE RECALL to HAVE BMW DEALER FIX ThESE PLASTIC PVC VALVES ON E90S...I HAVE ENCLOSED PIC OF THE VALVE..IT ALSO HAS A SPRING BUT THE PLASTIC ORANGE MEBRANE CRACKS, BREAKS AND LEAKS AIR INSIDE VALVE, CAUSING CHECK ENGINE CODES, ROUGH IDLE AND STALLING OF VEHICLE.. THE VALVE IS LOCATED ON TOP OF VALVE COVER, WELDED INTO VALVE COVER. PLEASE HELP..THANK YOU STATE FLORIDA P.S. HEAT CAUSES THE PCV MEMBRANE TO CRACK MORE~~PIC ENCLOSED OF PCV VALVE ITS WELDED INTO TOP VALVE COVER..NO OTHER CAR HAS A PCV VALVE MOUNTED THIS WAY SO WHOLE VALVE COVER NEEDS TO BE REPLACED~ THANK U

- West Melbourne, FL, USA

problem #145

Aug 012021

328

  • 114,000 miles
The contact owned a 2008 BMW 328I. The contact stated while driving at an undetermined speed, there was smoke coming from the vehicle. The contact stated that the vehicle overheated. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the engine was misfiring. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the PCV valve heater was melted. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V119000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The contact stated that the vehicle had since been sold. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 114,000.

- Virginia Beach, VA, USA

problem #144

Jan 272023

328

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

BMW Bi Xenon Headlights wires harness. Insulation on wires peels off and start touching each other. Malfunction high beam, low beam, turning light.

- Guttenberg, NJ, USA

problem #143

Oct 012022

328

  • miles
The positive battery fuse cable under the glovebox is placed into a plastic space causing melting. This leads to the vehicle going dead and not even emergency lights will work. This recall has been placed on very few BMWs however it is affecting way more then they are saying. You can see in UK where a man was killed for the vehicle going dead in the middle of the road and emergency lights cannot be used to warn other drivers. How has their not been taken car of already. I am extremely disappointed in our system, and in BMW. My mind is completely blown that this is not cared about.

- Stanardsville, VA, USA

problem #142

Sep 102022

328

  • miles
Due to the CRANKCASE VENTILATION (PCV) VALVE HEATER problem and BMW claiming they have no remedy for it yet, this has caused my engine to overheat smelling like burning electrical, The Container holding reserve antifreeze has broken off plastic components that may somewhere be in the cooling system. The valve cover gasket that was replaced only 3 years ago is beginning to fail and is leaking oil into the brand new spark plugs and coils. This is unacceptable. They say to stop driving the car if you smell burnt electrical. Heck, I have smoke coming from the engine at times. How are people who only have this 1 car suppose to get places when BMW delays repairing people's vehicles. They are wasting our money! They should have to repair all of the parts that this issue has caused damage to while they have us wait for remedy that seems to never come!

- Acworth, GA, USA

problem #141

Aug 182019

328

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I have had continuous issues with the electrical system in the front drivers side headlight with burnt plastic housing to the main headlight and the plug for the blinker system. Sometimes it will work and most of the time it won't. I cant tell you the amount of times it has stopped working in the middle of using the blinker. Every time I attempt to change it out, the bulb ends up still in good shape after looking it over. I have always inserted a new one but the issue remains. I have had to replace the whole headlight unit because of the melted plastic not holding the plug any longer and the issue remains. The passenger side seatbelt light has been on for the past several years and will not go off. It shows a light stating the airbag is off. Every time I use the AC unit, I end up with a whole lot of AC condensation pouring out each side of my console soaking the floor of the vehicle and smelling horrible the next day. I don't understand how such a supposedly high quality car can have such stupid problems that cant seem to be fixed. I have had this car since 2013 and barely drive it as I have only put approx 9000 miles over the last 9 years.

- Acworth, GA, USA

problem #140

Mar 082022

328

  • miles
My car will not start up to show ignition lights-?? blinks fast then shuts off / will not crank / after flashing lights on dash service engine light appears & car has smoking from under hood

- Calhoun, GA, USA

problem #139

Mar 012022

328

  • miles
Its been more than 5 months since the recall is out and Manufacture is still not able find the remedy for the recall. I feel scared and not able to drive the car.

