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.
Vehicle displays Transmission Malfunction & DSC and xDrive malfunction, this vehicle is available upon request for inspection. Currently been to two dealerships and all I got from the first dealership is to replace transmission at 59k mile. I purchased a used transmission same problem exist in the replacement transmission. As I was driving on highway, the transmission began displaying message above and caused the vehicle suddenly slow down without warning lights causing me to avoid an accident by pulling over to avoid being rear ended. The problem has been reproduced by dealer: tech and service advisors manager( authorized to drive) and he charge me for a tow even after I mention to him I have AAA if he needs it. Service manager stated that it may need the mechatronics unit which $4k for part but they-??re unsure because they didn-??t take it apart but it-??s a known issue. They mention that it-??s a known problem for the TCM (mechatronic valve throttle body control module to go bad). Manufacturer has not inspected vehicle. So currently it-??s at BMW of Owings Mills get a second opinion.
Vehicle was parked while running errands, returned to leave and it would not start. Went to trunk to check battery connection and found that the positive battery cable had burnt in two where it connects to cable that runs to the engine compartment. Carpet cover and sound deadening coating had burnt and cable fell through trunk floor on top of gas tank. Car was towed and insurance refused to replace what caused fire, only what burnt from source ie. carpet cover and floor but not wiring. BMW dealer reports they don-??t know what caused cable to overheat.
Door opening defect. The driver side door would lock and not open from inside and outside posing a serious safety hazard as one cannot get out of vehicle in emergency. This is noted when vehicle is in stationary or parked position.
This car has been in the shop many times since I purchased it in 2014. First, it was unknown issues that resulted in the injectors, spark plugs, and battery being replaced. That did not fix the problem and it went back to them several more times before they eventually brought an engineer in that determined that it was a stretched timing chain. This resulted in a new timing chain and all parts associated at 60,000 miles. Since then we have had recall work a couple of times. We have had to have turbo coolant lines replaced and we had to have a new water pump put in at 80,000 miles because ours apparently fell apart. The car needs a quart of oil every 500-700 miles (this has been an issue since the beginning but it has progressively gotten worse) and the newest problem is that it threw a drivetrain malfunction error driving up a hill. This error is related to a complete lack of compression in cylinder 3. the car has 125,000 miles. This car should have been bought back as a lemon but BMW always has some excuse.
On July 19, 2019, I drove my car 2.5 miles from my office and parked the car at my residence. The car was parked overnight and next day the car failed to start. When the hood was open the engine was on fire overnight while the car was parked, lucky the fire was self contained and did not spread to nearby homes. I contacted Mr. Mike discepolo with BMW North America and after 30 days of investigation he told me that the fire was because I failed to maintain my car, I searched the net and his answer was consistent with answers to other BMW cars that start fire while parked. Abc nightline and other tv stations investigated parked BMW cars fire and BMW deny the problem. See attached https://www.youtube.com/watch?V=us56C7yqayy https://www.10news.com/news/team-10/san-diego-BMW-owners-say-their-used-bmws-suddenly-caught-fire https://abc7chicago.com/automotive/BMW-car-fires-more-fires-reported-in-parked-cars-while-engines-off/5121834/
- Fair Oaks, CA, USA
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Since Jan 2014 the fuel injectors failed and replaced 2 times and the veh is currently at the position of crtiz BMW dealership in ga since Feb 12/2015 to replace the fuel injectors for the 3rd time and also to repair the seat belt malf on the front passenger side that were failed to work since Feb of 2014. On Feb of 2014 I have reached out to critz BMW service department and explained the issue to [xxx] and also contacted BMW in June of 2014 to cust care individuals and [xxx], [xxx]the customer relation mgr many times from over 6 months about the seat belt malf safety issue since then to have this issue fixed but I was told that BMW couldn't duplicate or repair the seat belt. 3 passengers including my wife were at risk and saw the light for seat belt malf warning light turned on in this veh while setting on the front passenger seat and I also have photos dated since Feb 2014. The warning indicated that the air bag won't deploy in case of any accident and I had to stop the veh while driving on the highway for the passenger's safety and I also contacted BMW emergency assistance and I was told to take the vehicle to the dealership for inspections. [xxx] at critz BMW mentioned that the service dept and BMW are aware of the issue with the seat belt and that they are in contact to replace the seat mat on the passenger side and that there is an issue with the sensor. I was offered by BMW to trade this vehicle and I told [xxx] that I will not trade this vehicle until its fixed since I don't want to put someone's life in danger due to the seat belt issue that BMW couldn't fix and I told them that they can simply repurchase, replace or repair this vehicle. On March 12/2015 [xxx] told me over the phone that the BMW couldn't duplicate or repair the seat belt malfunction on the passenger side seat. I told [xxx] over the phone that I will not risk the life of my wife or any other person driving this vehicle. BMW simply told me that they couldn't do anything else about it and that they will be closing my case. I was told by BMW
While driving with ac on smoke started coming heavily for the interior ac vents. A very toxic smoke, with electrical smell. I noticed the BMW 3 series has a recall on electrical blower problem. I think my car has the same issue.
