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 engine malfunction "reduced power " message keeps coming on and off, low engine oil message keeps coming on even though its good on oil, the steering wheel was hard to turn while I was driving causing me to have to pull over and turn the car off and back on and the steering was ok after that. It's currently being looked at my the dealer where I purchased it only 3 months ago.
The contact owns a 2008 BMW 335I. While driving at approximately 55 mph, the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle was able to be restarted. The failure recurred several times. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 100,000.
The doors will not unlock. The lights flash on the outside but even when pushing the unlock button from the inside of the car the doors stay locked. Wife had to exit my car was by crawling out of the window. Able to use the key for manual unlock of driver door only; gas tank door remains locked so I cannot put gas in my car and, therefore, cannot drive my car.
I had noticed a melting plastic smell for a few weeks but couldn't identify the source and shortly after this my headlight burnt out so I went to replace the bulb. By this time, I noticed smoke coming out of my headlight mount. Upon opening the headlight I noticed all of the wire shielding had fallen off of the wires inside the headlight mount, causing the wires to ark and melt. Upon comparing against the other headlight, I found the same thing- all of the wire shielding had fallen off. I went to the dealer and was told that this happens all the time, simply due to how hot and dry this model gets under the hood and the headlights being sealed. They said it's usually covered by the extended warranty, however not in the case of my vehicle's mileage. Since the headlight is a sealed unit, you cannot access the wires to replace them and cannot purchase a harness, the whole unit must be replaced at a cost of $800 each. I googled and found several complaints of the same issue. Upon contacting BMW hq directly, they said it is a known issue, but not covered, and got back to me several weeks later offering to pay $200 toward the cost of the $1600 repair if I had it done at the dealer, or $2000 toward the purchase of a new BMW.
- Simpsonville, SC, USA
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I just got belt replaced. About two weeks later the belt pops. The car lost power steering and then would not start. I've researched online N saw that its a design flaw in the 07- 08 335I's but BMW is refusing a recall. Imagine if I was on the highway N it happened. Its terrible.
An oil leak from the top mounted oil filter housing spilled onto the rubber accessory belt causing it to overheat and disintegrate. The result was a total loss of all powers, most importantly the loss of electrical charging and power steering. This occurred at high speed while I was driving on the Pennsylvania turnpike. The loss of power steering created a situation where the auto was nearly impossible to steer. The loss of the charging system, alternator not charging, caused an eventual complete shutdown of power and shutdown of the engine leaving me on the side of a highway. This was an expensive repair, but fortunately I was able to avoid a collision. This occurred at only a 65,000 mile odometer reading.
Black mold formed on rear seats, dashboard intermittently worked (1/2 of dashboard active, 1 fuse powers the dash), 6" of water pooled in rear back passenger footwell (location of main electrical unit); water was dripping on my foot when resting on petal of my 42000 mile, $50,000, 2008 BMW 328xi coupe. I contacted BMW of na who advised me not to use the car because it was dangerous. After several attempts to work with BMW of na & BMW dealership (place of purchase) a vapor barrier leak was found but more was believed to be at cause. The dash needed to be removed, for $1800. I refused to pay; requested BMW of na to pay. Request denied. The dealer said BMW of na would only pay vapor barrier repair costs. I asked for no repairs; towed the car home. Finally reaching linda vitale, exec. Customer services of BMW na, NJ, she told me the dealer did do the repairs. This was against my expressed wishes. I wanted the car investigated elsewhere too. In a later conversation, [xxx] claimed the reason for the water was from a leak from a 3rd party windshield instillation. Note: Mold, water, and electrical problems existed previous to 3rd party windshield installment. [xxx], proven wrong, due to dates, stated, in a subsequent recorded conversation, per the dealer, the water entered the car because the doors were dismantled and incorrectly put back. Note:[xxx] has proof that the doors were never removed. [xxx] totaled the car due to black mold contamination, health risks; risk of injury to me and others due to mold, the electrical compromised, and possible power cut to engine while in motion. A paid loan but having no car, BMW of na wished only to compensate me with $1000 towards a new BMW. I found many forums, on the internet, regarding 2002-2015 BMW's w/the same problems & owners sustaining same loss of property with no ethical or sustainable compensation from BMW of na. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).'
