10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
5 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
2 / 0
Average Mileage:
11,932 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

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problem #12

Feb 012024

328

  • miles
I drove my car to a parking garage yesterday. As I was pulling into a parking spot slowly, my car started to accelerate. I then pressed the brake pedal harder and the car went faster. The car stopped by hitting the wall in front. All airbags came out. The police came for the investigation. The car was not functioning so the police called the towing company to remove my car. No one was hurt, except some scratches and bruises on the face, chest and legs. No damage to the wall. But there is enough damage to my car so that the insurance company is deciding whether it has been totaled. I found online posts that people reported similar situations with the same model car (BMW328i). It could be related to accelerator module defects based on the online posts.

- Princeton , NJ, USA

problem #11

Nov 082023

328

  • miles
On BMW there is a consistent problem with the oil filter housing gasket leaking oil which runs down and gets on the V-belt causing slipping that affects power steering. It is common problem for the emergency brake plastic clip to brake and cause the emergency brake cable that runs above the drive shaft to scrape the driveshaft, causing the cable to wear out and cause premature failure of the emergency brake.

- Pflugerville, TX, USA

problem #10

May 072023

328

  • miles
My son's 2015, BMW 328i was taken to BMW in Canton, Ohio due to "fluttering" in gas pedal and "possible transmission slipping and variations in transmission while driving. The check engine light was on and was diagnosed at dealership that the Mass Flow Sensor was malfunctioning. The wires to the Mass Flow Sensor were corroded and needed fixed before sensor could be assessed. The wires were fixed and the check engine light went out so the car was considered by the BMW dealer service department to be fixed and I paid $545 for $42 in parts and $503 in labor. The service advisor named Mark, assured me that it had been test driven by service technician and that the car was in proper working condition. I picked the car up, for my son, at 10 am and drove south to West Virginia to deliver the car to my son. At 12:15, I pulled off the freeway and stopped at a light that was at a busy intersection, with a car in front of me. I came to a complete stop with my foot on the brake and my car accelerated at a high speed with my foot completely on the brake almost to the floor. I rammed into the car in front of me and the car flew forward 500 feet. My BMW stopped after it hit the car in front of me. I sat in the car in shock with my foot still on the brake as the driver in front of me came to my window and asked me " what the hell are you doing"? She could clearly see that my foot was still on the brake. There were minor scratches on her bumper and, her and her son had sore necks. The front of my car had a broken grill, and other broken pieces. Broken pieces were lying on thre road. I called AAA and had it towed to BMW in St. Albans, West Virginia. A call was made to Canton, BMW and Corporate BMW to make a report on BMW rapidly accelerating with brakes completely on. Corporate personelle are to call me to get a report from me and send a special team to investigate the "rapid acceleration" while the brakes were on. Now awaiting for the 2015 BMW 328i to be looked at.

- Magnolia, OH, USA

problem #9

Jan 272023

328

  • miles
Reporting very dangerous sudden unintended acceleration of 2015 BMW 328i: When about to back out of a parking space in a parking garage, I pressed the brakes and turned on the ignition switch. After looking around to ensure no cars or people were near the car, I put the gear shift in reverse, turned my whole head entirely over my right shoulder to look through the back windshield and, seeing nothing behind me, began to slowly lift my foot from the brake to reverse out of the parking space. I turned the steering wheel towards the left and the back of the car went to the left. The bumper gently tapped a white column that had been out of sight all the way further over my right shoulder. I gently pressed on the brake, and when I switched the gear shift into drive, the car suddenly and explosively accelerated forward extremely fast and sped out of control. I pressed the brakes to stop the car, which did nothing, and the car slammed into cement wall so hard that it sounded like an explosion and the air bags deployed. I hit my mouth/face/head on the air bag and got whiplash from the sudden stop. When I got out of the car, a couple who-??d heard the explosion drove by and asked if I was ok. After a few moments I reached into the car to turn off ignition switch. This event resulted in very serious damage to the car, which was totaled, and I received medical injuries. This incident was reported to my automobile insurance company and to North America BMW, who has escalated the report to higher levels due to the seriousness of the incident, and will be doing investigations this week. The accelerator pedal or gear box dangerously and seriously malfunctioned, and the car is available for inspection upon request. My safety was seriously at risk as I have headaches and whiplash symptoms. If there were no wall there, or if there had been people or cars anywhere in front of the car, they would have been killed and smashed because the car suddenly accelerated so quickly.

- Mill Valley, CA, USA

problem #8

Aug 062020

328

  • 43,000 miles
Bracket used to hold emergency brake line to panel snapped and now brake line is running up against the drive shaft which could cause cable to snap. This seems to be wear and tear as nothing happened to the vehicle to have this happened. Multiple people have reported this happening to 2014-2016 vehicles and seems to be a similar issue that happened on recall of the 2001 M3.

- Mableton, GA, USA

problem #7

Jul 122019

328

  • 35,000 miles
On way home today 7/12/2019 car stalled out. I had very little brakes, steering was hard to turn and car slowed down quick. It started back up but then the passenger side window started going down on its own, and the A/C stopped working, and the drivers side window will not go up, and it keeps getting a warning going on then off then on says something about brake lamp control malfunction. When I got it home I left in driveway for a while when I tried to start it back up I started getting transmission failure warning and something about the engine. Then later the car did start up without the warnings but still has the original problems.

- Holyoke, MA, USA

problem #6

Jun 042019

328

  • miles
Chassis stabilization light on. Drive moderately. ABS light on. Brake light on. Picture of a car skidding. These warnings come on when vehicle is stationary or in motion.