During driving on the street, I started to smell like toxic burning like rubber and/or antifreeze burning and when I stop at home I could see little steam coming from the hood area and also oil leak at the bottom of the engine-transmission region. I stopped driving the car now.
This vehicle has had multiple recalls. The latest one was campaign no. 18V-248. BMW has yet to do anything for my vehicle, even after it burnt itself to the ground and a portion of my home. They did not add any explanation or attempt to investigate this situation. It is still undefined how this vehicle lit itself on fire as it was parked and turned off sitting in my garage, after just being driven 5-10 minutes before the fire started.
Vehicle stationary for over 3 hours, parked in a parking lot (work location) and burst into flames under the engine compartment. 8-22-18; 12:30 pm. Beaverton, Oregon fire department responded and put fire out. See fire department report
Our car's electrical panel lit up before the car stalled on two separate occasions. The first time, BMW replace the battery. The second time, BMW replaced the alternator. 12 days after being serviced by BMW, our house burned down due to a fire originating on the front left side of the BMW. That afternoon, my husband had come home from work, parked the car in the garage, and turned it off. The fire started within 30minutes of being shut off and parked. We received a letter in the mail informing us our BMW was under recall for a malfunctioning fuel pump injector.
My 2011 BMW 550I has thrice had this weird response in the past 6 months. After driving for 30M-1H suddenly got multiple different warning lights before I lost control of steering (stiff like a dead body) and brakes following which the car stalled. It was towed to the dealership who said this was a bad battery which did not make sense but the car was running thereafter so I took it home. The second time the dealership was closed - I was able to start the car a few minutes later and took the risk of driving home. The dealership said since the car was running they could not run any diagnosis. Thereafter the car ran fine for 3 weeks and then it happened again. This time I could restart it but the car would only move a few feet before stalling. After towing it to the dealer they tell me that the battery and alternator both are bad. I can understand that but there should never be a total loss of control on steering and brakes. That to me is a safety issue and BMW needs to fix it but the dealership does not seem to know what to do. They just want to fix the battery and alternator and call it "problem resolved" without digging further. I have not seen any recalls either. I am now afraid to drive the car because it could get me killed.
While driving for 15 minutes with seat warmers on my husband (driver) turned it off. We were travelling on Suburban roads around 40 mph. Then at a stop light he noticed a burning smell. We continued driving when light turned green. Then I noticed the smell a few seconds later, so I opened a window expecting to find smell a fire nearby or hear sirens. At that point we saw a ploom of smoke come from under his seat towards the passenger side open window. He immediately pulled over, jumped out of the car and turned everything off. The smoke took some time to clear but did stop. Several minutes later we drove 1 mile to the BMW dealership. We were told its not under warranty, and would cost $1,700 to fix. I declined to pay $1,700 to fix and requested they disconnect seat heater. BMW personnel informed me it could not disconnect power to seat heater without disconnecting the entire ac/heat system. This is a personal safety issue, not a warranty issue. For a seat heater to cause smoke it caused a fire and this is a defect. The car will catch on fire if the seat warmer is activated. I asked dealership what if I loan my car to someone who does not know about the defect, they suggested putting tape over the button. This is not acceptable safety measure to prevent burns, fire, or even death. Consider for a moment people have small children that ride in this vehicle. On a cold morning I could have buckled kids in, turned on car, seat heater, and talk to a neighbor for 2 minutes, or teacher at the carpool line.... what would have happened to the children? there is no visible damage to vehicle but BMW personnel did agree there was smoke smell in vehicle caused by seat warmer.
