Bmw 318ti 1996
Model 318ti made in 1996 by Bmw got 9 consumer complains there is 1 recall as well as 2 service bulletins. Consumer complaints with reference, among others things, to air bags, electrical system and equipment. Technical service bulletines regarding electrical system, vehicle speed control. There was one recall concerning vehicle speed control . The car has one 1.9l engine.
Model 1996
| Engine [L] | Cylinders | Transmission | Drive | Estimate MPG (city/highway/combined) | Unadjusted MPG (city/highway/combined) | Fuel | Fuel cost | Class | Release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ( 1.9L) | 4 | Lockup/automatic, 4 gears | RWD | 23/31/26 | 25/40/30 | Premium | $ 780 | 4 | 951116 |
| ( 1.9L) | 4 | Manual, 5 gears | RWD | 23/31/26 | 25/40/30 | Premium | $ 780 | 4 | 951116 |
Recalls
| Campaign | Manufacturer | Manufacturing date | Type | # of units affected | Date Owner notified Mfg | Recall Initiated by | Manufacturers of recalled vehicles/products | Report Recieved Date | Record Creation Date | Regulation Part Number | FMVSS Number | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | ||||||||||||||||
| 97V131000 | BAYERISCHE MOTOREN WERKE | from 12/01/1994 to 07/30/1997 | V (Vehicle) | 410000 | 10/30/1997 | MFR | BAYERISCHE MOTOREN WERKE | 08/19/1997 | 08/29/1997 | |||||||
| Defect Summary | The cruise control and throttle cables are attached to the same throttle valve actuating lever at the throttle housing. it is possible that the plastic bushing on either cable could break due to environmental influences coupled with vibration. if the bushing breaks, the outer cable housing can separate from the bushing. in this case, during application of the throttle pedal without cruise control being engaged, the outer tube could catch on the edge of the broken bushing. | |||||||||||||||
| Consequence Summary | This could cause the throttle valve to remain partially open. it his were to occur, the car might not decelerate as expected increasing the risk of a vehicle crash. | |||||||||||||||
| Corrective Summary | Dealers will install a spring steel clip on the outer tube of each cable in the area of the adjusting screw and plastic bushing. the clip is designed to prevent the outer tube from dislodging from the bushing. | |||||||||||||||
| Notes | Owner notification is expected to begin by the end of october 1997. owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact bmw at 1-800-831-1117.also contact the national highway traffic safety administration's auto safety hotline at 1-800-424-9393. | |||||||||||||||
Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - IGNITION - MODULE | |||||
| 12 15 96 | 02/01/1997 | 52259 | M44 misfire faults 50, 51, 52 or 53. *tw | 07/17/1997 | |
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL - CRUISE CONTROL | |||||
| 12 15 96 | 11/01/1997 | 12 15 96 | 6089811 | Rough idle | 02/25/2000 |
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| AIR BAGS - FRONTAL | |||
| 10/26/1997 | |||
| While driving 30 mph vehicle was involved in a frontal collision and the airbags did not deploy. owner will contact the manufacturer. *ak | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - IGNITION | |||
| 12/01/2002 | 1 | 07/01/2096 | |
| Ignition switch failure. when attempting to turn off car, key moved to off position without resistance but did not turn off car. switch locked in off position but key would move and car continued to run. key could be removed and reinserted but could not turn off car. had to pull fuse on the fuel injection system to stall engine and disconnect battery to turn off power to car. this problem appears to be common in a large number of bmws. inability to turn off engine could pose hazard if situation required driver to cut power to engine. also, because engine runs quietly, possibility that someone could think he/she turned off his/her car in his/her garage but did not, leading to possible carbon monoxide poisoning. dt | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - IGNITION - SWITCH | |||
| 08/28/2003 | 1 | ||
| When taking the key out ofignition vehicle continued to run. *ak | |||
| EQUIPMENT | |||
| 04/01/2010 | 150000 | ||
| This is the 8th time passenger side window of my 1996 bmw318ti is in need of repair. motor replaced once, than regulator, followed by numerous repairs for slides or clips to be fixed. when putting up window there is a loud crack and the window goes off track, so it can neither go up or down. this is a costly complaint from many owners of this car so there has to be some sort of problem or defect. | |||
| STRUCTURE - BODY - DOOR | |||
| 08/01/1997 | 1 | 07/31/1996 | |
| Strip on door peeling making it hard for driver to close the door. | |||
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL - CABLES | |||
| 05/26/2006 | 110000 | 1 | |
| I am an engineer who performs failure analysis - my observations are based on significant experience in this field. the car is a 1996 bmw 318ti with a 5 spd manual transmission. the engine is stock. i was driving my 318ti on the interstate highway and noticed that the speed was increasing without throttle input. i turned the cruise control off thinking that it somehow had malfunctioned - the speed continued to increase. when the speed passed 80 mph, i depressed the clutch, which of course allowed the car to slow, but the engine immediately attempted to redline - as the tach got close to the red line, i shut the ignition off, and steered the car to the shoulder. with the car in neutral, i try to start it again, and the engine speed increased very rapidly to redline. i tried this 3-4 times over 5 minutes with the same result each time. i finally opened the hood and found that the throttle cable had come loose from the plastic bushing on the lever housing. this problem was the subject of a 1997 recall, and my car had the repairs made (metal rings) that were specified in the recall. they seem to be failing now. there is a news article from england that seems to show an identical failure in a 318. the drivers name is kevin nicolle, and the story appeared on this web page ( http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/03/11/ntrapped11.xml ). the recall effected 410,000 cars - this recall should be revisited as the repair seems to have created another failure mode that leads to unexpected acceleration. i have a photo of the throttle cable / cable bushing at the time of the failure - i can forward it to any interested parties. *nm | |||
| VISIBILITY - POWER WINDOW DEVICES AND CONTROLS | |||
| 06/01/2009 | 110000 | 3 | |
| My 1996 bmw 318ti - driver side front window has 3 times in last 5 years fallen into the door interior while driving. i have had this repaired now 3 times in 5 years at a total cost to be of $1300. this is a systemic design and safety problem that occurs not most of the 3 series bmw from 1995 to 2002. bmw utilizes a very poor channel design to retain the window safely and securely with 3 cheap inadequate plastic / metal clips that fail consistently and repeatedly after repair over a short time it is a huge design problem and there should be a recall and new design implementation to correct this systemic design safety failure. in my last failure last week i was driving 60 miles and hour on a freeway and window drops into door almost causing a crash. *tr | |||
| 07/08/2006 | 85000 | 2 | 12/10/2004 |
| The windows fall off track on my 1996 bmw e36 318ti. this has been happening to both windows on my car regularly for the past 2.5 years i have owned the car and has ruined the tint on both windows. i have spoken with other 318ti owners about this problem and have found that this a highly common failure and normally costs several hundred dollars to repair, only to break again shortly thereafter. i feel as though the windows could shatter when they fall into the door or possibly harm passengers by falling into the car while in the off-track position. this could be a serious problem. *nm | |||