6.1

fairly significant
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
13,056 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.

2015 BMW 328 drivetrain problems

drivetrain problem

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2015 BMW 328 Owner Comments

problem #15

Feb 292024

328

  • miles

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

I own a 2015 BMW 328i xdrive with 86k miles. While reversing out of my driveway, onto a main road during rush hour, my vehicle unexpectedly stopped working with the message -??drivetrain malfunction-??. I had the car towed to a BMW dealership and was told there was a fault found in VANOS intake and that my car needed a timing chain replacement. I called BWM NA and was informed that there is a VANOS recall, but not for my car. They did however tell me that BMW would compensation for timing chain repairs for my 2015 328i if the car fell within certain parameters, low miles and within 7 years. While my car has low miles, I was told that my recall for the part had been -??cleared-?? because I-??m outside of the 7 year allotment for compensation on timing chain repairs. BMW will not help fix the timing chain nor compensate in anyway. I was informed they sent a letter in 2017, I purchased the car in 2017 and did not receive a letter. My vehicle had been serviced multiple times at BMW dealerships and I was never informed about a timing chain recall, not even in 2018 when my car was serviced at BMW for check engine light on. BWM has purposely avoided fixing a major vehicle flaw that they-??ve known about.

- Easton, PA, USA

problem #14

Jan 032023

328

  • miles
My drivetrain malfunction light comes on and my vehicle stalls while I-??m driving it.

- El Paso, TX, USA

problem #13

Aug 162023

328

  • miles
After consulting many others that own or previously owned 328i bmw from around the same years (2015-2017); a common issue was found and assumed to be the timing belt. when i press on the accelerator moderately/ as per usual, my RPMs and speedometer hesitate for a solid second then it will catch up and start shaking. i suspect its the timing belt.

- Copperas Cove, TX, USA

problem #12

Sep 052022

328

  • miles

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

Date of complete failure noted below (09/05/22) On 2 previous occasions, approx. 7 days earlier and a week earlier as car was making a slow left turn, not from a stop, one rear wheel shuddered, and the engine seemed to rev as if missed a gear. I lifted off the throttle, and then the car operated normally. The complete failure occurred (3rd occurance) on Sept. 7. Accelerating slowly from a traffic light, turning left (again), the car exhibited the above, but much more severe. I was finally able to gain speed, but drove slowly to try to get home, about 1 mile distant. Many malfunction messages came onto the screen (listed below) Got the car home, tried to put car into "Park" but park would not engage. Engaged the emergency brake to keep car from rolling down the driveway. Shut the engine down Curious to see if the car would restart, or possibly "reset" and operate normally, I noted the shifter now indicated "Park" and now would not go into any other position / gear. Message "roadside assistance". Car is noe immobile /inoperable. Error messages: Transmission malfunction chassis stabilization drive moderately drivetrain malfunction call roadside assistance

- Bradenton, FL, USA

problem #11

Aug 232022

328

  • miles
Driving to work and the engine oil pressure warning came up and the car began to decelerate and once completely stopped the power train malfunction warning popped up and I couldn-??t restart the engine. Towed to BMW of Toledo and was Told the timing chain broke and destroyed the engine.

- Toledo, OH, USA

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problem #10

Aug 232022

328

  • 101,347 miles
The contact owns a 2015 BMW 328D. The contact stated while in traffic with the vehicle idling, the vehicle started jerking. The contact depressed the accelerator pedal and the vehicle jerked increasingly. The message "Drivetrain Malfunction - Drive Carefully" was displayed. The contact veered to the side of the road. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer where it was diagnosed that the transfer case had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure an referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 101,347.

- Essex, MD, USA

problem #9

Mar 162022

328

  • miles

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

The drivetrain malfunction light came on and my car stopped on the main highway while I was driving out and it wouldn-??t start back so a wrecker tow it then maybe 5 days later it just crank again but then it started to do it again. There was a recall for this but it had expired before I bought the car

- Monroeville, AL, USA

problem #8

Jan 132022

328

  • miles
Vehicle smells like gas. Drivetrain malfunction light comes on, car sputters and shakes, goes off after a couple of days and then comes back on and shakes 4 months or more later. Loses power or won-??t accelerate while traveling more than 50 mph

- Bishopville , SC, USA

problem #7

Aug 032021

328

  • miles
At random the car will display -??Drivetrain Malfunction-?? which causes the car to shift into neutral and begins to slow down until it doesn-??t move anymore. There is no check engine light or any other indicator of what might be the problem. The message just pops out of no where. It-??s happen in the freeway making me scare to cause an accident because it so random. I-??ve had to quickly turn my hazards and beginning switching lanes to avoid any accidents.

