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.
118,000 miles had to replace both front drive axles and turbo charger. No recourse to BMW ? my last 2000 BMW 528 went 450,000 miles and never had these problems.
The car had 73,000 miles on it. I was driving home from work in stop and go city traffic when suddenly, the engine went into limp mode (as it is designed to do after it detects engine problems) and indicators lit up saying that I needed to pull over as the car was inoperable. I was in the left lane about to merge onto a toll road, but now found myself trying to get the car safety over three lanes of rush hour traffic to a gas station. This I managed to do while the car was making load noises and not providing adequate acceleration. After having it towed to a BMW specialist I was told the engine's timing system was off. I was also told the timing belt fails often with this particular BMW engine. The common cause seems to be a (unknown at least to me) plastic part within that warps from stress and then causes said part to break apart within the engine. I was told after the engine was disassembled that plastic parts were found inside the engine. After replacement of that belt, I'm now told that the engine still has major problems. It now might require a new engine altogether. If after 73,000 miles a BMW needs a new engine, it suggests to me that NHTSA should do further research into this major engine problem and issue a recall to make these cars safe.
Transfer cases went out without any indication. The vehicle had just been serviced 3 months prior by a BMW dealer who provided me with an inspection report showing there were not problems with my car. But 3 months and 1399 miles later, after the warranty expired, the same BMW dealer provided an inspection report saying the transfer case needed to be replaced immediately. The car was there for an unrelated issue.
Drive train malfunction: Drive moderately error, car lost power as driving and went into limp mode. I had to have flatbed tow truck come and get vehicle and take to dealership, this particular error is widely referenced by BMW owners for this model year, could have caused major accident had I been pulling into heavy traffic, could not shift out of park. Car was bought new, had 50K mi inspection and currently has 98K miles on it.
My car only has 53,791 miles and the shut down twice while driving on the road. The warning popped up on my screen drivetrain malfunction. And I couldn't restart my car. I was lucky to be by the stop sign when it died and not on the 50 mph road or freeway. When the tow truck showed up an hour later my BMW started just fine. So, I thought it was just the recall on the thermostat. Drove it to BMW and they just replaced the thermostat. And on my screen says all systems are ok. I drove my BMW home and the car dead again. When I called BMW says that I would have to pay $165 to do a diagnostic test because my car just passed the 50,000 mile warranty. But when I purchased the BMW I was told the drivetrain is 100,000 mile warranty because the other vehicle I was interested in purchasing had 100,000 mile warranty. I've looked up this issue online and have seen thousands and thousands of people upset over the same issue. BMW has known of this problem and hasn't fixed this issue in over 5 years. Most of the time BMW doesn't know what the true problem is.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Newton, MA, USA