10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 1 / 1
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 0 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 35,129 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.
The contact owns a 2008 BMW M3. The contact stated that the vehicle was parked in reverse on a hill. The emergency brake was not applied properly and the vehicle rolled down the hill and crashed into another vehicle. There were no injuries. A police report was filed. The air bags did not deploy. The contact's vehicle sustained damages to the hood, bumper, and fender. The vehicle was towed by aaa to automaster BMW (3328 shelburne rd, #3, shelburne, vt 05482, (802) 985-1850) where it was diagnosed that the electrical system needed to be replaced. The electrical system was replaced; however, the body damage was not repaired. The contact referenced NHTSA campaign number: 19V472000 (electrical system) as a potential cause of the failure, but he had not received a recall notice. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and assisted with the repair cost. The vehicle was currently at an independent mechanic to have the body damage repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 90,000.
- Monson, MA, USA
NHTSA recall number: 17V676 this recall was issued over a year ago and still have yet to be contacted by BMW to resolve the recall or provide any recourse. What is the typical response time?
- Arlington Heights, IL, USA
My BMW have headlights insulation flaking off, this is really scary because I'm afraid to get my car getting fire.
- Tampa, FL, USA
Vehicle mileage: 41,706 after receiving an oil change, I picked my car up at my local independent mechanic shop. When turning the car on I noticed a misfire with the engine. I turned the car off and asked the shop to take a look. They identified a misfire in cylinder #2. after 30 seconds of the car being turned off, smoke started pouring out of cylinder #2. after 90 seconds of aggressively smoking, the fire put itself out. Iit was found that the coil pack for cylinder #2 caught fire and fried an upstream dme control unit as well. Repairs were started the next day to replace all 8 coil packs and the dme control unit. Fortunately I was not driving and my family was not in the car. I immediately contacted BMW through their online system. After 3 days I called their help number. I then waited 2 days for contact from them. Finally I received a phone call back, by this time the car was repaired by my mechanic. BMW denied my request for reimbursement, stating the car was not at a BMW dealership when it caught fire. After escalating the concern within BMW to their investigation team, I was requested to submit photos of the burnt coil pack, and repair receipts. After 5 weeks of waiting, they contacted me and denied my claim again. When I asked for the investigation report, they stated that no investigation was conducted and that no report would be provided. I have since found another M3 owner with the same failure on the same model vehicle with the same mileage. The coil pack was original to the car, and has not been touched since it was built by BMW. This part is not listed for replacement in BMW's maintenance schedule. I no longer feel safe with my family in the car. BMW refuses to reimburse me for the damages, nor do they claim that this is a BMW part concern. If it's not a part problem, then what caused it to catch fire?
- Ypsilanti, MI, USA
Passenger restraint fault light came on...similar problems in other years and recalls for '06 model year but not this year.
- Papillion, NE, USA
BMW M3 experiencing sos failure. Consumer states that the sos failure warning and radio did not work. She states that it was unintelligible when she pressed the sos button. Dealer stated that it would be ok. The consumer was told the problem was caused by his non BMW cell phone which was not compatible with the tcu, which caused it to locked up and shut down different functions in the vehicle.
- Rockville, MD, USA
- Irvine, CA, USA