- Moreno Valley, CA, USA

problem #6

Mar 272020

328

  • miles
2015 BMW 328. Consumer writes in regards to power train safety recall. The consumer stated the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time completing the recall repair. The consumer referenced recall 20V185000. The consumer requested to be reimbursed the car payments for the months the vehicle was not in use.

- Baldwinsville, NY, USA

problem #5

Mar 022020

328

  • 0 miles

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

The contact owns a 2015 BMW 328D. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 20V185000 (power train) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact called towne BMW (8215 main St, williamsville, NY 14221; (716) 505-2100) where it was confirmed that the part was not available. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

- Buffalo, NY, USA

problem #4

Jun 062019

328

  • 76,300 miles
I then booked an appointment at BMW encinitas on Monday, 6/3 to get it fixed. They diagnosed the check engine light and quoted me that it was all part of the recall and that there would be no charge. I signed the paperwork, and my service advisor joey said that due to the service department's backlog, the car wouldn't be ready until Tuesday 6/4 in the evening. They didn't give me a loaner vehicle, so I had to call my mom to pick me up. Later that afternoon, I got a call from my service advisor saying that the car wouldn't be ready until Friday, 6/7. on Wednesday 6/5, I received a message from my service advisor saying that my egr cooler was faulty and was replaced free of charge, but that the part that tripped the light, the egr valve, wasn't covered under the recall and that we would be charged $416 + tax to get it fixed. This was after they had quoted me 'no charge' to have it all fixed. Even if the part in question is not part of the recall, if BMW would have had egr coolers in stock and taken my car in sooner, the egr valve probably wouldn't have broken. We agreed to pay the charge to get my car out of the dealership, but this is ridiculous. My whole experience with the recall has been nothing but a disaster. This is by far the worst recall I've ever been a part of. On Thursday, 6/6, I received a call that my car was ready. I went to the dealership to pick it up, and they charged $448.50 for the faulty valve, which was caused by the faulty cooler.

- Oceanside, CA, USA

problem #3

Oct 282016

328

  • 15,900 miles
While attempting to pass at approx 50 mph on a two lane mountain highway, the car suddenly lost power, warning lights and buzzer sounded. The message on screen reported 'drivetrain malfunction, drive moderately'. the car continued to operate, vibrating badly whenever I gave it gas. We limped home, shut it off. Two hours later I restarted it and all the error warnings disappeared and the car is running normally again.

- Fort Bragg, CA, USA

problem #2

Apr 212015

328 4-cyl

  • 500 miles
Second episode with this 2015 BMW 328xi after the brakes failed in the first reported episode with sport mode. On Tuesday April 21 in the afternoon my wife was driving on winters ave. In paramus NJ in eco mode, having decided to never touch the defective sport mode button again. She was driving normally, then out of the blue while pressing on the gas pedal, the car suddenly doesn't want to go and cars behind started beeping and then the car starts swerving and lights up the orange symbol of swerving on dashboard. She went into a parking lot while still swerving and called me. She parked and tried to shut car off to let it reset. She restarted it and it continued to have the same problem in the parking lot. So we called aaa who towed the car home and we called BMW dealer. Next am Wednesday April 22 BMW dealer sent tow and took my wife and the car to the dealership garage. The car has been there for a month and is still there. They need to cancel and let us out of the lease of this vehicle and refund our down payment.

- Fair Lawn, NJ, USA

problem #1

Apr 132015

328

  • 1,790 miles
This is a loaner dealer car with an automatic transmission. I was exiting a state highway, turning right onto the exit ramp to slow at a traffic signal, and applied the brake pedal with my right foot. I slowed from 45 mph to about 10 mph, with my right foot on the brake pedal. The engine revved and raced up to about 6500 RPM as I held my right foot on the brake pedal. With much braking force, I did get the car to slow and stop. I then pressed the park button and hit the stop button to kill the engine. After a few moments, I then re-started the car and pulled over to the curb. I did return the loaner car to the dealership. To be absolutely clear, I have been driving for 30+ yrs, and I was not racing, speeding, drunk, nor driving with both feet. Something made the engine race very high, and I was lucky not to plow into the cars in front of me. I hope this can be investigated and resolved so no one gets hurt. Thank you

- Lakeville, MA, USA

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