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.
While driving down the highway, the passenger-side fuel tank retaining strap bracket broke from the floor pan of the car. It was not entirely clear to me if it was struck by something on the road or if the welds just failed, however I do know that I didn't hit a pothole or other road irregularity. I've done some research and found that this is not an uncommon problem on ~2001 BMW 3-series coupes and it appears that it is failing welds.
There is a metal strap that runs under the right gas tank and holds the gas tank to the car. One end is bolted. The other end is hooked to a bracket that is welded to the frame of the car. As I was getting off the freeway the 4 welds on the bracket failed. The complete strap and bracket assembly dragged on the road. This made a growling noise so loud that I had to pull over, get under the car to see what was happening. The right gas tank was now dangling from the car. This bracket failure should have never happened. This identical problem has happened to several others with the same car: forum.E46fanatics.com/showthread.php?T=669079. BMW should issue a recall and pay all affected parties for this repair. This is a dangerous and potentially life threatening flaw in this car.
Arriving to my house driveway I started to hear a metal sound against the pavement. Immediately I looked under the car and on the rear passenger side there was a metal strap that holds the fuel tank hanging out.
While entering the freeway I heard a pop from under my car and immediately began to hear a loud metallic scraping sound coming from under my car as if I were dragging something. I immediately pulled off the freeway and found the metal bracket that holds the gas tank on the passenger side had come loose from an area where it had been spot welded to the underside of the car. This effectively caused the gas tank to lower itself a few inches off the ground. I had to have it towed to my home as it was unsafe to drive.
- Moreno Valley, CA, USA
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Fuel tank retaining strap bracket broke free from under body leaving the tank hanging from the car on the passenger side. This is the second time this has happened.
The metal strap that supports the passenger side of the fuel tank just broke off. I was driving down the street and heard a pop sound and then metal grinding and jumping around (like a needle on a scratched record/ a cd) the bracket to which the forward end of this strap mounted to the underbody broke free leaving a gash like tear on the underbody. I am having the car serviced for repairs, but when I called the dealership the parts department didn't have any fixable solution for the mishap. They told me that the only thing that I could do was take it to a body shop to have a fabricated piece made. I've researched this incident and found that there have been several other BMW owners who have experienced the same incident. I am also experiencing the loss of reverse. The drive gear seems to be fine; however, the reverse is not operating. I am now looking into having it serviced for that issue as well. When I called the dealership, they did tell me that there was an open campaign on the transmission (though the service manager said that it was only for programming issues). I had also found that there has been other BMW owners that have experienced this issue as well. I know that they had mentioned that there were two types of transmission (the GM and the zf transmission). There was a mention that it could be a faulty solenoid or the reverse drum has broken/ shredded. None the less you can place into "reverse" and give it gas and nothing happens no movement unless you place into "drive." My car does have the steptronic feature.
Drove through a parking lot earlier today when I heard something that sounded like scraping metal coming from the rear of my car. Pulled over and found the passenger side gas tank strap hanging down touching the ground.
Upon exiting the freeway a horrible, continuous metallic scraping noise began. I had heard this periodically on my drive, but until now it was not continuous. Looking under the car, I could see the metal gas tank strap hanging and resting on the ground. It was the passenger side front that failed, so the strap was pointing forward. I assume it was only periodically at first because it took some time for my actual gas tank to slip down forcing the strap against the asphalt. Knowing that a metal strap was scraping and possibly sparking against the asphalt next to my sagging gas tank, the car had to be towed to the nearest mechanic.
The fuel pump/tank sending unit behind passenger's seat is leaking fuel when the tank is full. Strong gasoline vapors are present in the cabin after the vehicle has been sitting a few minutes after a fill up. These vapors pose a significant explosion/fire hazard should someone be smoking as they enter the vehicle or should the electrical system malfunction and become an ignition source. When the fuel pump/sending unit assembly is viewed from the top, there is an enclosed plastic cylindrical piece approximately 1/4 of an inch in diameter with a ball shaped end, that is leaking at the top. Failure of the fuel/pressure retaining plastic components on fuel pumps and sender units appears to be a common manufacturing defect as similar (unreported) leaking problems are found when researching similar vehicles on the world wide web. Reference : ODI 10426736.
Fuel tank sending unit behind driver's seat leaking fuel in a stream only when tank is full. When viewed from the top, there is an enclosed plastic column, approximately 3/4 of an inch in diameter that is leaking at a "seam" through pinholes.
There is a metal strap that supports the passenger side of the fuel tank. The bracket to which the forward end of this strap mounts to has broken free from the underbody. The strap and bracket seem to be in good shape. It's just the welds that hold the bracket to the underbody have broken. There is very minimal rust on the underbody components. It appears that the tack welds just failed. The local BMW dealership wanted $1200 to repair the issue after inspecting the vehicle. I then took it to a local auto body shop. They removed the tank and welded the bracket back in place.
Car BMW 2001 330 ci- my gas tank strap broke off on the passenger side and starting dragging on the ground, creating a loud scraping noise. I immediately went to a shop specializing in BMW's, they said they just fixed one of these last week. The are custom welding on a brace for me. My bill is $500 plus for this crucial safety issue. I researched online and found this is a common issue, there should be a recall and the company should pay for the repair.
Fuel gauge reads 1/4 tank off from the correct level. This cause drivers to assume that they still have gas but they really empty and if happens on highway can cause accidents and kill people. It happened to me going to the grocery store so it was on low speed so the car stopped and luckily the car behind kept distance and could stop without any accidents. Contact the dealer and independent BMW service reveal that it is a common issue on those years due to the failure of the fuel gage floaters ( there are 2 of them) but BMW decided not to recall them and fix the problem.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Mohrsville, PA, USA