When I started at the car noticed a electrical burning smell and smoke after a while it was gone and it came back. Also driving the car on the highway smell was present.
I was warming up the car in the morning for work, it was on for about ten minutes; as I sat down put the car in reverse I heard a noise and my car shut down. I turned my car back on and drove for a short period before noticing that there was not any air blowing.... I took it the mechanic a day later to replace the blower motor.... the problem was not the blower motor, the problem was a rectangle shaped cable for four prongs but only three where connected to the blower motor melted and burned out the cable. The mechanic followed the cable and cut the affected burned corroded rusted !!! part of the cable, and replaced it..... if I wasn't looking he would have charged me for a blower....and maybe more !!! I honestly do think BMW should fix this problem... two days later my driver side window switch when out- I purchased one at orielys auto parts; the water pump also failed the same day and my car over heated that made the total over 2 grand in less than a week!!!, but my blower works perfect wtf !!! everything began that morning.... because of the cable that shorted !!! oh and on top of that the turbo is making noises and I think its failing now!!!
Sudden failure of windshield washer pump. Occurred while I was driving at highway speed and washer was under constant use due to heavy rain and road conditions.
My 2008 BMW 335I has the same issue for which the below recall was issued. The recall needs to be extended to 2008 model year. Recall subject : front seat occupant protection mat report receipt date: Nov 12, 2013 NHTSA campaign number: 13V564000 component(s): Air bags potential number of units affected: 76,565 manufacturer: BMW of North America, llc summary: BMW of North America llc (BMW) is recalling certain model year 2006 325I, 325xi, 330I, 330xi sedans and 325xi sports wagons, model year 2007 328I, 328xi, 335I, 335xi sedans and 328I and 328xi sports wagons, model year 2006-2007 525I, 525xi, 530I, 530xi, 550I sedans and 530xi sports wagons, model year 2006 760I sedans, model year 2006-2007 750I, 750li, and 760li sedans, and model year 2006 X5 sports activity vehicles, equipped with certain seat types. The front passenger seat occupant detection mat that determines if and how the passenger frontal air bag should deploy in a crash may fatigue and develop cracks which could lead to a system failure. Consequence: Should the system fail, in the event of a crash, the front passenger air bag would be deactivated, increasing the risk of personal injury. Remedy: BMW will notify owners with an interim notification letter in January 2014 since parts are not currently available. When parts are available, anticipated to be in March 2014, BMW will send a second letter and dealers will repair the occupant detection mat to eliminate the possibility that it may crack, free of charge. Additionally, owners of model year 2006-2007 3 series with standard seats, 5 series with comfort seats, and Z4 models, will receive an extended warranty on their front passenger seat occupant detection mat. Owners may contact BMW customer relations at 1-800-525-7417 or email BMW at customerrelations@bmwusa.com.
Ac unit went from blowing cold to hot air with no warning.. a burning smell was also noticed at the same time. My car had just come out BMW service for an oil change. Burnt connectors, wires and ac blower replaced (at owners expense ) shortly after I (owner ) received a recall letter regarding cable wire to battery were not properly insulted and BMW would replace them at no cost to owner.. was advised by BMW service this had nothing to do with the burned up connecting wires to the ac blower.. only had my car 1/12yr under warranty when I purchased it of course not when this problem happen which was costly.
Adaptive head light system failure while driving down the interstate. This is the third time the unit had been replaced within 4 years and under 65K miles. Every time this was a non aggravated issue and not covered by the dealer. Furthermore, while driving the car around a corner at a moderate rate of speed I noticed the car making an abnormal noise. Upon pulling over and inspecting further, it was found to be a shredded belt which had thrown itself everywhere inside the engine bay. Once it was towed to be repaired, it was discovered that the power steering pulley contacted the front bar and, breaking the pulley in half, causing it to have sharp edges which directly cut the belt in half and resulted in the belt being wrapped around the pulley and various engine components. There is not enough clearance as a result of a factory/manufacturer defect and now I am out on the bill.
