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.
I started smelling burning oil from my engine and brought it to the mechanic. He confirmed that my car has a valve cover leak and a electrical issue. The Car dies after being left off for more then 12 hours. The car miss fire and have ruff idle. Warning lights power train came on after I had the miss fire. Had P0171 and 02 sensor code.
I recently had my car serviced and the oil changed over the summer, so there were no warning indicators or service issues prior to this incident. I left for work and had no indications of any problems. I drove for about 10-15 minutes when a warning notification popped up stating engine oil pressure low. A few seconds later, the check engine light came on with a notification there was a "drivetrain malfunction". The car started to decrease speed significantly and I pulled over as soon as I could. I turned the car off and waited a couple minutes, then tried to turn it on. The car power/battery was still working properly, but the engine did not start. I had the car towed to the dealership that I use. I was notified that the drivetrain malfunction is due to "timing chain components failure" and the cost is approximately $16,000. I have taken care of any previous recalls and there are no open recalls that exist currently. In 2014, the same situation occurred, in the same car, where I also received a "drivetrain malfunction" and check engine light. During this time my vehicle also stopped working while I was driving it. Both of these incidents happened very quickly, and I am EXTREMELY lucky that no one was injured in either situation. This issue is extremely unsafe and clearly has not been fixed by the required recalls so far. I urge you to look into this further.
The thermostat is not closing so the engine stays cold. I checked with my mechanic and he says it is a faulty thermostat. BMW owners retort this issue a lot. Only 75k miles on my car
i was told by couple shops the my timing chain as a problem. Car will not start.....stalled out on a major intersection while my son was driving.... the car just stop working had to get it towed back to the house another expense...the car has been parked for four months and still paying the car note..I see a drivetrains malfunction on the display... Please help me and keep my son safe.. BMW the ultimate driving machine plz make the safest driving machine.
Car stalled while driving on highway due to drivetrain error code. Once stopped, oil pressure loss light came up. No warning lights prior to issue presenting itself at highway speeds. Initial technician belief is timing belt guide failure per other similar reports.
- Worthington, OH, USA
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The contact owns a 2013 BMW 328i. The contact stated while driving 5 mph, the vehicle stalled. The contact also stated that the vehicle would not shift gears correctly. The contact stated that the ignition start malfunction warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a local dealer but was not yet diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 121,000.
The contact owns a 2013 BMW 328i. The contact stated that at start-up there was white smoke coming from the exhaust. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was diagnosed but not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The contact was informed that the Vin was not under recall. The failure mileage was approximately 101,947. This recalls affected vehicles are all F30 models with N26 engine produced from Feb 2012-May 2013. Contact's car is a F30 with N26 engine produced May 01, 2013.
The contact owns a 2013 BMW 328i. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle failed to properly accelerate while the accelerator pedal was depressed. The contact stated that the drive train malfunction warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed with the timing chain needing to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle was no longer under warranty. The failure mileage was approximately 117,500.
Timing chain guide failure. Could've been prevented had we been properly notified that there was a class action settlement and that this part had been re-engineered in 2013 due to known failure. Limited warranty letter sent 12/2017 did not adequately inform us of the need to have this part checked and replaced. In fact letter states "this is not a notice of a recall or service action." Driving from long beach ca to phoenix AZ on 3/5/21. 90 miles outside of phoenix, engine warning light came on for "low oil pressure". pulled over, ran oil level check and it read "full". seemed odd. Drove on further, 20 mins later, same message came on, pulled off interstate and again ran oil level check, read full. Thought maybe it's just a faulty sensor and could have it fixed when we arrive to phoenix. Next day, brought the car to chapman BMW in phoenix and they diagnosed the problem as a cracked oil filter housing. When asked, "how much oil was it low, and why did the oil level come up full if there was a low pressure?" they decided to take a closer look. Only then did they find the broken part in at the bottom of the timing chain. This failed part also resulted in having to have other parts replaced, including the oil pump, due to worn plastic shavings run through the system. This/these are addressed in the gelis, et al. V. bayerische motoren werke aktiengesellschaft and BMW of North America, llc, civil action no. 2:17-cv-07386 settlement. We had just passed 100K miles a few days before leaving for our trip. However, this could've been avoided had we known that the vehicle needed to have these parts pre-emptively replaced at a specific mileage. Additional parts/repairs needed due to this part failure, we also incurred additional unnecessary hotel, airfare, and transportation expenses. All of this could've been avoided if BMW provided proper maintenance schedule
The contact's sister owns a 2013 BMW 328I. The contact stated that at start-up, there was a heavy white smoke coming from the exhaust. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact's sister had taken the vehicle to arrowhead BMW (19250 N, AZ-101 loop, glendale, AZ 85308) where she was informed that the fuel line needed to be replaced. The manufacturer had been notified of the failure and they informed her that her VIN was not under recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 71,000.
The low oil pressure warning came on while driving on a highway asking me to pull over and don't drive the car anymore. Took car to independent BMW repair shop that recently changed my oil who found oil pressure faults but no definite failures but suspect an oil pump timing chain issue that is common with BMW 4 cylinder turbo engines that leads to engine failure. The mechanic told me he recently repaired 4 cars that suffered engine failure due to this issue. I took the car to the dealer next door to further diagnose the issue. He made further tests at my expense and verified there is slack in the timing chain. Dealer service advisor told me not to drive the car as it may lead to engine failure. I was quoted $871 to further diagnose the issue and if the timing chain needed replacement the repair would cost an addition $5400. My car is worth between 7.5K and 9K there's a class action lawsuit about this problem (see www.timingchainmodulesettlement.com) BMW knows there's an issue with the timing belt in this models that may lead to engine failure but the settlement limits the mileage to 100K. Unfortunately my car has greater than 100K miles so I cannot participate on this class action lawsuit. But why should I bear the cost of fixing something I have no control of that leads to engine failure because I am out of warranty? this is poor design on the part of the manufacturer that leads to engine failure and needs to be part of a recall.