The contact owns a 2011 BMW 550I. The contact stated that while driving approximately 40 mph, the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle would not shift back into park. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and was diagnosed that the wiring that connected to the fuse box and battery was not properly attached to the trunk floor panel, which caused the fuse box and battery to melt. The carpet in the trunk was scorched and needed to be replaced. The contact stated that the failure mirrored NHTSA campaign number: 12V126000 (electrical system). The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 67,000.
The contact owns a 2011 BMW 550I. While driving 35 mph, the drive train malfunction warning message illuminated. The contact also stated that when depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle shook violently, the check engine warning light illuminated, and the vehicle stalled along with the drive train warning light. The vehicle was towed to the dealer but was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure recurred several times. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 49,500.
I am currently having problems with my vehicle and the local authorized dealer/service center, I believe they have been negligent with their actions to multiple problems that have occurred, including the repair and inspection pertaining to a recall of the N63 engine vehicles. The vehicle has had multiple issues in the past, including several "drivetrain malfunctions" for which I believe have the dates and service records they relate fuel injectors, battery, pumps, ect.. since January 2015 I have contacted the service center, autogermana BMW of puerto rico, to request an inspection and repair of the vehicle due to recurrent issues and concerns, the representative initially told me that the dealer had received no information about the "recall" or service bulletin "B001314". in March the vehicle was serviced again and the "recall" was included in the service order but they alleged that they did't have the parts available and that they would contact me as soon as they became available. The representative even recommended against extending the vehicle warranty for repairs until the vehicle was repaired and/or inspected as it related to the recall. The vehicle is now past the 50K mile warranty and the issues have not been resolved, and again it is at their service center because of a new "drivetrain malfunction". the service representative called me and told me that they would again inspect the vehicle to determine if the malfunction had any relation to the previous issues and /or the recall, if it has no relation they would have to be repaired without the warranty coverage. I believe this to be systematic negligence or quite possibly intentional irresponsibility. At this point legal action is the next logical step. I appeal to the NHTSA for responsible assistance with these service issues and a resolution of the problems.
Have to add oil every 500 miles, and I did notice there's a recall on the car but BMW does not want to call it a recall.I think it may effect car 5 years from now, timing chain is not always good news. I think BMW should offer extended warranty.
Involved in an accident. Other vehicle going southbound crossed over median strip of highway, hit three cars going northbound, mine was third car to be struck. Offending car did a 360 in front of me, I slowed to about 25 and he moved into me. I struck his rear passenger side corner. I had front end damage over $5K. No airbag, but default messages and an airbag icon came on the video screen and the front instrument panel. It states "driver and passenger airbag or restraint system malfunction."
I bought the car on May 6, 2015 with about 53K miles on it. Drove it for only about 45 days and while driving the car the drivetrain malfunction and other lights came on and the car lost power and stopped immediately. At first, I thought it was the battery and had the car jumped but that didn't work. The care engine was totally dead, no sound no anything other than the engine light that popped on before it stopped. I had purchased an extended warranty from gwc at the purchase of the car so informed them. I had the car towed to a place (lmc auto in norcross Georgia) that gwc was willing to pay for repairs. Lmc said the engine was locked and needed to be replaced. Gwc refused to replace the engine because of the expense and instead had lmc auto repair the engine. Needless to say, lmc is still repairing the engine almost 5months later. I had called governor's office of consumer protection, [xxx], etc.. trying to get help with getting the car fixed. When I talked to BMW of North America they said they warranty is up at 50K miles so they cannot commit to do anything. I am at my wits end and the car still does not seem to be any closer to getting fixed. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Baltimore, MD, USA