The auc sensor under the hood is not well secured. The bracket securing the sensor is broken leaving the sensor loose under the hood. The loose sensor wire rubs against sharp edge of the car body, breaking the outer protective shield of the wire. The exposed wire is a fire hazard.
The car would not start as indicated on the recall. The battery was drained from the bad cables. I replaced the cables at BMW under the recall a D was charged for reprogramming. To replace the connectors it would need reprogrammed and I feel the battery should be included in their recall. There are several similar complaints on this issue. The lights worked and all other functions just would not start. BMW advised it needed a new battery but would not include on the recall even though its a known problem. If they had to replace the cable they would have to reprogram it either way, new battery or the existing battery as they would not leave it "hot" while working on it.
9/11/2013 at approximately 9:25 am est my 2008 BMW 335I spontaneously caught fire from what seems to be an electrical problem in the dash board area. I was making my daily commute to work when the ac unit shut off and then turned back on with thick black smoke pouring into the cabin of the car. Naturally I rolled the windows down to allow the smoke to clear so that I could pull over out of traffic. This made matters worse, the smoke thickened, the horn started honking as if someone was holding the horn down, as I was pulling the car over to the side of the road the smoke became unbearable, I was fortunate to escape the car as the fire ripped into the cabin consuming the entire vehicle within just minutes. The car is now totaled and my insurance is investigating. My query is what if I had other people in my car" what if my car was in my garage? what if I had younger children in the car? judging on how quickly the car was engulfed in flames I know for a fact that even in my very able condition removing two young children from the back seat of the car would have been impossible, this needs to be looked into! seeing as BMW's targeted audience is middle to upper class families I wonder if the public knows of the risks" I know I sure didn't, however after reviewing the blogs and posts online I have seen countless other scenarios unfold almost identical to mine and I know I am not alone. I am currently dealing with my insurance and I am sure they will be in touch with BMW as the car was still under 100,000 miles and just at 5 years of age.
My name is ? and I'm having a serious problem getting my car fixed by the BMW dealership specifically the one located at Edison, NJ. I've also experienced the brakes not working (2) when the car has been driven in bad weather, I.e. snow and rain. Back in April (4/11/2013) BMW corporation a letter stating that if the above problem and other problems mentioned in there letter was evident, I needed to stop driving immediately and have the car serviced, which I did. Well the problem subsided for about a month then started up again (the problem is my car's dash board while driving will go completely or as you'll see in the attachment partially blank on me while I'm driving. When it goes completely blank the car shutters as if it wants to turn off). I wasn't able to make it back to the dealership until around 6/10/2013 to complain that the issue was still happening. On or around the 6/10/2013 date this same tech ran a diagnostic on my car (which I have the copy of). To make a very long story short I returned to the Edison location today 7/17/2013 and text the same attachment to [xxx] members of the BMW management/service team, to my amazement I was told they couldn't find a problem, even though management agreed that via the picture their was a problem. At this point what will it take to find the problem listed in the above attachment? death!!!!!!!...... there is a brake and electrical problem with my car. Just in case anyone wants to make the assumption that in some way I'm trying to get over, please review my payment history, I pay for my car in advance. This is ridiculous!!!! I'm fearful to drive in bad weather, and I'm fearful that in the mist of getting driving direction from my car's gps it's going to black out on me, leaving me in the middle of now-where. Thank god the times it has blanked out, I've been able to figure out where to go. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
Driver's side door would not open because it remained locked. It could not be unlocked using the inside or outside door handle, the key fob unlock button, or the door lock switch on the front dash. I had to physically insert and turn the key from the outside to unlock the car. I understand this may be a fuse or a door lock actuator problem. It is an enormous safety issue if I cannot get out of my car because of an electrical failure.
The doors will not unlock. The lights flash on the outside but even when pushing the unlock button from the inside of the car the doors stay locked. I'm being told it is a fuse, but literally none of the doors will lock or unlock. The only way I was able to exit my car was by crawling out of my window.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Chicago, IL, USA