- Orlando, FL, USA

problem #5

Dec 302017

328

  • 26,700 miles
I was driving on I-95 at pace with traffic, no speeding and the car in front of me abruptly hit the breaks. I was 3 to 4 car lengths away. I hit the brakes but was not concerned because I had plenty of distance and the car is equipped with ABS brakes. As I hit the brakes, it seemed like the car was not slowing down even as I pressed harder and the ABS brakes never kicked in. I was in the middle lane and was unable to swerve without causing a major accident. My only option was to hit the car directly in front of me. The car I hit sustained a scraped rear bumper no other damage.

- Silver Spring, MD, USA

problem #4

Oct 142017

328

  • 36,000 miles
I was involved in a car accident involving failure for the car to brake properly and reving up after being almost at a complete stop. I was driving on a two lane road at approximately 35 mph before needing to stop. I applied my brakes at a reasonable distance to stop for the traffic ahead for a traffic light. It was not a sudden stop or tailgating situation. I applied my brakes and the car came to a stop or very near stop approximately 18 inches from the rear bumper of the car ahead of me. It suddenly revved up and accelerated and moved forward while my foot was depressed firmly on the brake at all times. The revving continued for seconds and the car lunged forward several times. It hit the car the first time and continued revving and moved forward hitting the car in front several times. The car in front was at a complete stop all ready when I hit it. My car would not stop despite my continuing to hold the brake down firmly.. it continued to hit the car in front of me 3 or 4 times before finally stopping. This resulted in three subsequent cars in front of me all being pushed into each other. I advised my insurance carrier and police of the situation. The car was towed to the BMW dealer near me today, October 16th and I told them of the situation. I have been driving 40 years and never experienced anything like this and am very very certain the brake was depressed and the car and it was not driver error. I do not feel safe driving this car and am presently awaiting to hear back from the car dealer to hear of their findings. In speaking with the mechanic (not the service advisor who was fine) and telling him the specifics as stated here, I sensed skepticism that this actually occurred.

- Stoughton, MA, USA

problem #3

Feb 272015

328

  • 500 miles
On Friday, February 27th, 2015, my wife and my two daughters, ages 19 and 21 were traveling back up the garden state parkway. They were driving in my wifes new 2015 BMW 328xi and the car was in "sports mode." My wife who is a very experienced driver, and never had any problems, was driving. At about 4:30 pm, after exiting the parkway they got to a nearby intersection and planned on turning left to go to the local market. However, when they approached the intersection, my wife was not able to stop her car. She pressed on the breaks but they were not responding properly and the car started jerking back and forth and skidding towards the center of the intersection, where other cars were driving by at high speeds. My wife continued to press as hard as she can on the break but the car did not come to a full stop until it was in the center of the intersection. Luckily, no car was coming by at the exact moment of the incident, but if there had been another car, the break failure, in the context of the defective sport mode, probably would have caused an accident. They also pulled on the parking brake, attempted to switch to park and to turn the engine off in order to stop. Finally, totally traumatized and still having post traumatic stress and fear to get back behind the wheel, instead of turning left, my wife and daughters decided to turn right and very very slowly drive home 2 blocks away, totally traumatized by what had just happened.

- Fair Lawn, NJ, USA

problem #2

Apr 132015

328

  • 1,790 miles
This is a loaner dealer car with an automatic transmission. I was exiting a state highway, turning right onto the exit ramp to slow at a traffic signal, and applied the brake pedal with my right foot. I slowed from 45 mph to about 10 mph, with my right foot on the brake pedal. The engine revved and raced up to about 6500 RPM as I held my right foot on the brake pedal. With much braking force, I did get the car to slow and stop. I then pressed the park button and hit the stop button to kill the engine. After a few moments, I then re-started the car and pulled over to the curb. I did return the loaner car to the dealership. To be absolutely clear, I have been driving for 30+ yrs, and I was not racing, speeding, drunk, nor driving with both feet. Something made the engine race very high, and I was lucky not to plow into the cars in front of me. I hope this can be investigated and resolved so no one gets hurt. Thank you

- Lakeville, MA, USA

problem #1

Nov 072014

328 4-cyl

  • 200 miles
This is a brand new vehicle lease BMW 2015 328xi, for my wife - we just picked it up on 10/31/14, the brakes failed to respond!!!!!!! my wife was driving with my daughter and the car would not stop with her firmly pressing on the brakes approaching a busy intersection!!!! she finally got it to stop after shifting it into park. Extremely dangerous!!! they should replace this new vehicle for us immediately with another one of equal or higher value that we can hopefully trust assembled properly in germany. This BMW dealer never told us he was getting us one from South africa. Now, BMW of can't figure out what the problem is!! the vehicle must have reliable brakes. All the dealer has to say so far is he can't find the problem and is calling the main office to have someone take a look. We don't want to become a statistic because they are too incompetent to find the problem. Please recall it and protect us so we can get another car!!!! I expect BMW and the NHTSA to address this urgent very serious matter immediately. Thank you. It will not be acceptable for them to return this death trap vehicle to us after some guy at the dealership or visiting the dealer from the main office says he can't find anything in such a highly complex vehicle. If the issue is not completely found and remedied the vehicle will have to be replaced. We only had it for a week and only got to drive it in the area a few times until this. It's been back at BMW dealer since Saturday 11/8/14. They picked it up on a flatbed truck. The NHTSA should recall it for brake failure!!!!!!!!!!! after looking up BMW brake failure I now see reports from you on the recall of 2012-2014 BMW's for brake failure!!!!!! the problem seems to be continuing in 2015 and they are not admitting it!!!!

- Fair Lawn, NJ, USA