- Richardson, TX, USA

problem #138

Dec 142021

328

  • miles
The plastic power pieces that goes over the battery melted. Ever since then I have had electrical problems. My concern is when that pieces melted it could have caused a fire. I dint even know it melted till I started have electrical problems and had to look at my battery. As far as the fuel problems I have a n51 and from what I understand the parts for it are hard to find I would like to know more about the bmw 15yr/150,000 mile warrenty that the bmw forms are talking about

- Troutdale, OR, USA

problem #137

Jul 152021

328

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2008 BMW 328i. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 13V044000 (Electrical System) 17V676000 (Electrical System) and 17V683000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the parts to do the recall repairs were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was contacted bit did not inform the contact on the status of the recall repairs. The manufacturer was notified of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts Distribution Disconnect.

- Elmhurst, NY, USA

problem #136

Sep 272021

328

  • miles
with no warning my car just shut down as I was driving thank god I was able to pull over and park after not knowing what the problem was I inspected the battery and saw the positive cable was damaged how I don't know but it needs to be replaced I have had the car for 2 years and never had a problem it is available for inspection

- Bakersfield, CA, USA

problem #135

Apr 142019

328

  • miles
Two years ago, the driver side door would not open from the inside or outside of the car (pulling on both handles didn't open it) and attempting to unlock it by the dash unlock button didn't work.. The only way to exit the car was to crawl across the front of the car and exit out the passenger side. Was told that the problem was caused by a faulty door actuator. Fast forward to today and the same thing is happening again. I can't open my front drivers side door from the inside or outside which is obviously a major safety issue. Pulling on the handle on either side doesn't open the door and using the dash unlock button doesn't help unlock it either. After doing some research on this, it looks like this is a chronic problem with BMW E90 models (mine is a 2008 328i). With this being a major safety issue and is common with this model of vehicle, is there the possibility of a recall?

- Edmond, OK, USA

problem #134

Apr 122020

328

  • miles
My vehicle started shutting down from the radiator where it can only be started manually.

- Suffolk, VA, USA

problem #133

Aug 162020

328

  • 120,000 miles
The fotwell modules on these cars are defective..there was an extended waraanty covering this to replace the defective frm(or footwell module)but it does not include this car..the car's headlights, brakelights, domelites stay on with car off, thus drainig the battery. The car then lacks power and can shut off even when driving causing a serious accident. In this model car, these are fmr2 modules that can't be rebuilt. BMW 328I has a supeceeded part and I called them and they wont cover the cost or honor the warranty for this car. Thus I am submitting this as I heard several other BMW onwners with similar models have experienced defective footwell modules..I strongly feel my car should be included as a recall or extended warranty on this part. You cannot replace it as BMW parts no longer carries it, thus how to you get this car to run with the battery draining with lights on?? this poses a danger if vehicle stalls with battery voltage declining as car will no longer run, ,even when driving.

- West Melbourne,, FL, USA

problem #132

Jul 012020

328

  • 250,000 miles
Car caught on fire for unknown reasons. When the car was turned on smoke came out from the air conditioning vents and all doors locked from inside. There were 2 occupants inside that needed assistance to get out while the car was catching fire. The vehicle was parked.

- Brooklyn, NY, USA

problem #131

Dec 292019

328

  • miles
Vehicle was parked overnight and a fire started under the dashboard

- Bellerose, NY, USA

problem #130

Dec 272019

328

  • 140,000 miles
While car was parked in a strip mall parking lot and shut off, car ignited in flames and is now a total loss

- Bonney Lake, WA, USA

problem #129

May 152019

328

  • miles
Takata recall. The contact owns a 2008 BMW 328I. The contact stated that the VIN was included in NHTSA campaign numbers: 16V071000 (air bags), 17V683000 (engine and engine cooling), and 17V676000 (electrical system). The previous owner had not had the recall repairs performed prior to the contact purchasing the vehicle. The contact stated that the ABS and emergency brake indicators were flashing. In addition, the air bag warning indicator flashed and then remained illuminated. The contact also stated that the vehicle stalled more than once. The contact was unsure if the vehicle would restart after it was shut off. Kovacs motors (707-996-4149, located at 19190 sonoma hwy, sonoma, ca 95476) was notified of the failures. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failures. The failure mileage was not available.

- Sonoma, CA, USA

problem #128

Nov 102018

328

  • 42,000 miles
My 2008 BMW 335xi with 42000 miles was stored in my heated shop. The car started on fire and destroyed the contents of my shop and the car. BMW sent an inspector to check the damage and took hundreds of pictures. Clearly the fire started under the glove compartment area and continued to burn until the front of the car, windshield and interior was destroyed. Contents in my shop were destroyed and the interior of the building had to be gutted to the studs. BMW offered nothing. Damages totalled more than $150,000. I received a recall letter from BMW 3 weeks after the fire. * (recall related incident)

- Boyceville, WI, USA

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