10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
86,100 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.

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problem #10

Oct 102019

328

  • 216,000 miles
Rear lights. Clip contacts melting ground wire. Purchased lights and clips 3 times and melted again. Lights inoperable after 2 weeks of life harness melted. Received multiple warnings and a ticket I now have to prove repair. Recall found for every other model except the 323I 2000. Not safe to have no tail lights available. Can't drive car in unsafe conditions. Can't sell car in unsafe condition

- Miami, FL, USA

problem #9

Jun 032017

328

  • miles
Theres a problem with the GM5 module inside BMW's that need to be recalled and fixed my currently isn't working and none of my doors will open which I consider a huge safety hazard. From what I understand I'm not the only one with this problem. BMW needs to aknowledge the problem they have with their cars.

- Hanahan, SC, USA

problem #8

Oct 012013

328

  • 90,000 miles
The contact owns a 2000 BMW 328I. While driving 35 mph, the contact drove over a pothole and the front passenger side curtain and headliner air bags partially deployed inadvertently. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the passenger side air bag head liner module, passenger side door air bag module, front passenger side door trim panel, battery, and battery cable needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The contact was aware of NHTSA campaign number: 02V223000 (air bags), but the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 90,000.

- San Jose, CA, USA

problem #7

Sep 032013

328 6-cyl

  • 200,000 miles
While driving on highway heater setting on warm, smoke filled the cabin. Smoke was coming from center console and left side of glove box from underneath. Had to stop the vehicle in the middle of the highway and escape the smoke filled cabin the smoke turn to a flame from under the glove box. The car proceeded to totally burn from this incident. I reviewed the schematics to identify the only heating dissipating element located under there is the fsr blower motor control smoke appeared suddenly.

- Appleton, WI, USA

problem #6

Jun 152011

328 6-cyl

  • 100,000 miles
The locks on my 2000 BMW 328I VIN ([xxx]) do not work anymore. This is a serious safety issue not because the power locks that probably are acceptable to fail over time have failed. This is a major safety issue because the locks on the doors cannot be opened manually. This means in event of a collision the passengers in my vehicle could not egress to safety. This is a problem that BMW should be required to fix and should notify others that have the same vehicle. The problem began 3 years ago where the locks occasionally (1/300 approx) would fail but after several presses of the key it would open and operate normally. Over the last year the locks have failed half the time when it is cold out (< 30 degrees F approx) and are completely inoperative when it is hot out (> 90 degrees F approx). After doing research I found that it needs a replacement of the GM5 module. This repair was quoted to me by the dealer at over $700! that is $700 to fix a part that should work. Something that overrides a passenger from exiting the vehicle is not something that should be allowed to fail. There are many people at risk. Thank you for your time. Please help to either force BMW to replace these modules on vehicles or stop people from operating them, they're dangerous! information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Wichita, KS, USA

problem #5

Oct 012010

328 6-cyl

  • 70,000 miles
I was driving around 30 miles/hr and electrical system started having issues: Turn signal will not work on dashboard (working outside), trunk will not open while engine is on (car is stopped in neutral), on starting the car sometimes ac will not work, and if car is started with a door open, open door display will not go off even after closing the door. BMW dealership indicated that light module was defective. It would cost $575 to replace the defective component.

- Weston, FL, USA

problem #4

Oct 282010

328

  • 125,000 miles
I have a 2000 BMW 323 ci convertible and have problems with the remote trunk release. Neither the key fob nor the release button function; the only way to get into the trunk is with the key in the lock. I did some online research learned two things. 1. this is a very common problem. (type 'BMW trunk release problem' into a search engine to see the extent.) while the problems I have are merely annoying, it is not hard to imagine them being far worse. 2. the problem is in the harness where the wiring goes from the body to the trunk lid. This link is contains several pictures of exactly what I found when I pulled my harness back: www.M3forum.net/M3forum/showthread.php?T=248956. In my case, there are three completely broken wires, one that is hanging on by a few strands, and about 4 more where the insulation is at least partially cracked. Yes, the car is 10 years old, but this seems like a major design flaw to me.

- St. Louis, MO, USA

problem #3

Mar 012010

328

  • miles
2000 BMW 328I (E46) doors will not unlock when temperature rises (weather gets hot) after research found out the MG5 or module must be changed and reprogrammed by BMW dealer. The relays on the module needed to be replaced or the whole module needs to be replaced and reprogrammed. BMW says the whole job will cost around $800 dollars. The relays are $14 dollars each and they tend to go bad very often. A website dedicated to this problem has been created by a kind person that does help people with this problem to lessen the cost of fixing the problem by having soldering work on the module board which requires lots of skills to do so. I am complaining that BMW should replace all modules that do give the problem for free. It needs to be looked over. So many people are having this problem and it is a fault on BMW's end. When the air temperature rises the doors do not unlock by using the remore therefore customer can not get into car and sometimes passengers have to climb into car from the window.

- Burbank, CA, USA

problem #2

Jan 132009

328

  • miles
The rear taillights on my car have burnt out. I thought it was the bulbs. But when I went to check, the brown wire on both of my taillights completely burned and also burned entirely causing damage to the harness.

- Los Angeles, CA, USA

problem #1

Jun 282006

328 6-cyl

  • Manual transmission
  • 60,000 miles
I experienced a typical problem with my 2000 BMW 323ci, as the subframe began to tear after only 57000 miles of use. After some complaining, I was able to get BMW to "goodwill" the repairs. But as soon as I picked up the car after the repairs were completed, the emergency brake parking light began to malfunction. It would come on when the brake was released etc. A couple weeks later the traction control light began to do the same thing. I didn't think too much of it, but now about 9 months later I have experienced severe electrical problems. First all the power stopped working, the headlights blinked, A/C and windows stopped working, power locks no longer worked. Then it somehow fixed itself. But a couple weeks after, something else happened and now I cannot even start my car. Again, it appears to be some sort of power problem, perhaps something draining the battery.

- Palo Alto, CA, USA