The contact owns a 2013 BMW 328I. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, there was white smoke coming from the exhaust tip. The contact stated that oil had entered the turbo charger causing the failure. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer or an independent mechanic for diagnostic testing. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure however, offered no assistance. The contact mentioned that there was a voluntary emission campaign number: 166ea05 (engine N26) to replace the turbo charger oil supply lines. The failure mileage was approximately 62,000.
Premature timing chain faliure, had BMW look at it and said it seemed fine and wouldn't be able to know unless they open the motor $500 to check? a few weeks later timing chain broke at 82,000 miles.
My car is a 2013 and was purchased in 2016; with milage at 78,700. On a cold start, a huge cloud of white smoke comes out of the right exhaust pipe. I took it to BMW for a diagnostic to determine the cause of the smoke. I was told it is a turbo feed line and if that is not it then it is the turbo charger engine as a whole. I was quote $5000 for the full repair on a car. I found a recall for the same issue on the same model of car, and I spoke with BMW about it. The recall is for the N26 engine and not the N20 engine which is on my car, even if it is the same make, model and year experiencing the same issues with the turbo charger. The recall needs to cover all engine styles from the same make and model because they are having the same issues. My VIN was not accepted and I was denied service help. Please I would like too attached to this vehicle VIN to a recall for a turbo charger failure. The recall was for 8 years/ 80,000 miles and my car meets those requirements.
After about 75K miles, the engine has started to make a "whining" noise at around 3-4 thousand RPM. Diagnosed as a timing chain tension issue that many similar cars with this engine (N20) have. This apparent defect seems to be quite common among owners of cars with this engine. Current course of action is to spend $4K in labor and parts to proactive replace the timing chain and plastic guides, or not do anything. The latter would surely result in engine failure and require replacement (roughly $20K).
I bought the 2013 BMW 328xi brand new in 2012. Last year, I spent $2,000 replacing the high pressure fuel pump after my car stalled in the middle of driving. When I was going in for a routine inspection, my mechanic informed me that the timing chain needs to be replaced and the cost is very expensive. Upon further research, I found out that this is a prevalent issue with BMW owners, especially with the N20/N26 engine. I even found out that there is a pending class action lawsuit claiming that the timing chain BMW used was knowingly defective! as of now, my car is worth about $10,000 and the cost to fix this issue is almost half the value of the car. I have not gotten the timing chain repaired yet.
Was driving my BMW 328I on a highway when a 'check oil' light came on. A few minutes later, a 'drivetrain failure' light came on. I took the next exit and within 3 minutes the engine failed. I was able to coast over to the breakdown lane. I had the car towed to the nearest BMW dealership. They checked out the vehicle and said there were 'metal fragments' in the oil, but could not explain what caused that without disassembling the engine. They said the only way to repair the car would be to spend $15,000 to have the engine replaced. I did a google search and discovered that hundreds of BMW owners have had similar experiences, and the cause was a timing chain failure. I had my car serviced just 5 weeks earlier at my local BMW dealership, and they either didn't check the timing chain or didn't notice it was close to failure. I was lucky that I was able to get off the highway before my engine stalled, or I could have been injured or killed in high-speed traffic. Since this is a known problem, BMW should repair the defective timing chain in all the affected vehicles, and immediately notify owners about the danger.
Last Feb, my engine light came on mid-drive, I lost power, engine began making a strange noise high-pitched noise, etc. I get it towed to P&w BMW in N. oakland (pittsburgh, pa). All that week, 2 or 3 tests & inspections to troubleshoot each costing about $160/ea and I was told there was a recalled part that was replaced free of charge. Later, I learned that the total estimate is about $6300. The timing chain guide broke inside the engine which damaged the timing chain, guides, oil pump and oil pump module. I'm sticker shocked primarily bc it's a BMW with 84K miles (2013 328I xdrive) and I keep the oil changes on point. Upon receiving a summary from the service tech via text, I see the recall is on a turbocharger oil supply line (car has a turbo engine). I google it and in abt 10mins, I learn that when it fails, the timing chain guide fails inside the engine which damages the.... (see above). In addition, there are complaints galore with a class action lawsuit in tow over this issue as hundreds have come forward over having to fork to out anywhere from $4500-$15000 to replace engines (or engine parts) with less than 90K miles on them (in most cases I've read and I've read about 50) since 2012 (source: Https://topclassactions.com/lawsuit-settlements/lawsuit-news/826357-BMW-class-action-seeks-fix-engine-chain-defect/comment-page-2). A federal judge made a partial ruling as early as Oct 2018 as I'm sure you are aware. I spoke to the manager and this is all news to him.
Noted loud whirling/whiny sound from engine. Brought to mechanic and was told timing/oil mechanism is malfunctioning. If driven further engine might seize. Valve cover was removed and timing chain found with unacceptable slack. Upon investigation I discovered BMW na sent letters on extended warranty for my car. I have never received such letter. Contacted bmwna and they deny coverage because the car was not repaired at a dealer. I had no way of knowing it has to be. Also at 34000 miles with proven maintenance record way ahead of any maintenance schedule published by BMW I should have have to repair timing mechanism at a cost ot $2800. What is more scary is that the engine might have failed on the highway with my kids in the car. Please look into N20/26 engine failure rates as BMW is obviously not acknowledging the danger "built in" in their fxx generation cars.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Loganville, GA, USA